On Tuesday, the World Poker Tour (WPT) $3,500 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown saw the final 16 players from a 2,290-entry field return to play down to the final table of six.
It took approximately six hours, but eventually, the finalists were set with Bin Weng and his stack of 46.05 million in the best position to make a run at the $1,128,250 first-place prize. Weng has been one of the hottest players on the circuit this year with $1,269,281 in earnings thus far, not including what he’ll make at his latest final table.
Weng already has a seven-figure score to his name after taking down the $5,300 The Return: A Borgata Championship Event back in January, and a month later he won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Las Vegas $1,700 Main Event for $227,344 and a gold ring.
Others still in contention include Sridhar Sangannagari, Mitch Garshofsky, David Mzareulov, Naing Thu, and Rafael Farah Jarufe.
Everyone remaining is guaranteed $238,000 in prize money. However, they’ll have to wait to play down to a winner as the final table will play out at the Hyper X ESports Arena at the Luxor in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 25th.
WPT Poker Showdown Final Table
| Seat | Player | Count | BBs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitch Garshofsky | 18,550,000 | 62 bb |
| 2 | David Mzareulov | 13,350,000 | 45 bb |
| 3 | Rafael Farah Jarufe | 4,275,000 | 14 bb |
| 4 | Sridhar Sangannagari | 19,100,000 | 64 bb |
| 5 | Bin Weng | 46,050,000 | 154 bb |
| 6 | Naing Thu | 13,250,000 | 44 bb |
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Day 4 Action
Day 4 action was heated right out of the gate as Isaac Kempton rivered a gutshot straight to dispatch four-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Jeff Madsen, who got it in with top pair. Not long after, inaugural Wynn Millions champ Andrew Moreno played a big pot against Jarufe.
Moreno held two black kings and was in good shape against Jarufe’s ace-queen, that is until an ace spiked on the river. Just like that, Moreno hit the rail in 15th place for $56,800. Champie Douglas followed him out the door after losing a race with ace-king against the pocket eights of Garshofsky, and then Andrew Ostapchenko exited in 13th place when his flopped set of fives was flushed by a river heart for Mzareulov.
Running queen-jack smack dab into Sangannagari’s pocket aces led to the demise of Dylan Smith, and Dorian Rios hit the rail after flopping top two pair against Jarufe’s flopped straight. As for Clemen Deng, he lost a flip with pocket fours to Kempton, which set up the final table of nines.
Even so, three more eliminations needed to occur before the TV table of six was set, and Gal Yifrach was the next to fall after failing to get there with ace-four suited against the ace-queen of Sangannagari. Two levels later, James Anderson three-bet jammed with ace-nine only to have Garshofsky wake up with ace-king in the big blind. The superior ace held and just like that the tournament was on the TV final table bubble.
On Hand #114 of the final table, Weng raised to 625,000 from the button and Kempton defended his big blind. On the A♦Q♥2♣ flop, Kempton check-called a bet of 425,000 and then checked again on the 9♠ turn. Weng bet 1.05 million and then called when Kempton check-raised all in for 4.675 million.
Kempton tabled the Q♠9♦ for a turned two pair and it was ahead of Weng’s A♠10♣. However, there was still one card to come and that would up being the 10♠ on the river to give Weng a bigger two pair. Kempton exited in seventh place while Weng took a big chip lead into the televised final table.
Day 4 Payouts
| Place | Pplayer | Prize | POY Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Isaac Kempton | $183,000 | 375 |
| 8 | James Anderson | $142,000 | 300 |
| 9 | Gal Yifrach | $111,500 | 250 |
| 10 | Clemen Deng | $111,500 | 250 |
| 11 | Dorian Rios | $88,500 | 225 |
| 12 | Dylan Smith | $88,500 | 225 |
| 13 | Andrew Ostapchenko | $70,500 | 200 |
| 14 | Champie Douglas | $70,500 | 200 |
| 15 | Andrew Moreno | $56,800 | 200 |
| 16 | Jeff Madsen | $56,800 | 200 |
Remember, the final table will be played at the Hyper X ESports Arena at the Luxor in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 25th. Action will resume with just over 12 minutes remaining in Level 32 (150,000/300,000/300,000). PokerNews will be on-site and bring you a winner’s recap upon the tournament’s completion.
*Images courtesy of WPT and Seminole Hard Rock.
Executive Editor U.S.
Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.