Daniel Negreanu is one day away from electrifying the poker world in the 2015 WSOP Main Event
We won’t lie. There are a handful of people that we always want to make the final table of the Main Event. It’s a big ask. When six thousand-odd people sit down to play a poker tournament, it’s a long shot that one of half a dozen will navigate his or her way through the field. This year we’ve got a real shot. With 27 players left, Daniel Negreanu – arguably the best ambassador the game has ever had – is sitting in ninth spot and is one day’s play away from the biggest final table of his life.
He doesn’t need the money. Negreanu sits on top of the all-time money list, with over $30m in career winnings. He doesn’t need to make the final table to go down in history as one of the greatest players of all time, although winning the Main Event would officially make him the greatest ever. In fact, we’re not thinking about Negreanu at all, but the game of poker. Put simply, there couldn’t be a better person to take advantage of the November delay to put the game of poker back on the map. If Negreanu does make it to the final nine – and there’s still a way to go (although we put him at an even money shot now) – you’ll see and hear a lot more about the WSOP between now and November than you will if he crashes out.
There was one other player we were rooting for just as hard. Kelly Minkin, an attorney from the States, was the last woman standing, and built a good stack overnight only to see her chances snuffed out in 29th spot. It was a great run but unfortunately the Main Event final table will be an all male affair once again.
Thomas Kearney is the current chip leader with 14,400,000. He built up his stack thanks to eliminating two players with Aces. His previous best live cash was $35,402 at last year’s WSOP and he’s only won $77k total. He’ll now be eying the guaranteed million for making the final table.
Justin ‘stealthmunk’ Schwartz is in tenth spot, just behind Negreanu, with Day 5 chip leader Pierre Neuville in 15th. Neuville, 72 years old, will be hoping to bump up the average age of the November Nine significantly. Fedor Holz is in 19th, Max Steinberg is 24th and the last remaining Brit, George McDonald, is nursing one of the short stacks.
Play resumes at noon and will continue until the world’s biggest bubble has burst. We’ll be back with the first look at the 2015 November Nine tomorrow. In the meantime you can see the table draw here, where the big news is that five of the seven biggest stacks are on table two. The player who comes out on top there is likely to be the chip leader when play resumes in November.
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