On Sunday, July 14, Day 8 of the 2019 WSOP $10,000 Main Event kicked off at 6:30pm local time.
2019 WSOP: Event #73: $10,000 NLHE MAIN EVENT
Schedule: July 3 to July 16, 2019
Venue: Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
Buy-in: $10,000
Prizepool: $80,548,600
Total Entries: 8,569
Remaining: 5
|
Seat
|
Player
|
Country
|
Chip Count
|
Big Blinds
|
|
1
|
Hossein Ensan
|
Germany
|
177,000,000
|
177
|
|
2
|
Nick Marchington
|
UK
|
20,100,000
|
20
|
|
3
|
Dario Sammartino
|
Italy
|
33,400,000
|
33
|
|
4
|
Kevin Maahs
|
USA
|
43,000,000
|
43
|
|
5
|
Timothy Su
|
USA
|
20,200,000
|
20
|
|
6
|
Zhen Cai
|
USA
|
60,600,000
|
61
|
|
7
|
Garry Gates
|
USA
|
99,300,000
|
99
|
|
8
|
Milos Skrbic
|
Serbia
|
23,400,000
|
23
|
|
9
|
Alex Livingston
|
Canada
|
37,800,000
|
38
|
From these 9 players, it was planned that 6 would advance to Day 9. However, not everything went as expected because only 5 have managed to cling on to their chips well enough to make it to the next day of play.
Hossein Ensan began as the chip leader of Day 8, with Garry Gates in second.
About over 3 hours have passed after the first cards were dealt, Ensan still stays strong as the chip lead, with Gates still in second but had gained an even bigger stack. He won 11 of the 56 hands this day, tied with Ensan. Ensan may have added 31,000,000 to his already monstrous stack, but Gates increased his stack by around 73% with the 72,400,000 he collected on the same day. Between Ensan and Gates, they hold about 75% of the chips in play.
Garry Gates said about the final table, "It's a crazy dynamic. I'm staring at the chip counts now and to think Hossein and I have what we have, the bottom three guys are kind of strapped in that way. I'm excited to go back and watch the show but it felt like everyone played pretty snug for the most part. I didn't see anyone get out of line and that was probably partially due to the top two stacks being as big as they are. I think the dynamic should, in theory, stay the same early on tomorrow. But anything can happen."
Gates felt nervous before it started, but as the cards began flying to the air, his uneasiness melted and became comfortable at the final table. He said, "It was crazy, just crazy. I felt comfortable when we were lined up. When Jack (Effel) was doing the announcements, I did feel some nerves early on. Handling my chips, initially, I could feel my hands [shaking]. After about half an hour, I settled in and I feel comfortable out there. It also helps when you're just making hands left and right. I jokingly called this the World Series of having it because I've had it and if you're gonna run good in a poker tournament, this is the one. I feel like today was a very successful day."
Players Eliminated
The first to hit the rail from the final table of 9 was Milos Skrbic, who was 8th in chips at the time. It was just the 6th hand of the evening and Skrbic was in the big blind when Garry Gates forced him to shove all-in from the small blind - Skrbic called all in for 17 big blinds with A-J, but it was no match for Gates' A-Q. The Serbian pro was out in 9th place for $1,000,000.
This is Skrbic's second biggest live score of his career, with his best live cash being $1,087,603 for placing 2nd at the $10,400 NLHE - WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic Main Event in December 2018.
A few hands later, Timothy Su was next from the chopping block, who raised all-in from under the gun for about 18 big blinds but Ensan challenged him with A-J. Su was a bit ahead with pocket 3s, but the board declared Ensan the winner with Jacks full of fives. Su steps off the Main Event table in 8th place for $1,250,000. (An incredible run for his first time at the Main Event, don't you think?)
The next player eliminated was also Ensan's doing. On the 32nd hand of the evening, Ensan min-raised from the cutoff and Nicholas Marchington staked his remaining 12 big blinds with A-7. Ensan's pocket Kings stood their ground, eliminating the English pro in 7th place for $1,525,000. (Just like Timothy Su, this is Marchington's first time to attend the WSOP season and also his first time ever to become a final tablist at the Main Event.)
By tradition, play on Day 8 should end once 6 players are left, but a decision was made to keep the cards on the air for a little bit longer.
Zhen Cai, who started the final table third place in chips, unfortunately hit the rail in 6th place. With a raise and a call before his turn, Cai got A-K in the big blind and went all-in with his 24 big blinds. Ensan opened the pot and folded, but Kevin Maahs called with pocket 9s which turned out to be the winning hand. Cai's 6th place finish earns him $1,850,000.
Except for Milos Skrbic, those who have been eliminated from this final table of 9 have earned what's considered to be their biggest live cash so far in their poker careers.
The Remaining 5 Final Table Players and their Stats
|
Seat
|
Player
|
Country
|
Chip Count
|
Big Blinds
|
|
1
|
Hossein Ensan
|
Germany
|
207,700,000
|
173
|
|
2
|
Dario Sammartino
|
Italy
|
23,100,000
|
19
|
|
3
|
Kevin Maahs
|
USA
|
66,500,000
|
55
|
|
4
|
Garry Gates
|
USA
|
171,700,000
|
143
|
|
5
|
Alex Livingston
|
Canada
|
45,800,000
|
38
|
There is 28:08 remaining in Level 38 (600,000/1,200,000, with a 1,200,000-big blind ante).
The remaining 5 players of the final table shall return on July 15, Monday for Day 9, 6:30pm local time. From these 5 players, only 3 will advance through to Day 9.
Source:
http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/updates/?aid=2&grid=1622&tid=17298&dayof=7659&rr=5
