Surrounded by images of Main Event winners past, the remaining field is getting close to the point where they can taste a big payday. (Image: Dan Michalski / akfxoqsd.shop)

It was a day of carnage at the 2024 World Series of Poker $10,000 Championship Event (the “Main Event” to one and all), and it was a particularly brutal day for some of the major names that came to the felt. Of the 464 players who walked back into the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas on Thursday, only 160 of them would still be around by the end of the night. One thing has stayed the same, though – at the top of the standings is Stephen Song, who has increased his chip stack to 12.31 million and extended his stay at the top of the ladder.

Day of Bad Beats for the Pros

It was aan especially bad day for the pros who, even though they may have made the right decisions, the “poker gods” decided to treat them unkindly. Phil Ivey, who picked up his eleventh bracelet during the 2024 WSOP, was one of those departures. He would get his stack to the center with pocket Jacks for a flip (a 50/50 hand where either one could win) against Zakhar Galper’s A-Q, and the “gods” were teasing in their work. The K-9-9 flop didn’t change anything, but the Ace on the turn did, pushing Galper to the lead. Once the river failed to bring either of the remaining Knaves to the felt, Phil Ivey was gone from the 2024 WSOP Main Event. 

Comparable stories would befall a couple of other major contenders. One of the big stories of this year’s tournament was the attempt by Alex Livingston to make back-to-back final tables after finishing in third in 2023. Livingston was in third place to start Day Four and in the Top 25 to start Thursday’s Day Five, but the fates would eventually catch him. 

On his final hand, Livingston moved all in with J-10 against his opponent’s pocket sevens and Livingston would flop the world. The A-Q-K flop hit Livingston square with his Broadway straight, the best hand he could have hoped to make realistically, and it looked as if he would find the double. Instead, the Fates would strike with a seven on the turn (to give Livingston’s opponent a set), and another Ace on the river to deliver the full house and eliminate Livingston from the tournament.

If the Livingston situation didn’t show that sometimes making the right decision doesn’t deliver the outcome you desire, then the journey on Thursday of Adrian Mateos hammered the point home. After making the proper decision to fold pocket Kings pre-flop (his opponent DID have the pocket Aces), Mateos was apparently rewarded for his poker acumen when he received pocket Aces soon afterward. That reward would soon turn into a nightmare.

Mateos and his Aces were up against A♠ K♠ and all was good after the flop. A second spade on the turn, however, opened the doors to a potential flush, which came home for Mateos’ opponent to hand the over six million chip pot to the Spaniard’s adversary. Soon afterward, Mateos would commit the pittance of chips he had remaining with pocket deuces that were crushed by the pocket sevens of James Tian.

Song Facing Heat from Portuguese Trio

It was a case of the rich getting richer for Stephen Song, who was able to spin up his 4.745 million stack throughout Thursday’s Day Four play. It seemed that Song did not make any mistakes as his stack crossed the twelve million mark by the end of the evening. There is a trio of Portuguese players that are close behind Song, and they may present the biggest threat to Song’s drive for a championship. 

Carlos Caldas is in Song’s rearview mirror fully, only a couple hundred thousand chips behind the Day Three/Four chip leader. Diogo Coelho has not cracked the ten million mark yet in chips, but he is in extremely decent shape in the third-place slot for Friday’s Day Five. Manuel Machado has not been far off the top of the leaderboard since the tournament started last week; he will take his 8.83 million chips to battle on Friday in fifth place. 

With 160 players still left in the 2024 WSOP Main Event, here is how the Top Ten stand: 

1. Stephen Song (USA), 12.31 million
2. Carlos Caldas (Portugal), 12.11 million
3. Diogo Coelho (Portugal), 9.95 million
4. Yegor Moroz (USA), 9.47 million
5. Manuel Machado (Portugal), 8.83 million
6. Kevin Davis (USA), 8.675 million
7. Charles Russell (Ireland), 8.055 million
8. Tomas Szwarcberg (Mexico), 7.95 million
9. Niklas Astedt (Sweden), 7.9 million
10. Laurent Manderlier (Belgium), 7.5 million

To say that things are getting serious at the 2024 WSOP Main Event would be redundant as they have been serious since the money bubble popped on Wednesday. Another five, two-hour levels are set for the players today, but this may be adjusted depending on how the eliminations go. 

The plan is by the end of action on Saturday to be at or around three tables (27 players), while Sunday’s play will determine the nine final table members (all who will become instant millionaires). Everyone left is guaranteed a minimum of $60,000, but those with a sizeable amount of ammunition in front of them are eyeing the $10 million prize at the top for the next World Champion of the 2024 WSOP Main Event.