Day 1 of the nine-handed final table of the 2015 WSOP $10,000 Main Event was completed a few hours ago. This means that there are only two days of play left before the world’s most prestigious and highly anticipated poker event is concluded and the name of this year’s champion is determined.
Day 1 of the final table saw the nine finalists returning to resume play from where it stopped back in July. Here are the nine players who sat at the final table and their respective chip counts:
Seat 1: Ofer Zvi Stern, 29,800,000 (2nd in chips)
Seat 2: Pierre Neuville, 21,075,000 (4th)
Seat 3: Joshua Beckley, 11,800,000 (7th)
Seat 4: Max Steinberg, 20,200,000 (5th)
Seat 5: Tom Cannuli, 12,250,000 (6th)
Seat 6: Joe McKeehen, 63,100,000 (1st)
Seat 7: Patrick Chan, 6,225,000 (8th)
Seat 8: Federico Butteroni, 6,200,000 (9th)
Seat 9: Neil Blumenfield, 22,000,000 (3rd)
Action resumed from Level 35 with blinds standing at 200,000/400,000. Three players were eliminated yesterday and all three were busted by the chip leader. At the beginning of the day, McKeehen had almost a third of all chips in play. The player not only maintained his lead but also managed to extend it. By the end of the day, McKeehen was in possession of almost half of the chips at the table.
The first elimination came on the second hand in play. Chan, who started the day 8th in chips, called after McKeehen shoved all-in from the button. The odds were not in Chan’s favor and he had to leave the final table in 9th place. The player collected the amount of $1,001,020 for his efforts.
Italian Federico Butteroni was the next to go. The player started the day as the short stack. However, he managed to avoid confrontation for some time and his elimination occurred after a little more than three hours of play. Butteroni, too, fell victim to McKeehen. His 8th place in the Main Event secured him with a payout of $1,097,056.
Elimination number 3 came about two and a half hours later. Belgian Pierre Neuville could not stand a chance against the chip leader and had to leave the final table. The player was paid $1,203,293 for finishing 7th in the Main Event.
The remaining six finalists will return today to Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino. Play is set to resume at 4:30 pm local time. And here are the remaining players’ chip counts:
Joe McKeehen – 91,450,000
Ofer Zvi Stern – 32,400,000
Neil Blumenfield – 31,500,000
Max Steinberg – 16,000,000
Josh Beckley – 10,875,000
Thomas Cannuli – 10,425,000
