Adam Friedman, Faraz Jaka and Yuri Dzivielevski Among the Final Ten in Event #85: $1,500 Shootout
Day 2 of Event #85: $1,500 Shootout at the 2023 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas played down to the final ten players from 100 at the start of the day. Each remaining player once again beat the nine other players at their table to advance to the final round.
Those returning are guaranteed a cash prize of at least $19,003, but only one of them will prevail to win the coveted World Series of Poker gold bracelet and the $237,367 first-place prize.
The line-up for the final table looks promising, with plenty of familiar faces. Five-time WSOP bracelet winner Adam Friedman (2,500,000) was the first player to punch his ticket to the final table. He'll be joined by fellow multi-time bracelet winner Yuri Dzivielevski (2,415,000), who is looking to add a fourth bracelet to his collection. Popular coach Faraz Jaka (2,450,000) also navigated his way to Day 3, where he will be seeking his first taste of WSOP glory.
Ukrainian player Olga Iermolcheva (2,450,000) also advanced to the final table and will be a fierce competitor, as well as Edward Mroczkowski, who cashed in four events this series, including a 738th place in the Main Event. Ao Chen (2,453,000), French player Matteo Cavelier (2,420,000), Brazilian Allan Mello (2,420,000) and Mo Zhou (2,500,000) will also be back tomorrow to battle for the first WSOP bracelet of their career.
The last player to secure his seat at the final table was Michael Finstein (2,415,000) who defeated Aleksandr Gofman after more than seven hours of play. It will be Einstein's second WSOP final table as he finished in 7th place of the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event in 2018.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feature | 1 | Mo Zhou | China | 2,465,000 | 82 |
| Feature | 2 | Ao Chen | United States | 2,465,000 | 82 |
| Feature | 3 | Adam Friedman | United States | 2,415,000 | 81 |
| Feature | 4 | Faraz Jaka | United States | 2,450,000 | 82 |
| Feature | 5 | Matteo Cavelier | France | 2,420,000 | 81 |
| Feature | 6 | Olga Iermolcheva | United States | 2,450,000 | 82 |
| Feature | 7 | Yuri Dzivielevski | Brazil | 2,415,000 | 81 |
| Feature | 8 | Michael Finstein | United States | 2,415,000 | 81 |
| Feature | 9 | Edward Mroczkowski | United States | 2,440,000 | 81 |
| Feature | 10 | Allan Mello | United States | 2,420,000 | 81 |
Day 3 will resume tomorrow Saturday, July 15, at 11 a.m. local time at the Horseshoe Event Center . Play will pick up at 15,000/30,000 blinds with a 30,000 big blind ante. The levels will last 40-minutes with a 15-minute break every three levels and they will play down until a new champion is crowned.
The many casualties of Day 2 included bracelet owners Vadim Shlez, Simeon Spasov, Julien Perouse, Valentino Konakchiev and Yang Zhang, but also the controversial figure Ali Imsirovic, the brazilian sensation Fabiano Kovalski and Chino Rheem, who all added a cash worth $5,759 to their list of prizes.
Stay tuned for more coverage of this event and the entire 2023 World Series of Poker from the PokerNews live reporting team.