WSOP Main Event Final Table Whittled Down to Three

By Site Editor

10 Sep 2024

Site Editor 10 Sep 2024

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WSOP Main Event Final Table Begins
Three Players Remain for the final day of play
$10m first prize up for grabs

(Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for World Series of Poker (WSOP))

Main Event of World Series of Poker Down to the last Three Players

The first part of the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event took place on Tuesday 16th July at the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas.

This was the ninth day of play in the $10,000 Championship event, which had begun with a record breaking 10,112 players, all vying for the $10m first prize.

The nine remaining contestants, fresh from a day off on Monday began with American Jordan Griff leading the way, despite being one of the least experienced players to have made the final table.

Two of the “not the November Nine” players were previous WSOP bracelet winners, Joe Serock and Brian Kim. One of the contestants, Swede Niklas Astedt is considered by many to be one of the best, if not the GOAT of online tournament poker.

Another player, Jonathan Tamayo, not only has a really good first name, but is a highly respected pro with four WSOPC winners gold rings. But who will emerge victorious?

Rank	Player	Chip Count	Country
1	Jordan Griff	143,700,000	United States
2	Brian Kim	94,600,000	United States
3	Niklas Astedt	94,200,000	Sweden
4	Joe Serock	83,600,000	United States
5	Jason Sagle	67,300,000	Canada
6	Boris Angelov	52,900,000	Bulgaria
7	Jonathan Tamayo	26,700,000	United States
8	Malo Latinois	25,500,000	France
9	Andres Gonzalez	18,300,000	Spain

Final Table Payouts

This is what they’re playing for...

Place	Prize
1st	$10,000,000
2nd	$6,000,000
3rd	$4,000,000
4th	$3,000,000
5th	$2,500,000
6th	$2,000,000
7th	$1,500,000
8th	$1,250,000
9th	$1,000,000

Final Table Exits

The first player to relinquish his chance of becoming the World Champion was Malo Latinois. The young French played had been the overnight chip leader at the end of Day 7, but had gone into the final with the second shortest stack.

Malo's tournament ended after chip leader Jordan made a set versus his AK in the second level of the day. He takes $1,000,000 back to France with him for his 9th place finish.

The next player to hit the rail was Joe Serock. Joe has over 100 cashes in WSOP events, but didn’t have a great final table, dropping from 4th in chips at the start to claim what will have been a disappointing 8th place finish, albeit for a $1,250,000 payday.

Serock had slipped backwards during the first level of the day and was taken out by Astedt when his AJ failed to improve against the Swede’s pocket queens.

Winning this hand propelled Astedt to the top of the chip chart and he extended it further by claiming the scalp of the other former bracelet winner, Brian Kim.

When Brian Kim was knocked out in seventh place, for $1,500,000, the event was assured that the eventual winner would be a first time bracelet winner. Kim had started the day as one of the bigger stacks and will also be disappointed to have had his final table ended so soon.

Kim had been on the steal with K6, but ran into the pocket tens of the Swede.

Spain’s representative Andres Gonzales had started the final as the shortest stacked player and will have been quite happy to have laddered three places to secure a 6th place finish and $2,000,000. He managed to double up a few times early on in the final, but remained short stacked and eventually succumbed with pocket jacks against Astedt’s AQ.

By this time Jonathan Tamayo had won a few big pots and had joined Griff and Astedt as one of the bigger stacks.

Bulgarian Boris Angelov's 5th place finish for $2,500,000 was courtesy of Tamayo and when Canadian Jason Sagle’s pocket jacks were beaten by Astedt’s A3 (which made a straight), he hiot the rail in fourth for $3,000,000 and the first day of the final was completed.

The remaining three players all have very similar sized stacks, with less than 10 big blinds separating them.

Rank	Player	Chip Count	Country
1	Niklas Astedt	223,000,000	Sweden
2	Jonathan Tamayo	197,000,000	United States
3	Jordan Griff	187,000,000	United States

It could be an epic final day of the tournament, after which one of these three players’ names will become instantly recognisable, while the other names may fade in our memories. Play resumes at 2pm local time and can be viewed on PokerGo.