2021 WSOP Day 8: Deeb Looking For Bracelet #5

Day 8 of the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was the busiest of the series by far with three players becoming WSOP champions, and four other events progressing.

Ari Engel became a two-time bracelet winner when he triumphed in Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, while Jason Koon shook off the "best player without a bracelet" tag by becoming the Event #11: $25,000 heads-Up Championship champion.

Yuval Bronshtein was the third bracelet winner on Day 8. He completed a comeback in emphatic style to win Event #12: $1,500 Limit Hold’em.

What else went down on Day 8 of the 2021 WSOP? Keep reading to find out or watch the video below to get all the news within five minutes.

Shaun Deeb Looking For His Fifth Bracelet

Only six players remain in contention for the Event #14: $1,500 Seven Card Stud title, and Shaun Deeb is one of them. Deeb, who has four bracelets on his resume, returns to the action at 2:00 p.m. on October 8 second in chips, trailing only Rafael Lebron (1,690,000).

Deeb is not the only former champion among the final six: two other finalists have previously won some poker gold. David Williams is one of that pair; Williams has 1,050,000 chips in his stack. Nicholas Seiken (970,000) is the other. Seiken won the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship in 2018.

David Moskowitz (1,150,000) and Christina Hill (435,000) make up the rest of the six-handed final table. Hill hopes to become the first female WSOP champion in the live arena since Sue Faber took down the $500 No-Limit Hold’em Salute to Warriors event in 2019.

Event #14: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Final Table Seating & Chip Counts

Gathy Looking To Join An Exclusive Club

Belgian star Michael Gathy headlines the final table of Event #13: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em. Gathy already has four WSOP bracelets, and is only six eliminations away from a fifth piece of poker jewelry. Only 26 players have won five or more WSOP bracelets, with only legends Phil Hellmuth and Doyle Brunson winning five No-Limit Hld’em bracelets; all four of Gathy’s WSOP wins are in No-Limit Hold’em events.

Gathy sits down second in chips with 6,700,000 in his arsenal (approximately 56 big blinds). Only Brandon Caputo (7,200,000), who is seeking his first bracelet, has more chips at the restart.

The penultimate day’s action saw some of poker’s most recognizable players fall by the wayside. Faraz Jaka, Darren Elias, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, and Triple Crown winner Niall Farrell all fell short; Farrell came unstuck in 12th place, narrowly missing out on a final table seat.

The returning seven players have locked up $49,238 but there is $371,914 and a bracelet awaiting this tournament’s champion.

Event #13: $3,000 Freezeout NLHE Final Table Seating and Chip Counts

Rezaei Bags Up Second Biggest Stack in the $1,500 Six-Max

Some 1,450 players bought into Event #15: 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em but only 96 managed to progress to Day 2.

The bubble burst during the 14th level of the day, which opened the floodgates regarding eliminations. The likes of James Carroll, Joey Weissman, Vanessa Kade, Asi Moshe, and Ben Yu all fell before the curtain came down on Day 1.

Daniel Orgil finished Day 1 by bagging up a tournament-leading stack of 1,650,000 with Austrian grinder Daniel Rezaei in second place with 1,266,000. Rezaei has been going deep in major online events all year, so it is unsurprising to see him among the leader in this tournament.

Jun Obara was the only other player to end the day with a seven-figure stack, namely 1,200,000 chips.

Plenty of other stars are among the 96 players returning to the felt on Day 2. Javier Gomez (507,000), Melanie Weisner (467,000), Joni Jouhkimainen (320,000), Darren Elias (265,000), and serial WSOP casher Roland Israelashviki (262,000) are among them.

Event #15: 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

Kurtzman Claims $10K Limit Hold’em Championship Lead

A whole host of superstars entered Event #16: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship but it was Eric Kurtzman who finished the day as the chip leader. Kurtzman bagged up 466,000 chips at the close of play, more than any other of the 34 surviving players from a starting field of 78.

Kurtzman, who is affectionately known as "The Donkey," resides in Las Vegas but only plays tournaments during the WSOP. He’s got off to a flying start in this event, but victory is far from a done deal because some of poker’s greats are in the chasing pack.

Brazil’s Yuri Dzivielevski returns third in chips with a 270,000 stack while the likes of two-time bracelet winner Christopher Vitch (162,000), Chad Eveslage (162,000), and Anthony Zinno (159,000) have enough chip for a top ten spot.

Others still in contention include Jason Somerville (125,000), John Racener (117,000), recent bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus (112,000), Brian Rast (108,000), Mike Matusow (108,000), Benny Glaser (49,000), and Erik Seidel (22,000).

Event #16: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

WSOP Events on Day 9 (October 8)