Stephen Chidwick Leads Another Stacked Final Table in Event #7: $25,000 No Limit Hold'em
It was a long and grueling Day 1 of Event #7: $25,000 No Limit Hold'em that took over 12 hours to complete. However, when all was said and done, the remaining six players may make up the best final table the US Poker Open has seen yet.
Let it be known, that none other than Stephen Chidwick himself, is heading into another final table as the chip leader. Chidwick has already put together an incredible week of poker and he is showing no signs of slowing down. Having already cashed for nearly $1,000,000, Chidwick is by far and away the overall leader for the inaugural US Poker Open.
He will come into the final table with 1,745,000 and it wasn't for a lack of hard work. Chidwick continued to double up his short stack numerous times throughout the day and just when it seemed he was on his way out the door, he would find a miracle turn or river to keep him alive. However, this final table may be the stiffest competition Chidwick will have had to face thus far.
Sean Winter (1,510,000) and David Peters (1,340,000) are the other two players to have cracked the seven-figure mark by the end of play. This is Winter's first cash of the series but he is not to be taken lightly with over $5.7 million in career earnings. As for Peters, this is his second cash of the week and he, too, is widely regarded as one of the best tournament players in the world.
The bottom half of the leaderboard also contains some of the world's best poker players. Keith Tilston (745,000) has resurfaced to the high-stakes tournament scene this week and is showing that he has not missed a beat. Maybe one of the most popular players in the world, Daniel Negreanu (640,000) has made yet another final table. Negreanu will be pushing hard to capture the first place prize as he aims to catch Chidwick for the overall title. Rounding out the field is Ben Tollerene (270,000) who already has one win under his belt this week. Tollerene took down Event #5 for $187,600 and is looking to rack up another one.
Final Table Seating
| Seat | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben Tollerene | United States | 270,000 | 9 |
| 2 | Sean Winter | United States | 1,510,000 | 50 |
| 3 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 640,000 | 21 |
| 4 | Keith Tilston | United States | 745,000 | 25 |
| 5 | David Peters | United States | 1,340,000 | 45 |
| 6 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | 1,745,000 | 58 |
The action got off to a slow start on Day 1 with just 15 entries taking to their seats to kick things off. That number remained still for a couple of levels until the stragglers started rolling in. Along with some new entries, there were quite a few re-entries as well. In total, there were 50 entries that made up a prizepool of $1,250,000. Here is a look at what will be up for grabs tomorrow.
Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | ||
| 2 | $262,000 | ||
| 3 | $175,000 | ||
| 4 | $125,000 | ||
| 5 | $100,000 | ||
| 6 | $75,000 | ||
| 7 | Matt Hyman | United States | $62,500 |
| 8 | Isaac Haxton | United States | $50,000 |
The bubble lasted over two levels and finally saw Dan Smith fall just short of making the money. Smith's all in was called by Tilston who made a pair of queens against Smith's pair of eights. Eight-handed play continued for a while as well, with many of the short stacks continually finding a double up. However, it was Isaac Haxton who ran out of chips in eighth place which left the final seven players to duke it out.
Negreanu came into the unofficial final table with less than two big blinds but managed to find a couple of double ups to keep himself in contention. It would be another double up from Negreanu that left Matt Hyman with under six big blinds. He would eventually get his chips in the middle holding pocket queens but Peters paired his king on the river to eliminate Hyman in seventh place.
The players will reconvene inside the Aria Resort and Casino at 12:00 P.M. local time when the cards are slated to get in the air. There will be two minutes remaining in level 20 with the blinds at 15,000/30,000 and a 30,000 big blind ante.
You can tune into PokerGO at 1:00 P.M. to catch the live stream on a 30-minute delay with hole cards. As well, the PokerNews live reporting team will continue to keep the blog updated with all of the action unfolding at the final table.