2023 WSOP Day 11: Valentino Konakchiev Wins First Bracelet in $2,500 NLHE Freezeout ($435,924)

Bulgaria’s Valentino Konakchiev was the sole bracelet winner on Day 11 of the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe Las Vegas and the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.

Several other events moved onto their second and final days. Read on to learn more about these events and others in progress in our daily WSOP recap.

Valentino Konakchiev Wins Bracelet for Bulgaria

Event #19: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout proved to be popular with 1,137 players creating an impressive $2,529,825 prize pool.

After an intense three-day battle, Valentino Konakchiev from Bulgaria emerged as the victor, securing his first bracelet and almost doubling his lifetime earnings, as recorded by The Hendon Mob, to nearly $1 million.

“I’ve been dreaming about it since I’ve been watching poker when I was 15 on TV and I can’t believe it actually happened,” Konakchiev said to PokerNews after winning his first bracelet.

However, Konakchiev’s journey to victory was far from smooth, particularly during the heads-up showdown with Andres Korn, a formidable opponent aiming for his second bracelet. Initially, Konakchiev held the chip lead, but Korn seized the momentum, taking the lead and putting Konakchiev in a precarious position. Undeterred, Konakchiev launched a remarkable comeback, leaving Korn short-stacked. Ultimately, Korn’s unsuccessful attempt to get back into the match by pushing with king-trey against Konakchiev’s king-nine sealed his fate.

Korn wasn’t the only bracelet winner at the final table as Unibet Poker Ambassador Alexandre Reard (third – $192,723) and GGPoker UK Ambassador Niall “Firaldo” Farrell (seventh – $57,620) also were hunting for a bracelet for each arm.

“It feels really, really good,” Konakchiev said expressing his satisfaction. “They already have bracelets, so it was my time.”

Event #19: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout Final Table Results

Richard Gao Bags Day 1c Chip Lead in Event #18: $300 Gladiators of Poker

Event #18, the $300 Gladiators of Poker, has generated immense interest, driven by the tantalizing prospect of winning a coveted WSOP gold bracelet at an incredibly affordable buy-in of just $300.

The event has already witnessed a staggering influx of participants, with a total of 14,621 entries, including an impressive 6,110 entries on Day 1c alone. Notably, this event stood out by offering a guarantee initially set at an ambitious $3 million. However, this guarantee was quickly shattered, as the current prize pool has already surged beyond $3.6 million, with one more opening flight still to come with Day 1d kicking off on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Among the survivors, Richard Gao emerged as the chip leader, skillfully transforming his starting stack of 30,000 into a remarkable 3,105,000 chips—more than 100 times the initial count. His achievement slightly surpasses Peter Lee’s accomplishment on Day 1c, where Lee concluded the day with a commendable 3,100,000 chips.

However, both Gao and Lee find themselves trailing behind Patrick White, who bagged an impressive 3,405,000 chips on Day 1a.

Yingui Li Leads Final 3 in Event #20: $1,500 Badugi

The inclusion of Event #20: $1,500 Badugi event on this year’s WSOP schedule attracted 516 passionate mixed-game enthusiasts to create a prize pool of $688,860.

Originally planned as a three-day event, Day 3 concluded Friday night with still three players in contention. Yingui Li, holding a chip stack of 4,900,000, enters the final phase with a slight chip lead over Michael Rodrigues, who closely trails with 4,600,000 chips. Serhii Popovych, with 3,600,000 chips, remains a strong contender and also seeks his first bracelet.

Each of the final three players has secured a minimum payout of $59,879, but their focus remains on the ultimate goal of claiming their first WSOP bracelet and seizing the top prize of $144,678 awarded to the last player standing. Fortunately for them, they won’t have to contend with former bracelet winners on the final day, as Natural8 Ambassador Danny Tang (fifth – $28,270) and Owais Ahmed (sixth – $20,577) were eliminated late on Day 3.

The tournament action is set to resume on Saturday at 1 p.m., continuing until a deserving champion is crowned.

Event #20: $1,500 Badugi Final Table Results/Chips

Stephen Nahm Final 13 in Event #21: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed

The three-day Event #21: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed attracted a banner field of 2,017 for a $1,795,130 prize pool and is down to a tidy field of 13 players when the action resumes for its third and final day at The Horseshoe starting on Saturday at 12 p.m. The final 13 have each locked up a $15,700 payday with Saturday’s bracelet winner taking home a much bigger prize of $267,991.

Canada’s Stephen Nahm will start with a commanding chip lead of nearly 100 big blinds with 9,750,000 with WSOP bracelet winner Ronald Keijzer (5,965,000) and Thomas Taylor (5,340,000) closest on his tail.

Keijzer isn’t the only bracelet winner hunting for another remaining in contention with Dan Matsuzuki (5,300,000) hunting for his second and Michael Gorodinsky (930,000) still alive in his pursuit of his third bracelet.

Event #21: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed Final Day Seat Draw

Justin Bonomo Leads Event #23: $50,000 High Roller

The three-day Event #23: $50,000 High Roller attracted many of the biggest names in poker thanks to its lofty $50,000 buy-in. The first day attracted 111 entries to already add $5,300,250 to the prize pool. This figure will grow slightly with late registration remaining open until the start of Day 2 at 12 p.m. on Saturday.

Three-time bracelet winner Justin Bonomo parlayed his 300,000 chip stack into 2,024,000 to lead the 45 survivors heading into Saturday’s penultimate day. Bonomo already has the most live tournament cashes as tracked by The Hendon Mob with more than $61 million in live tournament earnings and is looking to extend the gap between him and the embittered Bryn Kenney who still resides in second place despite some ethical bans placed on the former reputable poker player.

While no other player bagged more than 2 million in chips, several others passed 1 million including Talal Shakerchi, Chris Brewer, Sam Soverel, Chance Kornuth, Alex Foxen, Leon Sturm, and Jeremy Ausmus.

Event #23: $50,000 High Roller Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

Meanwhile, in other news, 2015 WSOP Main Event champion Joseph McKeehen leads Event #22: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship and Maksim Pisarenko leads Event #24: $1,500 Razz. Both of these events, unfortunately, had results coming in late. We will provide a more detailed recap of these events tomorrow.

June 10, 2023 WSOP Schedule

The four-day Event #25: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lot 8 or Better Championship is the only new event to kick off on Saturday while many others will either crown a winner or move onto its final day.

Below is a look at today’s schedule while head to the PokerPro opening WSOP article to check out the full schedule of the 2023 World Series of Poker.

Images courtesy of WSOP/PokerNews.
Article by Jason Glatzer
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