It’s been 5 days since the 55th World Series of Poker (WSOP) started, and we have found our first four winners. In this report, will specifically discuss Asher Conniff and Daniel Willis and how they clinched their first WSOP Bracelet win at the 2024 WSOP.
Asher Conniff won his first Bracelet in the Champions Reunion event, earning $175,578. Dan Willis beat a former two-time WSOP bracelet winner to win his first bracelet.
Event #1: $5,000 Champions Reunion NLH Final Table & Standings
The 55th Edition WSOP kicked off with a unique event, Event #1 $5,000 Champions Reunion NLH. The event was unique, as players were awarded a $10,000 seat in this year’s WSOP Main Event if players eliminated a previous main event winner.
This unique event attracted 493 entries, taking the prize pool to $2,047,800, which was paid to the top 74 players in the event. The 22 previous WSOP Main Event winners received free entries into the event, four of them also made it into the money: Greg Merson (67th), Daniel Weinman (52nd), Dan Harrington (37th), Qui Nguyen (21st).
1 – Asher Conniff – $407,468
2 – Halil Tasyurek – $272,305
3 – Yin Yuzhou – $188,342
4 – Jonathan Pastore – $132,545
5 – Terry Fleischer – $94,936
6 – David Coleman – $69,231
7 – Nenad Dukic – $51,416
8 – Michael Acevedo – $38,903
9 – Bryce Welker – $29,999
The final day began with only ten players at the table. Two of them were previous bracelet winners, Aram Zobian, and Jonathan Pastore, eying to win their second bracelet. Unfortunately, Zobian’s deep run ended after his A-J couldn’t beat the pocket jacks of Pastore.
Just ten minutes into the Final Table, Conniff eliminated short-stacked Bryce Welker in 9th place ($29,999). Welker’s K-Q couldn’t improve against Conniff’s A-Q.
The final day was pretty much unlucky for Michael Acevedo, as he didn’t get any big pots and was eventually eliminated in 8th place ($38,903). This was followed by Nenad Dukic at 7th place ($51,416) David Coleman was the next player to be eliminated in 6th place ($69,231).
Fleischer, who entered the final table as chip lead, lost his substantial chips in between elimination. His run came to an end after he went all-in with A-9 as a bluff against Halil Tasyurek’s K-5. The board ran out 10-8-5-5-K, giving Tasyurek a full house. Fleischer was eliminated in 5th place ($94,936).
Jonathan Pastore’s dream of winning his second bracelet was shattered after he went all-in with his pocket fours against Tasyurek’s Q-J. Pastore’s pocket fours couldn’t improve, eliminating him in 4th place ($132,545). Tasyurek further eliminated Yuzhou Yin in 3rd place ($188,342), narrowing the field to only two players.
Tasyurek was in the chip lead and was the fan favorite of winning this event. But Conniff gives tough competition and tries to close the chip gap by winning multiple big pots against Tasyurek.
In the final hand, Tasyurek went all-in with J-9 against Conniff’s pocket tens. The board couldn’t improve Tasyurek’s card, and Conniff won the hand with his top pair. Tasyurek ended up as the runner-up taking $272,305.
Conniff won the event to take the prize money of $408,468 as well as his first-ever WSOP Bracelet.
Event #3: $500 WSOP Kickoff NLH Freezeout Final Table Recap & Standings
Daniel Willis, a British Busibusinessman, outlasted a field of 3,485 and a former two-time WSOP champion to win his first WSOP bracelet. Willis won the Event #3: WSOP Kickoff NLH and took the staggering prize money of $175,578.
Willis is a businessman and a former online poker pro from Swindon, England. The big turnout created a prize pool of $1,442,960, which was paid to the top 523 players. The event attracted a lot of poker pros, including Daniel Negreanu (16th), Marco Johnson (47th), and 2013 WSOP champion Ryan Riess (63rd).
1 – Daniel Willis – $175,578
2 – Michael Wang – $117,056
3 – Shawn Smith – $86,820
4 – Steven Borella – $64,920
5 – Yoshinori Funayama – $48,938
6 – Daniel Sherer – $37,194
7 – John Marino – $28,501
8 – David Niedringhaus – $22,022
The final day kicked off with only 8 players at the table, with Willis being the Chip lead. David Niedringhaus was the first player to be eliminated in 8th place ($22,022).
John Marino was eliminated shortly after when his pocket sevens ran into Shawn Smith’s pocket tens. Marino finished in 7th place ($28,501). Daniel Sherer was eliminated in 6th place ($33,194) by Michael Wang, followed by Yoshinori Funayama in 5th place ($48,938). Wang further narrowed the field by sending out Shawn Smith in 3rd place ($86,820).
The heads-up play began with Wang holding a small chip lead against Willis. In the final hand, Willis raises with J-9 suited. Wang called the bet with A-5. The community opened to be A-10-J, with both players getting a pair. The turn card turned out to be 7, giving Wang a top pair prompting him to raise the bet and Willis called the bet. The river card opened to be J giving Willis Three of a Kind, and Willis went all-in. Wang unfortunately called the bet with his last 12 big blinds and had to settle with $117,046.
Keep following PokerProNews for the latest updates from the World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2024
