2023 WSOP Day 46: Adam Walton Leads Final 9 in Main Event

The moment we have been waiting for is just days away at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe Las Vegas and the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino with the record-breaking WSOP $10,000 Main Event played down to just nine final table players in the hunt for the coveted $12.1 million top prize with Adam Walton leading the way when the action resumes for Day 9 on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Bulgaria’s Alex Kulev had a day to remember on Friday as he not only won his first bracelet in the $50,000 High Roller but also notched his largest live tournament cash to date of more than $2 million. Matthew Parry won his maiden bracelet in the $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha while denying WSOP Player of the Year Leaderboard captain Ian Matakis his second bracelet of the year.

Joseph Roe also found his first taste of WSOP, albeit in a smaller event than Kulev after shipping the $600 Ultra Stack. Many other events also got one step closer to their inevitable champions being crowned. Read more about what went down on Day 46 of the 2023 WSOP:

Adam Walton Leads Main Event After Jose Aguilera Bubbles Final Table

The 2023 WSOP Main Event will be one to remember as it not only established a new Main Event record with 10,043 entries creating a $93,999,900 prize pool but also set the new gold standard as the largest prize pool in poker tournament history.

Walton began the eighth day with 15 payers remaining just behind the Day 8 chip leader Juan Maceiras and this remained the same as the first four players in Cong Pham (12^th – $535,000), Sachin Joshi (13^th – $535,000), Day 6 chip leader Joshua Payne (14^th – $430,200), and Jack O’Neill (15^th – $430,200) hit the rail. Payne’s elimination was particular ‘painful’ as he got it in good with kings against the queens held by Jose Aguilera and the jacks held by WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Weinman. The fishhooks got there after a jack appeared on the turn for Weinman to double through Aguilera and send Payne packing on a bad beat in what could be the biggest spot of his poker career.

Shortly after, Alec Torelli (11^th – $700,000), who is usually better known as a cash game player, ended his run with disappointment after losing a flip with jacks against Maceiras’ big slick. Walton then won a few pots while Maceiras began bleeding chips to take the chip lead before WSOP bracelet winner Jan-Peter Jachtmann concluded the eighth day of the Main Event with a bang. He jammed the six-five-four rainbow flop with ace-eight suited and was called by Aguilera with ace-jack suited. Jachtmann improved to a straight after a seven spiked the turn and Aguilera hit the rail just one player shy of the exclusive final table to finish in 10^th place for $700,000 after he was unable to get a chop on the river.

As we already mentioned in the intro, players will enjoy a day off before the action resumes on Sunday at 2 p.m. with PokerGO broadcasting with hole cards exposed on a delay. Some of the final tablists will invest this time to study and some will clear their minds after playing for eight long days.

2023 WSOP Main Event Final Table Seat Draw

2023 WSOP Main Event Final Table Payouts

All players at the final table already secured at least a $900,000 payout with the prizes laddering up quickly from there. Monday’s new WSOP Main Event champion will earn a record $12,100,000 top prize for their efforts. Check out all the final table payouts below:

Joseph Roh Wins Event #81: $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold’em ($401,250)

Joseph Roh may not play many poker tournaments but his dream came true on Friday as he won his maiden bracelet in the three-day Event #81: $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold’em for $401,250. It was an entertaining final table that witnessed many lead changes with tons of aggressive play being displayed especially by Roh.

“This is something I’ve really wanted to do for a while,” Roh said after the victory according to the WSOP. “I don’t play that many tournaments… I mean, I play a little bit here and there but my dream is to be there.”

The final day featured nine hopefuls for the title with the event guaranteed to award a first-time bracelet winner after WSOP champion Scott Bohlman hit the rail in 11^th place for $29,870 late on Day 2.

Roh began the final table in sixth place but won a big pot against the chip leader John Fagg shortly after Schuyler Thornton hit the rail in ninth place for $37,910 to take the lead. Denny Lee then snagged the chip lead after his ace-queen was good against jack-ten to oust Lucas Tae in eighth place for $48,480. This lead change didn’t last long as Roh regained his position as the table captain after his deuces won a flip against ace-nine to eliminate Min Sung Lee in seventh place for $62,450.

Fagg catapulted back into the chip lead when his jacks proved to be good against ace-seven suited to send Logan Moon to the locker room in sixth place for $81,030. Roh then took the chip lead once again when his cowboys held against ace-jack to end the run of William Fisher in fifth place for $105,890 and still had the lead after Lee eliminated Peyton Ethridge in fourth place for $139,360 after winning a flip.

All momentum was with Lee at this point as he won key pot after key pot to take a substantial chip lead with three players remaining. However, the battle was far from over with first Roe coming back to regain the lead before Fagg was once again the player with the most chips. However, Fagg lost most of his stack and was down to just three big blinds when he dusted off his stack to Roh to end his run on the podium in third place for $184,720 when his jack-deuce didn’t improve against ace-five.

Shortly after that, Roh left Lee one player shy of winning his first bracelet. Lee three-bet jammed with ace-five and settled for the runner-up prize of $250,120 after being outmatched by Roh’s ace-queen.

Event #81: $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Results

The three-day Event #81: $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold’em attracted a massive field of 7,207 entries to create a $3,675,570 prize pool. The top 555 players went home with at least a $1,400 min-cash. Check out the final table payouts below:

Matthew Parry Wins Event #82: $3,000 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha ($480,122)

Matthew Parry began the fourth and final day in Event #82: $3,000 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha with the chip lead before winning the event for $480,122 after defeating Dustin Goldklang heads-up.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Parry, especially in the beginning when he lost a huge pot to Goldklang to relinquish his chip lead to his opponent before losing even more of his stack shortly later.

Goldklang extended his chip lead and held more than half the chips in play after eliminating Lawrence Wayne in fifth place for $103,738. All eyes were on Ian Matakis in his quest to lock down to become the 2023 WSOP Player of the Year and to win his second bracelet of the year. Matakis advanced to the podium after eliminating Cuba Levenberry in fourth place for $144,890 but was unable to get anything going after that.

Parry regained the chip lead before eliminating Matakis in third place for $205,696. Goldklang was low on chips. He did earn one double before bowing out just short of the bracelet for the runner-up prize of $296,746.

Event #82: $3,000 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha Final Table Results

The four-day Event #82: $3,000 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha attracted 1,013 entries to create a $2,704,710 prize pool. The top 152 players earned at least a min-cash of $4,829 with all the final table payouts listed below.

Alex Kulev Wins Event #84: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller

Most players dream of winning a seven-figure prize once in their lifetimes. Twice in a summer would be fantasy land for just about everyone but Bulgaria’s Alex Kulev pulled it off on Friday. It took him just two days to win the three-day Event #84 $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller after he late entered the event before the start of Day 2 with just a 15 big blind stack.

“The best players in the world came out to play this tournament,” Kulev said about the tough field after his victory according to the WSOP. “I max late-regged with 15 big blinds, so it was very touch and go for a bit but when the cards want you to win, they usually let you win.”

Kulev has called Ireland his home for many years and is well integrated into the Irish poker community with many players including poker author and The Chip Race podcast co-host Dara O’Kearney congratulating him on social media.

Kulev began the final day with five players remaining holding the chip lead but Gergely Kulcsar quickly earned this honor after eliminating 2021 WSOP Main Event champion Koray Aldemir (fifth – $533,561) when his king-jack suited dominated his opponent’s king-nine.

Kulcsar’s momentum continued as he delivered a bad beat to Daniel Smiljkovic (fourth – $713,413) when his ace-ten got there against ace-jack. The lead then bounced back and forth between Kulcsar and Kulev before Kulev eventually snagged the lead and never looked back.

Kulev will likely remember ace-nine well as he quickly eliminated both of his opponents with this hand. First, he sent the controversial Jake Schindler (third – $957,491) to the showers when ace-nine was good against ace-eight before Kulcsar (second – $1,289,909) ran his ace-five into ace-nine suited to conclude the event.

Event #84: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller Final Table Results

The three-day Event #84: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller featured 176 entries from some of the top poker talent around the world to create a whopping $8,404,000 prize pool. The top 27 players earned at least a $80,920 min-cash. Check out the final table results below:

Who Will Win the Final Table of Event #85: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout

A field of 987 entries has been battling it out in one-table shootouts for a chance at a WSOP bracelet and for a piece of the $1,317,645 prize pool over the past two days. Saturday will witness a winner with just 10 hopefuls remaining in one of the final bracelet events of the summer. The final 10 players have already locked up $19,003 with Saturday’s champion earning a coveted WSOP gold bracelet and the $237,367 top prize.

Adam Friedman is hunting for his sixth WSOP bracelet while Brazilian poker stud Yuri Dzivielevski should have a large rail rooting him on to win his fourth bracelet.

However, most of the table including old-school poker beast Faraz “The Toilet” Jaka are hunting for their first bracelet.

The Ukraine flag will be waiving and there should be a decent rail for Olga Iermolcheva when the action resumes on Saturday at 11 a.m. to cheer her on in her quest to become the first female WSOP champion of the summer in an open event and to join the 2023 WSOP Ladies Championship bracelet winner Tamar Abraham as the only women to find WSOP gold this summer.

Event #85: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout Final Table Seat Draw

Diego Ventura Leads Final 9 in Event #86: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold’em

The three-day Event #86: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold’em will kick off its third and final day on Saturday at 11 a.m. with Peru’s Diego Ventura in the lead with a 53 big blind stack of 13,350,000.

While a victory is not yet in the bag for Ventura with many talented players at the final table of nine players, he is the odds-on favorite to win the event with a decent gap between him and his nearest opponent in Thomas Kysar with 8,925,000.

The 2014 WSOP Main Event Champion and former 888poker Ambassador Martin Jacobson may not have gotten much going in this year’s Main Event but still has a chance to add his second career WSOP bracelet with a below-average stack of 3,275,000.

The final nine players are guaranteed a payout slip of at least $32,897 with Saturday’s bracelet winner banking a bigger prize of $402,054.

Event #86: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Seat Draw

Other Ongoing Events

Event #87: $1,500 Mixed Omaha / Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Eight or Better is down to just 35 players after two days of play from the field of 460 entries in hopes of securing the bracelet and a chunk of the $1,023,500 prize pool. WSOP champion Nick Pupillo and two-time WSOP bracelet winner Yuval Bronshtein are tightly grouped at the top of the leaderboard with many other bracelet winners still in contention including Ari Engel, Patrick Leonard, Sean Troha, Nathan Gamble, Alex Livingston, and Todd Brunson when the action resumes on Saturday at 1 p.m. The remaining field already nailed down at least a $5,762 payday with the winner adding a hefty $221,733 to their career earnings.

A total of 1,141 entries battled it out on the first of two opening flights in Event #88: $1,500 The Closer No-Limit Hold’em to add $1,523,235 to the prize pool with Day 1b taking place on Saturday at 10 a.m. The money bubble on Day 1a is worth a mention as an unnamed player didn’t return from dinner break and was about to be blinded off on the bubble. Three players hit the rail on the bubble to split the $2,400 min-cash just before they were in the big blind for this player to actually reach the money. Benson Tang bagged the chip lead over the 76 survivors followed by Alan Hamza and Jeffrey Tanouye. Behind this group is 2009 WSOP Ladies Event bracelet winner Lisa Hamilton in the hunt for her first bracelet in an open event.

Meanwhile, Pete Chen leads the final 19 players in Event #89: $1,000 Flip & Go Presented by GGPoker when the action resumes on Saturday at 12 p.m., and Event #90: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship broke new records with 495 entries. Tobias Schwecht leads the way in that event with the field not finalized with late registration open until the start of Day 2 at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

July 15 WSOP Schedule

Saturday, July 15 will be another busy day at the WSOP despite the fact that the crown-jewel of the festival in the WSOP Main Event will be taking a break for a day before the two-day final table is played down to a winner on Sunday and Monday.

Four bracelets will be awarded including one in a one-day virtual event at WSOP.com for players located in New Jersey or Nevada. Two other events will get one step closer to awarding bracelets while mixed-game players will be back in action for the three-day Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. kicking off at 2 p.m.

Below is a look at today’s schedule while head to the PokerPro opening WSOP article to check out the full schedule of the 2023 World Series of Poker.

Images and hand details courtesy of WSOP/PokerNews.