WSOP Day 14 Recap: Jason Simon Becomes Gladiator Champion, Erik Seidel on Course for Glory

The 14^th day of action in this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) saw High Roller hijinks, a Gladiator crowned in the Thunderdome after their final duel and a heads-up clash paused as the night concluded. Meanwhile, in Omaha Hi-Lo, a nine-time World Series winner and poker legend rose to the top of the leaderboard in his battle to reach poker immortality.

Mateos the Matador in High Roller Field

Adrian Mateos is in prime position to win his fifth WSOP bracelet before turning 29 as he has taken the lead into Day 2 of the $100,000-entry High Roller Event #29. With Chris Hunichen only a few chips behind him, Mateos’ stack of 3,650,000 is not unassailable but it stands him in good stead for ‘money day’ tomorrow, where the remaining 35 players from 79 entries will play through the money bubble and push into profit.

Also likely to achieve that are the rest of the top five on the leaderboard, with Chance Kornuth (3,375,000), 2022 world champion Espen Jorstad (2,200,000) and perennial poker end boss Jeremy Ausmus (2,190,000) looking a formidable pack of chip leaders to chase down.

Hoping to do exactly that will be stars of the felt such as 2021 world champion Koray Aldemir (1.8m), all-time money list leader Justin Bonomo (1,795,000) and Brian Rast (1,520,000), while others such as Daniel Negreanu, Sergio Aido, Phil Ivey, Kristen Foxen, Chad Eveslage, Darren Elias, Galen Hall, and Jason Koon all lost their stacks on Day 1.

Jason Simon Wins Gladiators of Poker Event for Half a Million Dollars

When the sand settled and the final brutal elimination had played out, it was Jason Simon who sat, stunned, at the felt. He had just conquered the Gladiators of Poker Event, the 18^th event of the 54^th annual WSOP, and in doing so won just under half a million dollars in the process.

The final table was one for the books as it played out on PokerGO for fans around the world. Eric Trexler, a colorful character the like of which the WSOP always needs, was in command, but as he lost momentum, Jason Simon stepped into that gap. Simon took out Trexler’s nemesis Wade Wallace and from there, scalped Wesley Cannon too.

That gave Simon a dominant chip lead of almost 4:1 and he put that to good use, seeing it out in style to claim his first-ever gold WSOP bracelet and life-changing money for a $300 buy-in event.

Ben Lamb and Erik Seidel on Collision Course in Omaha Championship

An exciting penultimate day of action in the $10,000 buy-in Omaha Hi-Lo Championship saw Ben Lamb (2,545,000) lead the final seven into the final day, closely followed by legends of the game. With Mexican player Luis Velador in second place on the overnight leaderboard with 2,390,000 chips, it is the presence of true poker royalty in third that has made the headlines.

Erik Seidel (2,360,000) is poised to win his 10^th WSOP bracelet if he can overcome six opponents and seal victory. That would put him behind only Phil Hellmuth in WSOP bracelets and would be his first live bracelet win in 16 years.

Elsewhere in the chipcounts, Brad Ruben (2,005,000) is the only other player above two million chips, but the experience of the other players, namely Robert Yass (1,375,000), Johannes Becker (1,090,000), and James Chen (985,000) means that the final day will be anything but easy.

On an exciting day at the felt, John Hennigan managed to joke with Ben Lamb about taking a swap pre-game, but the last laugh went to Lamb. He topped the leaderboard and Hennigan crashed out in 13^th place for $26,662, before Kyle Cartwright (12^th) and David Williams (11^th) exited before the final table was set.

Elsby and Mao Locked in Final Battle

The proposed final day of Event #26, the $800 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Deepstack event saw just two men remain at the close of action, with Matthew Elsby (118.9 million) and Renji Mao (71.1m) both battling it out for the bracelet. Earlier at the final table, JJ Liu busted in 4th place for $140,442 as Elsby and Mao moved towards what will be an exciting conclusion to the event tomorrow lunchtime.

Chad Campbell Leads Final 21 in Eight Game Mix

Chad Campbell ended the penultimate day of the Event #21 Eight Game Mix field in the lead. Building a stack of 1,991,000 chips, Campbell leads from Daniel Strelitz (1,793,000) and Aloisio Dourado (1,705,000) at the top of the chipcounts, with Shaun Deeb in the top 10 on 868,000 chips. Elsewhere, Robert Mizrachi will look to win his fifth WSOP bracelet after concluding the day in the top five.

‘TayPaur’ Near the Top in Freezeout Event

Hao Zhau (970,000) leads the way, but Taylor Paur (876,000) is hot on their heels in the $1,500-entry NLHE Freezeout Event #28 on the schedule. With 2,046 players taking part, just 188 payers remain chasing down the top prize of $406,403. Also high up in the counts is the popular and entertaining Italian player Mustapha Kanit on 437,000, with the Poker Players Championship runner-up from 2022 Ryan Leng ending the day with 562,000 chips.

Gola on Target in Triple Draw

Finally, in Event #30, the seventh event of the day, Jason Gola topped the leaderboard of 166 survivors from 522 entries as he piled up a stack of 221,500 chips. Behind him in the top ten, stars such as John Monnette (189,000), Alex Epstein (182,500), Daniel Vargas (171,000) and David Funkhouser (163,500) totalled up some impressive chip stacks, with other luminaries such as four-time WSOP bracelet winner Benny Glaser (126,500), Allen ‘Chainsaw’ Kessler (112,000) and Ryan DePaulo (106,000) all ending Day 1 in the top 40.

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