With a total prize pool exceeding $63 million in entry fees alone; Some 69 event tournaments hosted, as well as numerous qualifying tournaments and satellite qualifiers it all boils down to the final nine players of the 47th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship – commonly referred to as the Main Event – The conclusion of this tournament will take place on October 30.
Considering that each of the nine finalists is already guaranteed to collect at least $1,000,000USD, each player is already a winner for having made it this far.
However, there’s still a lot of great poker to be played and the best is yet to come. The top cash prize of $8,000,000 and the gold and diamond bracelet await the new champion.
Prize money for the remaining nine spots is as follows:
1st place: $8,000,000
2nd place: $4,658,452
3rd place: $3,451,175
4th place: $2,574,808
5th place: $1,934,579
6th place: $1,463,906
7th place: $1,250,000
8th place: $1,100,000
9th place: $1,000,000
Now, 6.737 participants from 79 countries and 10 days of tournaments later, here are the nine talented competitors at the final table.
Seat: 1 — Griffin Benger
Chip Count: 26,175,000
Location: Toronto, ON
Age: 31
Profession: Poker Player
Lifetime Earnings: $1,386,295
Biggest Poker Score: 2013 EPT Berlin High Roller — 1st Place ($562,343)
Seat: 2 — Vojtech Ruzicka
Chip Count: 27,450,000 (6th)
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Age: 36
Profession: Poker Player
Lifetime Earnings: $1,149,027
Biggest Poker Score: 2013 EPT Deauville High Roller — 3rd Place ($426,907)
Seat: 3 — Fernando Pons
Chip Count: 6,225,000 (9th)
Location: Palma, Spain
Age: 37
Profession: Account Manager
Lifetime Earnings: $20,653
Biggest Poker Score: 2012 Campeonato de España de Poker — 2nd Place ($19,127)
Seat: 4 — Qui Nguyen
Chip Count: 68,075,000 (2nd)
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Age: 39
Profession: Gambler
Lifetime Earnings: $52,986
Biggest Poker Score: 2013 Aria $125 Nightly — 1st Place ($3,220)
Seat: 5 — Cliff Josephy
Chip Count: 75,000,000 (1st)
Location: Muttontown, NY
Age: 50
Profession: Poker Player
Lifetime Earnings: $2,641,620
Biggest Poker Score: 2006 Aruba Poker Classic — 2nd Place ($446,975)
Seat: 6 — Michael Ruane
Chip Count: 29,800,000 (5th)
Location: Maywood, NJ
Age: 28
Profession: Poker Player
Lifetime Earnings: $44,962
Biggest Poker Score: 2012 EPT Campione Main Event — 30th Place ($17,244)
Seat: 7 — Gordon Vayo
Chip Count: 50,450,000 (3rd)
Location: San Francisco, CA
Age: 27
Profession: Poker Player
Lifetime Earnings: $974,714
Biggest Poker Score: 2014 WSOP $3,000 NLH — 2nd Place ($314,535)
Seat: 8 — Kenny Hallaert
Chip Count: 43,325,000 (4th)
Location: Hansbeke, Belgium
Age: 37
Profession: Poker Player
Lifetime Earnings: $1,714,610
Biggest Poker Score: 2011 EPT Deauville Main Event — 6th Place ($210,962)
Seat: 9 — Jerry Wong
Chip Count: 10,325,000 (8th)
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Age: 34
Profession: Poker Player
Lifetime Earnings: $1,317,539
Biggest Poker Score: 2013 PCA Main Event — 3rd Place ($725,000)
See you October 30th
This group is the ninth iteration of a concept originated in 2008, where the final table is put on hold from July through late October or early November. Pre-filmed episodes of the show will air chronologically through the week before the actual final table on ESPN.
The final table will take place over three days from October 30 (in the US or in the night from 30 to 31 for Europeans). It will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN 2 all around the world.
