WSOP Day 30 Recap: Leonard and Jørstad wins Debut Gold, Jungleman Leads Final Five in Poker Players Championship

A great day of action in the 2022 World Series of Poker saw nine events take place and a very dramatic ending to the Tag Team event award two first-time winners take gold in the Thunderdome. With the action playing out not only in the Bally’s and Paris cardrooms, but the PokerGO Studio inside the WSOP too, there was action at every table as the $50,000 Poker Players Championship reached its final table of five players too.  

Leonard and Jørstad Outlast Kerstetter and Paggeot in Tag Team Event

British poker legend Patrick Leonard and his playing partner Espen Jørstad conquered Jamie Kerstetter and her partner Corey Paggeot at the death in an amazing final table. With the drinks flowing and players on all sides supported by a friendly rail in the Thunderdome, the two highest-profile teams ended up meeting each other in a battle for the bracelet to end the event.

After early eliminations for former chip leader Mackenzie Kraemer and Jon Schiller in fifth place and a resurgent Leonard and Jørstad rocketing up the leaderboard, it was eventually down to the British and Norwegian combination as they took on the massive chip leaders at the table, PokerGO commentator and poker great Jamie Kerstetter and Corey Paggeot, who had an almost 6:1 chip lead.

Despite their lead, Kerstetter and Paggeot would lose the chance of winning gold as a thrilling final hand played out. You can watch all the action from a final table played in a fantastic atmosphere on PokerGO right here.

Lawrence Brandt Wins First Bracelet in PLO Event

A fast-paced day saw Event #58, the $1,500-entry PLO Hi-Lo event close out in style as Lawrence Brandt won his first WSOP bracelet after beating Corey Wade to the gold heads-up, winning the $289,610 top prize in the process. A day of drama saw 14 players reduced to a winner as previous bracelet winner Jerry Odeen from Sweden fell short in eighth place as he became the first player to lose his seat at the final table.

Once he had left, seven Americans fought for the title and the most experienced of them, Jared Jaffee, busted in fifth for $70,877 as he outlasted the other most well-known player at the final table felt, Jacob Ferro who finished sixth for $53,288. After the overnight chip leader, Richard Crooks, had busted fourth place, the heads-up battle would eventually go Brandt’s way when he came back from a 2:1 chip deficit to claim victory and long-awaited gold.

Cates Going for Back-to-Back Titles in Poker Players Championship

Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates is going for his second successive title in the $50,000-entry Poker Players Championship tomorrow live on PokerGO after he bagged the biggest stack on Day 4 of the popular WSOP event. It’s the one they all want to win, but with 13 players reduced to just five on the penultimate day, there is a chance that Cates could win his second WSOP bracelet by taking down the tournament he won exactly nine months ago.

Early on during Day 4, Matthew Gonzales busted in unlucky 13^th place as play went to two tables and would battle down to five in that manner. Not long after, former WSOP Player of the Year runner-up John Racener lost out to overnight chip leader Yuroi Dzivielevski to bust next.

Soon, the bust-outs of Philip Sternheimer, Lou Garza and the 2022 WSOP Player of the Year challenger Daniel Weinman saw just eight players remaining. Cates was building momentum as he busted the dangerous mixed game specialist and former 2013 PPC champion Matt Ashton to take players to the same felt and the unofficial final table.

With only two players needing to bust, it might have looked almost over, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Four hours of action played out as players survived time and time again, with chips changing hands so frequently no-one could be pronounced confidently as the leader for long.  

In the end, however, one man stepped through the gears and in a single hand took out two players and grabbed the lead. Cates is a poker phenomenon, a unique player who loves fancy dress, creating weirdly compelling videos and playing a style that is inimitable. In a single hand of PLO, he busted both Taylor Paur and last year’s WSOP Main Event winner Koray Aldemir, giving us a final five and a narrative of a champion who will be more determined than ever to win... in his own way.

Van Fleet Chasing Glory in Deepstack Event

A busy day’s play in Event #57, the $600-entry Deepstack NLHE Event, saw Alex Jim (36,300,000) take a strong lead into the final day where seven players will battle for glory. He is well ahead of the nearest challenger to his lead but that man is the online phenom Jon Van Fleet (32,800,000) who has over $20 million in online winnings and will be looking to seal his first bracelet just like everyone else at the final table.

A final table of 10 players saw fast action at the close of play reduce the field to just seven, but before that took place, there were bust-outs for four-time WSOP bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus (15^th for $14,119) and Main Event finalist and British pro Nick Marchington (16^th for the same amount). When yesterday’s chip leader John Ypma busted in ninth for $28,129, Tamir Saidman was taken out in eighth place for $35,964 as his pocket jacks lost to Abdullah Alshanti's ace-king, setting the final table in place.

With two Americans at the forefront of the leaderboard, the short stacks of Frank Reichel (13,000,000), Daniel Marcus (10,600,000) and Tamas Lendvai (7,800,000) will be all be hoping they can spin up their stacks as the final table begins on Thursday.

Schuler Leads Super Seniors with 87 Remaining

A frantic day of action in Event #59, the $1,000-entry Super Seniors Championship, saw 727 players reduced to just 87 by the close of play, with five American players topping the five places with the most chips. It is Robert Schuler (2,100,000) who has the chip lead from Massoud Eskandani (1,860,000) and Alfred Ahlm (1,780,000) in the top three places, while British poker hero Barny Boatman (1,165,000) is well placed to make a run at winning what would be his third WSOP bracelet.

Elsewhere in the chipcounts, reigning event winner Jean-Luc Adam (750,000) is well above the average stack, while Day 1 leader Angelita Grayer (560,000), Elizabeth Bennett-Martin (1,050,000) and Leo Mitchell (1,370,000) all survived to battle anther day too. Tomorrow will see the remaining field play down to the final five as things stand, but don’t be surprised if they press on to find a winner.

Five Left in Race to Short Deck Title

A fun time was had by most in the 60^th event of the 2022 World Series of Poker, as 46 players were whittled down to five top-quality final table players in the $10,000-entry Short Deck Championship. There were early exits for players such as WSOP POY leader Daniel Zack, 10-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey, WPT and WSOP winner Chance Kornuth, David Williams and Sam Soverel as the money bubble burst after they had left the event for no profit.

One player who did make money was Daniel Negreanu, who cashed for $16,449 in 15^th place after Ryan Riess had busted in 16^th for the same amount. Chino Rheem (14^th) and Elior Sion (9^th) were other bracelet event winners to bust out before played closed for the day, and just five made the final.

Shota Nakanishi bagged the chip lead with over 2.5 million, but the Short Deck player from Japan who has logged thousands of hours playing the game online will have massive competition in the form of four of the best players at any poker table. Stephen Chidwick (1,423,000), Ben Lamb (1,207,000), Brian Rast (855,000) and Sean Winter (553,000) will each want to grow their stacks but will all bring huge live experience to the table on the final day.

Ladies Event Sees Andrews and Van Brabander both in Top 10

A huge day of action in the $1,000-entry Ladies Event saw a field of 1,074 entrants reduced to 274 survivors as Gargee Sharma bagged the chip lead with 419,000 chips by the close of play. With Cherish Andrews ahead for much of the day, the U.S. player totalled 363,000 as chips were sealed for the evening, with others such as Charlotte Van Brabander (228,000) making the top 10.

Others to make Day 2 in good chip health included Maria Konnikova (153,000) and WSOP event runner-up Kerryjane Craigie (127,500) both of whom were among the top 50 players. On a busy day that saw 800 bust-outs, luminaries such as Amanda Botfield, Sasha Liu, Ana Marquez, Dehlia de Jong, Rosalie Petit, Kelly Minkin, Kristy Moreno, Ashley Sleeth, Kyna England, Loni Hui, Allyn Schulman, Farah Galfond, Kristen Foxen, JJ Liu and Event #1 winner Katie Kopp all left the tournament on the opening day.

Arieh Among Big Stacks in Defense of PLO Crown

A busy field in the 63^rd event of the 2022 WSOP brought action to a close as Ryan Hughes (407,000) piled up the biggest chip mountain in the $10,000-entry PLO 8 or Better Championship on Wednesday night. Day 1 was a thriller and saw Andrew Brown (380,000) and Sterling Savill (342,500) both amount podium-placed stacks, with Chino Rheem not far behind on 331,500 chips.

Elsewhere, big names hover, with Chance Kornuth (273,500), Amnon Filippi (247,500), Daniel Negreanu (191,500), Brian Hastings (177,500) and defending champion Josh Arieh (189,000) all bagging above-average stacks.

Others weren’t so fortunate with friends Phil Hellmuth and Mike Matusow both heading home, with Danny Chang and Talal Shakerchi both sliding out of contention too.

Super Turbo Day 1 Ends with 20 in Seats

A bumper crowd of 2,569 players took to the felt in Event #62, the Super Turbo Bounty event, with U.S. player John Bredengerd (8,500,000) building the biggest stack on the day. With other strong performances from top 10 players Shaun Colquohoun (5,500,000) and Romain Guilbert (2,875,000) among others, only one bracelet winner remains in the field and that is the short stack of the 20, Dash Dudley (725,000), who will return to play with just four big blinds to his name.

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