The final table of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Lucky Hearts Poker Open is set, as Alexander Yen is the man to beat, holding more than a 9 million-chip lead over his closest competitor. All six remaining players have locked up over $200,000 in prize money, but naturally, they are all gunning for the win, the $975,240 first prize, and their name added to the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup.
Yen begins the final day of the tournament with 27.575 million chips, well ahead of the previous day’s chip leader, Joshua Kay, who has 18.150 million. Blinds are at 100,000/200,000 with a 200,000-chip ante, though, so that gap isn’t quite as large as it may appear. One medium-sized pot and things can change in a hurry.
The other player within reasonable striking distance of the top is Anton Wigg with 16.975 million chips. The back half of the table is comprised of Daniel Lazrus with 7.350 million, Omar Lakhdari with 4.825 million, and Nicholas Verderamo with 4.425 million. Those three have some work to do and will have to find some hands quickly, but it’s not out of the question that they could still make a run at the title.
Yen entered Tuesday second in chips, just behind Joshua Kay. He ascended to the pole position quickly, eliminating Jose Montes in 16th place right out of the gate. He fell back shortly thereafter when Kay took a pot from him and then the two competitors were neck and neck for quite a while as they made their way to the unofficial final table.
As the table shrunk, both Yen and Kay elevated above the 20 million-chip mark before Yen began to separate himself from the field with few hands reaching the river. By the time the six-handed final table was set, Yen had been responsible for four of the ten eliminations of the day.
All six players at the final table are seeking their first World Poker Tour title. Omar Lakhdari is the only one with any sort of WPT-sponsored championship to his name, having won the WPTDeepStacks Paris Main Event in early 2020.
Play resumes at 2:00pm ET on Wednesday from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Nearly all of Level 30 remains, with 80 minutes to go until the blind level duration goes down to 60 minutes. Once the tournament gets to heads-up, the levels shrink to just half an hour. The WPT will live stream the final table on Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube starting at 2:30pm ET.
2022 World Poker Tour Lucky Hearts Poker Open – Final Table Chip Counts
- Alexander Yen – 27,575,000
- Joshua Kay – 18,150,000
- Anton Wigg – 16,975,000
- Daniel Lazrus – 7,350,000
- Omar Lakhdari – 4,825,000
- Nicholas Verderamo – 4,425,000
