Can you imagine realizing you will be returning to Las Vegas in November with a guaranteed $1,000,000 and a chance at the most coveted award in all of poker? What would you be thinking? (“Get coaching NOW,” we hope).
Well, the nine players listed below know all about that feeling. Red Chip Poker was there at the Rio, documenting the process of whittling down the last three tables. It might as well have been the Daniel Negreanu show (Poker News even dedicated a live blog just to him). As the much-loved “Kid Poker” saw his chip stack rise and fall in a rollercoaster of action, poker fans across the globe were hanging on every hand. All eyes in the Amazon room were trained on him.
After getting it in good with top pair and a flush blocker, he busted in dramatic fashion when the river brought an unlikely straight for his opponent Joe McKeehen. Amidst cries of “run it twice!” from the audience, Negreanu crumpled to the ground, and we’re pretty sure WSOP execs had a similar reaction. The room was deflated and started to empty out even before Alexander Turyansky busted in 10th for about $757,000 to lock in the official November 9, who are each guaranteed at least $1,000,000.
Daniel Negreanu tells PokerNews “I can feel the vibe of crowd” after busting in 11th place.
Seat 1: Zvi Stern – 29,800,000 (74 bb)
Seat 2: Pierre Neuville – 21,075,000 (52 bb)
Seat 3: Joshua Beckley – 11,800,000 (27 bb)
Seat 4: Max Steinberg – 20,200,000 (50 bb)
Seat 5: Thomas Cannuli – 12,250,000 (30 bb)
Seat 6: Joe McKeehen – 63,100,000 (160 bb)
Seat 7: Patrick Chan – 6,225,000 (15 bb)
Seat 8: Federico Butteroni – 6,200,000 (15 bb)
Seat 9: Neil Blumenfield – 22,000,000 (55 bb)
This kind of pressure is nothing new to us here. Several of our coaches have experience cashing in the WSOP, and have broken down their strategies step-by-step in our video archives. Even if you’re not one of the November 9, your next 1st place finish could be won by the advice they give each month on grinder-stakes tourneys.
We will see you again in November for another live sessions of commentary and analysis.
