Since 2020 has pretty much been a garbage year, many people did not think that the World Series of Poker would take place in any form. Back in March, casinos were shut down due to the onset of COVID-19 and even after they reopened, poker was not offered. This led to the WSOP postponing its yearly series so that players could stay safe. However, a few months after the traditional series would have started, the WSOP launched the Online Series, offering opportunities to earn the coveted gold ring in the US and abroad.
Fast forward a bit more and the WSOP announced that in partnership with GGPoker, the Main Event was back on. A 2020 WSOP Main Event champion would be named. International players would compete online at GGPoker for a shot at the title, while players in the US would compete via WSOP.com in Nevada and New Jersey. The US leg has whittled down to the final nine, with these players heading to the Rio today to compete for the final position, winning a ton of cash and going head to head with the international winner for the title win!
The US Final Nine
A few weeks ago, the WSOP Main Event kicked off. After Day 1, only 71 players would survive to come back to Day 2. It would take around seven hours of gameplay to narrow down the field to the final nine players.
For the final nine, it is Joseph Hebert who has a huge chip lead going into today’s play. He has over 2.5x the chips than his competitors, with just over 13 million in his stack. He was able to take the huge lead after eliminating several players leading down to the final nine.
Second place in chips is Shawn Stroke, with just over 5.2 million. With such a commanding lead over second, Hebert is certainly the odds favorite to win. Ryan Hagerty of New Jersey is third in chips with just over five million.
Rounding out the final table are the following players:
- Ye Yuan
- Michael Cannon
- Gershon Distenfeld
- Ron Jenkins
- Upeshka De Silva
- Harrison Dobin
Each of the nine players are guaranteed a solid payout. The ninth-place finisher will go home with just over $98,000 while eighth through third place are guaranteed huge six figure paydays. Second place will win just over $1 million while first will take home $1.5 million.
Naming the WSOP Champion
The WSOP Main Event US leg will finish up today and then once the winner is named, that person will compete against Damian Salas, the winner of the international leg. Salas won $1.5 million for the finish. Both players will compete live at the Rio to see who will be named the Main Event WSOP 2020 Champion. The winner of the championship title gets an additional $1 million.
Both the US and international player will hope to be the last one standing. We shall see in just a few days who will be named the Champion in what is sure to be one of the most memorable years in US history!
