WSOP 2024 Day 44 Recap: Main Event Bubble Bursts, Adrian Mateos and Phil Ivey Make Day 5

The 2024 WSOP Main Event action really heated up on Day 44 of the WSOP in Las Vegas as stars of the game survived the money bubble or didn't on a day of drama. Adrian Mateos, Tony Duns and Phil Ivey all made Day 5 as four more bracelet events played out at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, with two new winners crowned. 

Bubble Bursts on Day 4 of WSOP Main Event

The $10,000 WSOP Main Event, otherwise known across the globe as the World Championship, saw a huge day of action in Las Vegas as 1,524 players were reduced to just 464 survivors from the record-breaking total attendance of 10,112 set on Day 2d. Of those survivors, there are some very big names indeed chasing the brand-new Main Event bracelet and a $10 million top prize. 

Ranking highest is the WSOP bracelet winner and 2022 GPI Player of the Year Stephen Song (4,740,000), Nazar Buhaiov (3,875,000), Biao Ding (4,265,000) and four-time WSOP bracelet winner Adrian Mateos (4,500,000). 

Phil Ivey will be hoping to go one step further than his deep runs in 2003 and 2009 when he comes back to the action on Day 5. Ivey, who won his 11th WSOP bracelet earlier this summer, has only 650,000 chips, but with the deep structure of the Main Event, that still equates to 35 big blinds and no-one would rule Ivey out while he still has any chips at all. 

Elsewhere, players such as Canadian Alex Livingston (1,995,000) thrived, Argentina's Nacho Barbero (1,620,000) survived and the popular Game of Gold champion Maria Ho (340,000) made it through with a spinnable stack.     

WSOP Event #81: $10,000 Main Event Day 4 Chip Counts

Heidemann the Hero in Ultra Stack 

Carsten Heidemann from Germany won his first-ever WSOP bracelet as he triumphed in the $600-entry Ultra Stack Event #84. Winning the top prize of $343,010 and conquering a final table featuring Phuoc Nguyen (4th for $127,950) and Albyn Bello from the Dominican Republic, who came third for $170k.

Heidemann had to come from over 3:1 down in chips to win heads-up but managed to do so to leave the American player Ramana Epparla as the runner-up for $228,670. It was Heidemann who took home the top prize of $343,010 and his first-ever WSOP bracelet surrounded by his friends on the rail instead. 

WSOP Event #84 $600 Ultra Stack NLHE Final Table Results

Alsante Attacks Final of 8-Max 

Matthew Alsante won the $5,000-entry 8-Max NLHE Event #87 for a score of $785k as he became another first-time winner of the fabled WSOP gold bracelet.

In beating the popular high roller Punnat Punsri heads-up, Alsante not only claimed the top prize of $785,486, the biggest of his poker career but also triumphed against the crowd who were vocally behind Punsri. Instead, the lesser-known American won through at a final table where players such as Patrick Leonard (8th for $82,862) and Oleg Vasylchenko (4th for $268,407) fell short. 

WSOP Event #87: $5,000 8-Max NLHE Final Table Results

Two New Events Begin Day 1 Flights

Two Day 1 flights took place in other events on a very busy day at the felt at both Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. In Event #88, the $10,000-entry Eight Game Mixed Championship Jordan Siegel (336,500) ended play as the chip leader, with Mike Watson closest behind with 332,500. With 158 total entrants, 76 of those players survived to Day 2, including Yuri Dzivielevski (218,000), Viktor Blom (180,000) and Daniel Weinman (103,000).

Finally, Event #86 welcomed 2,582 entries on Day 1b of the $1,000-entry Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha event, with just 270 players making it to Day 2. Australian Najeem Ajez (1,454,000), Tyler Brown (1,239,000), Chance Kornuth (1,230,000), and James Carroll (1,230,000) all made the top 10, with Ryan Leng (780,000), Jake Schwartz (697,000), Leo Margets (508,000), Ryan Riess (445,000) and Bryce Yockey (328,000) all making the Day 2 cut.

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