Phil Hellmuth’s hopes of an 18th WSOP gold were shattered last night by Daniel Negreanu, the legends dueling in the most prestigious event of all at the WSOP with Kid Poker ousting the Poker Brat.
Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship
The $50k PPC is named the Players Championship for a reason, considered the ultimate test of skill and attracting the crème de la crème of poker’s elite.
Hellmuth came into day 2 after a late night playing online and another near miss in his bid to extend his WSOP bracelet record…
Nightmares! Over what, nothing…I thought!! I thought I would be fresh and on form for the $50,000 @WSOP Players Championship and start at 3 PM. I KNOW I am grooved: 4th, 15th and 12th, last five days. But, played online tourney until 3:30 AM to finish 12th out of 2,462. Was so… pic.twitter.com/BHwYRE4OCh
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) June 24, 2024
However, Daniel Negreanu had other ideas, and a “tag-team” effort in Stud Hi-Lo saw the Poker Brat’s PPC run end in 30th spot last night…
Phil Hellmuth: 3♠ 5♠ / 8♠ 9♦ A♣ K♥ / 9♣
Daniel Negreanu: 4♥ 3♦ / 2♠ 10♥ 10♣ Q♣ / 7♦
John David Rogers: A♥ 5♥ / 4♦ 6♦ 3♥ 10♦ / 9♠
Rogers took the low and Negreanu took the high to send Hellmuth to the rail.
Negreanu finished the day in 7th place in the chase for the $1,178,703 top prize, with Phil Ivey still in the mix on 14th spot and Gus Hansen also alive in 26th place. Aussie pro James Obst once again leads the way with only 29 players remaining.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
| 1 | James Obst | Australia | 1,961,000 |
| 2 | Jeremy Ausmus | USA | 1,839,000 |
| 3 | Johannes Becker | Germany | 1,764,000 |
| 4 | Jared Bleznick | USA | 1,546,000 |
| 5 | David Benyamine | USA | 1,531,000 |
| 6 | Joao Vieira | Portugal | 1,428,000 |
| 7 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 1,341,000 |
| 8 | Michael Mizrachi | USA | 1,329,000 |
| 9 | Bryce Yockey | USA | 1,255,000 |
| 10 | Hal Rotholz | USA | 1,055,000 |
There may have been no gold bracelets awarded yesterday, but there was more than enough action to keep players, fans and journos busy.
Event #54: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold’em
Only 315 players remain from the 10,939 who started out on the $1500 Milly Maker, 2014 WSOP Main Event champion Martin Jacobson, English online crusher Chris Moorman, Argentine favourite Maria Lampropoulos, and Mustapha “Mustacchione” Kanit all made it to the paid spots and an end of day bag.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
| 1 | Sebastien Sigouin | Canada | 2,615,000 |
| 2 | Connor Rash | USA | 2,550,000 |
| 3 | Jeremy Surinach | France | 2,550,000 |
| 4 | Jason Sagle | Canada | 2,385,000 |
| 5 | Timur Margolin | Israel | 2,320,000 |
| 6 | Vitalijs Zavorotnijs | Latvia | 2,305,000 |
| 7 | Gabriel Schroeder | Brazil | 2,295,000 |
| 8 | Jason Hickey | USA | 2,240,000 |
| 9 | Sasha Guerin | USA | 2,170,000 |
| 10 | Rudy Cervantes | USA | 2,160,000 |
Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold’em
A record-breaking 3362 entries appeared for the $1k Super Seniors, among them Frenchman Bruno Fitoussi, three-time WSOP champ Sammy Farha, and 1995 WSOP Main Event champ, Dan Harrington.
Harrington’s numerous books on poker helped many find their footing in the game, although his nickname “Action Dan” is a somewhat sarcastic take on his safety-first approach.
975 players from an initial 3362 entries remain, with 505 set to cash today and a very healthy $358,045 up top for the eventual winner.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
| 1 | David Goodkin | USA | 349,500 |
| 2 | Paul Runge | USA | 275,000 |
| 3 | Robert Nolen | USA | 264,000 |
| 4 | Nicholas Bennett | USA | 258,000 |
| 5 | Ron Fetsch | USA | 243,000 |
| 6 | Bruno Fitoussi | France | 236,000 |
| 7 | Edward Harris | USA | 234,000 |
| 8 | Thomas McDonald | USA | 234,000 |
| 9 | Mark Ebner | USA | 233,500 |
| 10 | Kevin O’Donnell | USA | 231,000 |
Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em
2015 Main Event champ Joe McKeehen is well in the mix after day 1 of the $3k NLH, but 2006 champ Jamie Gold will have to reenter today after busting out last night.
With 1441 entries so far, the prizepool stands at over $4million. Husband and wife duo Alex and Kristen Foxen both bagged a stack while Yanfeng Wang bagged yet another day 1 lead.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1 | Yanfeng Wang | USA | 369,000 |
| 2 | Jose Ferreira | Brazil | 369,000 |
| 3 | Daniel Gagne | Canada | 363,000 |
| 4 | Yan Li | China | 347,500 |
| 5 | Stephen Kehoe | USA | 333,000 |
| 6 | Homan Mohammadi | Germany | 324,500 |
| 7 | Ramaswamy Pyloore | USA | 306,500 |
| 8 | Brian Barker | USA | 298,000 |
| 9 | Darius Samual | UK | 290,000 |
| 10 | Carl Shaw | UK | 283,000 |
Event #61: $2,500 Mixed: Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better (8-Handed)
Robert Mizrachi leads the 189 players who made it through day 1, the $1,128,075 prizepool set to be shared among the top 77 players from an initial 507 entry field and $222,703 up top.
2005 Main Event champ Joe Hachem and WSOP commentator Norman Chad both made it through to day 2, but Shaun Deeb and Patrick Leonard were among those who missed out.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
| 1 | Joseph Shammas | USA | 266,000 |
| 2 | Chad Eveslage | USA | 259,000 |
| 3 | Robert Mizrachi | USA | 258,500 |
| 4 | Venkata Tayi | USA | 250,500 |
| 5 | Ziya Rahim | USA | 246,000 |
| 6 | Kevin Chance | USA | 227,500 |
| 7 | Takehiko Nakajima | Japan | 217,000 |
| 8 | Gary Benson | Australia | 213,000 |
| 9 | Jose Ferro | Colombia | 212,500 |
| 10 | Terrence Hastoo | USA | 205,500 |
Starting today we can add Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship and Event #63: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw (7-Handed) to the mix.
As always, we here at VIP Grinders will bring you daily updates and winner’s articles, so be sure to check in regularly!
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