Deeb and Julia Earn WSOP Hardware on Day 31
Saturday was a busy day at the Rio Convention Center. Day 31 of the 2021 World Series of Poker brought 150 players back to the tables of the Seniors Championship and many thousands of new players to the Colossus.
After two days of no events playing to their conclusions, two tournaments did just that on Saturday. One saw Nicholas Julia pick up his first piece of WSOP gold in bracelet form, and Shaun Deeb worked diligently to earn the fifth of his career.
It will only get more exciting today, as the Super Seniors, Tag Team, and Poker Players Championship all get underway. But first, let’s recap Day 31’s action.
Event 52: $1K Seniors NLHE Championship
Nearly 150 players started Saturday with chips. The vast majority of them visited the payout cage throughout the day, but there were 16 who held on to play another day. They’re all guaranteed at least $24,460 for their work, but every single one of them will be gunning for their very first WSOP bracelet.
| Event 52: Day 3 of 5 | $1K buy-in | Seniors NLHE Championship (1RE) |
| Total entries: | 5,404 | |
| Registration still open? | no | |
| Total prize pool: | $4,809,560 | |
| Players paid: | 811 | |
| Minimum payout: | $1,601 | |
| Winner payout: | $561,060 | |
| Chip leader: | Christopher Cummings | |
| Players remaining: | 16 | |
| Restart: | 10am Sunday |
Event 53: $25K PLO High Roller
Five players returned to this event on Saturday to play for the win. Ka Kwan Lau had the original chip lead, with Shaun Deeb holding only a third of that stack but with eyes on his fifth bracelet. But Deeb eliminated the only shorter stack to kick off the day, then eliminated another and made it to heads-up play with the chip lead. Ka Kwan Lau fought back, but Deeb dusted him in less than an hour to claim his first gold of 2021. He told PokerNews about his momentum:
“Now I’m gonna start multi-tabling. I really took it easy. For the rest of the year, you’re gonna see me firing pretty hard, so it’s gonna be a battle.”
| Event 53: Day 4 of 4 | $25K buy-in | PLO High Roller (1RE) |
| Total entries: | 212 | |
| Total prize pool: | $5,008,500 | |
| Players paid: | 32 | |
| Minimum payout: | $40,966 | |
| Final table results: | 1st place: | Shaun Deeb (USA) $1,251,860 |
| 2nd place: | Ka Kwan Lau (Hong Kong) $773,708 | |
| 3rd place: | John Beauprez (USA) $537,295 | |
| 4th place: | Maxx Coleman (USA) $381,394 | |
| 5th place: | Veselin Karakitukov (Bulgaria) $276,870 | |
| 6th place: | David Benyamine (France) $205,655 | |
| 7th place: | Ben Lamb (USA) $156,387 | |
| 8th place: | Charles Sinn (USA) $121,816 |
Many nice guys winning @WSOP Bracelets: the poker community feels like it is filled w good people, and is tighter than ever…Today @shaundeeb won PLOmaha and does NOT consider himself a nice guy! But, let’s examine: he’s honorable, honest, and well liked by most. Congrats Shaun! pic.twitter.com/jBFv7NIIHS
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) October 31, 2021
Event 54: $2,500 Nine-Game Mix 6-Handed
Nicholas Julia brought a chip lead into the final day of this nine-game mix, hoping to turn it into his first gold bracelet. But he had some big names eyeing his chips like Joe Hachem, John Racener, Robert Mizrachi, and Justin Liberto. Julia took the chip lead into heads-up play as well, though, and brought it all the way to the winner’s circle. The recreational player has worked for this win for years and commented to PokerNews about the support he received:
“Amazing! Everybody’s sweating: the wife, Suzanne, all these guys from Arizona. I literally have a hundred people texting me. We’re gonna have a great time!”
| Event 54: Day 3 of 3 | $2,500 buy-in | Nine-Game Mix 6-Handed |
| Total entries: | 319 | |
| Total prize pool: | $709,775 | |
| Players paid: | 48 | |
| Minimum payout: | $4,064 | |
| Final table results: | 1st place: | Nicholas Julia (USA) $168,608 |
| 2nd place: | Kristan Lord (USA) $104,210 | |
| 3rd place: | Justin Liberto (USA) $69,341 | |
| 4th place: | Aditya Prasetyo (USA) $47,164 | |
| 5th place: | Robert McLaughlin (USA) $32,808 | |
| 6th place: | Robert Mizrachi (USA) $23,352 |
Nicholas Julia tops 319 entries in the $2,500 Nine-Game Mix Six Max to win his first WSOP bracelet and $168,608.
📸 Rachel Millerhttps://t.co/M9QorGSECa pic.twitter.com/pWZ1hvQXKG
— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) October 31, 2021
Event 55: $400 NLHE Colossus
The first of the two flights of this massive tournament brought in more than 4,200 entries and guaranteed the top 632 of them a payout. The second and final tarting day delivered more than 5,100 additional entries with 778 of them making the money. They don’t know how much money that will be yet, though, because the prize pool is not yet final.
When all of the dust settled, this event did show 9,399 entries. While that seems impressive – and it is, all things considered – it doesn’t match up to the 13,109 entries of 2019.
Day 2 will bring all of the survivors together and play deeper into the money. There is a way to go before a final table appears, but the action will condense greatly on the tournament’s official Day 2.
| Event 55: Day 1B of 4 | $400 buy-in | Colossus NLHE (1RE/flight) |
| Total entries: | 9,399 | |
| Registration still open? | no | |
| Total prize pool: | TBD | |
| Players paid: | TBD | |
| Minimum payout: | TBD | |
| Winner payout: | TBD | |
| Chip leader: | Frank Flowers | |
| Players remaining: | 1181 | |
| Restart: | 10am Sunday |
Event 56: $10K NLHE 6-Handed Championship
More than 300 players started this championship-level event, but only 136 of them started Day 2. That number then dwindled to just 19 by the end of it. When they return on Sunday, Bulgarian Boris Kolev will have the lead but will also face players like Asi Moshe, Matt Berkey, Ben Yu, Mike Sowers, JJ Liu, and am Grafton. It will be a fight to the finish as they play for the win.
| Event 56: Day 2 of 3 | $10K buy-in | NLHE 6-Handed Championship |
| Total entries: | 329 | |
| Registration still open? | no | |
| Total prize pool: | $3,067,925 | |
| Players paid: | 50 | |
| Minimum payout: | $16,098 | |
| Winner payout: | $721,453 | |
| Chip leader: | Boris Kolev | |
| Players remaining: | 19 | |
| Restart: | 2pm Sunday |
Event 57: $10K Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship
Another championship-level event, this one brought in a much smaller crowd, with only 80 players in action. One of them was Shaun Deeb, who entered directly after winning a bracelet earlier in the evening. Nearly three dozen players bagged chips at the end of the night, with longtime pro Danny Wong at the top of the leaderboard. Deeb and Nathan Gamble also made the top five, but others like Phil Hellmuth and Anthony Zinno hung in with chips.
| Event 57: Day 1 of 3 | $10K buy-in | Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship |
| Total entries: | 80 | |
| Registration still open? | yes | |
| Total prize pool: | TBD | |
| Players paid: | TBD | |
| Minimum payout: | TBD | |
| Winner payout: | TBD | |
| Chip leader: | Danny Wong | |
| Players remaining: | 35 | |
| Restart: | 2pm Sunday |
Highlight of the Day
Halloween weekend provided the opportunity for poker players to get creative and wear costumes. Some wore them to the tables at the Rio, while others just showed off their attire on Twitter. Look for many more today – on Halloween – at the Rio.
Hanging out just before making the money @WSOP #Seniors with a celebrity. (aka @scotterclark) pic.twitter.com/X9YNoRk6QQ
— Greg Raymer (@FossilMan) October 29, 2021
Hello Halloween!! Hello Mad-Hatter and White Rabbit! @themouthmatusow and I are coming into @WSOP together on Sunday night #PHFunLife #POSITIVITY pic.twitter.com/tbnUF8spIX
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) October 28, 2021
