The 2022 World Series of Poker opens for action on Sunday with one of its “tentpole” tournaments coming together for the first time. Typical of multiple entry (and Day One) events, the COLOSSUS pumped the players through the door and to the tables; the survivors of the two-Day Ones will come together for the first time today. In other action, the difficult Nine-Game Mix tournament will head off into its Day Two waters.
2022 COLOSSUS Crushes 2021 Numbers
As you well know, the final Day One of a multiflight event is crammed full of players. This was true in particular for this year’s COLOSSUS. The Day 1B field allow the event to crush the overall numbers from 2021 and even topped the pre-pandemic performance of the tournament from 2019.
7704 entries were received on Day 1B which, along with the 5869 that came to the tables on Friday’s Day 1A, made for a total of 13,573 entries. In 2021, the tournament did not even crack the 10K mark (9399), while 2019’s total of 13,109 was eclipsed by this year’s event. The prize pool created nearly cracked the $2 million mark ($1,936,770).
As Day Two begins, 1689 players will be vying for the latest WSOP bracelet. These players, however, have the inside track to making a deep run in the 2022 COLOSSUS:
1. Kao ‘Flexx’ Saechao, 1.514 million
2. Mary Dvorkin, 1.388 million
3. Samuel Laskowitz, 1.297 million
4. Sahar Bakshi, 1.212 million
5. Charles Peppers, 1.19 million
Day Two is underway at Bally’s right now, with plans to whittle this field down as far as it will go for Day Three’s Championship Day.
David Bach Leads Final 25 in Nine-Game Mix
Event #52, the $2500 Six Handed Nine-Game Mix tournament, has reached its penultimate day with 25 survivors from the original 456 in the field. Leading the way towards the championship on Sunday is three-time WSOP bracelet winner David Bach, who eked into the lead over Nick Guagenti before the end of action on Saturday night. The field is chocked full of top professionals in this incredibly difficult discipline of poker, and they are relatively close in the standings.
Daniel Negreanu, after his tirade in the $250K Super High Roller, has composed himself to be in the Top Ten heading into Sunday’s play. He is joined by Scott Bohlman, Scott Seiver, Andre Akkari, and a short-stacked Phil Hellmuth in the final gang. Hellmuth, with his 124,000 in chips, is going to need immediate help if he is to make a run at the final table.
1. David Bach, 1.591 million
2. Nick Guagenti, 1.584 million
3. Mike Gorodinsky, 1.546 million
4. Sampo Ryynanen, 1.008 million
5. Warwick Mirzikinian, 1 million
Trio of Tournaments Open Play, Including PPC
Three events will kick off action on Sunday, including one of the most prestigious titles in the poker world.
First up is an event with a charitable element to it. The $500 Salute to Warriors No Limit Hold’em tournament will award a WSOP bracelet to its players, but the real winners are the United Service Organization (USO) and various military charities. $40 of each entry into the tournament will be donated to these causes to support the military and their families.
The $1000 Tag Team Tournament is also set to start on Sunday. In this event, two or more players can partner together and play one stack (one player at a time, of course). In 2021, this event drew in 641 teams for action, with Mike Ruter and Sam Dighlawi partnering up to take the title over Tomer Wolf and David Lander.
Finally, one of the crown jewels of the poker world will start this afternoon. The $50,000 Poker Players’ Championship, which is the descendant of the original $50K H.O.R.S.E. event, will look to crown its latest champion. Victors in this tournament are normally recognized at the minimum as the most versatile poker player in the world for their skills in a multiple discipline format. 63 players came out in 2021 for this event, with Daniel Cates “breaking his duck” in taking home the Chip Reese Trophy, the WSOP bracelet, and nearly a million in earnings.
Along with the online WSOP for this weekend on the schedule, the $600 Deepstacks championship, it is going to be another busy day for the 2022 WSOP.