Pretty much all big names in contemporary poker were present during the first day of the last mixed game championship event of this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP). The opening day of the US$10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship attracted a total of 133 entrants.
Now at the end of the first day of the event, the accumulated player field was reduced to 63 players only, with defending champion Christopher Vitch proceeding to Day 2 as a chip leader with a stack of 279,500 chips.
The player came to the event as the reigning champion, aimed at defending his title won from the very same event a year ago. In 2017, Vitch, whose total live earnings amount to US$1,342,172, managed to outlast his 124 competitors and win the event’s title generating also the largest live cash ($320,103) in his career so far.
As mentioned above, Vitch has come to the event as the defending champion. Apart from that, he is looking to join the company of Loren Klein and Matt Matros as the only players to win a gold WSOP bracelet in three straight years. Vitch himself managed to take home a WSOP bracelet in the last two years, so it is no surprise that he would like to add another one to his collection in 2018, too.
Still, it would not be easy for him to defeat his 2017 title. A whole plethora of poker professionals are present at this year’s last mixed game, with names such as Daniel Negreanu, Eric Rodawig and Mike Sexton emerging as Vitch’s most serious competitors. What is more, Vitch’s chip lead is not so vast, as Daham Wang who is second in line is mere 3,000 chips off the lead, with a stack of 276,500 chips.
A Plethora of Poker Pros Take Part in the Event
Some of the familiar faces which are to proceed to Day 2 of the US$10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship event are Jesse Martin, David Benyamine, Adam Friedman, Tom Koral, etc.
Despite the fact that the day was not so good for players like Eli Elezra, Erik Seidel, Scott Seiver and Brian Hastings, there is still a pretty good chance that all of them will be present at the beginning of the second day. After all, the event offers one re-entry option, and the field is expected to see the addition of a few more entries to tomorrow’s action.
In addition, the prize pool and payouts scheme is set to be officially announced as soon as late registration on Day 2 closes.
As mentioned above, in case that Christopher Vitch manages to take down the US$10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship event, he would get a third consecutive WSOP gold bracelet. First, the then-33-year-old poker pro topped a player field of 236 entries in the US$2,500 Mixed Tripple Draw in 2016 and then, in 2017, he emerged as the only survivor from the 125 players in WSOP Event#48 to win a second consecutive WSOP bracelet.
