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An exciting third day of World Series of Poker action saw one bracelet awarded and three more events enjoy plenty of drama at different stages of play as the Rio in Las Vegas hosted more fantastic poker action.

The second event on the schedule, the $25,000-entry H.O.R.S.E. event saw plenty of big names take part over the course of three days, with relative unknown Jesse Klein taking the title to win his first-ever WSOP bracelet and over half a million dollars into the bargain.

The action at the final table got heated very quickly as Klein enjoyed a period of holding the Indian sign over Phil Hellmuth. He may have mellowed over the past few years but the ‘Poker Brat’ was back in the form of two blow-ups that preceded his exit from the event in sixth place for $95,329.

Benny Glaser (left) and Jesse Klein battle for the WSOP bracelet on Day 3 of the 2021 World Series of Poker

It wasn’t just Hellmuth who missed out on the bracelet at the expense of someone new on the scene. After Philip Sternheimer and Day 1 chip leader Chad Eveslage followed Hellmuth from the room, an extended period of play defined the end of the event, with Benny Glaser, Jesse Klein and French poker legend David Benyamine both holding the power at the table with three players remaining.

Ultimately, Benyamine busted to Klein, and that proved vital to the maiden winner as he used those chips to take down Glaser at the last, which led to a warm handshake between the two men as one WSOP veteran with three bracelets congratulated the other man on winning his first.

Event #2: $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. Final Table Results
Place Player Country Prize
1st Jesse Klein U.S.A. $552,182
2nd Benny Glaser United Kingdom $341,274
3rd David Benyamine France $236,626
4th Chad Eveslage U.S.A. $169,218
5th Philip Sternheimer United Kingdom $124,935
6th Phil Hellmuth U.S.A. $95,329
7th Ben Yu U.S.A. $75,260
8th DJ Buckley U.S.A. $61,549
9th Matt Glantz U.S.A. $52,211

Event 4, ‘The Reunion’ attracted thousands more players to the $5 million guaranteed event as 4,455 players were whittled down to just over 200 by the final hand of the day.

Galen Hall
Galen Hall was just one of the 4,455 players who joined in The Reunion at the Rio

With players such as Ronnie Bardah (2,005,000) and Tyler Jamieson (3,040,000) making the top 10 chipcounts, it was Robert Brobyn who piled up an amazing 5 million chips to look down on the field after both Day 1a which took place yesterday, and today’s Day 1b.

Event #4: $500 The Reunion Top 10 Chip Counts
Position Player Chips
1st Robert Brobyn 5,015,000
2nd Tyler Jamison 3,040,000
3rd Jared Ambler 2,450,000
4th Ya Yun Liu 2,445,000
5th Ryan Messick 2,410,000
6th Elvis Toomas 2,375,000
7th Darryl Ronconi 2,030,000
8th Ronnie Bardah 2,005,000
9th Randy Rhee 1,990,000
10th Mark Lilomaiava 1,765,000

Event #5 saw players battle for supremacy on Day 2 of the $1,500-entry Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better event. With 230 players reduced to just 15, the chip leader at the close of play was former WSOP bracelet winner Connor Drinan, with 2,415,000 chips.

Drinan is some way clear of his nearest challenger, Robert Mizrachi (1,410,000), but between them, the two men have four WSOP bracelets, with none of their 13 opponents heading into the final day having won gold before.

Event #5: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better Top 10 Chip Counts
Position Player Chips
1st Connor Drinan 2,415,000
2nd Robert Mizrachi 1,410,000
3rd Sandy Sanchez 1,380,000
4th Pearce Arnold 1,160,000
5th Carl Lijewski 1,095,000
6th Curtis Phelps 1,080,000
7th Kris Kwiatkowski 1,045,000
8th Yehuda Buchalter 1,020,000
9th Michael Moed 965,000
10th Scott Baumstein 900,000

Finally, Event #6 kicked off, with the $25,000-entry NLHE High Roller attracting many of the world’s best poker players on its way to 54 players surviving from a field of 135.

As expected, plenty of the world’s regulars at this buy-in took part, but there were early exits for players such as Niall Farrell, Ryan Laplante, Event #3 winner Jeremy Ausmus and former WSOP Main Event winner Ryan Riess.

As play progressed, only 54 players survived the day, although players will have the opportunity to re-enter until the first card of Day 2 hits the felt. With players such as Michael Addamo busting two bullets, not everyone will have that chance, with only two entries permitted.

It will be Jake Daniels who leads the field into Day 2 with 1.1 million chips, with players such as Chance Kornuth (570,000), Jake Schindler (667,000) and Michael Liang (1,028,000) all racking up big stacks on the opening day. There is still everything to play for, with the chip leader Daniels’ table draw for Day 2 only having five seats filled, there’s every chance of a big name joining a chip-heavy battle for glory on Day 2.

Event #6: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller Top 10 Chip Counts
Position Player Country Chips
1st Jake Daniels U.S.A. 1,182,000
2nd Michael Liang U.S.A. 1,028,000
3rd James Chen U.S.A. 835,000
4th Scott Eskenazi U.S.A. 747,000
5th Jake Schindler U.S.A. 667,000
6th Clayton Kalisek U.S.A. 610,000
7th Alexandros Theologis Greece 594,000
8th Chance Kornuth U.S.A. 570,000
9th Ankush Mandavia Russia 553,000
10th Brian Rast U.S.A. 551,000

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World Series of Poker, Phil Hellmuth, Jake Schindler, Benny Glaser, Brian Rast, 2021 WSOP, WSOP 2021, Connor Drinan, Jesse Klein, Robert Brobyn, Robert Mizrachi, Ronnie Bardah