WSOP 2024: High Roller Heroics as Henrick Hecklen Leads Star-Studded Field, Phil Hellmuth Goes Close to Bracelet #18 (2024)

The latest action from Las Vegas in the 2024 World Series of Poker saw seven events move closer to completion as no bracelets were won on Day 22 of the WSOP but plenty of drama played out. Phil Hellmuth came very close to his 18^th title only to be denied late, while others such as Barry Shulman, Martin Kabrhel and Benny Glaser put themselves within touching distance of claiming gold.

$100k High Roller Kicks Off with Dramatic Day 1

The $100,000-entry High Roller event kicked off the most expensive event so far in this year’s WSOP as 95 entries flooded Day 1 of Event #47. Danish tournament crusher Henrik Hecklen will be cheering on his countrymen in tomorrow Euro 2024 fixture with England holding the chip lead in this event, with his stack of just over 3.5 million hugely impressive at this stage.

Just 44 players ended Day 1 still in play, but with late registration still open on Day 2, players such as Daniel Negreanu, Espen Jorstad and the reigning champion Jans Arends will all be pondering whether to put up another six figures in pursuit of glory.

Hecklen’s stack was biggest but plenty of other poker legends made Day 2, with Ben Tollerene (2,815,000), Nick Petrangelo (2,700,000), and Jared Bleznick (2,655,000) all inside the top five.

Others to make the grade but a little lower down the leaderboard included Jeremy Ausmus (2.09m), Justin Saliba (1.86m), Dylan Weisman (1.66m) and Justin Bonomo (1,425,000), while the recent $50,000 High Roller winner Sergio Aido (1.41m) will be looking to go back-to-back in the two biggest ticket WSOP Events so far this summer.

Kabrhel Might be King in Monster Stack

The final day of the epic $1,500-entry Event #38, the Monster Stack, has been reached, with 55 players still hoping to land a million dollars and the fabled WSOP gold bracelet very soon. Czech Republic player Martin Kabrhel leads the field with a stack of 24,425,000, while Tim Reilly is a three-bet behind on 24 million.

There are plenty of other players a little further back who with prevailing fortune behind them could yet derail the leader. British pair Mat Frankland (10.95m) and John Duthie (8m) both have a lot of experience and former bracelet winners Arnaud Enselme (10,425,000), Greg Jensen (4,625,000) and Joao Simao ((2,275,000) will all be threats.

With the top prize of $1,098,220 to be awarded and the epic finishing line in sight for the last of 8,704 entrants, the Monster Stack is going to be a beast of an event to watch as it crowns a winner.

Hellmuth Comes up Short in Mixed Omaha Battle

Three players are left in the hunt for the $196,970 top prize in the $1,500 buy-in Mixed Omaha Event #43, as Phil Hellmuth fell one place short of making the final day, finishing in fourth for over $63,000 but no 18^th gold bracelet.

With an extra day required to find a winner tomorrow, Swedish professional Magnus Edengren leads with 10.5 million chips from James Juvancic (6.2m) and Tim Seidensticker (5m). No-one remaining has a previous bracelet win, meaning there will be a new winner instead of the ‘GOAT’ winner of all-time adding #18.

After players such as six-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb (16^th for $7,543) and Nathan Gamble (14^th for $9,234) both fell short, the crowd increasing seemed to flock to the rail to see if Hellmuth could make it #18. That he failed to do so only takes a little gloss from the very ending to a superb Mixed Omaha event. The Poker Brat will be disappointed to lose the chance to make another final day count, but ultimately will look back with pride on a great run and his best finish so far in a 2024 WSOP event.

Gomez Gold Standard, Shulman the Shark

Event #44 saw a penultimate day reduce the total field of 1,561 entries to just 17 survivors, with the $2,000-entry NLHE event ending Day 2 with just one former WSOP bracelet winner – Barry Shulman on 685,000 chips. The leader is some way clear of Barry, however, as Spanish player Javier Gomez piled up 4,870,000 chips as he looks to bully his way to the $410,359 top prize on offer.

With players such as Nicholas Massey (4,055,000), British player Damien Le Goff (3,445,000) and Romanian Narcis Nedelcu (2,700,000) all still in with a chance of glory, Shulman looks to have a tough task to win more gold. Despite this, no-one would rule him out with his years of experience coming back tomorrow with him.

Chung Cheered on in HORSE Championship Race

Christopher Chung leads the remaining 17 players in Event #45, the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship. Stacking up 1,345,000 chips to grab the lead with a day to play, Patrick Moulder (1,195,000) and British poker legend Benny Glaser (1,125,000) are both in hot pursuit, as 281 total entries have been reduced to just two tables of players.

With almost $400,000 to the winner, two-time runner-up in 2024 WSOP events Robert Wells (885,000) will be hoping to go one place better tomorrow, with both Maria Ho (420,000) and Esther Taylor (400,000) aiming to become the first female winner of an open WSOP so far this summer.

Two Day 1s Begin New Events

Two other events began on Day 22 of the WSOP, with Event #46, the $1,000-entry Seniors Championship seeing 4,993 entries inside the Horseshoe and Paris casinos. They were reduced in number to 647 players, with Brent Nelms (525,000) chip leader, chased down by Carlos Bermudez (468,000), Rafael Benami (438,500), Matt Salsberg (210,000), James Calderaro (175,000), Andy Black (153,000), Allyn Shulman (92,000), Andres Korn (82,000), Mark Seif (77,000), and Robert Campbell (49,000).

Finally, in Event #48, the $1,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Max tournament, 2,212 entrants were whittled down to just 128 survivors, with Grzegorz Derkowski on top with 1,177,000 chips. He’ll likely not have it all his own way on Day 2, with James Chen (1,017,000),Kharlin Sued (1,100,000),Brian Hastings (793,000), David Prociak (630,000), Christopher Frank (608,000), Shaun Deeb (445,000) and Phil Laak (243,000) all pursuing his total as they look to reach the third and final day of the event where they’ll be fighting for a top prize of $262,734.

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