The 2019 World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Main Event final table is all set, with Milen Stefanov holding the chip lead going into six-handed action on Wednesday.
Stefanov has 8.925 million chips to set the pace. It is one of the closest WPT final tables in recent memory, though, as virtually everyone is in immediate striking distance of the top. After Stefanov, Roman Korenev has 8.175 million chips, Cesar Fuentes has 7.550 million, and David Novosel has 7.525 million. Expect the top four standings to change frequently on Wednesday.
In fifth place is Fabian Gumz with 5.150 million. Gumz entered Day 4 as the chip leader and though he lost about a million chips on the day, he is still right there for the Champions Cup. Francis Anderson is the short stack with 2.175 million, but considering the other players might be wary to take too many risks early on since they are so bunched up, he might have room to pick up some chips.
Of those six players, only Korenev and Anderson had cashed on the main tour before this event. All are looking for their first World Poker Tour title.
Though Gumz ended up below what he started the day with, it could have been much, much worse for him. Gumz was cruising along most of Day 4, but ended up in a set-over-set loss against Novosel during Level 29 (the night ended during Level 32) to see his stack shrink to 1.225 million.
He doubled-up shortly thereafter, but then took another tumble, scraping the felt. Anderson had moved all-in for 1.625 million pre-flop and Gumz did the same for just a bit more. Gumz had A-Q against Anderson’s K-Q, but a King flopped to give Anderson the double-up. Gumz was down to 225,000 with a big blind of 125,000. Blinds and antes added up to more than his remaining stack.
He immediately tripled up to nearly a million and kept it going from there. One of the key hands was when he moved all-in pre-flop for 1.625 million with K-Q and was able to catch a Queen on the river against Novosel’s Tens. That took Gumz’s stack to 3.5 million and gave him some breathing room.
The six-handed final table was determined when Jeff Blenkarn shoved for 2.650 million with A-Q, only to get looked up by Korenev and his A-K. The King held (and improved on the river) and Blenkarn was gone in seventh place. The pot also elevated Korenev from the bottom half of the standings to second place.
The six survivors are back today and we will have a champion by the end of the night.
2019 World Poker Tour Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Main Event – Final Table Chip Counts
- Milen Stefanov – 8,925,000
- Roman Korenev – 8,175,000
- Cesar Fuentes – 7,550,000
- David Novosel – 7,525,000
- Fabian Gumz – 5,150,000
- Francis Anderson – 2,175,000
