WSOP 2023: Talal Shakerchi Leads Poker Players Championship as Phil Ivey Bubbles Final Table
Three bracelets were won and six other events reached the latter stages of their tournaments as Day 23 of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) supplied the most action yet. The Poker Players Championship reached the final five players with a dramatic exit for 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Ivey and the Monster Stack saw off Joe Cada late in the day as an amateur won the $1.16m top prize.
Dunaway Wins Monster Stack for $1.16m
Braxton Dunaway won $1.16m as his poker dreams came true in the $1,500-entry Monster Stack, also known as Event #39. Dunaway, not the biggest name at the final table, saw the youngest-ever world champion Joe Cada bust in seventh place before the Texan put on a run and claimed gold.
Cada came close to his fifth WSOP bracelet and was unlucky to lose his stack when he did, busting with 
to Dunaway’s 
, a jack on the river sending Cada home for a score of $186,149. After Joshua Adcock (6th for $240,695) busted, the overnight leader Nick Gerrity lost with 
to Jesse Rockowitz’s 
, winning $313,297 but missing out on the top four.
Rockowitz would eventually bust in 3rd for $541,376 when Dunaway got his chips and that left the Texan with a better than 2:1 lead. In the final hand, Colin Robinson’s saw him call it all off on the river of a board showing 
. Bottom pair wasn’t nearly good enough, however, as Dunaway showed 
for two pair to take the bracelet and seven-figure top prize.
WSOP 2023 Event #39 $1,500 Monster Stack Results: |
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| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Braxton Dunaway | United States | $1,162,681 |
| 2nd | Colin Robinson | United States | $718,649 |
| 3rd | Jesse Rockowitz | United States | $541,376 |
| 4th | Loic Dobrigna | France | $410,493 |
| 5th | Nicholas Gerrity | United States | $313,297 |
| 6th | Joshua Adcock | United States | $240,695 |
| 7th | Joe Cada | United States | $186,149 |
Ivey Sent Home Late in PPC as Talal Tops Leaderboard
The penultimate day of action in the Poker Players Championship saw 12 reduced to five as Phil Ivey bubbled the final day of the tournament. A dozen players showed up to play down to the final five, and after players such as Johannes Becker (12th for $97,209) and Daniel Alaei (10th for $115,477) both departed, the 2021 WSOP Player of the Year Josh Arieh busted to James Obst in Omaha Hi-Lo to leave in ninth place for $141,125.
Only seven stars of the felt made the official final table and Ivey was one of them, but after Ray Dehkharghani busted in seventh place for $177,294, Ivey was all-in with 
and lost out to Talal Shakerchi’s , the board of 
sending the 10-time winner home for $228,793 and settting the final five in place.
With Shakerchi (10.1 million) holding a large lead, Matt Ashton (7.38 million) also represents the United Kingdom at the final table. Behind the two Brits are overnight leader and Australian James Obst (5.1m), five-time bracelet winner Brian Rast (4.54m) and Kris Tong (2.5m). Rast would put himself in pole position for this year’s Poker Hall of Fame induction should he claim victory.
WSOP 2023 Event #43 $50,000 Poker Players Championship Leaderboard: |
|||
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Talal Shakerchi | United Kingdom | 10,170,000 |
| 2nd | Matthew Ashton | United Kingdom | 7,380,000 |
| 3rd | James Obst | Australia | 5,110,000 |
| 4th | Brian Rast | United States | 4,545,000 |
| 5th | Kristopher Tong | United States | 2,500,000 |
Leffingwell Loves Mixed Games, Celebrates Maiden Win
“Poker down [in Houston] is the best in the world.”
William Leffingwell from Houston, Texas won the 45th event of the 2023 WSOP, claiming victory in the Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo event for a top score of over a quarter of a million bucks.
“I love these people, and I love Houston,” he said after taking the title. “We’ve been through a lot these last couple of years, and poker down there is the best in the world.”
To get the victory, Leffingwell certainly did the work, getting past Shaun Deeb in fifth place and overnight leader Joey Couden in fourth before beating Zhen Cai heads-up for the bracelet.
“PLO is our game,” said Leffingwell of his home city of Houston. “We invite everyone in the world to come play at any stakes.”
WSOP 2023 Event #45 $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo Results: |
|||
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | William Leffingwell | United States | $253,651 |
| 2nd | Zhen Cai | United States | $156,773 |
| 3rd | Carlos Guerrero | United States | $109,474 |
| 4th | Joey Couden | United States | $77,620 |
| 5th | Shaun Deeb | United States | $55,894 |
| 6th | Raj Vohra | United States | $40,887 |
| 7th | Benjamin Miner | United States | $30,392 |
| 8th | John Zable | United States | $22,960 |
| 9th | Nelio Gatta | Italy | $22,960 |
Lockett Takes Freezeout Title for $262k
“I was dead money coming in.”
A bust-out busy final day of Event #46 saw Jay Lockett win the Event #46 NLHE Freezeout title for $262,526. Outlasting 240 other players on a frantic final day, the American beat country Benson Tang heads-up to claim the bracelet in the $500 buy-in event which also saw Diego Acquila (3rd for $121,085), Shannon Boone (7th for $40,540) and the highest-placed former bracelet winner David Jackson (16th for $12,286) make some deep runs.
“I was dead money coming in,” said Lockett after taking the title in a thrilling final showdown when his ten-nine suited won the event for him. “This is amazing. You have to run so hot. I had quads twice at the final table. I had ace-queen that ended up beating ace-king earlier.”
WSOP 2023 Event #46 $500 No Limit Hold’em Freezeout Results: |
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| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Jay Lockett | United States | $262,526 |
| 2nd | Benson Tang | United States | $162,207 |
| 3rd | Diego Acquila | Argentina | $121,085 |
| 4th | Matthew Thom | United States | $91,066 |
| 5th | Muaaz Gani | South Africa | $69,007 |
| 6th | Byambajav Bandi | United States | $52,690 |
| 7th | Shannon Boone | United States | $40,540 |
| 8th | David Hirst | Australia | $31,433 |
| 9th | Ibrahim Tarim | Turkey | $24,562 |
Shorr in the Hunt for First Bracelet in Event #44
Shannon Shorr will enter the final day second in chips as he bids to win his first-ever WSOP bracelet in Event #44. The $3,000-entry NLHE event sees 15 players still in seats from the 1,735 who began the day pursuing the $717,879 top prize.
With other strong players such as overnight leader Yang Zhang (6,875,000), Ankush Mandavia (4,800,000) and Jon Van Fleet (3,800,000) all after the bracelet, there’ll be no easy ride for the chip leader or Shorr. Whatever happens its sure to be a dramatic ending to the latest WSOP story.
WSOP 2023 Event #44 $3,000 No Limit Hold’em Leaderboard: |
|||
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Aram Oganyan | United States | 9,900,000 |
| 2nd | Shannon Shorr | United States | 8,750,000 |
| 3rd | Yang Zhang | China | 6,875,000 |
| 4th | Aleks Dimitrov | Bulgaria | 6,500,000 |
| 5th | Levente Szabo | Hungary | 5,150,000 |
| 6th | John Marino | United States | 5,100,000 |
| 7th | Ankush Mandavia | United States | 4,800,000 |
| 8th | Kartik Ved | India | 4,500,000 |
| 9th | Jon Van Fleet | United States | 3,800,000 |
| 10th | Alex Lynskey | Australia | 3,650,000 |
Brazil Burning Hot as Yuri Leads H.O.R.S.E. Field
Yuri Dzivielevski is the only player over two million chips in the $1,500-entry H.O.R.S.E. WSOP Event #47 in Las Vegas. With 28 players still in with a chance of victory, Dzivielevski (2,020,000) is well clear of Stephen Savoy (1,345,000) in second place, with Gershon Distenfeld in third place on 1.3 million.
Elsewhere, legends of the game such as Andrew Barber (950,000), Frankie O’Dell (905,000) and Randy Ohel (805,000) will all look to win another bracelet to add to those already in their cabinets at home, while Jeff Lisandro busted late in the day to miss out on the chance to make it seven wins tomorrow.
WSOP 2023 Event #47 $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Leaderboard: |
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| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Yuri Dzivielesvski | Brazil | 2,020,000 |
| 2nd | Stephen Savoy | United States | 1,345,000 |
| 3rd | Gershon Distenfeld | United States | 1,300,000 |
| 4th | Thor William Morstoel | Norway | 1,145,000 |
| 5th | Michael Parizon | United States | 1,105,000 |
| 6th | Bill Short | United States | 955,000 |
| 7th | Andrew Barber | United States | 950,000 |
| 8th | Jeff Shulman | United States | 910,000 |
| 9th | Frankie O’Dell | United States | 905,000 |
| 10th | Scott Epstein | United States | 900,000 |
Seniors Championship Field Tops 3,600
In this year’s Seniors Championship, the $1,000 buy-in Event #48 field on Day 1a was a massive 3,692, with Day 1b still to come. Huge attendances have been nothing new this year and the Seniors Championship, while it doesn’t count for Player of the Year points, being age restricted, still carries a lot of clout.
Top of the chipcounts after Day 1a was Frank Harrington on 445,000, with Allyn Shulman (220,000) followed into the books by Barry Shulman on 180,500. Six-time bracelet winner Ted Forrest (181,500) and Victor Ramdin (167,5000) both made the top 100 too.
WSOP 2023 Event #48 $1,000 Seniors Championship Leaderboard: |
|||
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Frank Harrington | United States | 445,000 |
| 2nd | Rajesh Goyal | United States | 429,000 |
| 3rd | Christian Munk | United States | 427,000 |
| 4th | Jose Obadia Chocron | Spain | 403,500 |
| 5th | Joshua Mountain | United States | 383,000 |
| 6th | Mark Seif | United States | 355,000 |
| 7th | Guy Cicconi | United States | 328,500 |
| 8th | Zal Irani | United States | 305,000 |
| 9th | Radwan Khuri | United States | 303,000 |
| 10th | Dieter Dechant | United States | 301,000 |
Lococo in Charge for Finals Day in Super Turbo
Alejandro Lococo is not only the star name at the final table of Event #49, he’s the chip leader too and will contest for the bracelet with eight other potential first-time winners tomorrow afternoon. Lococo, who hails from Argentina, has 15.5 million chips with which to attack the final table of nine, with Will Linden (8.85m) and Chen An Lin (7.7m) completing the podium places.
WSOP 2023 Event #49 $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty Leaderboard: |
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| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Alejandro Lococo | Argentina | 15,550,000 |
| 2nd | Will Linden | United States | 8,850,000 |
| 3rd | Chen An Lin | Taiwan | 7,700,000 |
| 4th | Danny Scott | United States | 5,250,000 |
| 5th | Michael Burns | United States | 5,000,000 |
| 6th | Tony Gargano | United States | 4,325,000 |
| 7th | Pengfei Wang | United States | 3,925,000 |
| 8th | Kenneth Maurer | United States | 3,400,000 |
| 9th | Frank Lagodich | United States | 1,750,000 |
Bryce Yockey Chasing PLO Championship Lead
A total of 688 entries filled seats on Day 1 of the $10,000-entry PLO Championship, with the 8-max event welcoming some of poker’s biggest names to the WSOP felt. Overall, last year’s corresponding event saw 683 players take part, so with late registration available on Day 2, expect the event to clear at least 700 on its way to becoming the latest bumper field mixed game event at this year’s WSOP.
Top after Day 1 of the event which saw 266 players already survive to Day 2 was Daniel Aharoni (535,000), with big performances from Bryce Yockey (479,000) Sean Winter (223,500), Jeremy Ausmus (279,000) and Alex Foxen (135,000) along the way.
WSOP 2023 Event #50 $10,000 PLO Championship 8-Max Leaderboard: |
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| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Daniel Aharoni | United States | 535,000 |
| 2nd | Motoyoshi Okamura | Japan | 500,000 |
| 3rd | Jay Harwood | Ireland | 494,000 |
| 4th | Johann Ibanez | Colombia | 484,500 |
| 5th | Bryce Yockey | United States | 479,000 |
| 6th | Caleb Furth | United States | 418,000 |
| 7th | Gabriel Andrade | Ecuador | 405,000 |
| 8th | Jonas Kronwitter | Germany | 396,000 |
| 9th | Elliott Kampen | United States | 393,500 |
| 10th | Dylan Smith | Canada | 393,000 |
Martin Kabrhel’s legal representation filed this interesting document as the Super High Roller final table row spilled over into another day.
NOTICE OF LEGAL CLAIMS & PRESERVATION DEMAND
To @JustinBonomo @ChancesCards @PokerGO @Andrew_Robl @DanSmithHolla
Re: Your Defamation of @martinkabrhell
To The Above-Named Parties:
This firm represents Martin Kabrhel with respect to your false and defamatory statements that… pic.twitter.com/3gfG1cimi3
— Daniel B. Ravicher (@danravicher) June 21, 2023
Phil Hellmuth admitted it, he’s finally revealed that he… cares too much.
I wonder why?
Was feeling low, stayed up all night watching movies, eating pizza and candy; slept 2 rocky hours.
Oh yeah, busted @WSOP “Players” at 12:40 AM. Had high hopes. Some say that “I care too much.” Guilty as charged pic.twitter.com/nS15vUgcfM
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) June 22, 2023
Ebony Kenney was the latest female player to ‘out’ a disturbing trend of male players breaching privacy at the WSOP.
Another guy went into the women’a restroom during a tourney break, this time on the Paris side @WSOP. He said he was told men could use the women’s room.
Seriously, stop.@PokerNews @PokerGO
— Ebony Kenney | Poker & Purposeful Pleasure (@Ebony_Kenney) June 22, 2023
Finally, you can trust Daniel ‘Kid Poker’ Negreanu to give everyone a giggle. He made a crucial lay down after getting a good perspective on his opponent’s cards.
I ended up making the lay down.
Sick read. https://t.co/0EjbAQeTtc
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) June 21, 2023
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