Wednesday’s action at the 2018 World Series of Poker saw a new millionaire made, as well as a PocketFiver chipleading the final three in an event on his quest for a first bracelet.

That, and a whole lot more, in our recap of June 13th’s action.

Arne Kern Takes Down Millionaire Maker, wins $1,173,223

Germany’s Arne Kern secured only his third WSOP cash on Wednesday. And boy, is it a big one.

Kern took down Event #21: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em MILLIONAIRE MAKER for a massive score of $1,173,223, instantly making the 26-year-old from Klivery a millionaire. Kern defeated seasoned UK pro Sam Razavi heads-up for the title and his first bracelet, in what was a long battle.

Ultimately a bit of luck for Kern got the job done. He shoved with four-deuce suited and Razavi snap-called with ace-jack. Kern flopped a flush draw though, and it completed on the turn to secure him the win.

“I’m not very proud of that” Kern joked after his win. “I may have read the stack sizes a bit wrong but it all worked out. It’s a dream come true.”

2015 WSOP Main Event champ Joe McKeehen continued to showcase his amazing ability to navigate large field NLHE events with a third-place finish, getting unlucky when his pocket kings were outflopped by Razavi’s ace-eight.

Michael Souza finished in fourth place, while fifth-place finisher Justin Liberto final tabled this event for the second time, having finished fourth in 2013. Just 17 players returned for this fourth and final day of play, with German high roller Manig Loeser the first to depart. UK legend Barny Boatman made a good run, but ultimately exited in seventh.

Final Table Results:

1. Arne Kern – $1,173,223
2. Sam Razavi – $724,756
3. Joe McKeehen – $538,276
4. Michael Souza – $402,614
5. Justin Liberto – $303,294
6. Manuel Ruivo – $230,120
7. Barny Boatman – $175,865
8. Ralph Massey – $135,383
9. Sean Marshall – $104,987

Former #1 Taylor Paur tops THE MARATHON runners

Just 60 runners now remain in Event #24: $2,620 THE MARATHON No-Limit Hold’em, and it’s former PocketFives #1 player Taylor ‘taypaur’ Paur who leads the way into Thursday’s Day 4.

Paur pulled away during the last levels of the day, nd is now in the driver’s seat looking for his second WSOP bracelet. His stack of 2,958,000 is almost 100 big blinds larger than the next biggest stack, 1,775,000, belonging to Anton Morgenstern.

Other big names and stacks to advance include Mark Sleet (1,550,000), Hiep Doan (1,442,000), Jonas Mackoff (1,356,000), Michael Addamo (1,096,000), Matt Affleck (884,000), Julien Sitbon (868,000), WSOP Main Event Champions Martin Jacobson (811,000) and Scotty Nguyen (483,000), 888poker ambassador Chris ‘moorman1’ Moorman (445,000), Stoyan Obreshkov (769,000), Cate Hall (574,000) and Martin Staszko (516,000).

All players are now in the money, guaranteed $9,616. However, those who made the money but failed to advance through the day include Sam Cohen, JP Kelly, Marvin Rettenmaier, Govert Metaal, Kristen Bicknell, Pierre Merlin, David Peters, Andre Akkari, Jesse Sylvia, Ryan Riess and Chance Kornuth.

Another seven 100-minute levels are on the cards tomorrow, with action picking back up at 12pm Thursday. With $653,581 up top for the winner, the sprint towards a final table truly begins.

Top 10 Stacks:

1. Taylor Paur – 2,958,000
2. Anton Morgenstern – 1,775,000
3. Mark Sleet – 1,550,000
4. Hiep Doan – 1,442,000
5. Jonas Mackoff – 1,356,000
6. Javier Fernandez – 1,320,000
7. Michael Hada – 1,236,000
8. Bryden Baxter – 1,137,000
9. Dylan Honeyman – 1,103,000
10. Michael Addamo – 1,096,000

Ben Dobson Leads Final Three in $1,500 Stud Hi-Lo 8

Ben ‘f3nix35’ Dobson is in prime position to win his first bracelet on Thursday, as he’s chip leader with just two opponents left in Event #25: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better.

Dobson (2,615,000) will be battling against Tim Finne (1,185,000) and Jesse Martin (675,000) when that final table resumes at 2pm Thursday. Dobson came into the day as chip leader, and managed to keep hold of that lead after Day 3 throughout the 20 eliminations.

Notable bust-outs today include Barry Greenstein (18th for $4,899) and Eli Elezra (12th for $9,165), as well as Hollywood star James Woods (17th for $4,899).

There’s $173,528 and the bracelet for the winner of this one, while the runner-up will receive $107,243 and third-place gets $74,324, meaning they’re all guaranteed that amount overnight.

Stay tuned tomorrow to see who takes this one down.

Final Three Stacks:

1. Benjamin Dobson – 2,615,000
2. Tim Finne – 1,185,000
3. Jesse Martin – 675,000

Stavrakis Leads, But Felipe Ramos Still In Hunt for $1K PLO Bracelet

Day 2 of Event #26: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha saw Filippos Stavrakis end play with the chip lead. His 903,000 is well ahead of Pascal Damois’s 632,000, while popular Brazilian pro Felipe ‘mojave’ Ramos ended with 450,000.

Throughout the day we lost the likes of Joe Cada (75th – $1,962), Ken Aldridge (78th – $1,962), Adrian Buckley (72nd – $2,190) and Calen McNeil (71st – $2,190), Marcel Vonk (98th – $1,658), Christian Harder (92nd – $1,658), Martin Finger (59th – $2,485), Ioannis Angelou Konstas (40th – $3,363) and Shannon Shorr (29th – $4,008).

All 14 players to return tomorrow are guaranteed $7,446, but that’s not what they’re looking for. The $169,842 first-place prize is far more appealing! Action resumes at 12pm Thursday.

Final 14 Stacks:

1. Filippos Stavrakis – 903,000
2. Pascal Damois – 632,000
3. Felipe Ramos – 450,000
4. Jordan Siegel – 438,000
5. Arthur Morris – 329,000
6. Thayer Rasmussen – 300,000
7. Clinton Monfort – 292,000
8. Ruslan Dykshteyn – 262,000
9. David Caruthers – 242,000
10. Peter Klein – 206,000
11. Georgios Karavokyris – 115,000
12. Floyd Bangerter – 108,000
13. Robert Cowen – 95,000
14. Joshua Larson – 55,000

Just 16 Remain in $10K H.O.R.S.E. Championship

One of the more prestigious events among the mixed-game players is down to just 16 players after the completion of Day 2.

Event #27: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship drew 166 total entries, and after the second day of action and just a tenth of those runners remaining, it’s  Laith Salem (1,456,000) who tops the field. He’s followed by Albert Daher (1,300,000), and John Hennigan (687,000).

Randy Ohel, David “Bakes” Baker, Jake Schwartz, Anthony Zinno, and Robert Mizrachi will all be back tomorrow. There are 14 bracelets in total between the final 16.

Throughout the day there were plenty of notable bust-outs including Brian Rast, Phil Ivey, Stephen Chidwick, Luke Schwartz, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Gorodinsky, Daniel Negreanu, David “ODB” Baker, Marco Johnson, Cliff Josephy, Jeff Lisandro, Chris Ferguson, Shaun Deeb, Benny Glaser, John Monnette, Jason Mercier, and Ian Johns.

Some of those that went deep into Day 2 include Jean-Robert Bellande (26th place, $15,229), Andrew Barber (25th place, $15,229), Stuart Rutter (21st place, $15,229) and Joey Couden (18th place, $15,229).

The tournament restarts at 2pm Thursday, and you can find the overnight stacks below. They’re all guaranteed $17,677, and there’s $414,692 awaiting the champ.

Final 14 Stacks:

1. Laith Salem – 1,456,000
2. Albert Daher – 1,300,000
3. John Hennigan – 687,000
4. Iraj Parvizi – 620,000
5. Randy Ohel – 571,000
6. Carol Fuchs – 562,000
7. David “Bakes” Baker – 559,000
8. Daniel Zack – 546,000
9. Jean Gaspard – 405,000
10. Jake Schwartz – 357,000
11. Michael Noori – 343,000
12. Anthony Zinno – 237,000
13. Robert Campbell – 210,000
14. Katherine Fleck – 186,000
15. Illya Trincher – 159,000
16. Robert Mizrachi – 111,000

Day 1 of $3K NLHE Wraps Up, 186 Advance

Ten 60-minute levels have seen the 842 entries in Event #28: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed whittled down to just 186.

It’s Christian Rudolph who bagged the chip lead with 210,000, just pipping Federico Petruzzelli’s 209,000 to the post. Meanwhile, the stacked field saw Gal Yifrach (131,100), Sergio Aido (122,800), Mike Watson (110,500), Tony Dunst (95,800), Kyle Hartree (91,500), Olivier Busquet (88,000), Manig Loeser (68,200), Greg Merson (59,200), Jason Mercier (47,100), and Ryan Riess (38,300) advance to tomorrow’s Day 2.

Some of those who tried and failed today include the player of 2018 so far Justin Bonomo, former WSOP Main Event champions Joe Cada, Scott Blumstein, Phil Hellmuth and Chris Ferguson, as well as Alex Foxen, Kristen Bicknell, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier, Matt Berkey, Kenny Hallaert, Chance Kornuth, and Joseph Cheong.

One particular casualty today was Michael Phelps. The 23-time Olympic gold medalist and most successful Olympian of all time had a short run today, busting after the second break.

This tournament will pay 131 spots, with a min-cash worth $4,489. There’s $461,798 and the coveted WSOP gold bracelet for the winner, though, and that’s what they’re all looking for.

Things kick back off at 12pm on Thursday, with blinds at 600/1,200.

Top 10 Stacks:

1. Christian Rudolph – 210,000
2. Federico Petruzzelli – 209,000
3. Richard Kaplan – 178,500
4. Robert McLaughlin – 171,100
5. Philip Ward – 163,800
6. Joshua Gordon – 162,000
7. David Mock – 156,500
8. Jeremy Joseph – 143,700
9. Jonathan Currle – 142,500
10. Anthony Ajlouny – 140,000

Jared Bleznick Bags Most in $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw

The other event to get going on Wednesday was Event #29: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw, and after ten levels the 356-strong field has been cut down to 88.

It’s Jared Bleznick who leads the pack with 72,900, followed by Rick Fuller (66,200) and David Prociak (65,100). David Pham (64,600) and Adam Friedman (63,200) also ended with top five stacks.

Jon Turner (26,100), David ‘ODB’ Baker (65,100) will both return tomorrow, as will Chris Vitch, Frank Kassela, Calvin Anderson, Shaun Deeb, David Bach, Scott Clements, Brian Hastings, Dzmitry Urbanovich, and Allen Kessler.

Registration in this one is closed, with a $480,600 prize pool being split between the top 54 finishers. A min-cash will get you $2,243, while a win will secure $117,282. Play resumes at 2pm Thursday.

Top 10 Stacks:

1. Jared Bleznick – 72,900
2. Rick Fuller – 66,200
3. David Prociak – 65,100
4. David Pham – 64,600
5. Adam Friedman – 63,200
6. Walter Chambers – 57,400
7. Oscar Johansson – 57,300
8. Steven Tabb – 53,700
9. Philip Long – 52,000
10. James Scott – 50,700

Tomorrow’s Action (June 14)

The 2018 FIFA World Cup isn’t the only thing to kick off on Thursday June 14.

Event #30: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha is the first to get going, with an early 11am start. A little later in the day at 3pm, Event #31: $1,500 Seven Card Stud will get underway.