The Rio hosted one 2016 World Series of Poker final table – the last Stud event on the schedule and the vaunted $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event brings six players to final table Friday. Registration closed on Day 2 in the $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller, the Tag Team event has nine remaining and two budget-priced, big bet games kicked off for the arriving Main Event crowd.

David Prociak Outduels Brandon Shack-Harris and John Monnette for First Bracelet

David Prociak was the short stack at the final table of the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo event with nine players remaining and had two of the game’s best Mixed Game tournament players and a couple guys with 20 WSOP cashes in Calvin Anderson and Jameson Painter ahead of him. Prociak played beyond his experience and battled his way all the way back to his first bracelet and $156,546.

“I can’t put it into worlds, there’s nothing I can say,” Prociak said moments after besting Shack-Harris heads-up. “I’m still in shock. I came in to the day with a lead but lost it pretty quick to him (Shack-Harris) in five straight pots.”

“I was able to put it all behind me and kept him from putting it on me,” he added. “I’ve been locked in all week – waking up when I’m supposed to and eating healthy.” Prociak’s win is just his third WSOP cash in his first year at the WSOP. He previously cashed in Colossus II and finished 30th in the $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Mixed Event.

Shack-Harris won his second career bracelet a week ago in the Pot Limit Omaha Championship and recorded his third final table of the summer. He also played the entire final table wearing a hooded polar bear jacket.

That heads up was far from my finest hour, but thanks all for sticking with me! Guess I’ll stick to PLO.

— Brandon Shack-Harris (@Oscillator_WSOP) July 8, 2016

Monnette’s Series improved to eight cashes with five final tables. He’s made $319,906 for his efforts of a runner-up and third place finishes. Bryan Devonshire finished 10th and Al Barbieri 12th.

Final Table Payouts

1. David Prociak – $156,546
2. Brandon Shack-Harris – $96,750
3. John Monnette – $66,601
4. Alex Livingston – $46,652
5. Louis Russo – $33,263
6. Gaurav Kalro – $24,148
7. Jameson Painter – $17,855
8. Calvin Anderson – $13,452

Yue Due Holds Half the Chips in Play with Six Remaining in $5,000 No Limit Event

The penultimate day of the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event returned with 47 players and the pace of elimination was a bit brisker than planned, so the field played down to six players before stopping. Yue Du holds half the chips in play with 11.73 million in the bag.

German standout and three-time bracelet winner Dominik Nitsche is second in chips with 3.66 million and Jason Mercier’s better half, Natasha Barbour, sits in the middle with 2.45 million. Austrian Ismael Bojang, Michael Gentili and Marius Gierse round out the table.

Matt O’Donnell (7th), Sertac Turker (8th) and Arne Coulier (9th) made the final table but didn’t survive the day. Kane Kalas bubbled the final table in 10th place as Andy Hwang, Byron Kaverman and Isaac Baron all made deep runs.

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Yue Du – 11,730,000
2. Dominik Nitsche – 3,665,000
3. Natasha Barbour – 2,455,000
4. Ismael Bojang – 1,785,000
5. Michael Gentili – 1,415,000
6. Marius Gierse – 730,000

Nine Tag Teams Advance, Polk/Fee Lead by Wide Margin

Day 2 began with 130 returning teams and ten levels of action has the field trimmed to a final table headlined by Doug Polk and Ryan Fee. They have 1.2 million in the bag and John Gale and TJ Shulman sit second with 606,000.

Top pros Mohsin Charania and Marvin Rettenmaier sit third, Jonathan Little has a team with his parents, James Dempsey and Chris Godfrey formed a team and Bart Lybaert, Adam Owen, Benny Glaser and Owais Ahmed formed a four-man squad that returns.

Team Little-Little-Little is at the official #wsop final table! We resume at noon tomorrow. We have 11 big blinds.

— Jonathan Little (@JonathanLittle) July 8, 2016

Leo Wolpert and Ryan Laplante finished 22nd, Michael, Robert, Eric and Daniel Mizrachi finished in 26th place and Jeff Gross, Brian Rast and Antonio Esfandiari finished in 28th place.

Final Table Chip Counts (by Last Player Sitting)

1. Doug Polk – 1,243,000
2. John Gale – 606,000
3. Mohsin Charania – 505,000
4. Michael Padula – 475,000
5. James Dempsey – 447,000
6. Niel Mittelman – 425,000
7. Adam Owen – 293,000
8. Reuben Peters – 209,000
9. Larry Little – 113,000

Elite Field of 20 Return in $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller

Day 2 returned 95 survivors with chips and 21 player waited until the start of action to get in the event. Ten levels of action trimmed the field down to 20 players with Ludovic Geilich on top with 3,025,000 in the bag.

Michael and Robert Mizrachi sit second and third in chips one day after Michael finished fourth in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship and the same day they cashed in 26th place with brothers Eric and Daniel in the Tag Team event.

Ryan D’Angelo, Sean Winter and Paul Volpe finished in the top ten with Dan Smith, Cary Katz and Yevgeniy Timoshenko in the second half of the counts.

Day 2’s additional entrants that skipped Day 1 pushed the prize pool to $4.37 million. The top 28 players made the money with Sam Stein, Taylor Paur, Rep Porter and Isaac Baron earning a payout before busting.

Top Ten Chip Counts

1. Ludovic Geilich – 3,025,000
2. Michael Mizrachi – 2,435,000
3. Robert Mizrachi – 2,245,000
4. Ryan D’Angelo – 1,640,000
5. Sean Winter – 1,560,000
6. Paul Volpe – 1,430,000
7. Chris Lee – 1,245,000
8. Veselin Karakitukov – 1,215,000
9. Tommy Le – 1,200,000
10. Jens Kyllonen – 1,165,000

Event 63: $1,000 No Limit Hold’em

The budget No Limit event at 11 am drew a huge crowd of 2,452 entrants and after a long day at the felt 268 players remain. Daniel Weinman missed out on the overall led by a few chips but is one of 15 to bag up six-figure stacks.

Matt Jarvis, Hiren Patel, Nick Guagenti, Tony Dunst and Mark Radoja all bagged up above average stacks.

The field combined for a $2,206,800 prize pool for the top 368 finishers. All returning players have $1,750 guaranteed but the big money up top nabs all the attention – the top four players earn six-figures with the winner walking with $339,254.

Top Ten Chip Counts

1. Frederick Goff – 144,300
2. Daniel Weinman – 140,400
3. Raffaele Castro – 130,000
4. Patricia Kananda – 127,600
5. Michael Wang – 127,300
6. Paolo Cusinato – 117,600
7. Sean Gibson- 117,500
8. Massoud Eskandari – 114,900
9. Sergio Cabrera – 114,800
10. James Salters – 104,900

Event 64: $3,000 Pot Limit Omaha HiLo

The afternoon event picked up 478 entrants and ten levels of play reduced the field down to 156 players. Jon Turner built the largest stack but Allan Le, Kyle Bowker and Leif Force all bagged up in the top five spots.

2005 Main Event Champ Joe Hachem landed in the top ten with Ashton Griffin, Ari Engel and Ben Yu with stacks way above average. Richard Ashby, Scott Clements, Ylon Schwartz and David Paredes also return.

The field built a $1,291,290 prize pool for a little less than half of the returning field – 71 players. First place earns $294,960 and top three spots earn six-figures.

Top Ten Chip Counts

1. Jon Turner – 116,900
2. Allan Le – 112,700
3. Tark Abboud – 111,500
4. Kyle Bowker – 110,700
5. Leif Force – 110,500
6. Sirous Jamshidi – 109,800
7. Anil Gurnaney – 101,300
8. Terrance Bott – 97,000
9. Joe Hachem – 95,200
10. Timothy Vukson – 94,800

Expensive Chairs in the Amazon Room or Playing for a Bracelet in Underwear

The $111,111 High Roller for One Drop returns Friday for one of the most expensive buy-ins this side of the Atlantic. The event drew X in 2014 when Tony Gregg earned $x for his first bracelet. For those that prefer much less media attention the online bracelet with unlimited re-entries starts at 1 pm and plays down to the final six for a live final table in the Amazon Room. The Ladies Championship returns with a 90% discount of the $10,000 buy-in for female players. Technically, men can enter but their +EV argument takes a huge hit.