The 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event has reached the final 27 players. June 15 will pare the field down to a final table: the November Nine. It is an incredible feat for the 27 players to have reached this point. The event began with 6,638 entrants and has taken 6 days to reach the stage of 27. Day 6 itself took 11 hours of poker, with the field shrinking from 79 to 27.
Martin Jacobson Is the Chip Leaders
Martin Jacobson of Sweden is the chip leader at the moment, holding $22,350,000 in chips. Despite holding the lead, several players have the chip stacks to challenge Jacobson on any given hand.
Top Competition for Jacobson
Luis Velador ($16.6m), Dan Sindelar ($16.3m), Andoni Larrabe ($15.2m), and William Pappaconstantinou ($14.6m) are all one large hand from challenging Martin Jacobson. Bruno Palitano and Dan Smith each have something in the range of $10 million or $11 million in chips.
All Ex-Champions Eliminated
No former champions will have a repeat this year. When Huck Seed was eliminated last Friday, he was the last remaining WSOP Main Event Champion (1996) remaining in the event.
Friday was a pivotal day, because the players who survived had finished "in the money". The final 692 players won at least $18,406, though the higher finishes get into lottery-style winnings. The WSOP Main Event champion will win $10,000,000.
Mark Newhouse's Feat
Mark Newhouse remains alive to make the November Nine for the second year in a row. Though Newhouse busted out in 9th place in 2013, making the final table two years in a row in a tournament with over 6,600 players would be considered a remarkable feat. Mark Newhouse is now in 11th place with $6,820,000, so he is well within striking distance.
The last time a player made back-to-back final tables was Dan Harrington in 2003 and 2004. Many people consider Harrington's 2003-04 results to be the most remarkable accomplishment in the history of tournament poker. Harrington, of course, also won the main event in 1995.
Devonshire and Force
Others trying to make a deep run in the Main Event for a second time are Bryan Devonshire and Leif Force. Bryan Devonshire finished in 12th place in 2011, while he holds $5,765,000 in chips and 14th place (at present) this time. Leif Force finished in 11th place in 2006. This year, Force holds $4,035,000 in chips, which gives him 18th at present.
Maria Ho - Last Woman Standing
When the day began, Maria Ho stood in 79th place. That made Ho's activities early in the day of special interest, because she was the last woman remaining in the event. The Maria Ho Watch was a short one, though, as Zachary Hurst knocked Ho out as the 77th finisher.
Tony Ruberto - 8th in Chips Entering the Day
Tony Ruberto came into the day in 8th place, but he was eliminated after a rough start to the day. Ruberto finished in 68th place after Adam Lamphere beat him with a pair of queens. Though it had to be a disappointing end for Tony Ruberto, he does go home with $103,025 in winnings.
Final Table Awaits
Eighteen more players will be similarly disappointed tomorrow, while taking home six figures in poker winnings. When completed, the final 9 will reconvene at the Rio in Paradise, Nevada (on the Vegas Strip) in November. Those gamblers will play for the $10 million and an eternal spot among the WSOP Main Event champions list. This day last year lasted until after 2am Nevada time, so fans should expect to have late reports throughout Tuesday evening.
Tony Ruberto's exit should serve as a warning to the likes of Martin Jacobson, Luis Velador, Dan Sindelar, Andoni Larrabe, William Pappaconstantinou, Bruno Politano and Dan Smith. Every year, one of the Top 9 players at this point has a disappointing and abrupt ending to their journey. While all the players at this point will be well-compensated, the publicity and compensation for the November Nine is so much better. For four months, these nine players will be potential WSOP Main Event champions, so they'll get the commensurate media attention.
Though the top chip leaders will get the most attention, the poker media will have 4 months of news to fill. Each should become known to the poker playing public at large, with opportunities to promote themselves and their causes (if they have any). And at the end of the day, they'll have the ability to win the bracelet which trumps all others.
Comments