Johnny Chan, the back-to-back winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event in 1987 and 1988 and the owner of 10 WSOP bracelets, tied for second-best all time, came up short on Monday in his attempt to collect an 11th gold bracelet. Chan's deep run in Event #41: $1,500 Big O, ended with a 14th-place finish worth $13,982, and it was the highest finish for Chan since a 12th-place showing in a 2011 lowball event.
Chan's unexpected pursuit of an 11th bracelet came in the largest-field $1,500 Omaha event of the 2023 series to date. The Big O debut drew 1,458 entries and built a prize pool just short of $2 million, easily surpassing most participants' expectations for its first apperance as a solo offering at the WSOP. Big O's surging popularity as a cash game providing plenty of action had already brought its inclusion in WSOP mixed-games events in recent years.
Poker veterans have dominated this debut event as it moves toward a final table. With just nine players remaining, three prior bracelet winners remain in the hunt, in Bjorn Verbakel, Robert WIlliamson III, and Owais Ahmed. Well-known pro Victor Ramdin, who for many years served as a brand ambassador for PokerStars, also remained in action.
For Chan, it was a Day 3 where the heater he needed never materialized. He began the day in 12th spot out of 18 remaining players. After taking a hit in a hand where he folded to an all-in reraise on the river, Chan busted a short while later to Vegas pro Scott Abrams. The last of Chan's chips went in after a flop where he had a draw to the nut low -- Big O is a split-pot game -- while Abrams had flopped a set of jacks and had a virtual lock on the high half.
When the turn and river brought high-card bricks to Chan's low draw, Abrams scooped the pot for the knockout. Chan's cash was his second of the 2023 WSOP, and it seems likely he'll play in other events as the series moves forward.
