Kulev Among Day 2 Chipleaders in Event #39: $50,000 High Roller No Limit Hold'em
Alex Kulev is no stranger to high roller success, with his one World Series of Poker bracelet coming in 2023 in a $50,000 buy-in for a career best score of $2,087,073. Now, he has put himself in a good position to make a run at another high roller bracelet in Event #39: $50,000 High Roller No Limit Hold'em at the 2024 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas as he comes into Day 2 fourth in chips on a stack of 1,358,000
Currently leading the field of 68 returning players from a total of 134 entries is Masashi Oya, who managed to spin his 300,000 starting stack up to 1,570,000. He is only slightly ahead of Germany's Marius Gierse (1,516,000) while Dutchman Johannes Straver (1,467,000) rounds out the top three.
Other notable players who managed to find a bag and return for the second day include Nacho Barbero (948,000), eleven time bracelet winner Phil Ivey (888,000) and Hall of Famer John Hennigan (641,000). All will be looking to add to their existing bracelet collections.
End of Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Masashi Oya | Japan | 1,570,000 | 131 |
| 2 | Marius Gierse | Germany | 1,516,000 | 126 |
| 3 | Johannes Straver | Netherlands | 1,467,000 | 122 |
| 4 | Alex Kulev | Bulgaria | 1,358,000 | 113 |
| 5 | James Chen | Taiwan | 1,120,000 | 93 |
| 6 | Artur Martirosian | Russian Federation | 1,015,000 | 85 |
| 7 | Philip Sternheimer | United Kingdom | 965,000 | 80 |
| 8 | Nacho Barbero | Argentina | 948,000 | 79 |
| 9 | Brandon Wilson | United States | 945,000 | 79 |
| 10 | Sergio Aido | Spain | 937,000 | 78 |
This event has already surpassed the 2023 edition in terms of entry numbers but with late registration open for another two hours of play until the end of Level 10, expect that number to grow even more. Several well known players with short stacks, such as Kahle Burns (110,000) and Justin Bonomo (79,000), may need to make use of their single reentry before then in addition to anyone who chooses to adopt a "max-late-reg" approach to tournament poker.
The plan for Day 2 is to get through ten 60-minute levels with an hour long dinner break after Level 14 before the survivors bag up for the third and final day. Play resumes at 12 p.m. local time in the Horseshoe Event Center in Level 9 at blinds of 6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 big blind ante.
To follow along all the excitement of poker's elite battling it out for WSOP gold, be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews as its live reporting team provides updates throughout Event #39: $50,000 High Roller No Limit Hold'em.