All Eyes on 2021 WSOP Main Event Totals After Day 41
It’s almost time. Tonight – or tomorrow morning, at the very least – the World Series of Poker will announce the final numbers for this 2021 Main Event. The six starting flights are done and produced a field of 6,360 players. But it’s not complete. Late registration remains open into Wednesday to accommodate those still flying in from around the world. When the US borders opened on Monday, it allowed many to enter the US, though some of them have yet to play because they wanted to get their bearings in a new time zone (and deal with jet lag) before doing so.
Registration will close today. Then, we wait for the final number.
It will be lower than in previous years. Most people predicted as much. The 2019 live series delivered 8,569 players, but there were only 7,874 in 2018 and 7,221 in 2017. The point is that this year’s number won’t be the worst, by any means.
Meanwhile, some players in the Main Event played their Day 2 and got closer to the money. And the second of three Little One for One Drop flight added substantially to that field.
Let’s get to it.
Event 67: $10K WSOP Main Event
As mentioned, the sixth and final starting day added to the Main Event list on Tuesday, but the tallying isn’t done yet. More players will use the late registration option today. With more players coming back for their Day 2 today as well, it will be confusing. But in the end, when the chips are bagged tonight, everything will make much more sense.
And when the players open their bags on Thursday, it will be Day 3…for everyone. They will unite and play forward, into the money, and beyond.
| Event 67: Day 1F / Day 2A-B-D | $10K buy-in | NLHE World Championship (Main Event) |
| Starting stack: 60K | ||
| Levels: 120 minutes | ||
| Total entries (so far): | 6,360 | (523 + 845 + 600 + 2550 + 797 + 1045) |
| Registration still open? | yes | |
| Total prize pool: | TBD | |
| Players paid: | TBD | |
| Minimum payout: | TBD | |
| Winner payout: | TBD | |
| Day 1 chip leader: | Aleksandr Shevlyakov (Russia) | |
| Day 2 chip leader (so far): | Rameez Shahid (Canada) | |
| Total Day 1 players remaining: | 4,702 | (348 + 611 + 433 + 1933 + 592 + 785) |
| Total Day 2 players remaining: | 1,440 | |
| Day 3 restart: | 1pm Thursday | Top ten 1F chip counts: |
| Day 1C/1E/1F restart: | 11am Wednesday | Adam Walton (USA) 334,000 |
| Tung Nguyen (USA) 328,200 | ||
| Ryan Hartmann (USA) 243,000 | ||
| Michael Mizrachi (USA) 212,300 | ||
| Henrik Hecklen (Denmark) 210,000 | ||
| Jonas Lauck (Germany) 198,000 | ||
| Cate Hall (USA) 197,000 | ||
| Antoine Labat (France) 186,500 | ||
| Jake Daniels (USA) 185,000 | ||
| Jeffrey Trudeau (USA) 178,000 | ||
| Top ten 2A-B-D chip counts: | ||
| Rameez Shahid (Canada) 731,700 | ||
| David Mock (USA) 679,700 | ||
| Damien Steel (Canada) 649,000 | ||
| Farhad Jamasi (USA) 635,000 | ||
| Raul Martinez (Spain) 628,100 | ||
| Steve Foutty (USA) 620,000 | ||
| Mitchell Halverson (USA) 617,600 | ||
| Scott Davies (USA) 615,100 | ||
| David Coleman (USA) 614,500 | ||
| Kayvon Shahbaz (USA) 599,200 |
Warning. Explicit @WSOP #WSOP2021 Main Event content in this picture. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/VlmJTjvQsS
— Christian Zetzsche (@zedmaster84) November 9, 2021
Event 68: $1,111 NLHE Little One for One Drop
The second of three starting flights in this one only pushed the total entries to 1,389. Considering the option of unlimited reentries, the low number of entries thus far is surprisingly low. Perhaps that will change today.
For those considering it, keep in mind that paying an extra $111 on top of the $1K buy-in affords an extra 20K in starting chips. Best of all, that $111 goes to One Drop, an organization dedicated to providing clean water to people around the world.
| Event 68: Day 1b of 5 | $1K buy-in | Little One for One Drop NLHE (RE) |
| Total entries so far: | 1389 | (488 + 901) |
| Registration still open? | yes | |
| Total prize pool: | TBD | |
| Players paid: | TBD | |
| Minimum payout: | TBD | |
| Winner payout: | TBD | |
| Day 1B chip leader: | Trent Wilt | |
| Players remaining: | 440 | (143 + 297) |
| Day 1C start: | 3pm Tuesday | |
| Day 2 restart: | 3pm Wednesday |
Day 1F Main Event Highlights
Two players made a splash upon entering Day 1F.
The first was Chris Moneymaker, who needs no explanation. The surprise about his entry was that he notably stayed away from the Rio this year. He explained that his family came first, and any risks of bringing Covid-19 home to his unvaccinated child was not worth it. However, within the last few weeks, children as young as five were authorized for vaccinations. In addition, the WSOP has shown that it has taken its own vaccine mandate seriously, and most players were being very cautious, some wearing masks throughout play. So, the Americas Cardroom pro player played Day 1F.
Crazy to think this is the first big live event I am repping @ACR_POKER pic.twitter.com/coBg1uxKxw
— Chris Moneymaker ⭕ (@CMONEYMAKER) November 9, 2021
Tried to turn down this assignment multiple times, but eventually producers forced me to chat with @CMONEYMAKER pic.twitter.com/65VWuezupL
— Jeff Platt (@jeffplatt) November 10, 2021
He made it through the night with chips.
The other splash was none other than Phil Hellmuth. Not one to skip a chance to soak up the entire spotlight, Hellmuth entered the playing area as Gandalf the White from Lord of the Rings. And because he and those around him have no idea why the bevy of women surrounding him is a sad statement, he hired a group of women to follow him around as groupies.
Players from around the world did take advantage of the newly opened borders and plethora of flights into the United States. One of them was Liv Boeree, who is a rare sight at any poker tournament in recent years but made a snap decision to play this Main Event.
fuck it, just flew to Vegas for @WSOP main event even tho I have no idea how to play poker anymore. GL me pic.twitter.com/DfgeU7cXis
— Liv Boeree (@Liv_Boeree) November 9, 2021
Fewer celebrities participated this year, but Kevin Pollak loves his poker and played Day 1F.
We welcome @kevinpollak back to The Main! Great talking with him… pic.twitter.com/V26ZCndyFK
— Jeff Platt (@jeffplatt) November 10, 2021
And of course, the Main Event wouldn’t be complete without Scotty Nguyen, baby.
Found Scotty Nguyen in the late reg line, baby pic.twitter.com/o900etlkSA
— Jeff Platt (@jeffplatt) November 10, 2021
