132 Hopefuls Return for Day 4 of the WPT World Championship with $5.6 Million on the Line
4 minutes
Last Updated: January 25, 2024
The spectacle created by the early days of WPT World Championship, when hundreds of players were playing poker in the same room, is now behind us, and we are entering the business end of the event, with only 132 players remaining out of the 3,835 initial runners.
Hundreds of players exited the Encore Ballroom with their dreams dashed out during Day 3 yesterday, but they all walked away with new money in their pockets, as all who made it as far as Day 3 were guaranteed a payout of nearly two times the initial buy-in.
Those who come back today, on the other hand, will be guaranteed at least $37,600, a hefty return on the $10,400 buy-in, although one that most who bust out today will not be too happy with.
Among those returning to play today will be quite a few notable names, including both Kristen and Alex Foxen, Chris Moorman, Andrew Lichtenberger, Christoph Vogelsang, Igor Kurganov, Upeshka De Silva and quite a few other familiar names.
They will all be chasing after Naj Ajez, a two-time WPT final tablist with $1.2 million in career earnings, who will be chasing after the biggest tournament poker score of his life, and interestingly enough his first tournament cash outside of Australia.
Naj Ajez Leads a Stacked Tournament Field
Going into an event like WPT World Championship, we always expect to see quite a few notable names in the final stretch, but the number of well-known poker players and champions making a deep run at this one is even greater than we could have expected.
Australian Naj Ajez leads the field with 11,435,000, close to 200 big blinds going into the 30k/60k level that will start the day.
Naj built up his stack after surviving a critical coin-flip, when his AK held up against pocket Queens in one of the most typical confrontations you will see at a No Limit Texas Hold’em table.
Images courtesy of WPT
He is followed closely by the likes of Russian tournament crusher Artur Martirosyan, who is coming off a bracelet win over at WSOP Paradise and a significantly less known American player Andreas Campero, both of whom will start the day with over 10 million in chips.
Several very notable names have also made it into the top ten chip counts, with Kristen Foxen (7,260,000), Chris Moorman (7,120,000), and Roman Hrabec (6,620,000) all starting the day with significant stacks and big hopes for what is to come.
Among those who will be entering Day 4 with a short stack and a big dream are WPT Ambassador Brad Owen (730,000), former World Champion Joe Cada (715,000), and tournament grinder Upeshka De Silva (1,490,000).
While some of these are likely not going to survive the day, they will all be coming back to the Encore Ballroom today in hopes of spinning up a stack and becoming the next “zero to hero” story at this year’s WPT World Championship.
Big Day for the Foxen Family
While there are quite a few big stories out there in this year’s WPT World Championship, one of the biggest is certainly the joint effort of the Foxen couple, as both Alex and Kristen are returning to the Encore today for Day 4 of the Championship event.
Kristen, who broke into the spotlight back in 2013 when she won her first WSOP bracelet in the Ladies Event, and has been a staple of the poker community ever since, starts Day 4 as one of the chip leaders with a great shot at making a serious run at the final table.
We caught @krissyb24poker and @WAFoxen just after they bagged up for Day 4 of the #WPTWorldChampionship @WynnLasVegas @WynnPoker!
Which Foxen do you think will go the deepest? Poll down below👇
End of Day 3: https://t.co/hl1MeMRhtV pic.twitter.com/DS8Cz69fv5
— World Poker Tour (@WPT) December 18, 2023
Despite being more decorated of the couple, Alex will be starting the day with just over 2.1 million in chips, good for just over 30 big blinds, definitely enough for a tournament crusher of his stature to build up and take deep into the final days of the event.
Both Alex and Kristen have been having incredible success over the last few years on an individual level, and will both be looking for the biggest tournament payday of their lives, as the $5.6 million first place prize would mark an incredible milestone in either of their careers.
Five Levels of Play on the Schedule
WPT World Championship action resumes today at noon, with five 90-minute levels of play planned, which guarantees quite a few big pots and eliminations along the way.
The tournament field will shrink to well under 100 players today, as the tournament enters its most serious stages, and only the best and the most patient remain to come back and play on Day 5 of the biggest guaranteed poker tournament in the history of the game.
As we approach the final stretch in the Championship event, action is also getting heated on the sidelines, as the $25k High Roller enters its final day, and the $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop event kicks off at 2:00 PM.
Stay tuned for more updates from the WPT World Championship, including detailed reporting from the biggest buy-in event of the year, and all the other high rollers that will be crowning their champions over the next several days.
