Playing as if they had a plane to catch, the 407 players who came back for Day Five of the Main Event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) wasted little time in whittling the field to fewer than 200 players.
The plan on Sunday was for the players, already guaranteed a payday of at least $27,469, to play for five two-hour levels or down to 175, whichever came first. After the carnage on Saturday – where the field went from 789 players to 407 – it was thought the field would be more deliberate as the money moved up. That was not the case, as the battle cry of “all in and a call” was heard immediately on the first hand and echoed throughout the Amazon Room frequently as the afternoon wore on.
The actual statistics from Sunday were mind-boggling with the stakes being played for. Over three levels of poker, the field was chopped from the 407 who walked through the doors Sunday afternoon to 185 players. This breaks down to a player being eliminated every 90 seconds, an unheard of casualty rate for a prestigious tournament.
Even with the significant number of departures, the notable players who remain in the tournament are perhaps the strongest in several years. Making a run reminiscent of Greg Raymer’s performance in the 2005 WSOP Main Event, defending champion Peter Eastgate is still in contention. Despite being down to the felt in the early going of this year’s WSOP Main Event, Eastgate has been able to pull himself up and will enter Day Six with 927,000 in chips.
Fellow former World Champion Joe Hachem is also demonstrating his skills in large field poker, as he is the only other former Main Event champion still in the running. He will start off Day Six with 540,000 in chips. Those former World Champions who didn’t make it through Sunday’s carnage were Bobby Baldwin (352nd) and Dan Harrington (252nd).
Along with Eastgate, another member of the “November Nine” is making a run at returning to this year’s final table. Dennis Phillips, who finished third last year, is over one million in chips as today’s play starts. Phillips is scheduled to be in St. Louis this evening for a charity event at Lumiere Place (his home casino) in conjunction with the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which occurs tomorrow night. With $8.5 million on the line, Phillips may not be able to make his event this evening!
Others in the field include Day Three chip leader Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Joe Sebok, Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari, and Fabrice Soulier. Phil Ivey, who has consistently been around the top of the leaderboard, has 1.38 million in chips.
2007 WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider, who has had a miserable run at the 2009 WSOP (one cash), has altered his fortunes and charged to the top of the leaderboard. Stacked with 3.17 million in chips (good for sixth place), Schneider is poised for a potential run at being among the next “November Nine.” Noah “Exclusive” Boeken, the young professional from the Netherlands, is keeping pace with Schneider and is just outside the Top 10 with 2.34 million (12th place).
Leading the pack is South Africa’s Warren Zackey, who has pulled 4.87 million in chips in front of him over the first five days. A plumbing supply salesman from Johannesburg who earned his way to his first WSOP with a second place finish in the All Africa Championship, Zackey admits he hasn’t done anything special to reach this moment in his poker career. “I got some really good hands,” Warren understated. “I tripled up on the first day and I doubled up again and again (over the next two days). I think I started with 730,000 today and then went up from there.”
With his wife in the Rio with him and his children keeping track through the internet back in Johannesburg, Zackey is not letting his run at the WSOP Main Event go to his head. When asked if he would drop his sales job if he won the title, Warren commented, “No. I have a family. I’d go back to it.” He also has a solid strategy for today’s action, saying, “I am going to take it easy unless I get some decent cards.”
Day Six will kick off at Noon Pacific Time and it could be a significantly longer affair. The plan is to work down to the final 63 players and, with the larger stacks, play could last deep into the night. Poker News Daily will be on site and have a complete recap of the action as the next “November Nine” is determined later this week.
