Eveslage Aims for Back-to-Back Dealer's Choice Bracelets in Event #10: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship
A long day at the tables of the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas and the second Championship Event of the 2023 World Series of Poker is one step closer to crowning a winner. Out of a record-setting field of 130 entries, only 13 players remain in Event #10: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship, and they have all already secured a portion of the $1,209,000 prize pool.
Only two days ago, Chad Eveslage won his second WSOP bracelet in Event #5: $1,500 Dealer's Choice (6-Handed) and the mixed game specialist is in the driver's seat to add a third victory to his resume.
A repeat victory in this test of versatility with 20 different poker variants would further cement his status as one of the best mixed game specialists in the poker scene right now, and he would follow in the footsteps of Adam Friedman, who won the title in this very event in three consecutive editions.
Eveslage topped the leaderboard after Day 2 with 1,371,000 in chips and Trinidad's Ryan Goindoo (1,075,000) is the only other player with a seven-figure stack, followed by Marco Johnson (925,000) who sits in third place.
Nine of the thirteen remaining hopefuls already have at least one WSOP gold bracelet to their name, which also applies to Day 1 chip leader John Hennigan (519,000) and last year's runner-up Mike Gorodinsky (496,000).
The third and scheduled final day will recommence at 2 p.m. local time in the Paris Purple section with level 18. Limits in draw and stud games will be 20,000-40,000, and the levels continue to last 90 minutes each until a winner has been crowned.
Event #10: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship Day 3 Seat Draw
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 142 | 1 | John Hennigan | United States | 519,000 |
| 142 | 2 | Dutch Boyd | United States | 256,000 |
| 142 | 4 | Scott Bohlman | United States | 113,000 |
| 142 | 5 | James Obst | Australia | 250,000 |
| 142 | 6 | Paul Volpe | United States | 340,000 |
| 143 | 1 | Dustin Dirksen | United States | 442,000 |
| 143 | 3 | Jordan Siegel | United States | 858,000 |
| 143 | 5 | Marco Johnson | United States | 925,000 |
| 143 | 6 | Ryan Goindoo | Trinidad & Tobago | 1,075,000 |
| 144 | 1 | Chad Eveslage | United States | 1,371,000 |
| 144 | 3 | Zack Freeman | United States | 388,000 |
| 144 | 4 | Ari Engel | United States | 767,000 |
| 144 | 5 | Mike Gorodinsky | United States | 496,000 |
Defending champion Ben Diebold was among the 58 returning players and the field was boosted by another 16 late entrants, which surpassed the previous best attendance of 123 entries of the 2022 edition. However, Diebold bowed out in the first level to see his bid for a repeat victory come to an early end.
Daniel Negreanu and 16-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth were just two of many notables who failed to reach the money stages on a day that spanned more than 13 hours from start to finish. They were joined on the rail by Bryce Yockey, Erik Seidel, Brian Rast, Jeremy Ausmus, Frank Kassela, and Scott Seiver.
On the final four tables, second-placed Goindoo won the biggest pot of the tournament so far when he ousted Anthony Zinno in a clash of two wraps in PLO. He was also involved in another two extraordinary hands during the late stages when Sampo Ryynanen made quads jacks against him before Goindoo's premature exposure of a very strong hand in 2-7 Triple Draw led to a miraculous escape for Larry Tull.
Instead, it was Ben Yu who was eliminated on the bubble, and the casualties in the final two levels then whittled the field of hopefuls to all but the last 13. Eveslage navigated his way to the top of the leaderboard on the final stages and will certainly be full of confidence after his recent victory.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back as of 2 p.m. local time on Monday, June 5, 2023, when the hunt for the coveted WSOP gold bracelet is reaching its climax once more.