Dinesh Alt surges on Day 1 of Event #19: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout
Play has concluded on Day 1 of Event #19: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout at the 2023 World Series of Poker, and after 17 levels of action, Dinesh Alt has surged among the chip leaders by bagging 1,212,000.
A total of 1,139 entries, which surpassed last year’s entry total of 752 participants, generated a prize pool worth $2,529,825. The bubble burst at 172 players in Level 19. Play resumed through that level, and 144 participants bagged as the curtain came down on Day 1.
In addition to Alt, others who enjoyed a fruitful Day 1 and finished in the top ten included Jared Jaffee (780,000), Artem Metalidi (761,000), Adrian Mateos (758,000), and Taylor Paur (624,000).
Some of the other stars to look out for in our Day 2 updates include Matt Stout (342,000), Alexandre Reard (338,000), Marton Czuczor (337,000), Mike Sowers (288,000), Maurice Hawkins (246,000), and Niall Farrell (220,000), the latter being a Triple Crown winner.
Event #19: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dinesh Alt | Austria | 1,212,000 | 121 |
| 2 | Byung Eun Shin | South Korea | 797,000 | 80 |
| 3 | Jared Jaffee | United States | 780,000 | 78 |
| 4 | Artem Metalidi | Ukraine | 761,000 | 76 |
| 5 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | 758,000 | 76 |
| 6 | Mark Seif | United States | 713,000 | 71 |
| 7 | Valentino Konakchiev | Bulgaria | 709,000 | 71 |
| 8 | Romel Mendoza | United States | 665,000 | 67 |
| 9 | Ian O'Hara | United States | 626,000 | 63 |
| 10 | Taylor Paur | United States | 624,000 | 62 |
On the flip side, the tournament saw its fair share of high-profile casualties over 17 levels. Poker Hall of Famer and 16-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth headlines a group that includes WSOP bracelet winners Kathy Liebert, Chanracy Khun and Koray Aldemir, among others, to be sent to the rail. Long-time pro Maria Ho also didn’t survive.
Play is scheduled to resume at noon local time on June 8 inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. The players are scheduled to play a total of 10 hour-long levels. Blinds will resume at 5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 ante.
The PokerNews team will be there providing all the live updates and chip counts as the field continues to get whittled down on Day 2.