WSOP 2023 Day 26 Recap: Nick Pupillo Wins First Bracelet, Tag Team Tournament Title Won by Team Savakinas

Four bracelets were won by three players on a day of drama at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP). There were victories in PLO, Triple Draw and the Tag Team Event which saw a stunning finale award bracelets to both winners at the Horseshoe in Las Vegas. With four other events in progress, Sin City saw every seat filled as players battled for gold on the Strip.

 

Nick Pupillo Wins Triple Draw for First Bracelet

 

Nick Pupillo won his first-ever WSOP bracelet after conquering the Mixed Triple Draw Event #52 for a top prize of $181,978. Beating Ryan Moriarty heads-up, Pupillo also outlasted players such as Aaron Mermelstein and Tomomitsu Ono at the final table felt.

 

Six players began the final table and by the time they did, Anatolii Zyrin had busted in 7^th place for $18,398 as Brant Hale scored an important elimination. Despite this, Hale was the next man out, before a misread hand where Hye Park mucked the winning hand in Badugi saw the American eventually pay for that error by sliding out in 5^th place.

 

After the Japanese player Ono had busted in 4^th, Mermelstein missed out on the heads up battle, and in doing so lost a pot to Pupillo which hand the final day favorite a big lead. He didn’t miss the opportunity to put it to good use and eliminated Moriarty in second place to claim gold for the first time in Las Vegas, celebrating with his rail.

 

WSOP 2023 Event #52 $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Results:
Rank	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Nick Pupillo	United States	$181,978
2nd	Ryan Moriarty	United States	$112,472
3rd	Aaron Mermelstein	United States	$74,545
4th	Tomomitsu Ono	Japan	$50,608
5th	Hye Park	United States	$35,212
6th	Brant Hale	United States	$25,126

 

Tag Team Event Won by Team Savakinas for $190k

 

A thrilling ending to the $1,000-entry Tag Team event saw Michael Savakinas and Satoshi Tanaka take the top prize of $190,662 as they conquered a fun event by beating Vincent Moscati and Tanner Bibat heads-up for the bracelets. In an event where players such as David Williams with his team partner Theo Tran finished in 7^th place for $26,000, Tanaka paid tribute to his partner Savakinas for a match-winning strategy no-one else adopted.

 

“When the final table started, we decided to switch on the levels,” he told reporters. “I think that gave us an edge because no one else was doing that.”

 

When all was said and done, the pair both won debut bracelets as they celebrated a victory that has further cemented an already rock-solid friendship.

 

“We get along outside of poker too, so naturally if things go wrong in poker we help each other out, but not just poker-wise, with everything.”

 

WSOP 2023 Event #51 $1,000 Tag Team Results:
Rank	Team/Players	Country	Prize
1st	Michael Savakinas - Satoshi Tanaka	United States	$190,662
2nd	Vincent Moscati - Tanner Bibat	United States	$117,872
3rd	Jonah LaBranche - Dustin Wills	United States	$85,040
4th	Rickey Evans - Roberto Valdez	United States	$62,090
5th	John Ventre - Kenneth Gallo	United States	$45,884
6th	Marcus Stein - Amber Donatelli	United States	$34,326
7th	David Williams - Theo Tran	United States	$26,000
8th	Carlos Inukai - Emmaniel Avila	United States	$19,942
9th	Justin Pechie - Ronnie Bardah	United States	$15,492
10th	Ramon Kropmanns - Jessica Serial	Brazil	$12,190

 

Lou Garza Wins First Bracelet... Then Produces a Ring!

 

Texan player Lou Garza won a pulsating final table in the $10,000 buy-in PLO Championship, beating fellow Texas-based player Arthur Morris to the crown. Upon victory, Garza, who had previously won a WSOP Circuit ring, produced a ring of a different sort as he got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend at the final table!

 

Hugs, kisses and pictures ensued, with jewelry on show at the felt as Garza also banked a career-high score of $1.3 million by taking down the latest $10,000-entry Championship event. With players such as Kosei Ichinose (8^th) and Sam Soverel (7^th) making the official eight-handed final table, Garza had seen off real quality for the crowning moment of his poker career - and life... so far.

 

WSOP 2023 Event #50 $10,000 PLO Championship Results:
Rank	Team/Players	Country	Prize
1st	Lou Garza	United States	$1,309,232
2nd	Arthur Morris	United States	$809,167
3rd	Stanislav Halatenko	Ukraine	$570,307
4th	Travis Pearson	United States	$407,915
5th	Peng Shan	China	$296,154
6th	Sam Soverel	United States	$218,297
7th	Kosei Ichinose	Japan	$163,405
8th	Ren Lin	China	$124,243

 

Billy Baxter Chasing Old Glory in Seniors Championship

 

WSOP legend Billy Baxter ended the penultimate night of Event #48, the $1,000-entry Seniors Championship in 7^th place from 29 survivors as he pursues the $765,731 top prize in style. Gordon Eng (15.9m) leads the way, but Baxter, who piled up 6.4 million chips, is poised for a run at his 8^th WSOP bracelet tomorrow on a day of destiny.

 

Only two other former WSOP bracelet winners took stacks into the final day, with Jiaqi Xu (4.7m) and Dan Heimiller (3.6m) way down the list. It could be Baxter’s day on Sunday night as the Seniors Championship comes to a close.

 

WSOP 2023 Event #48 $1,000 Seniors Championship Leaderboard:
Place	Team/Players	Country	Chips
1st	Gordon Eng	United States	15,975,000
2nd	Lonnie Hallett	Canada	15,300,000
3rd	David Stearns	United States	10,575,000
4th	Amin Mostafavi	United States	10,525,000
5th	Jamie Baker	Canada	9,700,000

 

Millionaire Maker Enjoys Bumper Day 1b

 

An incredible day of entries took place on Day 1b of the Millionaire Maker. The event, officially Event #53 of the 95 WSOP bracelet events scheduled to take place this summer in Las Vegas, saw 4,585 entries on the second Day 1 flight of the action, with those numbers confirming the event as the biggest $1,500 buy-in tournament in poker history.

 

Of the Day 1b entries, just 1,310 players survived to Day 2, with Zilong Zhang (407,000) the chip leader from Christian Vaca (405,000) at the top of the leaderboard. Plenty of big names made the cut, with WSOP Main Event world champions Espen Jorstad (149,500) and Jamie Gold (83,000) joined in the Day 2 seat draw by others such as Loni Hui (220,000), Faraz Jaka (57,000), and Vanessa Kade (51,000).

 

WSOP 2023 Event #53 $1,500 Millionaire Maker Leaderboard:
Rank	Team/Players	Country	Chips
1st	Zilong Zhang	United States	407,000
2nd	Christian Vaca	United States	405,000
3rd	Pei Li	Canada	396,500
4th	Stan Yuk Lee	United States	386,000
5th	Yi Li	United States	370,000

 

Hellmuth Still Chasing 17^th Bracelet in H.O.R.S.E.

 

Of the 17 players who remain in the hunt for the Event #54 bracelet, in the $10,000-entry H.O.R.S.E. Championship, Phil Hellmuth (900,000) sits in the exact middle position of the deck in 8^th place on the leaderboard. Chasing what would be a record-extending 17^th WSOP bracelet in the event, the ‘Poker Brat’ still needs to ride out two more days play but has every shot as the players convene for the third day of action.

 

Brian Yoon (1,465,000) currently leads the field and Yoon will be tough to stop having already won a WSOP title – his fifth – this summer in this year's $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship. Yoon is closely followed by Connor Drinan (1,200,000) and Christopher Claassen (1,070,000) in the counts, with Scott Seiver (965,000), and Carol Fuchs (865,000) completing a dangerous top five.

 

WSOP 2023 Event #54 $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship Leaderboard:
Place	Team/Players	Country	Chips
1st	Brian Yoon	United States	1,465,000
2nd	Connor Drinan	United States	1,200,000
3rd	Christopher Claassen	United States	1,070,000
4th	Scott Seiver	United States	965,000
5th	Carol Fuchs	United States	865,000

 

Rodawig Leads, Rast Chasing in Seven Card Stud

 

The opening day’s play in Event #55, the $1,500-entry Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better event saw 566 entries whittled down to 183 survivors, with just 95 due to be paid. Of the survivors, Eric Rodawig (234,500) leads the field, with the chip leader a sleeper challenge to anyone who has designs on the title; he beat Phil Hellmuth to the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship event 12 years ago this summer.

 

Hellmuth, as we’ve already told you, is busy elsewhere, but plenty of other luminaries of the game will be a major obstacle to be overcome on Day 2, with Kao Saechao (155,000), Brian Rast (118,000), Frankie O'Dell (100,000), Adam Friedman (98,500) and Norman Chad (70,000) all in there scrapping.

 

WSOP 2023 Event #55 $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Leaderboard:
Place	Team/Players	Country	Chips
1st	Eric Rodawig	United States	234,500
2nd	Kevin Cote	United States	187,000
3rd	Constantine Zdanowich	United States	186,500
4th	Qibang Cheung	United Kingdom	175,000
5th	Michael Estes	United States	173,000

 

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