Scott Blumstein won a 156 million-chip pot in the key hand of the day.
In Day 8 of the WSOP Main Event, Scott Blumstein was the story. Blumstein extended his lead to a point where he holds almost half of the chips in the event. Two players busted out before an end to play was called: Ben Lamb and Jack Sinclair.
Fan favorite John Hesp, a 64-year old Englishman, saw the biggest loss of chips. All of the damage was done in one hand, as Hesp had the chip lead and pushed all-in against Blumstein. Hesp was holding two pairs, but Blumstein held three aces.
At the end of Day 8, Benjamin Pollack and Bryan Piccioli are best-positioned to challenge Blumstein in the days ahead. Pollack holds about 20% of the chips, while Piccioli holds about 10%.
Scott Blumstein’s Day 8 Dominance
Scott Blumstein holds 178.3 million chips, which is just under 50% of the chips on the table. That leaves him in an absolutely commanding position. After he collected the 156 million-chip pot against John Hesp, Blumstein began to win blinds with aggressive bets between 2 million and 2.5 million.
Benjamin Pollak is in second place with 77.525 million chips, but that leaves Pollak a full 100,000,000 chips behind Blumstein.
Bryan Piccioli Eliminated Jack Sinclair in 8th Place
Bryan Piccioli is next with 35,750,000 chips after he knocked out England’s Jack Sinclair, who finished in 8th place and took home $1.2 million. Sinclair went all-in with an king-jack against Piccioli’s pair of aces. Though the flop paired Sinclair’s king, he did not improve on the turn or river.
7 Players Remain in WSOP Main Event
One surprise after Day 8 is the fact 7 players remain in the tournament. About 35 minutes after the 8th player remaining in the Main Event was eliminated, tournament organizers bagged up the chips for the day.
Though play was supposed to continue until there were only 6 players remaining, it was decided to call an end to play when the clock struck 11:00 pm Las Vegas time.
Jack Sinclair Eliminated Ben Lamb in 9th Place
Earlier in the evening, Jack Sinclair is the one who bounced Ben Lamb from the tournament, when Lamb went all-in with an ace-nine suited against Sinclair’s ace-queen, but was unable to collect a nine or the necessary flush.
Ben Lamb, who finished 14th in the WSOP Main Event in 2009 and 3rd overal in the 2011 Main Event, busted out in 9th place this time around. That was not much of a surprise, because Ben Lamb entered the day’s action in 9th place with only 18 million-and-some chips.
John Hesp in 3rd Place after Day 8
John Hesp is in 3rd place after Day 8, but that fact somewhat skews the reality of the situation. Hesp lost over 63 million chips on the day and has only 22,475,000 remaining. Like the remaining four players, John Hesp is going to face possible elimination early in the day tomorrow.
The big hand of the day saw the two biggest stacks at the time, John Hesp and Scott Blumstein, go head-to-head for a 156 million chip pot. Hesp thought he dominated the hand with the top two-pair with ace-ten, but Blumstein had a set of aces.
Players on the Edge Entering Day 9
When Day 9 beings, Dan Ott will enter with 16,350,000 chips, while Damian Salas has 15,625,000 and Antoine Saout has 14,550,000. That means each of them has enough chips to pay for less than 14 big blinds. John Hesp can pay for 18.9 big blinds.
WSOP Final Table Strategy Entering Day 9
If any of the four players commit to pots, they better be sure they can win the pot. Because so many players start to play more conservatively as the latter stages of the tournament approaches, Scott Blumstein should be able to push a lot of players out of pots. He was doing so throughout Day 8. It would take a major swing of fortune for Hesp, Ott, Salas, or Saout to get back into the head-to-head portion of the WSOP Main Event.
Below is a recap of the play earlier in the night. USPokerSites.com was updating play at various points through the night, offering a running commentary on the WSOP Main Event’s action. The game log below also give biographical information on the various competitors.
WSOP Main Event Final Table: Earlier Action
In the first day of the WSOP Main Event Final Table, Scott Blumstein made a huge move, winning over 75 million in chips. Scott Blumstein now holds a commanding lead with over 156 million chips.
Scott Blumstein Profile
The 25-year old grinder from Morristown, New Jersey has the big stack and appears willing to use it aggressively. As other players seek to hold on long enough to make the final six, the graduate of Temple University’s accounting school continues to steal blinds by pushing people out of pots.
Most of the Blumstein’s damage was done against John Hesp, the 64-year old British amateur poker player known for his loud fans and louder garments. John Hesp has lost 99 million chips today and is now down to only 24 million.
Benjamin Pollack Profile
Meanwhile, Benjamin Pollak is the only player remotely close to Scott Blumstein’s stack. Pollak holds nearly 73 million chips after bumping his total by 18.4 million chips today. No other member of the final nine has more than 28 million chips at this point.
Jack Sinclair and Antoine Saout
At the moment, Jack Sinclair and Antoine Saout are the players most in danger of being eliminated. Antoine Saout, a Frenchman who is making his second straight trip to the WSOP Main Event final table, has 17.55 million chips at the moment.
Sinclair, a 26-year old from London, England, has only 17.2 million chips. Both Saout and Sinclair must be careful with each more they make, because they sit on the edge. The blinds are at 600,000/1,200,000 and antes are at 200,000.
WSOP Main Event: 3rd through 6th Place
Of course, the players in 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th place currently are not in much better shape. Each holds a chip stack between 24.525 million and 22.55 million chips — which is only a few bets more than Sinclair and Saout.
Third place at the moment is the 42-year old Argentine, Damian Salas, who holds 24.525 million chips. 4th is Dan Ott, a relative unknown from 26-year old from Altoona, Pennsylvania, who holds 23.75 million.
Fifth place is the aforementioned John Hesp, who hails from Hull in the United Kingdom. Hesp continues to hold on to 23.075 million chips after a disastrous day of poker. Sixth place is Bryan Piccioli, the online poker specialist who held the chip lead in the 2016 WSOP Main Event after Day 4, but had a famous flame-out on Day 5. Piccioli, who was named PocketFives.com’s best online player in 2011, holds 22.55 million chips.
WSOP Main Event Schedule and Start Time
Play began at 5:30pm Las Vegas time. The poker continues until the field is down to the final six. The WSOP Main Event reconvenes at 5:30pm Vegas time tomorrow, when players continue until the field is pared down to three. On July 22, the WSOP Main Event champion will be determined.
