As any online tournament poker players will know, if you want to win an event in the virtual realm, you're going to need to beat the Swedes. Today, the tournament rooms of the World Series of Poker began to feel like those online tables, with one Swede earning his country's first bracelet of the year, and a countryman turning in another barnstorming performance in a high-stakes event to set up a run for another bracelet tomorrow.
First up, let's talk about Magnus Edengren, a player who brought live tournament cashes of less than $100k to the WSOP this year, but has now multiplied that by three -- and now has a shiny bracelet to show for it too. Edengren returned to an unscheduled fourth day as chip leader from three players remaining in Event #43: $1,500 Mixed: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Big O (7-Handed).
In keeping with the tournament name, the event dragged on, but Edengren finally got the win when he beat Tim Seidensticker heads-up in a Big O hand.
At the risk of boiling everything down to Hold'em talk, Edengren basically won a flip with big slick against pocket queens, even though the full five-card Omaha hands were 
for Seidensticker and 
for Edengren. The 
turn proved decisive.
Edengren won $196,970 to Seidensticker's $131,308, with the Swede adding the context that he's only actually a part-time poker player these days, who takes to the felt for a bit of idle recreation.
"I just come to Vegas every year to have fun, and then I play some tournaments," Edengren told WSOP. "I don't really play poker anymore at all. I stopped a long time ago and just play for fun."
No Blom-bast, 'Isildur1' is back
Recreational Swedes are tough enough, but their elite pros are something else. Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom remains best known as that master-blaster cash game enigma from the 2010s, but he is enjoying a spectacular renaissance at the WSOP this summer.
He has already finished fourth in the $1,500 Dealers Choice event, 14th in the $10K PLO8 tournament, and third in the $50K No-Limit Hold'em. And now Blom is back at the top of the chip counts in the $100K High Roller, bagging nearly double the stack of his closest rival.
With $2.8 million up top, Blom is set for a charge at his biggest ever career payday (with the exception of a few cash-game sessions, no doubt).
Blom is reunited at the final table with Chance Kornuth, another player on an incredible WSOP heater. Kornuth finished second in the $50K for what was his career best score of $1.35 million. Kornuth is in the third spot overnight, separated from Blom by Chris Hunichen, another top American pro.
Six-time bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus, Latvia's #1 Aleksejs Ponakovs, and two-time WSOP champ Justin Saliba round out the final table. Remarkably, despite this table being full of high-stakes superstars, none has ever won more than $2.5 in a single tournament -- that will change on Thursday.
Ship comes in for longshoreman Kingery
While the superstar professionals tend to hog the headlines, it's the amateurs of the WSOP who often snaffle the bracelets. Such was the case in Event #44: $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em, where Jared Kingery, a longshoreman from Lakewood, WA, beat a field of 1,561 entries to a $410,359 first prize.
Kingery overcame overnight chip leader and long-time leading Spanish pro Javier Gomez heads up to seal the deal, telling WSOP, "I don't play that much".
He clearly does something right at the WSOP, however, having finished runner up in the $500 Housewarming event in 2022 -- one of the very first to play out at the new Horseshoe/Paris home of the World Series.
Kingery said he was "just sun-running" when he picked up $433K in that tournament, his WSOP debut. But he has all but matched that with this latest performance, and will now be the only man at the Lakewood docks wearing a WSOP bracelet too.
Ho down in sixth; Glaser looks for half dozen
On the subject of online dominance: while the biggest hands are inevitably played out at the no-limit hold'em cash-game tables, the more sedate world of mixed-game tournaments also has its titans. None stands taller than the UK's Benny Glaser, who is to PokerStars' WCOOP and SCOOP what Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey are to the WSOP.
Glaser has 26 COOP titles to his name, more than any other player, but he hasn't stopped there. He has five WSOP bracelets as well and, on Wednesday, moved into pole position in the hunt for a sixth.
Glaser leads the final five players in Event #45: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship, a tournament considered among the most prestigious both because of its buy-in and its test of the five core poker variants. Glaser excels in all, and he'll hope to seal the deal on Thursday when he lines up alongside Mike Leah, Steve Zolotow, Laurence Brandt and Maksim Pisarenko for the final stages.
There was no room on the last day for Maria Ho, esteemed poker broadcaster and 2018 inductee to the Women in Poker Hall of Fame. There's yet to be a female winner at the 2024 World Series, and Ho held solid hopes when she made her way to the top ten and then final six of the H.O.R.S.E. event. But Glaser dashed those hopes, scooping an Omaha Hi/Lo hand that sent Ho to the rail with $69,063 more in her bankroll.
Prociak sets eyes on double
More than halfway through the 2024 WSOP and Scott Seiver is the only player so far to win more than one bracelet. That may change on Thursday, however, as David Prociak attempts to join him. Prociak, who earlier won a $1,500 Badugi title at this WSOP, tops the chip counts in Event #48: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha with only eight players remaining.
Prociak won his first WSOP bracelet in a Stud Hi/Lo event in 2016 and also has two runner-up and two third-place finishes in WSOP events -- this is hardly his first rodeo. He holds only a narrow lead over fellow two-time bracelet winner Christopher Vitch heading into Thursday's play, with another credible threat coming from Germany's Chris Frank, presently sitting in fifth. Frank is coming off a $2 million victory in the Triton Montenegro PLO Main Event, so has some real momentum.
There's 'only' $262,734 on offer for the winner of this one, but it's all about the jewelery.
Monster Stack reaches final; Neves leads
When Pedro Neves finished runner up in the 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event, commentators in the know said he was a future superstar, with that $1M+ payday just the first of many.
Neves has since taken his total career tournament earnings close to $2.5 million, but it's at the World Series on Thursday that he'll have the best chance yet of delivering on his immense promise.
The Portuguese player has successfully navigated through an enormous field of 8,704 entries to sit with the chip lead of the final seven players in the $1,500 Monster Stack. He and countryman Jose Carlos Brito are surrounded by Americans in these final stages, with $1,098,220 set aside for the winner.
None of the last seven have ever won at the WSOP before. Indeed, when Joao Simao was eliminated in 22nd, we were guaranteed a first-time bracelet winner. Tim Reilly, however, currently in fifth, and Aaron Johnson, in second place, are seasoned pros. Neves will need all his nous -- and maybe some more of the run good that helped him to win today's 'Hand of the Day' -- to see this one through.
Thousands more for the Seniors event
It was the second opening flight of the $1,000 Seniors Event on Wednesday, and it was another spectacularly busy one. The latest official numbers released by the WSOP showed more than 4,400 entries, with three hours left on registration, suggesting the second flight should at least match the 4,993 of Flight 1A.
910 players remained at the end of the day, with William Elliott bagging the biggest stack. By far the best-known name in the top 10 is Sammy Farha, the 2003 Main Event runner-up and three-time bracelet winner. By far the best name (not best-known, just the best) belongs to Rambo Halpern, who sits in fifth.
If Rambo fancies a fight (and what man named Rambo wouldn't?), he should look to the man sitting in 41st place. That's Audley Harrison, a former Olympic boxing champion, who won a gold medal in the Super Heavyweight division.
The field combines on Thursday, when organizers will also announce the prize pool.
Photo of the day
Hand of the day
You don't win any poker tournament without running hot at the right time, and you certainly don't win an event the size of the $1,500 Monster Stack without enjoying a poker god's blessing at one time or another. As we have seen above, Portuguese pro Pedro Neves heads the final seven players of this 8,704-entry field, and today's 'hand of the day' helped propel him to that position.
In the hand, Neves found pocket queens, Alex Abariotes picked up pocket sixes, and Fausto Valdez also had a pocket pair: aces. They all got it all in pre-flop, with Neves' stack covering both his opponents'.
Valdez had the dominant hand, however, and was licking his lips at the prospect of a triple up. That's before the dealer landed the on the flop, vaulting Neves into the lead, and eventually securing him a 22 million chip pot. The pot padded his stack sufficiently to help him navigate through the late stages and bag the biggest pile for Thursday's denouement.
Tweets of the day
Self reflection the day after busting, Phil Hellmuth style...
....and Bruce Buffer style
Video of the day
GTO shirt selection from Alex Abariotes? Well, check out 'Hand of the day' above and get your answer.
The day in numbers
$85,410.83
Hourly rate, so far, for Chance Kornuth, who max late-regged the $100K High Roller and was at the final table six hours later, guaranteed at least $512,465. The winner will get $2,838,389, so a pay-raise is possible for Kornuth.
66
Total number of big bets left in the stacks of the last five in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. This is an exceptionally short-stacked final, with chip-leading Benny Glaser sitting with only 22 bets, Maksim Pisarenko holding 21, Laurence Brandt with 12, Steve Zolotow nine and Mike Leah two.
10
Tournaments running simultaneously on Wednesday, comprising two Day 4s (one scheduled, one unscheduled), two Day 3s, two Day 2s, three Day 1s, and one WSOP Online event.
Coming up on Day #24
The World Series isn't typically the place to be for anybody in a hurry. On Thursday, however, there's the promise of a $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty Freezeout event and each of those words implies rapidity. It's due to get done in a single day.
There will be a more leisurely pace to the $5K NLH 6-Handed, whose first day of four plays out on Wednesday. Similarly, the $3,000 Nine Game Mix gets under way, with three days planned for a tournament testing skills in No Limit Hold’em, Seven Card Stud, Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Razz, Pot-Limit Omaha, Limit Hold’em, No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, and 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw.
Meanwhile, it's Day 2 in the Senior's Event, the $3K NLH Freezeout, and the $10K Razz championship. But the bling is out for winners of the $100K High Roller and the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. They play to a champion.
WSOP Day #23 gallery
Results
Event #43: $1,500 Mixed Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8; Omaha Hi-Lo 8; Big O (7-Handed)
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magnus Edengren | $196,970 |
| 2 | Tim Seidensticker | $131,308 |
| 3 | James Juvancic | $91,132 |
| 4 | Phil Hellmuth | $64,324 |
| 5 | Joshua Adcock | $46,187 |
| 6 | Dylan Lambe | $33,748 |
| 7 | Fei Chu | $25,100 |
| 8 | Stephen Hubbard | $19,009 |
Full results on WSOP
Event #44: $2,000 No Limit Hold'em
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jared Kingery | $410,359 |
| 2 | Javier Gomez | $273,581 |
| 3 | Yunkyu Song | $197,443 |
| 4 | Juan Carlos Vecino | $144,176 |
| 5 | Javier Zarco | $106,537 |
| 6 | Yasheel Doddanavar | $79,676 |
| 7 | Kavin Shah | $60,317 |
| 8 | Narcis Nedelcu | $46,227 |
| 9 | Jon Glendinning | $35,873 |
Full results on WSOP
Ongoing events
Event #38: $1,500 Monster Stack No-Limit Hold'em (final seven)
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pedro Neves | 172,200,000 |
| 2 | Aaron Johnson | 101,000,000 |
| 3 | Brian Roff | 50,800,000 |
| 4 | Jerry Maher | 29,800,000 |
| 5 | Tim Reilly | 28,900,000 |
| 6 | Jose Carlos Brito | 27,000,000 |
| 7 | Guangming Li | 25,500,000 |
Results so far on WSOP
Event #45: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship (final five)
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benny Glaser | 3,675,000 |
| 2 | Maksim Pisarenko | 3,375,000 |
| 3 | Lawrence Brandt | 1,955,000 |
| 4 | Steve Zolotow | 1,500,000 |
| 5 | Mike Leah | 340,000 |
Results so far on WSOP
Event #46: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Elliott | 530,000 |
| 2 | Stephen Shaw | 407,000 |
| 3 | John De Klerk | 365,000 |
| 4 | Sammy Farha | 347,000 |
| 5 | Rambo Halpern | 336,500 |
| 6 | Lawrence Beach | 333,500 |
| 7 | Burton Rubin | 331,500 |
| 8 | John Ziebarth | 326,000 |
| 9 | Jonathan Cheramie | 321,000 |
| 10 | Jeffrey Mulder | 317,000 |
| Notables | ||
| 41 | Audley Harrison | 235,000 |
| 70 | Scott Lazar | 199,500 |
| 103 | John Kabbaj | 172,000 |
| 111 | Farzad Bonyadi | 167,000 |
Full chip counts on WSOP
Event #47: $100,000 High Roller No Limit Hold'em (final six)
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viktor Blom | 27,675,000 |
| 2 | Chris Hunichen | 16,475,000 |
| 3 | Chance Kornuth | 8,900,000 |
| 4 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | 6,475,000 |
| 5 | Jeremy Ausmus | 6,100,000 |
| 6 | Justin Saliba | 1,575,000 |
Results so far on WSOP
Event #48: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (final eight)
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Prociak | 14,615,000 |
| 2 | Christopher Vitch | 13,530,000 |
| 3 | Thomas Taylor | 6,100,000 |
| 4 | Joe Firova | 2,935,000 |
| 5 | Christopher Frank | 2,460,000 |
| 6 | Kharlin Sued | 1,360,000 |
| 7 | Jay Harwood | 1,325,000 |
| 8 | Ioannis Angelou Konstas | 1,310,000 |
Results so far on WSOP
Event #49: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Ruban |
1,476,000 |
| 2 | David Stamm |
1,165,000 |
| 3 | John Kenner |
1,089,000 |
| 4 | Sami Bechahed |
927,000 |
| 5 | Andjelko Andrejevic |
856,000 |
| 6 | Marko Grujic |
836,000 |
| 7 | Simas Karaliunas |
822,000 |
| 8 | Maximiliano Gallardo |
671,000 |
| 9 | David Kaufmann |
664,000 |
| 10 | Erfan Geula |
651,000 |
| Notables | ||
| 14 | Eric Afriat |
601,000 |
| 19 | Martin Jacobson |
526,000 |
| 31 | Chris Brewer |
444,000 |
| 45 | Jeremy Becker |
355,000 |
| 69 | Punnat Punsri |
260,000 |
Full counts on WSOP
Event #50: $10,000 Razz Championship
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Rodawig | 276,500 |
| 2 | Ren Lin | 250,500 |
| 3 | Arthur Morris | 225,000 |
| 4 | Brian Yoon | 218,500 |
| 5 | Carlos Chadha | 207,500 |
| 6 | Sean Akhavi | 190,500 |
| 7 | Andrey Zhigalov | 189,500 |
| 8 | Robert Massman | 172,500 |
| 9 | David Funkhouser | 164,000 |
| 10 | Denis Strebkov | 159,000 |
| Notables | ||
| 12 | Nick Schulman | 147,000 |
| 13 | Adam Owen | 140,000 |
| 14 | David Benyamine | 139,500 |
| 19 | Daniel Negreanu | 126,000 |
| 25 | Phillip Hui | 110,000 |
| 28 | Brandon Shack-Harris | 96,500 |
| 36 | Scott Seiver | 83,000 |
| 42 | Ben Yu | 52,000 |
| 45 | Robert Mizrachi | 45,500 |
| 58 | Brian Rast | 31,000 |
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)
- Event #39: $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Sergio Aido (Spain)
- Event #40: $1,500 Razz – Scott Seiver (USA)
- Event #41: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot Limit Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot - Xixiang Luo (China)
- Event #42: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship - James Obst (Australia)
- Event #43: $1,500 Mixed: PLO Hi-Lo 8; Omaha Hi-Lo 8; Big O - Magnus Edengren (Sweden)
- Event #44: $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Jared Kingery (USA)
