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WSOP 2024: Paawan Bansal Ends $1K Mini Main Event Day 1 As Chip Lead

Day 1 of the much awaited Event #78: $1,000 Mini Main Event No-Limit Hold’em at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas concluded with a total of 6,076 participants, generating a prize pool of $5,346,880. After 22 30-minute levels, 486 players will advance to Day 2, each guaranteed a minimum payout of $2,257.

The top prize of $555,075 and a coveted gold bracelet remain the primary goals for the contenders. Leading the pack of survivors from Day 1 is Indian poker pro, Paawan Bansal. He has 2,825,000 in chips to battle it out on Day 2 and compete for the top prize and bracelet. Bansal, with nearly $800,000 in live tournament earnings, previously finished second in the $1,500 Closer event during the 2018 WSOP, earning $378,765. He now aims to secure his first bracelet by the end of the tournament on Thursday, 4th June.

Paawan Bansal

After the money bubble burst in Level 20, 912 players were assured a payout of at least $2,002. Rapid eliminations followed, reducing the field by nearly half in just over an hour. Other top chip leaders include Shay Rozenbaum (2,300,000), France’s Remi Derossi (2,250,000), Dragos Trofimov (2,155,000), Adrian Winebarger (1,850,000), and three-time bracelet winner Ryan Hughes (915,000).

Sam Farha, the 2003 World Series of Poker  Main Event runner-up, managed a min-cash but was unable to advance to Day 2. Tony Miles, the 2018 Main Event runner-up, will continue with 650,000 chips. Despite his modest stack, Miles’ experience in large-field events makes him a notable contender.

Among those who failed to make it to the cash and advance ahead were names like Shannon Shorr, Leo Margets, Shimizu Nozomu, Harry Lodge, Renji Mao, Khang Pham, and former Olympic boxing gold medalist Audley Harrison. Harrison was eliminated during the 12th level after back-to-back losses depleted his stack, with Lukas Schoepper dealing the final blow.

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Players will resume with blinds at 20,000/40,000 and a big blind ante of 40,000 on Wednesday, 3rd July at 11:00 AM local time. They will play down to five players, with 30-minute levels, 15-minute breaks every four levels, and a dinner break scheduled after Level 34.

Indians grinding at other WSOP tournaments

Live and online reg Avneesh Munjal finished 57th in the Colossus event. He took a pay cheque of $9,740. He was the only Indian who made Day 3 in this $400 buy-in event. Abhishek Goindi and Zarvan Tumboli with their respective tournament partners progressed from Day 1 to Day 2 of the $1,000 Tag Team Event. Sadly both our Indian teams busted on Day 2. Goindi had partnered with Baazi Games’ Co-founder and Marketing Director, Varun Ganjoo while Vinod Megalmani had tied up with Navkiran Singh, Founder-CEO of Baazi Games. 

❤️ Tag Team for Pops!

This year Brian “@SoftwareBrian” Pinkus is playing the @WSOP $1,000 Tag Team with his daughter Abby in honor of his late father.

🍀 Can dad’s skill and daughter’s luck combine to take it down? pic.twitter.com/ZjjOwgx35Z

— PokerNews (@PokerNews) July 2, 2024

Meanwhile, India All Time Money List topper Santhosh Suvarna is among the top stacks in the $50K High Roller Pot Limit Omaha. At the end of Day 1, the two-time WSOP bracelet winner had 1,360,000 chips in his kitty for Day 2. The chip lead (1,575,000) sits with another poker stalwart Jason Mercier. The second chip lead is with Jared Bleznick (1,470,000).  

Image Credit: Regina Cortina/Pokernews.com

For more WSOP 2024 updates, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter  and Telegram.

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