We’re just about 1/3 of the way through the 2012 WSOP and there are five events to report on today.

Firstly to the $3,000 Shorthanded NLHE event: 18 came back at the start of play and there were some dangerous names among them. For the likes of Freddy Deeb, Eugene Katchalov, and Elky though, their bark was worse than their bite; the best placed big name was Elky in 6th place. At the end of the day it came down to Simon Charette and Artem Metalidi heads-up for the bracelet and the huge $567,624 payday. Charette who had a second place finish last year ultimately emerged victorious after a very short heads-up battle where his 66 held against Metalidi’s A2o.

The $5,000 Omaha hi/lo was the one where all eyes were focused today, with Mike the Mouth, Scotty Nguyen and Phil Ivey all in contention. Matusow got knocked out in 8th, but both Ivey and Nguyen both made it all the way to 3 handed play. Ivey clung on desperately for the longest time but ultimately his luck ran out. So did time and Scotty will take up heads-up play tomorrow against Joe Cassidy who has a 3:1 chip lead. The winner here is due just short of $300k.

It was pretty short day in the $1,500 Limit Holdem Shootout. We just had to make it through 10 five-handed tables and our final table would be set. The ever consistent Victor Ramdin is the only notable pro to make it through to day 3 and he’s in with a good shout of nabbing the bracelet and the $116,118 for first.

There were 138 players remaining in the $3,000 Pot Limit Omaha at the start of today’s play including the likes of Josh Arieh and John Racener. We got down to the final 18 today and Racener is among them. So too is Erik Seidel, Robert Williamson III, and Dutch Boyd. They’re all chasing the chip leader Vadzim Kursevich who sits with well over 100 big blinds. This one plays down to a winner starting tomorrow at 2 pm and there is $361,797 up top.

The last event of the day was the $1,500 HORSE which started at 5:00 pm. This one drew 889 runners, again down on last years 963 and it’s certainly looking like the Main Event field will be smaller than in recent years. At the end of day 1 there are 165 players still in with a shout, and Skip Wilson is leading them on 75,000 chips, up from a starting stack of 4,500. Allen Cunningham is on the chip leaderboard with Huck Seed, David Sklansky, Eli Elezra, and Marcel Luske a little further back.

Tomorrow see the start of an event that almost everyone is looking forward to, the $2,500 4-handed NLHE. There’s sure to be chips flying in this one and it would be no surprise if the bubble is burst before the end of day 1.

Author Profile: Rob O’Connor+

written by Rob \\ tags: Heads Up, Omaha Hi/Lo, Poker, Scotty Nguyen, World Series of Poker, WSOP