On Monday, Dec. 9, the primary bracelet of the 2024 World Series of Poker Paradise pageant will probably be awarded. Along with it would come $12,070,000 in prize cash, the biggest poker match high prize to this point this yr. The $500,000 buy-in Triton Million occasion drew 96 entries at Atlantis Paradise Island within the Bahamas, making a $48,000,000 prize pool. Now, simply 14 gamers stay heading into the ultimate day of play, with these nonetheless in having locked up at the least $792,000 for making it this far.
Two-time bracelet winner Michael Moncek (pictured above, left) is the chip chief heading into day 3 with 12,500,000. The frequent high-stakes money recreation participant, recognized to many as ‘Texas Mike’, is one of three gamers who bagged up an eight-figure stack.
Moncek is joined by fellow two-time bracelet winner Daniel Dvoress (12,350,000) and 2021 WSOP major occasion seventh-place finisher Alejandro Lococo (10,775,000).
The subsequent two largest stacks belong to 2 of essentially the most achieved match gamers within the recreation. Four-time bracelet winner and present Card Player Player of the Year race chief Adrian Mateos will open play with 9,825,000. The 30-year-old (pictured above, middle) has greater than $52 million in prior earnings, with greater than $11 million of that coming from his 21 final-table finishes already recorded in 2024.
Next up within the chip counts is bracelet winner and two-time POY Stephen Chidwick with
8,650,000. With over $61 million in profession earnings, Chidwick (pictured above, proper) already sits in third place on poker’s all-time cash listing (Mateos is eighth). Were Chidwick to win this occasion, he would transfer into second place with over $73.1 million, and would path present chief Bryn Kenney ($74 million) by simply $903,418.
The high 17 finishers will earn payouts on this occasion. The bubble burst late on day 2, with Hustler Casino Live proprietor Ryan Feldman getting all-in with flush and straight attracts in opposition to the center pair and gutshot of Lococo, which held to see Feldman felted in 18th place. Mikita Badziakouski (seventeenth – $755,000) was the primary to fall inside the cash, shedding a flip with A-Q in opposition to the pocket jacks of Chidwick, which made quads by the river. High-stakes Thai poker professional Punnat Punsri (sixteenth – $755,000) quickly adopted when his A-4 suited was unable to return from behind in opposition to A-J for Lococo.
ACR Poker’s CEO Phil Nagy was the ultimate participant to fall on day 2, along with his Ok-10 making two pair however arising quick in opposition to the A-J of bracelet winner Ben Heath, who confirmed down broadway. Nagy earned a career-high rating of $792,000 because the Fifteenth-place finisher.
There are a number of multi-time WSOP champions nonetheless in competition, together with two-time bracelet winner Alex Foxen (4,600,000), four-time bracelet winner Chance Kornuth (3,850,000), and two-time bracelet winner Aleksejs Ponakovs (3,575,000).
David Einhorn was eradicated on the very first hand of this occasion, working A-Ok into the pocket aces of Jared Bleznick. The hedge fund founder managed to do higher on his second buy-in, although, bagging up 3,075,000 on the finish of day 2.
Day 3 begins at midday native time, with organizers intending for play to proceed till a champion is determined. Players will return to blinds of 125,000-250,000 with an enormous blind ante of 250,000.
Here is a have a look at the chip counts for the ultimate 14:
| Rank | Player | Chips |
| 1 | Michael Moncek | 12,500,000 |
| 2 | Daniel Dvoress | 12,350,000 |
| 3 | Alejandro Lococo | 10,775,000 |
| 4 | Adrian Mateos | 9,825,000 |
| 5 | Stephen Chidwick | 8,650,000 |
| 6 | Sosia Jiang | 7,925,000 |
| 7 | Sinan Unlu | 7,200,000 |
| 8 | Benjamin Heath | 5,450,000 |
| 9 | Elias Talvitie | 4,925,000 |
| 10 | Alex Foxen | 4,600,000 |
| 11 | Chance Kornuth | 3,850,000 |
| 12 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | 3,575,000 |
| 13 | David Einhorn | 3,075,000 |
| 14 | Esti Wang | 1,000,000 |
And listed here are the payouts for this match:
| Place | Prize |
| 1 | $12,070,000 |
| 2 | $8,160,000 |
| 3 | $5,304,000 |
| 4 | $4,390,000 |
| 5 | $3,542,000 |
| 6 | $2,795,000 |
| 7 | $2,140,000 |
| 8 | $1,605,000 |
| 9 | $1,200,000 |
| 10-11 | $985,000 |
| 12-13 | $865,000 |
| 14-15 | $792,000 |
| 16-17 | $755,000 |
This match is one of 15 bracelet occasions taking part in out on the WSOP Paradise from Dec. 6-19, with $68.5 million in assured prize cash to be paid out alongside the way in which. There are lots of excessive stakes affairs on the schedule, together with $100,000 and $50,000 buy-ins in each no-limit maintain’em and pot-limit Omaha, in addition to a $25,000 buy-in seller’s alternative occasion and the $25,000 buy-in $50,000,000 assured ‘super main event.’
