Brunson had been on the fence about playing the event earlier in the week and even Tweeted he was skipping it altogether at one point.
At last minute the living poker legend decided he would play and even survived Day 1c with 80,000 chips.
While this may be one of the last Main Events that Brunson plays, the torch was figuratively passed to Swedish sensation Blom who made his first appearance in the historic tournament.
As you might expect, the King of Swing had a rollercoaster of a day that eventually saw him finish with over 100,000 chips.
Outside of Brunson and Blom, the big news was the final attendance numbers for the 2012 Main Event.
In total 3,418 players backed into the Rio on Day 1c to bring the overall list of registered players up to 6,598.
That’s down 267 players from last year but considering the state of the global economy, the WSOP will probably take it.
This year the overall prizepool hit $62 million with $8.5 million dedicated to first place. A devilish 666 players will get paid in the tournament.
Numerous Pros on Hand Including Ivey, Mizrachi
The big names were out in full-force today with Michael Mizrachi, Sorel Mizzi, Chris Moorman, Antonio Esfandiari, Matt Marafioti, Gus Hansen, Daniel Alaei, Jason Alexander and Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh all taking to the felt.
Phil Ivey finally made his highly anticipated return to the WSOP Main Event after skipping last year. Ivey had a less-than-stellar day and ended with around 10,000 chips.
Thor Hansen, who is battling terminal cancer, made an inspirational journey to Las Vegas to play Day 1c. The entire room was thrilled to have the Norwegian poker legend in the room but he eventually busted before the day concluded.
Hansen had plenty of company on the rail as Annette Obrestad, Brad Booth, Jonathan Little, Jonathan Duhamel, Chris Moneymaker, Xuan Liu and Tony Hachem all busted.
Meanwhile the lesser-known Randy Haddox established himself as the unofficial chip leader with 188,275. Brandon Adams, Jake Cody and Sorel Mizzi are also amongst the chip leaders.
All the survivors from today are finished until Wednesday when they will return for Day 2c.
Tomorrow survivors from Days 1a and 1b will play Day 2a and Day 2b in separate sections of the Rio tomorrow.
Suffice to say, it should be interesting. Join us at 12 p.m. for more action straight from Las Vegas.
For all the action from the WSOP in Las Vegas click through to our 2012 World Series of Poker Live Coverage section, brought to you by 888poker.com.
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