From 2,392 entries who started in the $10k WPT World Championship only 16 remain. These 16 are coming back today to begin the chase after one of the six seats that are up for grabs for tomorrow’s final table.
Those remaining have already secured a nice payday, with the first player to go out today taking home $176,000, and everybody else guaranteed the minimum of $215,000.
However, as impressive as these numbers are, they pale in comparison to the first place prize of $3.1 million, and that’s the one that everyone will have their eyes on. To get there, though, there is a lot of play still left, and only one of the remaining 16 will see his name added to the WPT Mike Sexton Cup.
Chris Moorman at it Again
It is hardly ever a surprise to see Chris Moorman’s name near the top of chip counts in a poker tournament. The man who’s been crushing it for years and a WPT champion already will be looking to do it all again here at the Wynn as he’s starting the play as a chip leader with 30 million in his stack – well over 100 big blinds.
Moorman is looking to set another personal record of making WPT World Championship final tables back-to-back. Last year, he made it to the final six and was eventually eliminated in 4th, so he’ll be extra motivated (as if that were necessary).
Also coming back to a big stack is Brian Yoon, a proud owner of five WSOP bracelets who’ll be looking to add a WPT title to his impressive resume. Not a stranger to the pressure of big tournaments and bringing back some chips to put to work, he’s certainly a force to be reckoned with.
Scott Stewart, who’s returning second in chips, may not be what you call a “big name,” but this man has been grinding poker for years and has a lot to show for it – close to $3,000,000 in live tournament winnings. Taking down the WPT World Championship would not only more than double this number, but it would be a crowning achievement of his career thus far.
San Kim is the last player still in contention to have won his entry into the Championship via the ClubWPT Gold Invitational Freeroll. He has just over 25 big blinds in his stack, so the dream is still very much alive for the lucky qualifier.
Final 16 Chip Counts
| Player | Stack | Big Blinds |
| Chris Moorman | 30,600,000 | 122 |
| Scott Stewart | 29,125,000 | 116 |
| Brian Yoon | 22,550,000 | 90 |
| Christian Roberts | 22,050,000 | 88 |
| Ryan Yu | 20,000,000 | 80 |
| Joshua Lisberger | 19,325,000 | 77 |
| Jonathan Willis | 19,275,000 | 77 |
| Fabian Gumz | 14,800,000 | 59 |
| Edward Park | 13,250,000 | 53 |
| Anže Šmajd | 9,775,000 | 39 |
| Robert Sherwood | 8,950,000 | 36 |
| Andrea Dato | 7,725,000 | 31 |
| Jeremy Wien | 7,250,000 | 29 |
| San Kim | 6,600,000 | 26 |
| A.J. Kelsall | 4,600,000 | 18 |
| Mykhailo Lendel | 3,600,000 | 14 |
A Big Day Is Upon Us
The penultimate day of the 2024 WPT World Championship kicks off today at noon and players will play as many 90-minute levels as necessary to create the final table of six.
Once this happens, the play will pause for the day, and the final six will return tomorrow to crown the champion.
Looking at stack sizes, it could be a long day, as there is plenty of play left, and nobody will be in any rush to bust. It will likely take some coolers to send a few of those still remaining to the rail, and despite a nice payday, you can be sure they won’t be happy about it – but that’s just poker tournaments for you.
We have an exciting day of poker ahead of us as the race for final table seats begins, and you can be sure that players will pull no punches as they try to secure one of those for themselves!
