Drinan Digs Up Gold and WSOP Reunion Thrives on Day 4
We’ve talked ad nauseum about the effects of the pandemic on the World Series of Poker. And don’t worry; we’ll keep doing that. A big topic of those conversations pertained to its effect on the turnout at this year’s WSOP in Las Vegas. Results thus far have been mixed, with tournaments underperforming at various levels, but this is not surprising considering global travel restrictions, economic woes, and a vaccine mandate for players at the WSOP.
Even so, the WSOP set a goal and intended to keep it. The first big tournament of the series was the Reunion, a welcoming of sorts for players after the 2020 live series had to be cancelled for the first time in more than 50 years of history. They kept a $5M guarantee on that prize pool.
And it worked. The final numbers exceeded that guarantee. Poker players came out in numbers that exceeded many people’s expectations.
That changes the narrative around the 2021 WSOP. The turnout for the entire series may just be greater than many predicted.
Let’s see what happened on Sunday.
Event 4: $500 The Reunion
When Day 1A delivered only 2,649 entries, they got a bit nervous. But when Day 1B added 4,455 entries to the mix, tension eased. The third and final starting day then blew the numbers out of the water with 5,871 entries, putting the total near 13,000. That pushed past the $5M guarantee and set the prize pool at just under $5.5M.
The numbers were a lot to handle, though, especially as some players already made the money. By the time the WSOP staff wrapped on Sunday night (or Monday morning), they had yet to release the final payout numbers. We’ll have those today.
Meanwhile, the surviving players from all three flights will gather today to play for escalating payouts. It is unclear if they will be able to find a final table today, but they will sure try.
| Event 4: Day 1C of 5 | $500 buy-in | NLHE Reunion (1 RE/flight) |
| Total entries: | 12975 | (Day 1A = 2,649 / Day 1B = 4,455 / Day 1C = 5,871) |
| Registration still open? | no | |
| Total prize pool: | $5,449,500 | |
| Players paid: | TBD | |
| Minimum payout: | TBD | |
| Winner payout: | TBD | |
| Chip leader: | Robert Brobyn | |
| Players remaining: | 619 | (Day 1A = 129 / Day 1B = 204 / Day 1C = 286) |
| Restart: | 10am Monday |
Event 5: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo
This first Omaha-8 event of the series ended on Sunday night. Fifteen players started the day with Connor Drinan in the chip lead. And it ended with Drinan claiming his second WSOP gold and denying Robert Mizrachi his fifth bracelet. The winning 32-year-old poker pro kept his comments to PokerNews brief:
“I just played my normal game and ran good.”
| Event 5: Day 3 of 3 | $1,500 buy-in | Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better |
| Total entries: | 607 | |
| Registration still open? | no | |
| Total prize pool: | $810,345.00 | |
| Players paid: | 92 | |
| Minimum payout: | $2,400.00 | |
| Final table results: | 1st place: | Connor Drinan (USA) $163,252 |
| 2nd place: | Travis Pearson (USA) $100,901 | |
| 3rd place: | Robert Mizrachi (USA) $71,602 | |
| 4th place: | Sandy Sanchez (USA) $51,590 | |
| 5th place: | Micah Brooks (USA) $37,750 | |
| 6th place: | Carl Lijewski (USA) $28,059 | |
| 7th place: | Kris Kwiatokowski (USA) $21,192 | |
| 8th place: | Curtis Phelps (USA) $16,266 | |
| 9th place: | Michael Moed (USA) $12,693 |
Boom! pic.twitter.com/yP7FnO0D1v
— Connor Drinan (@ConnorDrinan) October 4, 2021
Event 6: $25K NLHE High Roller
This tournament has been everything the average poker fan wants in a tournament: high-stakes poker, recognizable names, and players from various parts of the world. This event saw players like Sam Grafton, Dylan Linde, Galen Hall, Darren Elias, Jared Jaffee, and Jason Koon finish in the money. And for the third and final day, some big names remain in contention, with Adrian Mateos going for his fourth WSOP bracelet but coming in as the shortest stack. In addition, Italy and Spain join the US in the final five.
| Event 6: Day 2 of 3 | $25K buy-in | NLHE High Roller (1 RE) |
| Total entries: | 139 | |
| Registration still open? | no | |
| Total prize pool: | $3,283,875.00 | |
| Players paid: | 21 | |
| Minimum payout: | $41,493.00 | |
| Winner payout: | $833,289.00 | |
| Chip leader: | Tyler Cornell | Tyler Cornell = 7,455,000 |
| Players remaining: | 5 | Michael Liang = 5,140,000 |
| Restart: | 4pm Monday | Jonathan Jaffe = 3,650,000 |
| Mustapha Kanit = 2,630,000 | ||
| Adrian Mateos = 2,180,000 |
Event 7: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice
Dealer’s Choice puts the decisions in the hands of the players on the dealer button, with 20 games from which to choose. They can choose Hold’em or Omaha…or Badeucy or Big O. It takes some skilled dealers and players, all on their toes to take whatever might come their way. And a big crowd of folks bought in to take their shot.
| Event 7: Day 1 of 3 | $1,500 buy-in | Dealers Choice 6-Handed (1 RE) | Start: 3 Oct |
| Total entries: | 307 | ||
| Registration still open? | no | ||
| Total prize pool: | $409,845 | ||
| Players paid: | 47 | ||
| Minimum payout: | $2,400 | ||
| Winner payout: | $97,915 | ||
| Chip leader: | Nathan Gamble | ||
| Players remaining: | 88 | ||
| Restart: | 3pm Monday | ||
Event OB1: $5,300 NLHE Online
The 2021 WSOP consists of 88 bracelet-awarding poker tournaments live at the Rio and ten events online. They play out on WSOP.com for players located in Nevada and New Jersey, with those player pools combined. Players with $5K buy-ins available were ready to compete, even if doing so from their tables at the Rio. Quite a few players did both. But in the end, Martin Zamani won his second bracelet.
| Online OB Event 1 | $5,300 buy-in | NLHE Freezeout |
| Total entries: | 156 | |
| Total prize pool: | $780,000 | |
| Players paid: | 30 | |
| Minimum payout: | $7,098 | |
| Final table results: | 1st place: | Martin “Bathroomline” Zamani (USA) $210,600 |
| 2nd place: | Ankush “Rickrosstheb” Mandavia (USA) $122,850 | |
| 3rd place: | Brian “JackBogle” Altman (USA) $70,200 | |
| 4th place: | Calvin “projector52” Anderson (USA) $54,600 | |
| 5th place: | Daniel “spicoli24” Sepiol (USA) $46,800 | |
| 6th place: | Jason “EddieVedder” Koon (USA) $39,000 | |
| 7th place: | Joe “swansong79” Kuether (USA) $29,640 | |
| 8th place: | Alex “OrcinusOrca” Foxen (USA) $18,720 |
Event OB2: $500 Big 500 Online
A lower buy-in for online poker fans delivered in bigger numbers, and it played out through the night, not finishing until sunrise for those on the East Coast. We don’t yet know the real name of the winner in this one, but we know that player will receive a piece of WSOP gold.
| Online OB Event 2 | $500 buy-in | NLHE Big 500 (3 RE) |
| Total entries: | 742 | |
| Total prize pool: | $480,150 | |
| Players paid: | 167 | |
| Minimum payout: | $720 | |
| Final table results: | 1st place: | “NJ_AcesmarkA” (USA) $89,356 |
| 2nd place: | “Skullkid” (USA) $55,217 | |
| 3rd place: | “DrDonkitoff” (USA) $39,084 | |
| 4th place: | “SwaggyK” (USA) $28,041 | |
| 5th place: | Jeremy “Thekid101” Pekarek (USA) $20,358 | |
| 6th place: | Jesse “Patient0” Yaginuma (USA) $14,981 | |
| 7th place: | Melissa “LuckMgmt” Bryne (USA) $11,187 | |
| 8th place: | Giovanni “John7012” Balistreri (USA) $8,451 |
Some poker pros wasted no time in competing for as many bracelets as possible. For them, it meant playing online while also seated at a table at the Rio. This is poker dedication.
Still have exactly starting in the Dealers Choice and a double stack in the online 500 pic.twitter.com/QJKgRnxQEZ
— Bakes @ Bluesky now (@DMBakes) October 4, 2021
