WSOP 2024 Day 37 Recap: WSOP Main Event Kicks Off and Four Bracelets Won on Bumper Day of Action

A pulsating day of poker action took place in Las Vegas as the 2024 WSOP saw four bracelets won and the 2024 WSOP Main Event begin. With progress in other big events too, such as the $50,000-entry PLO High Roller events, headlines were made at the Horseshoe and poker passion shone through at Paris casino. 

Feiger Leads Main Event After Dramatic Day 1a

The opening day of the 2024 Main Event, otherwise known as the World Championship began in Las Vegas on Wednesday, as chip leader Joshua Feiger (311,900), Israel’s Assaf Zeharia (276,600), American Frank Funaro (265,000), Japanese player Naoya Kihara (228,300) and Brazilian Pedro Bromfman (224,600) all made the top ten on Day 1a. 

The 2023 champion Daniel Weinman returned to the scene of his greatest triumph to announce, ‘Shuffle Up and Deal!’ as 916 entries on Day 1a played down to aroud 620 survivors, with some, such as Brad Owen, Kahle Burns, Kyle Julius, Upeshka De Silva and Freddy Deeb unable to make the grade in the $10,000-entry freezeout event.

There are no re-entries in this one, the 60,000 starting chips the only ones you get given before the action is underway. Plenty of big names - and Jeff Platt (96,100) - improved on their starting stacks, as Rayan Chamas (162,000), Matt Affleck (161,700), Jon Pardy (also 161,700), Bin Weng (152,000), Kevin Gerhart (150,700), Rob Kuhn (130,700), Parker Talbot (106,700), Ian Simpson (72,300) and Barny Boatman (70,000) all made Day 2 with more chips than they started.

Two former world champions have work to do on Day 2, as Qui Nguyen (39,000) and Greg Merson (36,800) scraped into the next day, and with Day 1b's flight tomorrow expected to be even bigger, 10,000 total entrances may yet be broken just as it was 12 months ago. 

WSOP Event #81: $10,000 World Championship Day 1a Chip Counts

Place	Player	Country	Chips
1st	Joshua Feiger	United States	311,900
2nd	Assaf Zeharia	Israel	276,600
3rd	Frank Funaro	United States	265,000
4th	Mark Stockton	United States	260,700
5th	Jie Wu	China	252,300
6th	Nan Li	United States	247,500
7th	Vid Zagar	Japan	241,300
8th	Jonathan Wong	United States	239,800
9th	Naoya Kihara	Slovenia	228,300
10th	Pedro Bromfman	Brazil	224,600

Arash Ghaneian Gets the Gold 

Arash Ghaneian won his second WSOP bracelet and first in Las Vegas as he closed out Event #74, the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, by beating Richrad Skklar to the $376,476 top prize.

Heads-up began the day with stacks fairly even but although both men took the lead, it was Ghaneian who finally wrestled control of the tie away from his opponent. Making a wheel in the final hand to beat Sklar’s pair and eight-six low, Ghaneian celebrated a famous win with his friend and family on the rail. 

WSOP Event #74: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Championship Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Arash Ghaneian	United States	$376,476
2nd	Richard Sklar	United States	$250,984
3rd	Thomas Taylor	Canada	$173,533
4th	Todd Brunson	United States	$122,663
5th	Eric Wasserson	United States	$88,686
6th	Dario Alioto	Italy	$65,620
7th	Andrey Zhigalov	Russia	$49,715
8th	Michael Rocco	United States	$38,589

Setna and James Slay in Tag Team Event

Jimmy Setna and Jason James won their first bracelets in the $1,000-entry Tag Team Event #75 as a final table full of top-quality players fell to the first-time pairing.

The two friends, who live togehter as well as play together, triumphed against opponents such as Team Perez, where Javier Rodriguez’ pocket kings were overtaken by Setna's ace-queen for a pivotal pot. After that hand, victory came following the final table eloiminations of players such as Jason Wheeler & Anthony Nardi (6th for $36,282) and heads-up opponents Aaron Thomas & Burcu Dagli, who took home the $127,254 prize between them. 

Setna and James will chop up $190,910 as each member of the duo receive a gold WSOP bracelet for their phenomenal run. 

WSOP Event #75: $1,000 NLHE Tag Team Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Jimmy Setna & Jason James	Canada	$190,910
2nd	Aaron Thomas & Burcu Dagli	United States	$127,254
3rd	Mark Bagin & Kevin Bagin	United States	$91,234
4th	Richard Ali & Patsy Altomari	United States	$66,238
5th	Joshua Hopkins & Charles Honkonen	Canada	$48,708
6th	Jason Wheeler & Anthony Nardi	United States	$36,282
7th	Sheraton Hall & Malcolm Trayner	Australia	$27,382
8th	Marcos Extercotter & Henry Fischer	United Kingdom	$20,942
9th	Toby Boas & Angel Boas	United States	$16,232

Lambrecht Grows Legend in Mystery Bounty Event 

Matthrew Lambrecht won heads-up against his fellow American Damarjai Davenport on the eve of Independence Day as the $10,000-entry Mystery Bounty Event #76 concluded in dramatic fashion in Las Vegas last night. 

With players such as Robert Heidorn (8th for $103,942) and Vladimir Minko (5th for $248,174) falling just short, we've written about exactly how Lambrecht became a WSOP legend in claiming gold in our full recap right here.

WSOP Event #76: $10,000 Mystery Bounty NLHE Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Matthew Lambrecht	United States	$1,018,933
2nd	Damarjai Davenport	United States	$678,707
3rd	Tauan Naves	Brazil	$478,247
4th	Simas Karaliunas	Lithuania	$341,963
5th	Vladimir Minko	Russia	$248,174
6th	Eshaan Bhalla	United States	$182,846
7th	Andrei Konopelko	Belarus	$136,792
8th	Robert Heidorn	Germany	$103,942
9th	William Jia	Australia	$80,238

Wing Liu Wins in Mixed Big Bet

Wing Liu won the $2,500-entry Mixed Big Bet Event #77 for a top prize of $209,942 after a final table containing players such as Allan Le and Alex Foxen were seen off. The Hong Kong winner also beat Kane Kalas (4th for $61,977) to the bracelet after a race to victory that also included the defeat of American Hye Park in second place for $136,574. 

With an epic 12-hour day required to find the winner, Liu admitted afterwards that his friends and family were a huge support to him as he ground out the win. Having won his first bracelet in Europe, Liu's victory in Vegas meant even more. 

WSOP Event #77: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Wing Liu	Hong Kong	$209,942
2nd	Hye Park	United States	$136,574
3rd	Xixiang Luo	China	$90,920
4th	Kane Kalas	United States	$61,977
5th	Andres Korn	Argentina	$43,283
6th	Alex Foxen	United States	$30,988
7th	Allan Le	United States	$22,758

Three Other Events Progress

Three more WSOP events were in progress, as Danny Tang leads the final five  in the $50,000-entry PLO High Roller Event #79. The Hong Kong player, built a huge pile of 20.7 million chips, some way clear of his closest to Tang is Ronald Kejzer (13.27m), with Daniel Perkusic (12.1m), Jim Collopy (5.1m) and Santosh Survarna (4.85m) the other players to make the final day with a $2.1m top prize and the bracelet on the line.

Kyle Williamson (146.3m) has the lead with five left in the $1,000-entry Mini Main Event #78 with Georgios Skaparis (143.7m) hot on his heels. All the other three remaining players are much shorter stacked, with Italian Alexandre Barbaranelli (36.8m), Russia's Mikhail Zavoloka (20.2m) and German player Dirk Bruns (17.5m) all hoping everything goes their way on the final day. 

Finally, the ‘Independence Day’ Event #80 welcomed 2,864 entries and saw just 150 of them survive the full day's play, with Bulgarian player Ivan Denev (2.48m) leading Michael Phillips (2m) and Mark Seif (1.89m) to Day 2 on Day 1a. With Brandon Sheils (1,865,000) also reaching the top five, Men ‘The Master’ Nguyen, Martin Zamani, Kevin MacPhee, and Ari Engel will all return too on July 5th after tomorrow's Day 1b plays out. 

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