A stacked $5k Mix Max No-Limit Hold'em field, our esclusive "Follow the Chips" coverage and the kickoff of yet another bracelet chase also highlighted another busy day at the Rio in Las Vegas.
Negreanu Makes Pot-Limit Holdem Final Table
After early busts in his first few events, Daniel Negreanu put things together yesterday in Event 5, $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em, and is in position to make a run at bracelet #5.
Staying near the top of the pack for most of the day, Negreanu held on to make the final nine as they head into play today.
He'll start the day sixth overall with 212,000 in chips - well back of chip leader Bryan Pellegrino with 790,000, but still stacked enough to make a move.
Negreanu's last bracelet came in 2008, also in a Limit Hold'em event.
Notables joining Negreanu and Pellegrino at the final table are pros Jonathan "FatalError" Aguiar (552,000), Tommy Vedes (247,000) and John Eames (181,000).
Action resumes at 2 pm from the Rio with live streaming available at WSOP.com.
Final Nine and Chip Counts:
1. Bryan Pellegrino 790,0002. Jonathan Aguiar 552,0003. Keanu Taball 309,0004. Nick Jivkov 281,0005. Tommy Vedes 247,0006. Daniel Negreanu 212,0007. Brant Hale 211,0008. John Eames 181,0009. Mike Allis 86,000Cory Zeidman Wins First Bracelet in $1,500 Stud Hi-Lo
He made the final table in this event last year and came up short, but this time long-time pro Cory Zeidman sealed the deal and won his first WSOP bracelet.
Zeidman topped a tough final table that included Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, Todd Brunson, Xuan Liu and Chris Bjorin to earn $201,559 and the coveted gold hardware.
Rising star Liu was a surprise contender at the final table as she's known more as a No-Limit Holdem grinder but she fell in sixth place for $29,985.
In the end her inexperience with the game may have cost her as a misread lost her a big pot shortly before her demise.
Brunson, an excellent all around player, came into the final table too short stacked to make a challenge and busted in seventh, shortly before Liu.
Swede Bjorin, a two-time bracelet winner, gave Zeidman the toughest battle with a drawn-out heads-up match but eventually fell in second.
Final Results and Payouts:
1. Cory Zeidman $201,5592. Chris Bjorin $124,8383. Brandon Shack-Harris $84,4154. Yarron Bendor $58,5185. Michael Mizrachi $41.4476. Xuan Liu $29,9857. Todd Brunson $22,4128. Bonnie Rossi $16,684Tehan, Jones and Rettenmaier Lead Stacked $5k Mix Max into Day 2
As expected the field for Event #6, $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Mix Max, was stacked to the rafters with top-end pros.
Over 400 players started the day but just over 100 survived to make Day 2 with pro Joe Tehan bagging the biggest stack with 219,200.
Right behind Tehan are Leggo Poker caoch Aaron Jones in second with 167,100 and Party Poker pro Marvin Rettenmaier, fresh from his $25k WPT Championship win last week, in third with 166,500.
Veteran pros Gavin Smith (138,600), Bryce Yockey (110,500) and online high-stakes regular Ben "Ben86" Tollerene (98,000) are also in the top 10.
The field behind them is no less stacked with big-name pros Brian Rast, Eugene Katchalov, Olivier Busquet, Eric Froehlich and Shaun Deeb all still in contention.
Froehlich, featured in our "Follow the Chips" coverage yesterday, will return with 73,900 in chips and the eyes of our live coverage team on him again.
Action resumes at 1 pm from the Amazon Room at the Rio with play going six-handed today.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com