Another exciting week at the 2024 World Series of Poker is in the books. Like every week so far, we saw plenty of action at the tables, a bunch of new bracelets awarded, and the mandatory bit of weekly controversy.
In terms of tournament wins it was Chris Hunichen who stole the spotlight, running away with the win in the $100,000 High Roller and finally landing his first WSOP gold.
As I’m writing this article, players are gathering for the start of the $50,000 Players Championship, one of the biggest and most prestigious events of the World Series, and that’s where the focus will be at in the coming days.
For those interested in the gossipy side of poker, one story made rounds on Twitter and YouTube, featuring a lady who got trespassed from the WSOP after throwing an angry fit at the tables.
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Chris Hunichen Finally Goes All the Way
Chris Hunichen is an accomplished poker player in every which way. His professional resume is beyond impressive, but one thing notably missing from it was a WSOP bracelet. That finally changed last week.
Hunichen triumphed in a small but very strong field of the $100,000 High Roller, picking up over $2.8 million. On his way to victory, he had to outlast the likes of Nick Petrangelo, Justin Bonomo, Ike Haxton, and Justin Saliba.
Despite Hunichen’s impressive run, another player at this final table got quite a bit of attention from the poker public. Viktor ‘Isidlur1’ Blom was in the mix and going strong, but he couldn’t go all the way as he eventually busted in third place.
After Blom’s departure, Chris only had one obstacle between him and the coveted bracelet. Jeremy Ausmus started the heads-up as a two-to-one underdog in terms of chips, but he wasn’t going to let Hunichen have an easy triumph.
It was quite a battle, with chip lead positions changing and Chris having to catch a magical two-outer on the river at one point just to stay in the hunt, but eventually, he did it. On the very last hand, his top pair of 9s was no good against Jeremy’s over-pair, but the river brought another 9, and it was all over.
It was a truly momentous victory for Chris Hunichen, as this is not just his first WSOP gold but also the biggest single cash of his career, bringing his running total to $13.8 million.
It’s Poker Players Championship Time
The $50,000 Poker Players Championship is considered one of the most prestigious tournaments at the World Series, featuring nine different poker variations. It tends to attract a relatively small, but star-studded field every year.
There is a lot of prestige that comes with winning this event, which many see as the “other” Main Event. For someone to win the Players Championship, they need to be an excellent all-around player.
The tournament has just gotten underway and players are slowly filling up the seats. In the mix already are the two-time winner Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates, Scott Seiver, poker legend Eli Elezra, Daniel Negreanu, and even Viktor Blom.
It will take several days for the tournament to play down to the winner. This particular championship has a very deep structure and offers plenty of play, which is only right considering how prestigious the event is.
Another Week, Another Bit of Controversy
One thing that many poker players talked about when not busy grinding was the curious case of Sunita, a lady who got herself banned from the WSOP after creating a scene in one of the smaller buy-in events.
The whole incident was recorded and posted to Twitter, leading to some debate as to what may have caused this kind of reaction.
In an interview following the incident, Sunita tried to explain the situation, reiterating that her reaction was a response to consistent bullying from other players and even the dealer.
This led to some debate as to what players should do in such scenarios, and the general consensus was that an over-the-top reaction like this one could hardly help the problem, even if a complaint has merits.
Things Not Looking Up for Kid Poker
Daniel Negreanu is once again on the grind at the World Series, regularly posting his daily vlogs and sharing interesting hands, big moments, and fun stories.
Despite all the hard work, though, things are yet to pick up for Kid Poker, as his WSOP bracelet count remains unchanged.
The last week as particularly unlucky for Negreanu, as he seemingly found himself on the wrong side of variance, constantly running into huge hands.
It seemed like the $250,000 Super High Roller could be the one to turn the tides, as Daniel was fighting hard in the event, coming back from the edge a couple of times and making some great reads along the way.
Still, it wasn’t enough, as he was eventually eliminated before reaching the money, and he’ll have to solider on and look for the next opportunity.
It certainly hasn’t been the stellar start of the series for Negreanu, but there is still plenty of time left to turn things around, and his motivation and determination still seem very high, which is the main thing. The rest is often up to the poker gods.
