Strong Turnout on Day 1d Boosts 2021 WSOP Main Event Field Past 4,500 Entries
After three moderate field sizes for the flagship tournament of the 2021 World Series of Poker, the fourth flight of the $10,000 Main Event provided a significant boost to the overall field size. An unofficial 2,550 entries emerged as three different rooms were used to host poker players from all over the world at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.
Once five levels of two hours each were completed, some 1,939 players bagged and tagged for the night. Among the notables to run up a solid stack were Adedapo Ajayi (340,900), Zachary Grech (318,400), David "Bakes" Baker (247,300), Dan Shak (229,200), and David Stefanski (213,900).
When the cards went in the air, the Day 1a field had already surpassed the number of combined entries across all three previous flights. This hasn't been unheard of in previous years either, as the final starting day typically attracts the far biggest fields. However, in 2021, there are another two starting days to come. Players also can enter the competition during the first two levels on the respective Day 2s on Tuesday, November 9, and Wednesday, November 10, respectively.
Further notables who will return with a big stack then are James Chen (209,400), Shyam Srinivasan (206,000), Cliff Josephy (198,600), Yevgeniy Timoshenko (194,800), Nick Petrangelo (180,000), Matt Berkey (179,800), Greg Mueller (176,700), Ben Heath (176,000), Roland Israelashvili (173,700), and Jun Obara (169,400).
Event #67: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event Day 1d Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adedapo Ajayi | United States | 340,900 |
| 2 | Zachary Grech | United States | 318,400 |
| 3 | Wooram Cho | South Korea | 252,100 |
| 4 | David "Bakes" Baker | United States | 247,300 |
| 5 | Dan Shak | United States | 229,200 |
| 6 | Jill Sodafsky | United States | 224,500 |
| 7 | Alex Goulder | United Kingdom | 218,500 |
| 8 | Taylor Howard | United States | 214,200 |
| 9 | Ivan Galinec | Croatia | 211,300 |
| 10 | Mike Gao | United States | 210,000 |
Maria Ho delivered the shuffle up and deal for Day 1d and spent three of the five levels on the main feature table, also commonly known as the Thunderdome. Ho was among many female players to enter the pinnacle poker live event of the year and advanced with 85,700. Melanie Weisner (125,200), Kathy Liebert (97,300), Danielle Andersen (64,800), Kitty Kuo (57,600), Ashley Sleeth (19,700), and Jamie Kerstetter (14,300) also all made it through.
More than 600 hopes of becoming the next World Champion were crushed, however, as many notables were sent to the rail without anything to show for their efforts. Adam Levy, Michael Ruane, Jason Somerville, Eric "BarstoolNate" Nathan, Joseph Cheong, Esther Taylor, Brandon Shack-Harris, Ryan Laplante, Julien Martini, Phil Laak, and David Williams all departed.
Two former WSOP Main Event champions were also among the notable casualties on the fourth starting day. Joe McKeehen and Greg Raymer failed to make it through to Day 2 in pursuit of earning a repeat victory. Raymer's run ended in level three when his dominated ace failed to get there against Victor Peppe.
Whether or not a new record attendance will be set in the days to come remains to be seen. For the first time in history, the richest poker tournament of the year features six starting flights. Two starting days remain when international poker players are expected to appear after the ease of travel restrictions to the United States. The 2021 WSOP Main Event registration will conclude at approximately 3.40 pm local time on November 10 during Day 2CEF.
WSOP Main Event Entries Since 2000
| Year | DAY 1A | DAY 1B | DAY 1C | DAY 1D | TOTAL | PRIZE POOL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 512 | $5,120,000 | ||||
| 2001 | 613 | $5,946,220 | ||||
| 2002 | 631 | $5,931,000 | ||||
| 2003 | 839 | $7,802,700 | ||||
| 2004 | 2,576 | $24,224,400 | ||||
| 2005 | 5,619 | $52,818,610 | ||||
| 2006 | 8,773 | $82,512,162 | ||||
| 2007 | 6,358 | $59,784,954 | ||||
| 2008 | 1,297 | 1,158 | 1,928 | 2,461 | 6,844 | $64,333,600 |
| 2009 | 1,116 | 873 | 1,696 | 2,809 | 6,494 | $61,043,600 |
| 2010 | 1,125 | 1,489 | 2,314 | 2,391 | 7,319 | $68,798,600 |
| 2011 | 897 | 985 | 2,181 | 2,802 | 6,865 | $64,531,000 |
| 2012 | 1,066 | 2,114 | 3,418 | - | 6,598 | $62,021,200 |
| 2013 | 943 | 1,942 | 3,467 | - | 6,352 | $59,708,800 |
| 2014 | 771 | 2,144 | 3,768 | - | 6,683 | $62,820,200 |
| 2015 | 741 | 1,716 | 3,963 | - | 6,420 | $60,348,000 |
| 2016 | 764 | 1,733 | 4,240 | - | 6,737 | $63,327,800 |
| 2017 | 795 | 2,164 | 4,262 | - | 7,221 | $67,877,400 |
| 2018 | 925 | 2,378 | 4,571 | - | 7,874 | $74,015,600 |
| 2019 | 1,335 | 1,915 | 4,877 | - | 8,569 | $80,548,600 |
| 2021 | 523 | 845 | 600 | 2,550 | 4,518+ | tba |
The PokerNews live reporting team will provide exclusive updates throughout the entire tournament, and each day will also feature live stream action on the PokerGO streaming platform as well.