WSOP 2021: Main Event Day 1D Draws 2,500 as Dan Shak, David ‘Bakes’ Baker Finish Top 5
WSOP 2021: Main Event Day 1D Draws 2,500 as Dan Shak, David ‘Bakes’ Baker Finish Top 5

The fourth Day 1 flight of the WSOP Main Event saw over 2,500 players either qualify for or directly buy-in for $10,000 as the biggest poker tournament in the world saw its biggest day yet. With some of the best players in poker taking their shot at millions on Day 1d, there were major casualties and superstars bagging big stacks.

Baker and Shak in the Mix

The chip leader in the Main Event is Russian player Aleksandr Shevlyakov from Day 1c with 392,600 chips, but Day 1d’s best-performing player, Adedapo Ajayi, will be proud of the 340,900 he bagged up by close of play. With David ‘Bakes’ Baker (247,300) and Dan Shak (229,200) also grabbing top 5 stacks by the end of Day 1d, there was a lot of talented competition going on to Day 2.

Others who thrived on Day 1d included James Chen (209,400), Shyam Srinivasan (206,000), and Cliff Josephy (198,600), who tweeted about his excitement at playing the Main Event yet again, the luster of the competition never losing its thrill to one of the World Series’ most respected regulars.

Other big names made Day 2 with big stacks too. Yevgeniy Timoshenko (194,800), Nick Petrangelo (180,000), Matt Berkey (179,800), Greg Mueller (176,700), Ben Heath (176,000), Roland Israelashvili (173,700), Jun Obara (169,400), and Melanie Weisner (125,200) all making the cut.

Newhouse Survives Scary Start

Mark Newhouse, famed for finishing ninth two years on the trot in the Main Event, had a dramatic start to the day when he was all-in and at risk with pocket kings against two players with pocket aces. Newhouse hit a king on the river to treble up, but while that pot put him on well over twice his starting stack, he drifted a little later in the day to end on 83,000 chips.

Plenty of others weren’t so fortunate to bag up a stack, with Adam Levy, Michael Ruane, Jason Somerville, Joseph Cheong, Greg Raymer, Brandon Shack-Harris, John Esposito, Joe McKeehen, Ryan Laplante, Julien Martini, Phil Laak, and David Williams all out by the end of Day 1d.

With over 600 players busting and just 1,939 players making it through to Day 2, one of the players to depart was Michael Graydon, whose stirring story has been one that has resonated with so many poker players and fans.

Over 4,500 players have now played in the 2021 WSOP Main Event, so with two more Day 1 flights to come, possibly the busiest of the event so far, could we see a record attendance? That’s yet to be revealed, but what we do know from Day 1d is that some of the best players in the world are moving on to compete on Day 2.

WSOP 2021 Event #67 $10,000 Main Event Top 10 Chipcounts:

  1. Adedapo Ajayi – 340,900
  2. Zachary Grech – 318,400
  3. Wooram Cho – 252,100
  4. David ‘Bakes’ Baker – 247,300
  5. Dan Shak – 229,200
  6. Jill Sodafsky – 224,500
  7. Alex Goulder – 218,500
  8. Taylor Howard – 214,200
  9. Ivan Galinec – 211,300
  10. Mike Gao – 210,000

With so many European players now on their way to Las Vegas in order to take their seats in the WSOP Main Event, one player from Dublin wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as others.

Finally, with many rumors around Phil ‘The Poker Brat’s Main Event entrance this year, the man himself has dressed up for a picture of him as ‘The Greatest Showman’, but it appears that it may well have been an early bluff ahead of some genuine ‘White Magic’.

Whenever Hellmuth makes a value bet on the river, we’d expect him to utter the immortal line, “You shall not pass!”