It was ladies' day at the World Series of Poker, with 1,245 women arriving to play the $1,000 buy-in Ladies Championship event -- and mercifully zero japester men to divert attention.
When bags came out at the end of 10 levels of play, Irene Carey sat at the top of the 351 remaining players, with the most recent three former Ladies Event winners Tamar Abraham, Jessica Teusl and Lara Eisenberg also still involved.
Carey has previously battled through huge, tough fields to make notable scores, most significantly in WSOP Circuit events in Cherokee, where she has finished first, second (three times) and fifth in major events there. She cashed the WSOP Main Event in 2019 and the Millionaire Maker last year, so she has excellent form. The first prize in this one is set at $171,732, which would represent a new career high if she can carry the momentum through three more days.
That's not going to be easy, of course, particularly when faced with a field of this caliber. Three time bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Famer Barbara Enright has a big stack too, as well as Nadya Magnus, Cherish Andrews, Katie Lindsay, Erica Lindgren and Kathy Liebert.
The plan is to play 10 more levels on Saturday, then down to five players on Sunday. The bracelet will come out for Monday's finale.
Checkmate: Checkwicz is champion
Money can't buy you experience, but there's one tournament on the WSOP schedule whose entry requirements demand both: the $5,000 Seniors High Roller, open only to players of 50 or older and with that kind of roll.
For all that, the final stages of the event, which played out Friday night, featured a handful of mostly unfamiliar faces all chasing a first bracelet. And when the last pot had played out, it was Mark Checkwicz from Springfield, MA, standing tall.
Checkwicz is not just seniors qualified, he's Super Seniors qualified, and was last seen cashing that event. But the $573,876 he got for winning this event far, far, outstripped his $2,001 prize for a min-cash earlier in the series. It represented the completion of a dream for this poker fan, whose 'PokerCookieM' Twitter account is every bit as enthusiastic about the game as players far younger.
"Poker is just so beautiful and really there has to be a winner and a loser and I appreciate both sides of the equation," Checkwicz told WSOP. "That's what makes it work.”
Paying tribute to his family, who also feature prominently on his social media, he added that he has already ear-marked where part of his winnings will go. "I promised my wife, she's a school teacher, she's been a school teacher for 24 and a half years, she's got nine more years to work," he said. "I promised her if I won this tournament, I would buy her a year more of retirement...It's awesome."
Kevin Nathan, the Day 1 leader, was the last former bracelet winner in the field. He bust in fourth. Other more familiar figures in the late stages were Bruno 'Kool Shen' Lopes (6th - $99,203) and Angela Jordison (9th - $43,216). But none could match Checkwicz who surged up the field to lead six-handed, and completed the deal by downing Israel's Arie Kliper in second ($382,581).
Berry nice indeed: Scotland's Hector Berry wins first bracelet
The inaugural PokerNews Deepstack Championship found a popular champion on Friday when Hector Berry, from Scotland, climbed up the leader board on the final day to land a $282,876 first prize. He beat a field of 5,110 entries in this $600 buy-in tournament.
Despite sitting with the second shortest stack of five remaining after three days of play, the deep-stack of the tournament's name meant he still had 40 big blinds. That proved sufficient for Berry to get things moving. After the early elimination of Darryl Fish (5th - $79,418), Berry scored a double through overnight leader Branden Shimamoto, flopping top pair with 
to beat Shimamoto's pocket queens.
With stacks much bigger later on, Berry found another double through the same opponent with 
beating 
. It proved terminal for Shimamoto, who was knocked out in fourth soon after. Berry then accounted for Harrison Ashdown (3rd - $140,264) and Luke Varrasso (2nd - $188,644), bringing the curtain down.
Berry told the tournament sponsors that he had to remain focused as the tournament played out last night adjacent to Franco Spitale and Daniel Negreanu's raucous victories. But despite only having taken poker seriously for a few short years, Berry is now alongside those greats as the owner of a WSOP bracelet.
Adkins' cruise sets up massive final day PLO lead
There was no stopping Joshua Adkins on Day 3 of the $10K PLO Championship event, with the American player steaming to an enormous lead heading into the five-handed final day.
Adkins got the ball rolling on the day of his dreams when he secured an early double through previous leader Jonathan Bowers, and things only got better from there. With superstars including Stephen Chidwick, Niklas Astedt, Michael Mizrachi, Eelis Parssinen and David Benyamine all scattered to the rail, Adkins put 27,085,000 chips into his bag overnight, which is more than all four of his remaining opponents combined.
Adkins has modest WSOP results to date but is a WPT champion from 2019, when he won in Jacksonville, FL. This represents a breakout performance on the very biggest stage and he is now highly fancied to take home the $1,320,945 first prize.
Bowers regrouped after losing that big early pot to Adkins and also takes his place in the last five. Bowers is in third place, with France's Elie Nakache second. Manh Nguyen and Oshri Lahmani complete the line-up, with the stage set for a race to the winner on Saturday.
Barbero bags biggest among international stars
The cream has risen to the top in Event #68: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em, where two of South America's most prominent players, Nacho Barbero and Andre Akkari, sit in first and fourth place going into the final day.
The tournament attracted 2,229 entries putting nearly $5 million in the prize pool, and it's Argentina's No 1 Barbero who leads the last 23, looking for a second career bracelet. Barbero now represents ACR but made his name as a member of Team PokerStars, alongside Akkari, of Brazil. Akkari too is looking for a second WSOP title, which would come with a first prize of $667,963.
This is a hugely cosmopolitan field, with nine countries represented in the last 23 players. The top placed of nine Americans is John Reiter, in second place, with Bulgaria's Ivan Stankov in third. There are hopes for a first ever WSOP bracelet for Honduras, with Jose Rodriguez sitting 17th overnight.
Roberts eyes second bracelet
There's a similar international flavour to the last 17 in Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, where Christian Roberts leads the way. Despite the name, Roberts represents Venezuela and is one of only two players from the country already in possession of a WSOP bracelet. Roberts is in top spot to hunt down another, plus a $153,730 first prize.
Day 1 chip leader Jon 'PearlJammer' Turner is close behind Roberts, with a flurry of bracelet winners scattered through the remaining field. Two-time champ Yuval Bronshein is fifth, while fellow Israeli Eli Elezra, a five-time winner, is in 12th. This one will also play to a winner on Saturday.
Serrate tops Salute to Warriors; Colossus kicks off
Only 17 players are left from the 4,517 entries in the $500 Salute to Warriors event. With $180K secured for the veterans charities, the players now focus their attention on the $207,486 first prize, which will be awarded on Saturday.
Paul Serrate, of Bolivia, leads the way, with Tolga Gesli a short way back. None of the final 17 players have ever won a WSOP event before, so another new bracelet winner will be found in this one.
In normal circumstances, that 4,500+ field would seem enormous, but Friday was also the day on which the $400 Colossus played its opening flight. As expected, it was truly massive with 4,643 entries already. The second and third flight, on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, will be even bigger. Stand by for a whopper.
Kihara leads the heroes in 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship
Only the real purists fired the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship, which got started on Friday, and ended when 43 of the 131-strong starting field remained. (Registration remains open through two levels of Day 2.)
Japan's Naoya Kihara, a bracelet winner from 2012, heads the field, but everyone is a star in this one. Matt Glantz is second, Taylor Paur is third, Shaun Deeb is fifth, Alex Foxen is sixth and Robert Mizrachi eighth.
We'll have a far better idea of how this one is shaping up this time tomorrow. But in the meantime it's worth just highlighting how very brilliant the field is already.
Photo of the day
Hand(s) of the (yester)day
In an unusual twist, today's hand actually took place yesterday -- although its full relevance wasn't exactly clear back then. It certainly is now.
With 10 players left in the Seniors High Roller, Kevin Nathan, Angela Jordison and Mark Checkwicz played a pot. Checkwicz limped, Nathan raised to 200,000 (blinds were 30K/60K), then Jordison three-bet to 650,000. Checkwicz folded in this spot, with Nathan then four-bet ripping and Jordison calling off.
Nathan had aces. Jordison had kings. And Nathan landed a massive double.
Why is it relevant now? Well, Checkwicz, who would have been facing elimination had he got involved, revealed today that he had pocket queens and let them go. A day later, Checkwicz was champion. This was a crucial, tournament-saving fold.
Checkwicz certainly knew when to hold'em and when to fold'em. He made another excellent fold at the final, when he let 
go on a board of 
. There had been action on the flop, a check on the turn, and then a big bet from Arie Kliper on the river.
Checkwicz ditched his top pair and was right to do so. Kliper had 
for a boat. Despite letting this one go to his opponent Checkwicz had the last laugh, defeating Kliper heads up for the win.
Tweet of the day
It used to be the sort of thing Jason Mercier did every day. Does the return start here?
Video of the day
SethyPoker was having some fun out in the field of the $10K Ladies Championship.
The day in numbers
5,565,000
More chips in Joshua Adkins' chip-leading stack than all four of his remaining opponents combined in the $10K PLO Championship. Adkins sits with 27,085,000 chips, while Elie Nakache, in second, has 9,505,000 and the rest have far fewer.
9
Nationalities represented in the final 23 players of Event #68. There are nine Americans and four Canadians alongside two players each from Argentina and Brazil, and players from the UK, Bulgaria, Latvia, Honduras and Portugal.
4,643
Entries for the first of three opening flights in the $400 Colossus, well on track to beat the 15,894 entries last year.
Coming up on Day #33
The big bucks on Saturday will be heading to the winner of the $10,000 PLO Championship, whose final five are battling for a $1,320,945 first prize. And the bracelet, of course.
There's also some bling on offer in each of the $2,500 No Limit Hold'em, the $500 Salute to Warriors, and the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better events, which will bring their own first prizes of $667,963, $207,486, and $153,730, respectively.
Two Championship events play their second day: the $1,000 Ladies Championship as well as the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship. Both those tournaments are four-day affairs, so still plenty of play left. But the biggest field will undoubtedly mass for Flight B of the $400 Colossus.
Let's not forget our poor high rollers, though. Event #73 is a $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha tournament, which plays the first of its four days on Saturday as well.
Results
Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hector Berry | $282,876 |
| 2 | Luke Varrasso | $188,644 |
| 3 | Harrison Ashdown | $140,264 |
| 4 | Branden Shimamoto | $105,122 |
| 5 | Darryll Fish | $79,418 |
| 6 | Sihao Zhang | $60,485 |
| 7 | Jolan Mancini | $46,442 |
| 8 | Thomas Murphy | $35,953 |
| 9 | Kenny Huynh | $28,064 |
| 10 | Diogo Cardoso | $22,089 |
Full results on WSOP
Event #65: $5,000 Seniors High Roller No-Limit Hold'em
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Checkwicz | $573,876 |
| 2 | Arie Kliper | $382,581 |
| 3 | Michael Vela | $266,257 |
| 4 | Kevin Nathan | $188,385 |
| 5 | Samuel Wagner | $135,543 |
| 6 | Bruno Lopes | $99,203 |
| 7 | John Thornton | $73,877 |
| 8 | Richard Lowe | $55,998 |
| 9 | Angela Jordison | $43,216 |
| 10 | Judith Bielan | $33,968 |
Full results on WSOP
Ongoing events
Event #66: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship (last five)
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Adkins | 27,085,000 |
| 2 | Elie Nakache | 9,505,000 |
| 3 | Manh Nguyen | 4,660,000 |
| 4 | Jonathan Bowers | 5,930,000 |
| 5 | Oshri Lahmani | 1,425,000 |
Results so far on WSOP
Event #67: $500 Salute to Warriors - No-Limit Hold'em (last 17)
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Serrate | 27,530,000 |
| 2 | Tolga Gesli | 24,025,000 |
| 3 | Rafael Takeda | 21,800,000 |
| 4 | Dane Harnett | 19,100,000 |
| 5 | Stavros Petychakis | 19,000,000 |
| 6 | Ben Collins | 15,850,000 |
| 7 | Vladas Tamasauskas | 15,650,000 |
| 8 | Siavash Bahri | 15,500,000 |
| 9 | Hersh Mahajan | 12,100,000 |
| 10 | Maxwell Schrack | 11,325,000 |
| 11 | Matthew Strickland | 11,000,000 |
| 12 | Rami Hammoud | 7,200,000 |
| 13 | David Valone | 7,150,000 |
| 14 | Richard Juliano | 6,675,000 |
| 15 | Gerald Schnierer | 5,700,000 |
| 16 | Ben Snodgrass | 3,300,000 |
| 17 | Caleb Powell | 2,100,000 |
Results so far on WSOP
Event #68: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nacho Barbero | 9,935,000 |
| 2 | John Reiter | 7,280,000 |
| 3 | Ivan Stankov | 6,400,000 |
| 4 | Andre Akkari | 5,055,000 |
| 5 | Colin Robinson | 4,835,000 |
| 6 | Gianluca Cedolia | 4,665,000 |
| 7 | Peter Park | 4,540,000 |
| 8 | Carl Shaw | 4,500,000 |
| 9 | Alisson Piekazewicz | 3,500,000 |
| 10 | Gonzalo Almada | 3,360,000 |
| Notables | ||
| 11 | Barry Shulman | 3,045,000 |
| 20 | Jin Hoon Lee | 1,390,000 |
| 21 | Rui Ferreira | 1,300,000 |
| 22 | Mike Holz | 1,015,000 |
| 23 | David Guay | 925,000 |
Full chip counts on WSOP
Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian Roberts | 2,380,000 |
| 2 | Jon Turner | 1,730,000 |
| 3 | Dekel Balas | 1,620,000 |
| 4 | Thomas Taylor | 1,400,000 |
| 5 | Yuval Bronshtein | 1,135,000 |
| 6 | Joey Couden | 970,000 |
| 7 | Nikolay Ponomarev | 915,000 |
| 8 | Kenneth Kemple | 880,000 |
| 9 | James Cheung | 800,000 |
| 10 | Daniel Blum | 735,000 |
| 11 | Robert Stevanovski | 655,000 |
| 12 | Eli Elezra | 450,000 |
| 13 | Nikolay Fal | 405,000 |
| 14 | Ryutaro Suzuki | 375,000 |
| 15 | James Hoeppner | 370,000 |
| 16 | Joseph Hertzog | 265,000 |
| 17 | Gregory Yohn | 190,000 |
Results so far on WSOP
Event #70: $400 COLOSSUS No-Limit Hold'em - Flight A
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dohang Na | 1,659,000 |
| 2 | Dustin Denzik | 1,608,000 |
| 3 | Kfir Nahum | 1,395,000 |
| 4 | Scott Roberts | 1,207,000 |
| 5 | Daniel Lowery | 1,037,000 |
| 6 | Benardo Neves | 1,000,045 |
| 7 | Sonke Jahn | 995,000 |
| 8 | Jerimiah Booher | 991,000 |
| 9 | Timothy Thorp | 949,000 |
| 10 | David Avina | 927,000 |
Full chip counts on WSOP
Event #71: $1,000 Ladies Championship No-Limit Hold'em
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irene Carey | 413,500 |
| 2 | Anastasiia Knapp | 360,500 |
| 3 | Ismaray Reigosa | 317,000 |
| 4 | Shiina Okamoto | 225,000 |
| 5 | Shenna Staana | 218,500 |
| 6 | Jiexi Guo | 217,500 |
| 7 | Carolyn Gardiner | 216,500 |
| 8 | Haruna Fujita | 209,500 |
| 9 | Janet Kanstrup | 208,000 |
| 10 | Samantha Gonzalez | 206,500 |
| Notables | ||
| 19 | Barbara Enright | 174,500 |
| 21 | Nadya Magnus | 173,500 |
| 22 | Cherish Andrews | 172,000 |
| 23 | Jessica Teusl | 154,000 |
| 39 | Katie Lindsay | 147,000 |
| 41 | Lara Eisenberg | 146,000 |
| 44 | Erica Lindgren | 144,500 |
| 78 | Kathy Liebert | 105,000 |
| 97 | Leo Margets | 92,500 |
| 104 | Jamie Kerstetter | 87,500 |
| 137 | Tamar Abraham | 68,500 |
Full chip counts on WSOP
Event #72: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naoya Kihara | 379,000 |
| 2 | Matt Glantz | 360,500 |
| 3 | Taylor Paur | 360,000 |
| 4 | Bariscan Betil | 356,500 |
| 5 | Shaun Deeb | 327,000 |
| 6 | Alex Foxen | 303,500 |
| 7 | David Funkhouser | 282,500 |
| 8 | Robert Mizrachi | 272,500 |
| 9 | Billy Baxter | 258,000 |
| 10 | Chris Hundley | 241,500 |
Full chip 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)
- Event #45: $10,000 HORSE Championship - Maksim Pisarenko (Russia)
- Event #46: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship - Khang Pham (USA)
- Event #47: $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em - Chris Hunichen (USA)
- Event #48: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (8-Handed) - Chris Vitch (USA)
- Event #49: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em - Erlend Melsom (Norway)
- Event #50: $10,000 Razz Championship - George Alexander (USA)
- Event #51: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout - Peter Park (USA)
- Event #52: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em – Mostafa Haidary (Australia)
- Event #53: $3,000 Nine Game Mixed - Yuri Dzivielevski (Brazil)
- Event #54: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold'em - Franco Spitale (Argentina)
- Event #55: $250,000 Super High Roller – Santhosh Suvarna (India)
- Event #56: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball (2-7, A-5, Badugi) – Patrick Moulder (USA)
- Event #57: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em – Frank Funaro (USA)
- Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship - Daniel Negreanu (Canada)
- Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em - Sean Jazayeri (USA)
- Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Paolo Boi (Italy)
- Event #61: $2,500 Mixed: Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better - Dario Sammartino (Italy)
- Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship - Hector Berry (UK)
- Event #63: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw - David Funkhouser (USA)
- Event #64: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack - Chris Moen (USA)
- Event #65: $5,000 Seniors High Roller No-Limit Hold'em - Mark Checkwicz (USA)
