Day 5 of WPT World Championship Starts with 45 Remaining: Lin, Moorman, and the Foxens Still in the Running

The WPT World Championship Festival at the Wynn continues today with 45 players returning to play in the Championship event itself, with plenty of action on the sidelines as well, including the second day of the million dollar buy-in Big One for One Drop.

Yesterday’s action saw nearly 100 players drop off along the way, including notable names like Joe Cada, Brad Owen, Roman Hrabec, Upeshka De Silva, and Igor Kurganov, while the 45 who survived the day come back today to fight for their place at the final table of one of the biggest poker events in 2023.

The remaining players in the WPT World Championship are now guaranteed a payout of at least $111,300, but will all be looking to edge towards those seven figure payouts, which are guaranteed to all who make the final six.

WPT World Championship Day 5 kicks off at noon today, with blinds set at 100,000/200,000, and a number of players entering the day with fewer than 20 big blinds, having their work truly cut out for them.

Mark Mounsey Leads the Final 45

Quite a few big names in the poker world remain in the final 45 at the WPT World Championship, but they have all been left in the dust by Canadian player Mark Mounsey, whose modest previous tournament results are about to be significantly improved regardless of what happens today.

Mounsey, who currently only has $33,440 in tournament cashes to his name, will be adding at least $111k to that number, although it is unlikely for him to be one of the early bustouts of the day, as he sits on a stack of 18,725,000 going into Day 5 action.

Following right behind him is Maxime Chilaud with 17,900,000, as the Frenchman seeks to improve on the results of his successful Merit Poker Carmen Series trip earlier this year, where he cashed for well over $500k over several events.

Day 4 of the @WPT World Championship comes to a close with just 45 players moving onto tomorrow!

Mark Mounsey (@shogunJAM) leads the field into action with a number of notables remaining including Ren Lin, @luckychewy and @Moorman1 to name a few!

Current payout: $111,300

Top… pic.twitter.com/gt9AuYbZMI

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) December 19, 2023

Starting the day third in chips will be Ren Lin, the Chinese high roller who has accumulated $8 million in tournament winnings over his short and successful poker career, and who will be looking to push his table around and build up a big stack in the wake of final table action.

Some of the more notable names still remaining in the WPT World Championship include the likes of Ben Heath, Artur Martirosian, Andres Lichtenberger, Chris Moorman, and Roberto Romanello, all of whom are no strangers to running deep in massive poker tournaments like this one.

Kristen and Alex Foxen Keep the Dream Alive

Making the final table of the WPT World Championship is certainly every player’s dream, but doing so alongside their spouse is something most can hardly even imagine.

For one couple, that dream is still alive, as Kristen and Alex Foxen both remain in action as Day 5 of the WPT World Championship kicks off.

Kristen, who has been among the chip leaders for a couple of days now, enters Day 5 with a healthy stack of 10,300,000, good for 51 big blinds and plenty of play this deep in the event.

The more accomplished of the two, Alex will be starting the day with just 4,425,000, continuing to ride the relatively short stack, which he has been doing since the start of action yesterday.

Yet, with more than 20 big blinds to work with, and probably the most experience and skill of all the players remaining in the field, Alex will be in with a serious shot at making an even deeper run and potentially even reaching the final table of this prestigious event.

Both players ended up playing at the featured table yesterday, creating one of the best stories we have seen in poker for some time, but will be starting the day at different tables today, as Kristen sits down with the likes of Princess Love and Chris Moorman, while Alex takes on Roberto Romanello, Ankit Ahuja, and others.

Big One for One Drop to Play Down to Final Table

While WPTWC gradually dwindling down toward a final table was certainly of note to poker fans and media, the start of the highly anticipated Big One for One Drop was the big story yesterday, as the game’s biggest stars made their way to the Encore Ballroom.

Only 17 players ended up deciding to pony up the $1,000,000 buyin required to play in the Big One, and three of them failed to make it through the day, as Talal Shakerchi, Phil Ivey, and Mario Mosboeck busted during the last level of Day 1 play.

We caught up with @CrownUpGuy in the last level of play and he spoke on meditation and his routine before hopping into the $1,000,000 Big One for @onedrop @WynnLasVegas @WynnPoker!

End of Day 1: https://t.co/hkQ81NGXxs https://t.co/NDDFsg9S6m pic.twitter.com/7ZSGbyXYQc

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) December 19, 2023

With 14 players remaining, it will be tournament superstar Dan Smith leading the field with a stack of 3,680,000, with Indian businessman Santosh Suvarna and Spanish grinder Adrian Mateos both sitting on over 2,000,000 in chips.

Action in the Big One resumes at 2:00 pm today, as the field plays down to a final table, which you will be able to watch via a real-time stream courtesy of the World Poker Tour.

WPT Prime Championship to Crown a Champion

The final six players remaining in the WPT Prime Championship will finally decide on a champion today, following a break that lasted several days, which gave players plenty of time to examine their opponents and get mentally ready for final table action.

Leading the field into the final day of play is Jay Lu with a stack of 123,200,000, followed by the 99,500,000 of Calvin Anderson.

Bob Buckenmayer, Jon Glendinning, Valeriy Pak, and Aaron Pinson will all be looking to catch up to them, as their varying stack sizes will force each to play a different style of poker, with significant ICM implications at the final table.

The six remaining players will be playing for a top prize of $1,386,280, while everyone still in the running already has $290,000 in the bank, guaranteeing a significant payday for all regardless of what happens today.

Tune in to the WPT Prime final table action on WPT live stream today, and stay tuned for more updates we will have for you over the next couple of days of WPT World Championship action.