WSOP Day 43 Review: WSOP Main Event Money Bubble Bursts with Legends Near the Top of Leaderboard

Day 43 of the 2021 World Series of Poker saw the Main Event go into the money, with 1,000 players making the money in the tournament everyone wants to cash in, then win. With a massive $8 million up top, getting profit was all that was on most players’ minds on Day 3 of the Main Event, a situation that only helped the big names with giant stacks become more powerful.

Dramatic Main Event Bubble Bursts at the Death

In a dramatic beginning to the day, 1989 WSOP Main Event winner Phil Hellmuth was eliminated early after getting it in good with pocket jacks shot down by pocket eights after all the chips went into the middle pre-flop. Hellmuth was disconsolate, but he would not be the only one who saw dreams of Main Event glory shot down in flames.

After a strong Day 2, British player Liv Boeree lost her stack on Day 3. Elsewhere, players such as Joni Jouhkimainen, Ismael Bojang, Yevgeny Timoshenko, Erick Lindgren, Barny Boatman, Jerry Yang and Justin Bonomo all busted too.

With not long to go until the bubble, one of the most incredible hands in WSOP history played out live on the PokerGO stream, as two players with quads clashed in a monumental pot. You can watch the hand as part of the Day 3 coverage on PokerGO right here:

When the bubble did eventually burst, it was Kevin Campbell who the unlucky player to depart without making the $15,000 min-cash. Campbell was all-in with two red aces against the ace-nine of clubs of Chris Alafogiannis. But a nine on the flop and again on the river ended Campbell’s Main Event and put the remaining 1,000 players into the money.

Chip leader at the close of play was Jessica Cai, whose stack of 1,796,000 was made during a tense bubble period by exerting maximum pressure on her opponents. She was shortly followed in the chipcounts by Thai player Phachara Wongwichit (1,773,000), with Joshua Paige Remitio (1,671,000) marginally behind him.

With players such as Chris Moneymaker (1,432,000) making the top ten, it’s sure to be a dramatic Day 4 at the felt which you can watch exclusively on PokerGO as players’ attentions now turn to the final table and that $8 million top prize.

Oscar Alache Goes Wire-to-Wire on Day 2 of Little One for One Drop

The action was fast and furious on Day 2 of the $1,111-entry Little One for One Drop event, with just 229 players surviving a brutal day at the felt. Day 1c chip leader Oscar Alache (1,980,000) maintained his domination over most of the field to bag the second-biggest stack on the day as Mathew Solitro (2,300,000) led the way, but they were closely followed by David Jackson (1,935,000) and several poker stars like Sorel Mizzi (1,280,000), Melanie Weisner (610,000) and Joe Cheong (510,000).

With other legendary figures such as the 2019 WSOP Main Event winner Hossein Ensan (345,000), Phil Laak (500,000), and bracelet winner this series DJ Alexander (320,000) still in the mix, it is going to be a big Day 3 in the destiny of who will win the latest bracelet.

In the $1,500-entry Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Event #69, just a dozen players survived Day 2 as former WSOP title holder John Racener (1,220,000) leads from four-time bracelet winner John Monette (1,165,000) at the top of a quality leaderboard.

With other bracelet winners such as Carol Fuchs (940,000) and Norwegian player Espen Sandvik (255,000) still involved, players such as John Hoang (1,065,000) will also have their eyes on the prize as the final day looms, with stars such as Shaun Deeb and Nathan Gamble lost their stacks to miss out on the chance to finish the event fighting for the top prize of $113,459.

It was curtains for Daniel ‘Kid Poker’ Negreanu in the $1,500-entry Bounty PLO Event #71 as the popular poker legend lost to Colossus winner Anatolii Zyrin’s royal flush in a dramatic day at the felt. With Mourad Amokrane the chip leader at the close of play with 1,066,000 chips, Jaime Lewin (712,000) and Nikolay Yosifiv (674,000) were Amokrane’s closest challengers.

Elsewhere, while big names such as Calvin Anderson (525,000), Uri Reichenstein (195,000), Dash Dudley (183,100), Felipe Ramos (144,000) and Niall Farrell (129,000) all progressed, players such as Anthony Zinno, Asi Moshe, Brandon Shack-Harris, Ryan Laplante, Ryan Hughes, Ian Steinman, Matt Stout, Dominik Nitsche and Avi Cohen all missed out on bagging an end-of-day stack.

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