Just one day remains in the 2022 U.S. Poker Open, as Event #12: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em, is down to seven players. Sitting in first place with a sizeable advantage over the other six competitors is Zhuang Ruan with 2.810 million chips.
Ruan has more chips than the next two players combined: Masashi Oya has 1.570 million and Shannon Shorr has 1.090 million. After them, it’s Dan Smith with 1.005 million, Vikenty Shegal with 935,000, Sean Winter with 845,000, and Jake Schindler with just 155,000.
One of the main hands that elevated Ruan into the pole position was the one that eliminated Nick Schulman in 12th place. With Schulman having already put in 115,000 chips, Ruan raised pre-flop to 250,000. Schulman shoved for around 800,000 and Ruan made a snap call. It was a classic cooler situation, unfortunate for Schulman, as he had Kings versus Ruans Aces. Not much Schulman could do except pray to the poker gods. The board ended up all low and that was that for the popular World Series of Poker Main Event final table commentator, as Zhuang Ruan ran his stack up to 1.745 million chips at the time.
Play will resume on Monday at 2:00pm PT with blinds at 15,000/30,000 and a 30,000-chip ante. Only six places are paid, so Schindler is going to have to find a hand immediately if he wants to profit. The winner will cash for $756,000, while the min-cash is $105,000.
Also at stake Monday is the 2022 U.S. Poker Open leaderboard race. The player who finishes with the most points across the dozen events will receive a $50,000 championship bonus and the Golden Eagle trophy.
Tamon Nakamura is currently in the driver’s seat with 588 points. He has cashed six times at the U.S. Poker Open, winning both Event #4: $10,000 Big Bet Mix and Event #6: $15,000 8-Game mix.
Nakamura is not a lock, however, even with just seven players still playing in the entire tournament series. Both Shannon Shorr and Sean Winter still have a chance to pass him. Winter has 264 points, which seems like a far cry from Nakamura’s total, but if he wins today’s final table, he will be the U.S. Poker Open champion. Shorr has 340 points and can also take the Golden Eagle trophy with a victory. A second-place finish would also do it for Shorr, as long as the person who defeats him heads-up is not Sean Winter.
2022 U.S. Poker Open Event #12: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em – Final Table Standings
- Zhuang Ruan – 2,810,000
- Masashi Oya – 1,570,000
- Shannon Shorr – 1,090,000
- Dan Smith – 1,005,000
- Vikenty Shegal – 935,000
- Sean Winter – 845,000
- Jake Schindler – 155,000
Image credit: PokerGO.com