Two more bracelets found their way onto wrists on Saturday at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas: John Fauver won his first in the all-action five-card Omaha Championship event, known as Big O, while Timur Margolin bested an enormous No Limit Hold'em Deepstack tournament to make it three for him.
However, such is the relentless nature of the World Series that even more attention was focused elsewhere. Organizers recorded more than 2,500 entries to the latest opening flight in the Monster Stack tournament, while the $50K event promised more than $2 million to its winner, and had a very surprising player making it to the deepest stages.
Blom leads, Buffer battles on in $50K High Roller
Twelve of the world's best poker players and a UFC announcer walked into a room...
That will be the size of it on Sunday in Las Vegas where Bruce Buffer is the surprise inclusion in the final-day field for the $50K High Roller No Limit Hold'em. To be honest, Buffer was a surprise inclusion in the opening field of the event, which attracted 177 entries comprising few but the world's absolute elite.
But with the likes of Phil Ivey, Justin Bonomo, Isaac Haxton and Daniel Negreanu laid to waste (the latter on the soft bubble), Buffer battled into the money and then into the final day. He'll take his seat alongside chip-leading Viktor Blom and fellow superstars Sergio Aido, Jonathan Jaffe, Adrian Mateos, Chance Kornuth and Artur Martirosian in the last 13.
Defending champion Leon Sturm is still also involved, sitting sixth in chips, with professional nuisance Martin Kabrhel also still doing his thing. It's going to be a fascinating final day on Sunday, where the winner is set for a $2m+ payday. Let's get ready to rumble...
Fauver first in Big O Championship debut
Would it be a second of the Series for Dylan Weisman? Or a career fifth for Calvin Anderson? Could French veteran David Benyamine bludgeon back into the spotlight, or could Farid Jattin finally get over the line?
One word can answer all these questions: No. And it was all because of one man.
John Fauver is the winner of Event #37: $10,000 Big O Championship, downing that star-studded final table field and landing a near $700K payday alongside a maiden bracelet.
It was a roller-coaster of a final table, in which all of Anderson, Jattin and Nitesh Rawtani held the chip lead at one point or another, but fell in second, fourth and third, respectively. High-stakes cash game legend Benyamine was first out, while American pros Danny Wong and Michael Rocco also couldn't get anything going.
But Fauver, a mid-stakes tournament player from Charlestown, WV, won a crucial pot four-handed when he all but tripled-up to 15 big blinds, rivering a Broadway straight when all-in and at risk against Jattin. He then eased through the final stages and cracked Anderson's aces with kings on the final hand, settling the day.
Fauver's precise winning total was $681,998 to Anderson's $454,668. The tournament boasted 332 entries playing this unique five-card Omaha hi/lo variant -- the first time Big O has had a Championship event at the WSOP, making Fauver its first champion. The significance did not escape him.
"It’s pretty cool that this is the first time this tournament has ever run,” Fauver said to WSOP, adding that five-card Omaha is something that appeals to his sensibilities. "You get to gamble. Everyone has a shot, and in general it is a very fun game."
It's even more fun when you're the champion.
Margolin wastes little time to land hold'em hat-trick
With a buy-in of $800 and a field of 4,278 entries, plus the 'Deepstack' right there in the title, there was always a decent possibility of an epic in Event #36: $800 8-Handed No Limit Hold'em Deepstack. But with the tournament already running long, there were at least no sleeping bags required, not even a dinner break, on the unscheduled third day, thanks to a dominant final session from overnight leader Timur Margolin.
The Israeli came into Day 3 with a significant, but not necessarily insurmountable, lead over the last nine players, but four hours later was the champion. His prize was $342,551 and a third career bracelet, adding this one to titles picked up in Las Vegas and Rozvadov in 2018. Only one other Israeli player, Asi Moshe, has more WSOP bling than Margolin.
In truth, 'deepstack' was a misnomer by the time this final table rolled along, with the last stages playing out as something of a short-stacked shootout. As the only player with any wiggle room, Margolin managed to steamroll through the final, eventually downing Agharazi Babayev heads-up. In the final hand, Margolin's 
flopped into the lead against Babayev's pocket eights, and the last three big blinds made it into Margolin's stack.
With that, Israel has its first WSOP 2024 winner, and Margolin joins the three-time club.
Seiver stays on course for 2024 double
While other prospects for a 2024 WSOP bracelet double faltered on Saturday, Scott Seiver's attempts only gathered momentum. Seiver bagged the chip lead of the last 14 players in Event #40: $1,500 Razz, aiming to add a second title to his win in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship earlier this series. Seiver heads a field that contains fellow mixed-games experts including Ben Yu, Brandon Shack-Harris and Maxx Coleman, but with a big chip advantage, all the experience in the world and some evident form, Seiver is going to be a decent favorite.
Had things not gone so well in the Razz, one suspects Seiver would have joined either the $10K Seven-Card Stud Championship or the $1,500 Mixed: No-Limit Hold'em; Pot-Limit Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot, which got started on Saturday.
Forty players from 74 entries return for Day 2 in the stud, led by Andrew Kelsall. Five-time bracelet winner, and former champion of this event, Brian Yoon is in 14th place at this stage. There was a significantly bigger field in the bomb-pot debut event, where 1,312 entry payments passed through the cage. China's Dong Chen is a huge chip leader at the end of the first day in that one.
Photo of the day
Hand of the day
You hear players talking a lot about ICM and its particular relevance at final tables. Here's an example of why it's so important, and why one ICM-negligent misstep can prove very costly indeed.
As reported in PokerOrg's Instant coverage from Saturday's action, there were three players remaining in the $800 Deepstack, with significant pay-jumps between the final three prizes. First place got $342,551, second would win $228,321 and third prize was worth $168,276.
Eventual champion Timur Margolin already had one hand on the bracelet with more than half the chips in play. Meanwhile Michael Allen, in second place, had more than double the chips of third placed Agharazi Babayev. Indeed, Babayev had only seven big blinds.
Margolin opened a pot from the button with a regular min-plus raise and Allen, looking down at 
decided to move all in from the big blind. It was music to the ears of Babayev, particularly when Margolin snapped him off with 
.
"He's just going to be so wide," Allen said, correctly of course, but still sent to the rail with $60K less than if he'd managed to stick around and let Babayev bust in third instead. Babayev, meanwhile, took the $228,321 that might have seemed earmarked for Allen. (Margolin, as discussed above, took it down.)
Tweet of the day
Plenty of eagle-eyed poker players and reporters noticed a return to WSOP action on Saturday for Ali Imsirovic, persona non grata at some tables owing to an alleged cheating scandal. Ben Ludlow was perhaps most subtle in his photography and insinuations.
Videos of the day
One player to a hand and all that, but here's a moment where another player's generosity can keep an opponent's tournament alive. PokerOrg's Tiffany Michelle, playing the $1,500 Monster Stack, rescued an opponent from certain (self-imposed) elimination.
Meanwhile, over in the $50K, Martin Kabrhel is being Martin Kabrhel...
The day in numbers
$200
The buy-in for the tournament in which UFC announcer Bruce Buffer secured his previous biggest poker score. Buffer won $75,000 for taking down the $200 Grand Slam of Poker in Gardena in 2010. Buffer is now in the last 13 of the WSOP $50K, guaranteed a minimum $106,810.
$2,026,506
First prize for the $50K High Roller, the first $2m+ payout of this year's WSOP.
2,876
Saturday's field in the Monster Stack was bigger than Friday's opening flight. Last year's total of 8,317 is already looking beatable.
Coming up on Day #20
Most tables in the tournament rooms on Sunday will be reserved for the inevitable hordes descending for the final flight of the $1,500 Monster Stack. There have been 5,235 entries through Flights A and B.
Only two events get started Sunday: Event #43, which is a $1,500 Mixed: PLO Hi-Lo 8; Omaha Hi-Lo 8; Big O tournament. Then there's WSOP Online Event #8: NL Hold'em 6-Max.
There are two Day 2s -- in Event #41: $1,500 Mixed NLH / PLO Double Board Bomb Pot and Event #42: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship -- which will aim to reach a final table.
The $1,500 Razz will reach its conclusion, but it's going to be difficult to look anywhere else than the final of the $50,000 High Roller, which will find a champion and make him $2,026,506 richer.
WSOP Day #19 gallery
Results
Event #36: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack (8-Handed)
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timur Margolin | $342,551 |
| 2 | Agharazi Babayev | $228,321 |
| 3 | Michael Allen | $168,276 |
| 4 | Adam Hendrix | $125,074 |
| 5 | Joseph Couden | $93,758 |
| 6 | Francisco Riosvallejo | $70,890 |
| 7 | Cole Uvila | $54,066 |
| 8 | Vaughan Machado | $41,597 |
| 9 | Jeremy Chen | $32,288 |
Full results on WSOP
Event #37: $10,000 Big O Championship
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Fauver | $681,998 |
| 2 | Calvin Anderson | $454,668 |
| 3 | Nitesh Rawtani | $311,737 |
| 4 | Farrid Jattin | $217,783 |
| 5 | Dylan Weisman | $155,065 |
| 6 | Alfred Atamian | $112,573 |
| 7 | Michael Rocco | $83,359 |
| 8 | Danny Wong | $62,985 |
| 9 | David Benyamine | $48,582 |
Full results on WSOP
Ongoing events
Event #39: $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (final 13)
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viktor Blom | 9,670,000 |
| 2 | Sergio Aido | 8,800,000 |
| 3 | Jonathan Jaffe | 5,135,000 |
| 4 | Martin Kabrhel | 4,380,000 |
| 5 | Jesse Lonis | 4,230,000 |
| 6 | Leon Sturm | 3,895,000 |
| 7 | Adrian Mateos | 3,585,000 |
| 8 | Chance Kornuth | 3,385,000 |
| 9 | Johannes Straver | 2,865,000 |
| 10 | Morten Klein | 2,210,000 |
| 11 | Robert Salaburu | 1,920,000 |
| 12 | Artur Martirosian | 1,660,000 |
| 13 | Bruce Buffer | 1,365,000 |
Event #40: $1,500 Razz (final 14)
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Seiver | 2,455,000 |
| 2 | Steven Abitbol | 1,770,000 |
| 3 | Ben Yu | 1,235,000 |
| 4 | Ingo Klasen | 990,000 |
| 5 | Brandon Shack-Harris | 985,000 |
| 6 | Mark Abinak | 980,000 |
| 7 | Maxx Coleman | 940,000 |
| 8 | Peter Brownstein | 925,000 |
| 9 | Akihiro Kawaguchi | 860,000 |
| 10 | Brad Lindsey | 735,000 |
| 11 | Justin Liberto | 730,000 |
| 12 | Jason Gola | 470,000 |
| 13 | Soner Osman | 425,000 |
| 14 | Louis Abronson | 210,000 |
Full counts on WSOP
Event #41: $1,500 Mixed NLH / PLO Double Board Bomb Pot
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dong Chen | 940,000 |
| 2 | Gabriel Schroeder | 640,000 |
| 3 | David Callaghan | 638,000 |
| 4 | Dario Sammartino | 549,000 |
| 5 | Aaron Frank | 541,000 |
| 6 | Fabian Rolli | 516,000 |
| 7 | Joseph Dulaney | 482,000 |
| 8 | Evangelos Kokkalis | 443,000 |
| 9 | Roni Tal | 439,000 |
| 10 | David Benyamine | 31,000 |
| Notables | ||
| 48 | Shaun Deeb | 247,000 |
| 61 | Ian Matakis | 206,000 |
| 110 | Patrick Leonard | 117,000 |
| 112 | Benny Glaser | 115,000 |
| 146 | Jeff Madsen | 54,000 |
Full counts on WSOP
Event #42: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Kelsall | 294,000 |
| 2 | Daniel Mayoh | 220,000 |
| 3 | Yuval Bronshtein | 203,000 |
| 4 | Chad Eveslage | 191,500 |
| 5 | Michael Sigel | 173,000 |
| 6 | Andre Akkari | 170,000 |
| 7 | Yuri Dzivielevski | 169,500 |
| 8 | Don Coakley | 166,000 |
| 9 | Maksim Pisarenko | 155,000 |
| Notables | ||
| 10 | Naoya Kihara | 145,000 |
| 11 | James Chen | 144,500 |
| 12 | Punnat Punsri | 143,000 |
| 14 | Juha Helppi | 136,000 |
| 15 | Brian Yoon | 130,500 |
| 16 | Robert Mizrachi | 115,500 |
| 22 | Mike Gorodinsky | 103,000 |
| 28 | Brian Rast | 81,000 |
| 36 | John Hennigan | 47,000 |
Full counts on WSOP
Bracelet winners
- Event #1: $5,000 Champions Reunion – Asher Conniff (USA)
- Event #2: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em – Jose Garcia (USA)
- Event #3: $500 Kickoff No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout – Daniel Willis (UK)
- Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better (8-Handed) – James Chen (USA)
- Event #5: $1,000 Mystery Millions - Malcolm Trayner (Australia)
- Event #6: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship – Darius Samual (UK)
- Event #7: $1,500 Dealer's Choice – John Hennigan (USA)
- Event #8: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha (8-Handed) - Bryce Yockey (USA)
- Event #9: $1,500 Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Nick Guagenti (USA)
- Event #10: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship - Scott Seiver (USA)
- Event #11: $1,500 Badugi - David Prociak (USA)
- Event #12: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em - Simeon Spasov (Bulgaria)
- Event #13: $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship - Robert Mizrachi (USA)
- Event #14: $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty No Limit Hold'em - Thibault Perissat (France)
- Event #15: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better - Caleb Furth (USA)
- Event #16: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Brent Hart (USA)
- Event #17: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack - TJ Murphy (USA)
- Event #18: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha - Dylan Weisman (USA)
- Event #19: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship - John Racener (USA)
- Event #20: $300 Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold'em - Stephen Winters (USA)
- Event #21: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (6-Handed) - Brek Schutten (USA)
- Event #22: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw (6-Handed) - Aaron Cummings (USA)
- Event #23: Event #23: $1,500 SHOOTOUT No-Limit Hold'em - Dan Sepiol (USA)
- Event #24: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship - Sean Troha (USA)
- Event #25: $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Handed - Daniel Vampan (USA)
- Event #26: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Nick Schulman (USA)
- Event #27: $1,500 Big O - Michael Christ (USA)
- Event #28: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em - Evan Benton (USA)
- Event #29: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship (6-Handed) - Phil Ivey (USA)
- Event #30: $600 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack - Alen Bakovic (Canada)
- Event #31: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed - Nicholas Seward (USA)
- Event #32: $1,500 Seven Card Stud - Richard Ashby (UK)
- Event #33: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack (8-Handed) - Alex Manzano (Chile)
- Event #34: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout - Antonio Galiana (Spain)
- Event #35: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Phillip Hui (USA)
- Event #36: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack (8-Handed) – Timur Margolin (Israel)
- Event #37: $10,000 Big O Championship – John Fauver (USA)
