Sarah Herzali Dominates the Field on Day 2
There were many stories on Day 2 of Event #15: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em of the 2023 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, but the day belonged to France’s Sarah Herzali. In 18th place in chips at the end of Day 1, she now possesses an immense stack of 12,800,000, accounting for 20% of the chips in play with 15 players remaining.
Herzali made two deep WSOP runs last year, including cashing in this event, but is now well-positioned to win her first bracelet and the $465,501 first-place cash when play continues on June 8. But as she said to a tablemate who told her she was going to win after she had knocked out yet another player when her club flush draw came in on the river to beat her opponent's two pair, “Don’t jinx it!”
Herzali also played perhaps the most epic hand of the day, as she and Shannon Shorr stared each other down, with Herzali eventually knocking him out with a turned pair of kings.
End of Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Name | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarah Herzali | France | 12,800,000 | 128 |
| 2 | Rafael Reis | Brazil | 7,825,000 | 78 |
| 3 | Gabriel Schroeder | Brazil | 5,560,000 | 55 |
| 4 | Ryan Hohner | United States | 6,200,000 | 62 |
| 5 | Daniel Barriocanal | Spain | 5,455,000 | 55 |
| 6 | Nikolaos Angelou | Greece | 4,535,000 | 45 |
| 7 | Yue Liu | China | 4,425,000 | 44 |
| 8 | Yun Choi | Great Britain | 3,755,000 | 38 |
| 9 | Grant Wang | United States | 3,045,000 | 30 |
| 10 | Ian Matakis | United States | 2,270,000 | 23 |
Other notable players still remaining in the field are four-time bracelet winner John Monnette, three-time bracelet winner Upeshka De Silva, and Ian Matakis. You may recall Matakis helped himself to a bracelet in a $500 online event only a couple of days ago.
Some of the notable names who were eliminated on Day 2 included James Romero, Maria Ho, Jake Daniels, and Norbert Szecsi.
Day 3 resumes at 12:00 p.m. local time on June 8, and the event will play down to the eventual winner. The players sit down with the structure having reached Level 28, meaning the blinds are 50,000/100,000 plus a 100,000 big blind ante. With an international field, many with contingents of rowdy railbirds, the action tomorrow should be amazing.
PokerNews will be right here to bring you all the action, so stay tuned for all the updates from the 54th World Series of Poker.