WSOP 2024 Is In Full Swing - How Have The Tournaments Started?

The most prestigious poker tournament series globally, the World Series of Poker(WSOP), officially kicked off on May 28th 2024. The 55th edition of the tournament returned to the  Horseshoe and Paris Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, for another epic run. 

In 2023, the poker competition recorded an all-time high performance by exceeding turnout and prize pools across the board. The 54th edition of the WSOP generated over $425.2 million in revenue across both live and online events. This was a rise for 2022’s over $346.3 million revenue. Additionally, 2023 saw the WSOP host the highest number of players yet, with  250,000 sharks participating in the competition, up from 198,429 in 2022. However, as Ty Stewart, the SVP and Executive Director of the World Series of Poker, said, “Records are made to be broken.” This is what the 2024 series hopes to do with 99 gold bracelets up for grabs. 

The WSOP 2024 schedule is already up on casinojungle.ca, and while the main event is scheduled for July 3rd to July 17th, the tournament is already in full swing. Here are highlights of some of the noteworthy tournaments so far.

Tournament #1 Champions Reunion No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout

The 55th WSOP introduced a new event for its inaugural Champions Reunion No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout. This tournament saw all living Main Event champions get a free entry to play while other players required a $5,000 buy-in. This new event also came with a new twist that granted anyone who knocked out a former Main Event champion an automatic entry to this year's Main Event through a $10,000 Main Event seat bounty. 

The tournament attracted 493 players to the competition and generated a prize pool of $2,047,800. The three-day event saw Asher Conniff crowned king following an impressive comeback; Asher Conniff was crowned king of the three-day event. Asher bagged the first gold bracelet of the 2024 WSOP and the $408,468 winning prize. Halil Tasyurek came in second after an intense three-level heads-up match and won the $272,305 runner-up prize.

Tournament #2 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em

The Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em is normally the WSOP’s opening event; however, this year, it came in second. The tournament is one of only three closed tournaments in the series, and this year, it garnered 1,189 entries and accumulated a significant $499,380 prize pool. The $500 buy-in competition saw only 179 players return on the second day, and only four made it to the final table.

The final four were Jose Garcia, Richard Rothmeier, Lang Anderson, and Alexander Green.  Jose, a poker dealer at Sandia Resort & Casino, emerged victorious, taking home his inaugural World Series of Poker bracelet and a $79,134 cash prize. The final battle was a thrilling showdown with Richard Rothmeier, who came in second and won $52,773 in cash.

Tournament #4 $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better (8-Handed)

The $1,500 buy-in Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better competition was the first mixed-game tournament of the summer, and it attracted 928 entries and amassed a whopping $1,238,880 prize pool. This year's champion of the tournament is no one new to the game or tournament, as he finished second last year in the  $10,000 buy-in Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better category.  

James Chen finally claimed his first WSOP gold bracelet after coming so close last year. This year’s win comes after an impressive and consistent performance that saw him have an overwhelming chip lead over the other 278 players after day one and get to third place against 22 on day two to finally breeze to the lead in the final seven hours of the tournament. 

Chen, who shared that he mostly plays cash games, just like those listed on casinojungle.ca, took home $209,350 in winnings. He was, however, not done with the WSOP and will be playing in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, which will run from June 1st to June 4th. The runner-up in the tournament, Lewis Brant, took home a sweet $139,563.

Tournament #6 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship

The sixth tournament in the WSOP has seen the biggest risk taken by a player so far. Darius Samual risked half his bankroll to compete in the $25,000 Heads-Up  No-Limit Hold’em Championship, and boy, did his gamble pay off. Samual performed like a beast on the table, besting six opponents in a row to earn the number one position.

This is Darius Samual’s first WSOP gold bracelet, with a $500,000 first-place cash prize. The British businessman successfully faced off numerous poker title holder Faraz Jaka, who came in second, winning $300,000, fan-favourite John Smith, who had the audience’s backing and Russian poker phenom Artur Martirosian. This win is commendable for a man who had no prior final-table finishes and has yet to specialize in a particular poker format but trusted his gut and went all in to cash out big.

The 2024 WSOP has been nothing short of exciting and full of surprises so far. The anticipation and momentum for the main event keep building, and we await to see if 2023’s record winning of $12,100,000 will be blown in 2024 and who will get to be crowned the winner of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.