Okamura Won Gold as WSOP Main Event Thinned to 36

Written by Jennifer Newell

Last updated on November 16th, 2021

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Sunday was the 56^th day of the 2021 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, and it offered up a lot of poker in various forms. There were two online poker events, one for high-stakes players and the other for those preferring lower stakes. The NLHE-PLO mix found its champion, Stud-8 found its final 11 players, and the Big Bet Mix brought players in for some Hold’em, Omaha, and Draw poker variants. The Crazy Eights combined three starting flight survivors into one place.

Oh, right, and that Main Event got ever closer to the final table.

With little more than one week left in the action, the WSOP gave players ample opportunities to play and watch great poker.

Event 67: $10K WSOP Main Event

It got serious. Well, it was already serious, but the Main Event thinned its field down to just 36 players. It was officially Day 6 of the Main Event. And some of the players who bid adieu to their competitors on that day included Stephen Chidwick, Stephen Song, Yuri Dzivielevski, Asher Conniff, John Morgan, Josh Prager, and Nick Rigby.

The two remaining women in the field on Day 6 exited as well. Fatima Nanji busted in 90^th place for $68,900, and Dragana Lim departed in 64^th place for $95,700. The latter garnered even more public support because she said she was going to start an animal rescue organization with her winnings.

As the evening wore on, Nick Petrangelo left in 45^th place with $163,900, and Tyler Cornell was the last player to go, taking home $163,900 for his 37^th place finish. Of the 36 players remaining Hye Park was the chipleader, playing the first Main Event of his life. He said he’s not even a tournament player, so he was taking it all in as he played.

When play starts on Day 7, the payouts will be at $198,550. And the goal will be to pay to the final table of nine. The tenth-place finisher will receive $585K, but the pay for ninth place will be $1M. It will be a long, tense day.

 

Event 70: $888 Crazy Eights NLHE

The three starting flights of this tournament were over, and that allowed the WSOP to set the total prize pool and the field. With more than $1.7M in the pot and from more than 5,200 entries, only 237 players remained to start Day 2. And since many players received payouts at the end of their respective flights, the final 237 were guaranteed at least $2,762 for their efforts.

The structure is fast, so they will surely thin the field enough to get close to the final table today.

 

Event 72: $1,500 Mixed NLHE/PLO

Eight players made the final day of this PLO-NLHE mix, but the shorter stacks didn’t have much play. Three players busted before the first break of the day, but play slowed afterward. Rafael Mota had been the day’s chipleader, but Motoyoshi Okamura took a bit of a chip lead into heads-up play. Mota took over, though, and seemed to have all of the momentum. That was until Okamura regained his own power and pulled in all of the chips for the win.

This was the second bracelet for Japan during this 2021 WSOP, but it was the first for Okamura. He told PokerNews:

“Winning the bracelet has been a dream of mine. This is my first time playing the WSOP, and I will surely be back next time.”

 

Motoyoshi Okamura takes down the $1,500 Mixed NLH/PLO event to earn $209,716 and his first WSOP bracelet.
📸: Danny Kimhttps://t.co/i9DzxgYbqm pic.twitter.com/InnpnUHeaG

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) November 15, 2021

Event 73: $10K Seven-Card Stud-8 Championship

This championship-level event played down from 88 to just 11 over the course of Day 2, and the remaining players are a who’s who of poker. Marco Johnson leads the final day and is looking to pick up his third WSOP bracelet. Many of his competitors are quite motivated as well. Australia’s Gary Benson looks to grab one for Down Under. Erik Seidel wants his tenth. Brian Hastings, John Monnette, and Josh Arieh each want a fifth. Scott Seiver already has three under his belt, and Yuval Bronshtein wants his third. This highly-motivated field will make for an exciting playdown.

 

Event 74: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet

A unique tournament brought quite a few players in for the mixed game. It included NLHE, PLO, 2-7 NL, Big O, NL 5-Card Draw, PLO Hi-Lo, and 2-7 PL Triple Draw. There were still 92 players holding chips at the end of the first night, with an Australian leading the pack and big names like Yuri Dzivielevski and Ismael Bojang close behind. Anything can happen on Day 2.

 

Event OB8: $7,777 Lucky 7s NLHE High Roller

This high-stakes tournament was available online to players located in Nevada and New Jersey only. And there was one reentry allowed per player.

 

Event OB9: $777 Lucky 7s NLHE

The lower buy-in version of the Lucky 7s offered two reentries per player.