China's Yingui Li Leads 19 Players to Final Day of $25,000 High Roller
Event #26: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) is one of the most prestigious tournaments on the 2024 World Series of Poker schedule, so it came as no surprise that the cream of the crop of the poker world headlined Day 2 of the event.
When late registration closed after the first level of play today, 318 entries were recorded at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, a slight increase from the 301 entries that the event saw in 2023, thus setting a new record and creating a prize pool of $7,473,000. Of those 318, only 19 players survived the onslaught of the bubble-bursting day, moving on to the third and final day of the tournament.
Bagging the biggest stack at the end of the night was Yingui Li. With a stack of 5,600,000, he was the only one who managed to cross the five-million mark, bringing 70 big blinds into Day 3.
The Chinese player had a breakout year at the WSOP in 2023, securing second place in the $1,500 Badugi and third place in the $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. events. Seemingly not having slowed down this year, Li will be looking to make his third WSOP final table and win his first golden bracelet in the $25,000 High Roller.
Trailing Li closest on the leaderboard is David Stamm, with a stack of 4,955,000. Stamm's best placing at a WSOP event is his ninth-place finish in the $1,500 Badugi event this year, but he is no stranger to high rollers, having made numerous final tables in five-figure buy-in events.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yingui Li | China | 5,600,000 | 70 |
| 2 | David Stamm | United States | 4,955,000 | 62 |
| 3 | Andrew Ostapchenko | United States | 4,215,000 | 53 |
| 4 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 3,510,000 | 44 |
| 5 | Roberto Perez | Spain | 3,185,000 | 40 |
| 6 | Chongxian Yang | China | 2,885,000 | 36 |
| 7 | Samuel Laskowitz | United States | 2,885,000 | 36 |
| 8 | Nick Schulman | United States | 2,815,000 | 35 |
| 9 | Krasimir Yankov | Bulgaria | 2,545,000 | 32 |
| 10 | Jared Bleznick | United States | 2,425,000 | 30 |
Also on the podium is Andrew Ostapchenko, with a bag filled with 4,215,000 chips. Ostopchenko may be best known for his 33rd-place finish at the 2017 WSOP Main Event and will be looking for another six-figure payday. Meanwhile, bracelet collectors Shaun Deeb (3,510,000) and Nick Schulman (2,815,000) also find themselves in the top ten counts.
Other notable names making it through to the finale are bracelet winners and high-roller regulars Ben Heath (1,490,000), Dan Smith (1,050,000), and Joey Weissman, the latter of which bagged up the shortest stack with 680,000 chips, good for less than nine big blinds at the start of Day 3. Meanwhile, $25K Fantasy League picks Dario Sammartino and Philip Sternheimer are also still in contention.
Day 2 Action
The day started with late registration still open for one level, and many notable players sat down with a fresh starting stack. Among them were Dylan Weisman, Yuri Dzivielevski, Chris Moorman, and Joao Vieira, but they all failed to make it to the 48 paid spots.
Also falling short of the money were Hall of Famers Erik Seidel and Daniel Negreanu, as well as the likes of Chad Eveslage, Jason Mercier, and Maria Ho. Eventually, Andy Wilson and Sam Soverel were eliminated at the same time on the bubble, leaving the other 48 players in the money.
Once there, Eric Wasserson was the first to pick up the min-cash of $50,637, and he was soon followed by no-limit hold'em crushers Bryn Kenney, Justin Bonomo, and Chance Kornuth. Espen Jorstad, Alexandre Reard, and Boris Kolev all picked up one pay jump but missed out on the final three tables.
At the final three tables, Ihar Soika and Manuel Fritz said their goodbyes before poker legend Phil Ivey got his aces cracked in a preflop all in to finish in 22nd place in yet another deep run at the 2024 WSOP. Dan Sepiol and Selahaddin Bedir were the final eliminations of the night before the remaining 19 players bagged up to return on Day 3.
They have all locked up at least $62,737, but all eyes will be on the massive top prize of $1,667,842 and the accompanying WSOP bracelet.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $1,667,842 |
| 2 | $1,111,897 |
| 3 | $760,083 |
| 4 | $529,833 |
| 5 | $376,762 |
| 6 | $273,414 |
| 7 | $202,574 |
| 8 | $153,302 |
| 9 | $118,552 |
| 10-11 | $93,730 |
| 12-15 | $75,801 |
| 16-19 | $62,737 |
The action will resume tomorrow, June 11, at noon local time. The tournament will resume at Level 19, with blinds of 40,000/80,000 and an 80,000 big blind ante. All levels will remain 60 minutes in length and the event is scheduled to play down to a winner.
Make sure to return to PokerNews to find out how the $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) concludes and who will capture the coveted golden bracelet.