WSOP What to Watch For: June 7, 2017

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Jun 07, 2017 5 min read Last updated Apr 21, 2020

Today's What to Watch For is brought to you by the VerStandig Law Firm, LLC. Combining a keen understanding of the gaming world and an equally keen understanding of the law, Mac VerStandig and his colleagues are devoted to fighting on behalf of the poker community and its members.

The seventh day of the WSOP saw Daniel Negreanu in the spotlight once again seeking his seventh bracelet as he battled Abe Mosseri, Mike Matusow, John Monnette and others at the final table of the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. After a long day on the main stage, only Negreanu and Mosseri will return to play Wednesday for the title. Meanwhile, the Colossus played down to a final table with nine players seeking the $1 million top prize, and a plethora of pros bought in for the $1,500 2-7 Lowball event.

Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship

Mosseri and Negreanu were two of the chip leaders for much of the day when 17 players returned for Day 3 in a deeply-talented field. Fittingly, the two will return on Wednesday for an unexpected Day 4 to play to the title. Negreanu, seeking his seventh bracelet, will have 2,575,000 chips. Mosseri, with more than $1.7 million tournament winnings, returns with 5,135,000 chips and will be looking for his second bracelet.

The other top finishers on the day were: Yarron Bendor (third for $167,979); Fabrice Soulier (fourth $119,109); Ilya Dyment (fifth for $86,259); Ray Dehkharghani (sixth for $63,831); Anthony Zinno (seventh for $48,287); Mike Matusow (eighth for $37,361); and John Monnette (ninth for $29,582). Join PokerNews for the heads-up battle on Wednesday and follow along for the updates.

Event #5: THE COLOSSUS III - $565 No-Limit Hold'em

The final table is finally set for Colossus III with the final nine returning to the Rio on Wednesday to crown a champion to take home $1 million. The chip leader is Phoenix’s Mark Babekov with 19,025,000 in chips followed by Erkut Yilmaz (16,000,000) and Taylor Black (13,300,000). Also remaining are Kent Coppock (11,500,000), John Hanna (7,550,000), Ralph Massey (5,300,000), Luke Vrabel (4,000,000), and Matt Affleck (3,500,000),

Babekov’s largest cash came in 2010 at the WSOP in which he finished fourth in a $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event for $62,232. With several players right on his heels it should be an interesting final table. Play resumes at 2 p.m. on Wednesday to crown a Colossus champion. Check out PokerNews for all the live updates.

Event #10: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em

The tag team action continued on Tuesday, playing down to a final table led by D.J. MacKinnon and Esther Taylor with 908,000. McKinnon did most of the heavy lifting for the team on Tuesday as they look to win dual bracelets. Following them are the teams of Kiryl Redzivonau and Mikhail Semin with 626,000, and Pablo Mariz and David Guay with 608,000. The day began with 94 players and first place will pay out $150,637 to be divided among the winning teammates.

Play picks back up on Wednesday and PokerNews will be there updating the action every step of the way. To follow along, click here.

Event #11: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice 6-Handed

The action was back in this fun tournament featuring numerous games for players to choose from. On Tuesday the field played down to its final nine after starting with 89. Going into the third day, David Bach, seeking bracelet No. 2, leads with 789,500 chips followed by Christopher Sensoli with 552,000 and and Chip Jett with 305,500.

After the first day of play, 2015 and 2016 champions Robert Mizrachi and Larry Berg both survived to Day 2. Both were eliminated, but still cashed. Mizrachi earned 12th ($6,074) and Berg took 45th ($2,335). Justin Bonomo led for much of the day as well, but finished 10th for $7,973.

For all the action, log in to PokerNews’ live reporting. Don’t miss a hand.

Event #12: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em

Poker’s most popular format attracted plenty of runners on the lower end of the buy-in spectrum. A total of 1,739 bought into the event with only 275 surviving the first day after 10 levels of play. Ben Heath leads the way with 160,800 chips followed by Charlie Coultas (146,200), Graeme Ladd (124,500), Loni Harwood (119,100), and James Miller (119,000). Other still alive include Dan Heimiller (109,000), Kevin Eyster (101,300), Phil Collins (99,900), Nick Schulman (56,600), Mike Leah (56,600), and Mike Sexton (47,200).

Heath has almost $2 million in tournament winnings and several wins and top finishes. He is looking for his first bracelet and has won more than $1 million this year alone. Harwood has a ton of experience and is seeking her third bracelet. She was certainly pleased with her Day 1:

Event 13: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw

Event 13: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw attracted a total of 266 entries and at the end of ten levels it was Alex Foxen leading the remaining 50 players ahead of Day 2 which kicks off at 2 p.m. Wednesday. JaredBleznick, Naoya Kihara and Tom Schneider all held the chip lead, before Foxen muscled his way to the top of the leaderboard, and bagged up a stack of 147,850 to take into Day 2.

Big names such as Billy Baxter and Barry Greenstein both bust shortly before the end of the day, but there is still a whole host of big names left in the field including Phil Hellmuth (46,000), Anthony Zinno (51,450), Benny Glaser (56,000), Frank Kassela (35,500) and James Obst (25,575).

With 40 players making the money, the bubble is expected to bust fairly quickly on Wednesday, ensuring all players a min-cash worth $2,271. However, all 50 will be setting their sights a little further at the $89,151 and a WSOP gold bracelet that awaits them up top.

Events starting on Wednesday, June 7:

• Event #14: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. (11 a.m. ET)
• Event #15: $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship (3 p.m. ET)

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• Tags WSOP WTWF Abe Mosseri Daniel Negreanu
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• Related Players Daniel NegreanuAbe Mosseri