Things are definitely starting to heat up this week in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker. With Day Five coming to a close, the pressure is now really starting to be felt by those remaining as their fellow players drop like flies around them.
This year’s WSOP Main Event drew the second largest crowd in history, with 7,319 players turning up to try their luck on poker’s biggest stage. The tournament has definitely been a marathon of endurance with eliminations coming slowly until finally, yesterday during Day Four, the bubble burst and excitement flushed over the lucky 747 players who made it to the money. Of those, 574 were still seated at the close of Day Four, with Tony “Bond18” Dunst the chip leader as Day Five kicked off.
Everybody was hanging on for dear life as nearly two-thirds of the field was eliminated throughout the course of the fifth day, 75 eliminations occurring within the very first hour of play. European Poker Tour San Remo Main Event winner Jason Mercier was among those eliminated, as a streak of bad luck reminded the young Team PokerStars Pro just how cruel a game of poker can be. Crippling his stack by running 55 into KK was apparently not enough to appease the poker gods, as shortly afterward he was sent packing when his AT came up against pocket rockets. With roughly 200 remaining in the tournament at the end of the day, Mercier can perhaps take some solace in the fact that his pain is shared by literally thousands of other competitors.
The chip lead started with Tony Dunst and was generously shared around a large group of players, including famous poker pro Phil Galfond, but it is Poker Hall of Famer Johnny Chan who is really making an impression. Known as The Oriental Express, Chan won back to back Main Events in 1987 and ’88, and looks set to make a solid run for his third Main Event bracelet this series. He closed the day ninth in chips, and is now the only Main Event title holder still in this year’s quickly shrinking field. Only time will tell how the cards fall, but it would be a truly special day for poker if Johnny Chan were able to win it again.
Evan Lamprea is the current chip leader as the day closes, and he’s taking it all in his stride. This is the 21 year-old’s first series, but he’s already booked a cash in a $2,500 No Limit Hold’Em event, so is certainly no stranger to WSOP success. Not that that success has gone to the young Canadian’s head, who merely attributes his chip lead to “some fortunate spots” and is calm about the coming day tomorrow. “Don’t plan to change too much, I guess I’ll just check my table draw and go from there.”
The field will, of course, only continue to get smaller from here, and we wish all players still competing the best of luck. With an $8.9 million first prize up for grabs, the remaining action is not to be misfsed, so make sure you keep your eyes and ears peeled for more updates!
The chip counts for the top remaining players are as follows:
Evan Lamprea – 3,569,000
Michael Skender – 3,527,000
Joseph Cheong – 3,357,000
Duy Le – 3,186,000
Theo Jorgensen – 3,088,000
Bryn Kenney – 2,902,000
Matt Affleck – 2,896,000
Alex Kostritsyn – 2,564,000
Johnny Chan – 2,559,000