Who Are the WSOP Main Event Final Table Players?
Tonight, the nine finalists in the World Series of Poker Main Event will return to the Rio to play poker. Action will resume at 6:30pm local time.
The tentative plan is to play down to six players.
When play stopped in the wee hours of Saturday morning, there were nine players, which had been the goal of the day. And those nine took some time to celebrate their places at the most coveted final table in the game of poker, with a day off before play resumes on Sunday evening, July 14.
Each player is now guaranteed at least $1 million for their original investment of $10K.
Let’s take a look at who they are:
Chip Leader: Hossein Ensan (177 million chips)
–Age 55
–Born in Iran
–Lives in Muenster, Germany
–Former occupation: Painter
At the age of 25, Hossein Ensan moved from Iran to Germany. He has one daughter. He described himself as a “simple painter” and now a “poker amateur.”
–First listed tournament cash: February 2013
–First listed tournament win: ESPT Seniors Event in 2014
–Most significant wins: 2015 EPT Prague Main Event (€754,510), 2017 WSOP International Circuit Rozvadov Main Event (€184,812)
Total lifetime live tournament earnings prior to 2019 WSOP ME: $2,673,206
Second in Chips: Garry Gates (99.3 million chips)
–Age 37
–Born in USA (Titusville, Pennsylvania)
–Lives in Las Vegas, Nevada
–Former occupation: Poker reporter
–Current occupation: PokerStars Senior Manager of Player Relations, Engagement and Communities
Spending much of his adult life in the poker industry, Gates has found time to play the game as well. He is also a survivor of the 2017 mass shooting at a concert in Las Vegas.
–First listed tournament cash: April 2010
–First listed tournament win: 2010 The Grand Poker Series NLHE ($4,518)
–Most significant finish: 2012 WSOP Circuit Atlantic City Main Event (4th place: $64,530)
Total lifetime live tournament earnings prior to 2019 WSOP ME: $243,129
Third in Chips: Zhen Cai (60.6 million chips)
–Age 35
–Lives in Lake Worth, Florida
–Former occupation: Casino employee
–Current occupation: Poker pro
Cai plays poker professionally, with the support of wife Jessica and four-year-old son Chance. The PLO cash game player is close friends with 2018 WSOP Main Event second-place finisher Tony Miles.
–First listed tournament cash: July 2008
–First listed tournament win: 2011 WSOP Circuit New Orleans ($33,753)
–Most significant finish: 2018 Lucky Hearts Poker Open PLO ($46,900)
Total lifetime live tournament earnings prior to 2019 WSOP ME: $213,995
Fourth in Chips: Kevin Maahs (43 million chips)
–Age 27
–Born in USA (Chicago, Illinois)
–Lives in Chicago, Illinois
–Occupation: Finance
Maahs calls poker a hobby and has only been accumulating tournament scores since 2016. This was the first year he played in the WSOP Main Event.
–First listed tournament cash: July 2014
–First listed tournament win: 2018 WSOP Warm-Up Hammond ($12,000)
–Most significant finish: 2016 MSPT Milwaukee Main Event (6th place: $12,221)
Total lifetime live tournament earnings prior to 2019 WSOP ME: $61,213
Fifth in Chips: Alex Livingston (37.8 million chips)
–Age 32
–Born in Canada (Nova Scotia)
–Lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia
–Former occupation: Restaurant owner
–Current occupation: Poker pro
A former chess champion and now poker pro, Livingston calls Canada home but spends much of his time in Las Vegas after having lived also in Boston and New York City.
–First listed tournament cash: June 2009
–Most significant finish: 2013 WSOP Main Event (13th place: $451,398)
Total lifetime live tournament earnings prior to 2019 WSOP ME: $732,874
Sixth in Chips: Dario Sammartino (33.4 million chips)
–Age 32
–Born in Italy (Naples)
–Lives in Nova Gorica, Slovenia
–Former occupation: Poker pro
–Current occupation: Poker player, business owner
Sammartino has been a staple on the poker scene for more than a decade, playing tournaments around the world, including high rollers. He recently decided to play less poker and focus on business opportunities, but he still has poker goals.
–First listed tournament cash: November 2008
–First listed tournament win: 2013 IPT Sanremo High Roller (€35,000)
–Most significant finishes: 7 WSOP cashes in 2019, 38 lifetime WSOP cashes
Total lifetime live tournament earnings prior to 2019 WSOP ME: $8,044,479
Seventh in Chips: Milos Skrbic (23.4 million chips)
–Age 30
–Born in Serbia (Sremska Mitrovica)
–Lives in San Francisco, California
–Former occupation: Studied as veterinarian and computer science major
–Current occupation: Poker pro
As a longtime poker fan and pro for several years, Skrbic has had some impressive experience in tournaments thus far.
–First listed tournament cash: May 2011
–First listed tournament win: 2019 Venetian Deepstack NLHE ($67,334)
–Most significant finishes: 7 WSOP cashes in 2019, 38 lifetime WSOP cashes
Total lifetime live tournament earnings prior to 2019 WSOP ME: $1,670,572
Eighth in Chips: Timothy Su (20.2 million chips)
–Age 25
–Born in USA (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
–Lives in San Boston, Massachusetts
–Current occupation: Software engineer
Poker has been a hobby for Su as he has worked in software engineering, currently for a startup company. The classical musician plays poker tournaments on rare occasions.
–First listed tournament cash: October 2018
–Most significant finishes: 2019 WSOP NLHE Colossus min-cash
Total lifetime live tournament earnings prior to 2019 WSOP ME: $2,467
Last in Chips: Nicholas Marchington (20.1 million chips)
–Age 21
–Born in England (Essex)
–Lives in London, England
–Current occupation: Poker pro
The recent college student pursuing a computer science degree is now a poker pro. Marchington
–First listed tournament cash: June 2019
–Only tournament cash: 2019 WSOP NLHE (19th place: $12,415)
Total lifetime live earnings prior to 2019 WSOP ME: $12,415
Payouts for 2019 WSOP Main Event Final Table
1st place: $10 million
2nd place: $6 million
3rd place: $4 million
4th place: $3 million
5th place: $2.2 million
6th place: $1.85 million
7th place: $1.525 million
8th place: $1.25 million
9th place: $1 million
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