Defending champion eliminated from the World Series of Poker Main Event on Day 5

Action from Day 5 of the Main Event in the World Series of Poker has been wrapped up, and the obvious headline is that defending champion Michael ”The Grinder” Mizrachi is no longer part of the field.

At the end of play today there are now only 174 players, as it must be remembered that we originally had a field of 9,208. Mizrachi’s quest to claim the $10,000,000 top prize two years in a row came to an end in 241st place, netting him $50,000.

He was not the only former champion to be eliminated today as Greg Raymer and Ryan Riess bowed out, meaning there is only one former champion remaining in the shape of 2019 winner Hossein Ensan.

The leader at the end of Day 5 is Zhao Liu with his chip count of 10,150,000; meanwhile, Dhiraj Sharma and Xingyu Liu are not far behind in second and third, respectively.

Elsewhere, there was plenty of action around the tables of Las Vegas today, as we got to see a winner crowned in the $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha. Matthew Shepsky secured his first golden bracelet and won a prize pot of $305,000 by emerging victorious from a massive field of 4,764 participants.

There were another five events that took place across the day in Las Vegas, and while there were no winners confirmed, it was action-packed and entertaining.

Firstly, in the $1,500 Pick Your PLO, we learned who the final 10 will be to fight for the golden bracelet on Day 3, with Farhad Jamasi leading the chip count with 7,005,000, almost double the amount of his next closest competitor, Sergio Benso, with 3,665,000.

In the $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em, we have seen the field reduced to 13 from the original 202 as we concluded action for the day.

Daniel Rezaei leads in the chip count, and he will be confident he can win his second ever golden bracelet due to the 7,345,000 chips he currently holds; however, Daniel Smiljkovic is closely following him with 6,605,000.

At the end of action in the $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship No-Limit Hold'em, we have seen the field for Day 2 confirmed; it will be 923.

On Day 1C, out of the 1,634 entries for the flight, 520 players bagged chips to return for Day 2, with Marius Gierse leading the chip count at 402,700.

Meanwhile, in the $3,000 T.O.R.S.E. of the 457 entries to the tournament, 157 players bagged their return for Day 2.

Alex Livingston is aiming for his third golden bracelet and is currently in a strong position, leading the chip count with 230,000.

Finally, at the end of the day’s action in the $300 Gladiators of Poker, we have seen 234 players progress to the next round of the tournament.

At the end of Day 1C, the chip count leader was David Kenniston with 3,155,000, while Julian Menhardt followed closely in second with 2,790,000.