The 2024 edition of the WSOP is headed into Day 3. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

The second-biggest in history

2024’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event is in full swing as players approach Day 2 and 3 of the most prestigious event in poker.

The 2024 event is now the second biggest in WSOP history, with 9,493 players joining the felt – 550 short of last year’s record-breaking tournament with late registration still open for Day 2d. US player Anthony Marsico currently holds the chip lead going into Day 3, turning his Day 2 chip count of 76,900 into a monster 797,000 stack.

there are still plenty of household names left in the field

A swathe of big hitters saw their 2024 hopes come to an early end throughout the Day 1 and 2s, although there are still plenty of household names left in the field, including Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, and Phil Galfond.

Negreanu, who recently ended a long drought of bracelets by claiming victory in the player’s championship, came back from a poor start to bag up 90,000 chips going into Day 3. Meanwhile, Phil Galfond had the opposite ride, after a storming start saw his stack reduced to just 37,000. Ivey joined the final flight, and will still have to negotiate Day 2 with a sizeable haul of 162,500.

Heavyweights knocked out

Among the big names lost so far have been former champions Jamie Gold, Phil Hellmuth, and Chris Moneymaker. Hellmuth had made a typically grand entrance, arriving into the Horseshoe fashionably late to the strains of “Kung Fu Fighting,” surrounded by an entourage including Daniel “Jungleman” Cates, Scotty Nguyen, and Joe Stapleton. The performance, however, failed to bring the “Poker Brat” the luck required to survive Day 2. 

Well-known pros Dominik Nitzsche, Patrick Leonard, and Vanessa Selbst, making a rare post-retirement appearance on the felt, all also failed to progress in the tournament. 

However, there are still plenty of heavyweights remaining, with recent champions Hossein Ensan (353,300), Koray Aldemir (242,000), and Espen Jorstad (150,800) all making it through with a big stack to try and replicate Stu Ungar’s legendary feat of winning the event twice, which is virtually unprecedented with modern field sizes. Defending champion Daniel Weinman also made it through to Day 2d with a more modest 55,600 stack. 

Some other well-known faces on the circuit also managed to bag big stacks going into Day 2, with Justin Bonomo (174,100), Adrian Mateos (143,100), and Isaac Haxton (124,900) among the high-stakes crushers who managed to more than double their starting chips.

Several first-hand knockouts

The action had been fast and furious right out of the gate, with a number of players busting on their very first hand. Travis Darroch generated much discussion on social media after opting to shove the river with a full house, holding TT on 8-J-T-8-A. However, his Main Event would come to an abrupt end on the first hand of the day after his opponent, David Williamson called and tabled 88 for quads. 

Day 1c also saw two classic AA vs KK coolers on the first hand, with pro David Moses on the unfortunate end of a bad beat when his pocket rockets failed to hold, with KK finding a straight on the river to add him to the list of unlucky players who failed to progress further than a single hand in the tournament.

chess streamer Alexandra Botez made it through to Day 2 with 39,200 chips

Influencer Dan Bilzerian fared little better, busting on the second hand of the day after having failed to get a bluff through on both occasions in two sizeable pots. Among the other non-pro YouTubers who took a seat at poker’s biggest event, however, chess streamer Alexandra Botez made it through to Day 2 with 39,200 chips.

The remaining players from the final Day 1d flight will now reconvene on Monday, July 8 at noon local time for Day 2d, returning to 400/800 blinds with an 800 big blind ante. The survivors from that flight will then join those from Day 2abc for the third day of action on Tuesday 9 July, where blinds will be at 1,000/2,500, with a 2,500 big blind ante.