Yegor Moroz Basking In The Emotions of Epic WSOP Main Event Rail

Poker fans are prepared for some level of spectacle when it comes to the World Series of Poker Main Event final table – coordinated T-shirts, chants, and large collections of friends and family coming together to support a player as they enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

But when loud chants and boisterous celebrations started to ring throughout the ballroom at Horseshoe Las Vegas on Day 6 of the 2024 WSOP Main Event, days away from the final table and millions of dollars directly on the line, it took a lot of people by surprise. If you’ve been watching the PokerGO broadcasts at home, you’ve probably heard the commotion from the outer tables on multiple occasions.

At the center of that attention has been 35-year-old Yegor Moroz, and his rail of friends and supporters have grown in size and volume since that point in the tournament. Now onto Day 8 with just 16 players remaining, Moroz is one day away from getting all of those people around the WSOP Main Event final table.

“I mean, it’s been unreal. This is the best group of friends that I could ever ask for,” said Moroz. “All these people have been showing up, supporting and loving unconditionally. And then being there for all the moments and even in spots where they couldn’t even really see what was going on. But they were there.

The group is a conglomeration of different phases of Moroz’s life. There are friends from his time attending the University of Florida, where he first learned to play poker. Others come from South Florida, poker players and others who share Moroz’s love of music and attending festivals. There are also friends Moroz has made since moving to Las Vegas.

At the center of this group, the person who has been on the sidelines of this particular group the longest is Darryll Fish. The WPT Champions Club member is known for being quite reserved when he’s at the table, but he’s been the unofficial representative for the group when the cameras and sideline reporter Jeff Platt have come calling over the last few days.

“I can totally respect the idea of keeping your composure and stoicism and all that sort of thing,” said Fish. “But I think there’s a lot to be said for really basking in the emotions of a once-in-a-lifetime experience like this type of run. He loves to dance, loves to have a good time, just all around a jolly guy who appreciates life – and we love him a lot.”

For Fish, who’s enjoyed a lot of major successes in his poker career, watching a friend who has had $189,785 in career lifetime tournament earnings lock up a result that will multiply that total at least a few times over and potentially a lot more has been surreal and a purely joyful moment.

“It’s super fun to live this experience vicariously through a friend, especially someone who’s not just a poker friend, but like a true brother,” said Fish. “Some people here have small pieces of him, I have 0%. Most of us are rooting for him out of the kindness and care of our hearts, which is I think is kind of rare in poker these days. We all dream of going deep in the Main. We don’t necessarily get to have that experience ourselves. We have a lot of our best friends here and we’re having a really good time. He’s enjoying the moment and we’re staying right there with him.”

Only a few players have had a sideline support system anywhere near as potent as Moroz’s, and one of them belonged to another good friend, Jesse Capps. For most of Day 6, they played at the same table, facing each other in Seat 6 and Seat 9. Capps played into Day 7 of the 2024 WSOP Main Event and experienced a few highlights on featured tables, before ultimately going out in 51st place. Capps promptly joined Moroz’s rail at that point and has been cheering him on ever since.

“We’ve gone to festivals together, we hang out, we go on hikes together. He’s one he’s one of my closest friends,” said Capps. “Going deep with him was so cool, because we were we were sweating each other from the beginning. And then on Day 6, we make it to the same table. The last hand, he gets a player all in and his whole rail tries to rush to the table and security stops them, so I’m shouting out the action. When he wins, he runs to the rail, and then so do I. I was rooting for him, and honestly, probably harder than I was rooting for myself.”

“When does that ever happen? When do friends get to sit together Day 6 or Day 7 of the Main Event?” said Moroz. “It’s just incredible, and when we weren’t in pots together, it’s cool to just share the space and and kind of feel through it, because there’s everyone on the rail, they have their own experience. But being at the same table, you can feel like what they’re going through and almost feel the hands as they happen.”

Moroz has spent considerable time on Day 7 and Day 8 at the primary featured table, giving the audience at home a more direct sense of what that rail has been like up close. In the biggest hand he’s played thus far in the tournament, Moroz flopped a set of jacks against pocket aces and the celebrations included beer getting splashed around and people climbing on one another’s shoulders.

A deeper look at that rail reveals some big-time pros, including Fish, Adam ‘Roothlus’ Levy, and a bevy of other heavy hitters, largely based out of South Florida. And as much as having good vibes and outward energy and emotional support has helped Moroz hus far, having never been in such a spot before.

“He plays cash games pretty regularly, he’s played tournaments for a long time and played online a lot back in the day with us,” said Fish. “He loves the game and is surrounded by a lot of people with quite a bit of experience in the game, so he’s got a really good support system and he has been thinking through situations really well and mostly playing really good ball out there.”

For Moroz, it’s been about trying to strike the balance between staying in the zone and not hearing too many voices in his head when he’s trying to stay calm under pressure.

“They’ve been really amazing, being conscious of not trying to change anything up or put ideas in my head or whatever,” said Moroz. “Obviously there’s a lot of really talented people here, and they’re gonna let me just kind of play my game and then give me feedback when when I come and offer hands, which is exactly what I need. It’s been perfect. Be heard, received, get that feedback and go back to my space.”

Moroz and his friends have brought an energy into the room, and whether it’s been in response to that chanting and support or the natural progression of the tournament, a few other players and their rails have stepped up their game for Day 7 and Day 8.

For Moroz, acknowledging his friends after big hands and on breaks has served to keep him grounded and happy, preventing him from getting overwhelmed by the stakes at hand. And if they manage to get into the heads of his opponents at all, that’s just a cherry on top.

“I feel like the rest of the room can feel them, and that’s amazing. That’s what kept my spirits up,” said Moroz. “I feel like it was drawing in all that good energy. It’s good to feel having people rooting for you.”

FAQ

Is Chinese poker the same as poker?

Is Chinese poker the same as poker? Chinese poker is a card game in the poker family that plays quite differently from traditional game variants that most poker players are familiar with (like Texas Hold’em). Each player gets 13 cards in a game of Chinese poker, and is tasked with making two five-card hands and a three-card hand.

How do you become a WPT player?

How do you become a WPT player? Players can qualify for the WPT at the local casino where the event is held. In addition, online poker operators including partypoker offer satellites to many WPT events. Players can also qualify for free via the Club WPT app and will be able to qualify in the future at WPT Global.

Can you play poker with 1 deck?

Can you play poker with 1 deck? The standard 52-card pack, sometimes with the addition of one or two jokers, is used. Poker is a one-pack game, but today, in virtually all games played in clubs and among the best players, two packs of contrasting colors are utilized in order to speed up the game.

How to play okey online?

How to play okey online? During the game each player receives a hand of 14 tiles. The objective of the game is to form a hand that consists entirely of sets of equal numbered tiles and runs of consecutive tiles of the same color. This can be achieved by drawing and discarding tiles. The first player to complete their hand wins the game.

How many decks are used in poker?

how many decks are used in poker? In most popular poker variants, such as Texas Hold’em and Omaha, a standard deck of 52 playing cards is used. Each deck contains four suits (hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades) and consists of 13 ranks (Ace, 2 through 10, and the face cards: Jack, Queen, and King). However, it’s important to note that the number of decks used in poker can vary depending on the specific game or variation being played.

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Meet The Final Table of the 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event

The 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event drew 10,112 players, making it the biggest Main Event field of all time. This grueling test of endurance has reached its apex as the final table of nine is officially set with the close of action on Day 8 Sunday night. Each of the remaining players is now guaranteed at least $1 million, with a $10,000,000 windfall and the custom WSOP Main Event bracelet awaiting the champion. The 2024 WSOP Main Event final table includes a healthy proportion of poker’s top talent and a few yet undiscovered talents, all vying for a life-changing sum when play resumes on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. PST/4:30 p.m. EST. You know you’ll be watching, but just in case you’re jumping in now, let’s meet the nine players who all have a shot at becoming the next WSOP World Champ. Jordan Griff – 143,700,000 | 90 Big Blinds Hometown: New City, New York Currently Resides: Scottsdale, Arizona Lifetime Live Tournament Earnings: $47,192 Biggest Lifetime Cash: $18,104, 9th, 2023 WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley Other Prominent Scores: $10,464, 7th, 2019 $1,100 WPTDeepstacks New York Main Event What a difference a day can make. Jordan Griff entered Day 8 of this tournament tied for last place in chips, and on the very first hand of the day his pocket queens nearly went up in flames against a flopped set of threes. But a rivered queen set the tone for what would be a wild day at Horseshoe Las Vegas that would culminate in Griff claiming the chip lead going into the WSOP Main Event final table. “I mean, I’m a numbers guy and all I was thinking on that river is I have 4% to save my life,” said Griff. “And I’m gonna be out, or I’m gonna continue on with this dream. I wasn’t even watching it – I couldn’t, it was just painful. And then I heard the gasps, I turn around, I see the queen and it was just pure emotion. Like I couldn’t control myself. It was the biggest pot of my life.” Griff kept climbing from there as the day went on. The 30-year-old supply chain manager from Scottsdale, Arizona entered the 10-handed unofficial final table comfortably in third place and went on to play the largest pot of the tournament thus far, against Joe Serock, in which Griff flopped a set and rivered quad fives to overtake Serock’s flopped straight. Griff, whose previous best cash was for just over $18,000 last year, is a cash game player by trade. He has now locked down at least $1 million with a chance at 10 times that prize if the next two days of this tournament go right. End of Day Chip Counts: Day 1: 98,600 (2,018/6,966) Day 2: 229,000 (873/3,617) Day 3: 615,000 (288/1,524) Day 4: 1,015,000 (255/464) Day 5: 3,035,000 (93/160) Day 6: 8,725,000 (33/59) Day 7: 8,300,000 (T-17/18) Brian Kim – 94,600,000 | 59 Big Blinds Hometown: Diamond Bar, California Currently Resides: Sydney, Australia Lifetime Live Tournament Earnings: $7,332,360 Biggest Lifetime Cash: $954,000, 3rd, 2024 $53,000 Triton Super High Roller Jeju Other Prominent Scores: $920,000, 2nd, 2023 $50,000 Triton Cyprus Super High Roller; $609,000, 2nd, 2024 $25,000 Triton Super High Roller Budva Perhaps no one among this final nine is better suited to weather potential seven-figure swings than Brian Kim. His top four career cashes are all in Triton Super High Roller Series events, followed by a final table at WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic Season XX and a 23rd-place finish in the 2022 WSOP Main Event. Kim is one of two WSOP gold bracelet winners at this 2024 WSOP Main Event final table. One thing he didn’t have, that Kim has now locked up, is a $1 million live result. Kim strongly attributes his previous run in the WSOP Main Event as a factor in his success in 2024. “I think after the 2022 Main Event run, I started having a big interest in tournaments and I wanted to get better at them,” said Kim. “So since that tournament, actually, I’ve been doing a lot of work and yeah, I definitely think it helped me a lot today.” Kim was down to almost nothing around the dinner break on Day 5 of this tournament, and his ability to stick it out during that tough stretch has paid off in the most serious of ways. “I learned from experience that just kind of checking out when you’re under 10 big blinds is not going to do you any favors,” said Kim. “Just staying dialed in and trying to make the best possible play is going to be the best way to go. Something actually extremely lucky happened on Day 5. One person was late coming back from dinner break, and they were the big blind. So I shoved with a hand that I normally wouldn’t have, had he been there, and I doubled up. From that, I was able to take 11.4 big blinds to Day 6, got some luck and now I’m here.” End of Day Chip Counts: Day 1: 122,200 (1,134/6,966) Day 2: 172,000 (1,445/3,617) Day 3: 829,000 (134/1,524) Day 4: 1,850,000 (111/464) Day 5: 995,000 (148/160) Day 6: 9,975,000 (29/59) Day 7: 42,400,000 (9/18) Niklas Astedt – 94,200,000 | 59 Big Blinds Hometown: Partille, Sweden Currently Resides: Goteborg, Sweden Lifetime Live Tournament Earnings: $3,031,190 Biggest Lifetime Cash: $380,245, 4th, 2015 EPT Barcelona 10,300 High Roller Other Prominent Scores: $314,011, 2nd 2024 EPT Paris 25,000 High Roller; $278,226, 2nd, 2022 EPT Barcelona 10,200 Pot Limit Omaha If Niklas Astedt is not a name that immediately jumps out at you, perhaps ‘Lena900’ might ring a bell. One of the most prolific online tournament players of the last decade, Astedt has won more than $50 million online, and another $3 million in live tournaments. The 33-year-old from Sweden has one previous WSOP final table, during the 2020 GGPoker World Series of Poker Online, and now stands to make a major statement in the live poker realm at the WSOP Main Event final table. Like all eight other players at this final table, this is guaranteed to be the biggest live tournament cash of his career. In 2021, Astedt topped a poll from PocketFives (now StakeKings) that declared him the best online poker player in history. End of Day Chip Counts: Day 1: 114,000 (1,386/6,966) Day 2: 219,500 (955/3,617) Day 3: 287,000 (824/1,524) Day 4: 385,000 (409/464) Day 5: 7,900,000 (9/160) Day 6: 15,800,000 (14/59) Day 7: 50,000,000 (4/18) Joe Serock – 83,600,000 | 52 Big Blinds Hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico **Currently Resides:**San Diego, California Lifetime Live Tournament Earnings: $4,576,760 Biggest Lifetime Cash: $341,783, 2nd, 2009 WSOP $2,500 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em Other Prominent Scores: $320,400, 3rd, 2012 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star; $306,240, 3rd, 2012 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown $10,000 Championship Event Joe Serock was the beneficiary of a major windfall when he picked off Kristen Foxen’s bluff with top two-pair to eliminate her from the 2024 WSOP Main Event in 13th place. That pot put Serock into the chip lead, and while running into rivered quads against Griff chopped him down significantly, Serock had a lot of leeway and sits comfortably in fourth place when play resumes on Tuesday. When it comes to poker accolades, Serock is the most decorated player at this final table. He was the Season X WPT Player of the Year after making a pair of final tables in back-to-back months. He’s also a WSOP bracelet winner, having won an online Pot Limit Omaha bracelet in 2023, and Serock also set a previous career best with a 5th place finish in the 2021 WSOP Online $5,000 Main Event for over $800,000. Known as ‘floes’ from his pre-Black Friday online poker exploits, he has more than $2.3 million in major online tournament results excluding his modern WSOP results. End of Day Chip Counts: Day 1: 192,600 (182/6,966) Day 2: 202,500 (1,112/3,617) Day 3: 343,000 (707/1,524) Day 4: 2,670,000 (37/464) Day 5: 4,855,000 (50/160) Day 6: 13,175,000 (20/59) Day 7: 46,300,000 (6/18) Jason Sagle – 67,300,000 | 42 Big Blinds Currently Resides: Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada Lifetime Live Tournament Earnings: $1,685,165 Biggest Lifetime Cash: $600,455, 2nd, 2006 WPT North American Poker Championship Other Prominent Scores: $155,599, 1st, 2015 $1,100 Fallsview Poker Classic; $120,000, 23rd, 2004 WSOP Main Event Remarkably, Brian Kim isn’t the only player at the 2024 WSOP Main Event final table to have finished 23rd in a previous instance of the WSOP Main Event. In 2004, the year that Greg Raymer won $5 million, Jason Sagle finished 23rd for $120,000. Two years later, Sagle had a WPT title within his reach when he got heads-up against Soren Turkewitsch in his hometown of Niagara Falls. He got all in preflop with against Turkewitsch’s and a chance to win the tournament, but it was not to be for Sagle on that day. That $600,455 for second place represented Sagle’s best career tournament result to date until locking up $1 million+ in this 2024 WSOP Main Event. End of Day Chip Counts: Day 1: 139,700 (731/6,966) Day 2: 251,000 (701/3,617) Day 3: 357,000 (671/1,524) Day 4: 1,180,000 (230/464) Day 5: 2,610,000 (107/160) Day 6: 17,350,000 (9/59) Day 7: 51,400,000 (3/18) Boris Angelov – 52,900,000 | 33 Big Blinds Hometown: Sofia, Bulgaria Lifetime Live Tournament Earnings: $903,109 Biggest Lifetime Cash: $663,565, 2nd, 2024 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Other Prominent Scores: $34,869, 40th, 2021 WSOP Europe Main Event Boris Angelov started Day 8 of the 2024 WSOP Main Event tied with Jordan Griff for last place in the chip counts, and just like Griff, Angelov doubled up early in the day and spun his way up to a $1 million guarantee and a chance at the WSOP Main Event title. It’s been a fight for Angelov since Day 1 of this tournament, when he bagged less than a starting stack at the end of the night, and fewer chips at the end of Day 6 than he ended Day 5 with. Angelov has shown himself capable of making a push for a major title already this year. Back in April, Angelov outlasted a final table that also featured Rania Nasreddine and Jonathan Pastore to get heads-up with Derk Van Lujik, before falling in second place for $663,565. On Tuesday, Angelov gets an even bigger opportunity to push for a life-changing title and prize. End of Day Chip Counts: Day 1: 52,500 (4,716/6,966) Day 2: 218,500 (967/3,617) Day 3: 349,000 (694/1,524) Day 4: 2,380,000 (58/464) Day 5: 4,850,000 (51/160) Day 6: 4,475,000 (46/59) Day 7: 8,300,000 (T-17/18) Jonathan Tamayo – 26,700,000 | 17 Big Blinds Hometown: Humble, Texas Lifetime Live Tournament Earnings: $2,301,219 Biggest Lifetime Cash: $352,832, 21st, 2009 WSOP Main Event Other Prominent Scores: $237,935 – 1st, 2021 $1,100 Wynn Summer Classic; $206,020, 1st, 2013 WSOP Circuit West Palm Beach Main Event Jonathan Tamayo has the best previous WSOP Main Event finish of any player among this year’s final nine, but only by a hair. His 21st-place finish in the 2009 WSOP Main Event was worth over $350,000 and stood for 15 years as his career-best – until now. After making such a run previously, and then reducing his volume of tournaments for a long stretch, making it to a WSOP Main Event final table seemed an impossibility. “It never was a possibility in my mind, and then it didn’t feel real this year until the start of Day 7, when I had a lot of chips,” said Tamayo. “From there, the chances I’d make the final table are a whole hell of a lot better than they are when you start the tournament; even if it isn’t a big number, anyone would definitely take it.” Tamayo has fallen just short of a $1 million prize on a few occasions in his Daily Fantasy Sports career, but now he’s locked it down in the poker world. Like several others at this final table, Tamayo got his start in the online tournament poker streets. He also helped prepare 2015 WSOP Main Event champion Joe McKeehen ahead of his final table, and McKeehen will be in his corner this time around. He’ll be among the shorter stacks when play resumes on Tuesday, but Tamayo is well aware of how incredible a position he’s in. “It’s not ideal, but everyone would take my position. That’s what I’ll say about that.” End of Day Chip Counts: Day 1: 105,300 (1,723/6,966) Day 2: 272,500 (561/3,617) Day 3: 823,000 (141/1,524) Day 4: 455,000 (387/464) Day 5: 5,430,000 (37/160) Day 6: 13,300,000 (19/59) Day 7: 18,400,000 (14/18) Malo Latinois – 25,500,000 | 16 Big Blinds Hometown: Paris, France Lifetime Live Tournament Earnings: $96,515 Biggest Lifetime Cash: $52,951, 16th, 2023 EPT Paris Main Event Other Prominent Score: $15,608, 3rd, 2022 300 Winamax Poker Open Monster Stack Malo Latinois was flying high from Day 2 of the 2024 WSOP Main Event all the way through the start of Day 8. He was among the chip leaders at the end of each of those days, culminating in the outright top stack at the close of Day 7. But Sunday was a struggle throughout, and Latinois had to battle all day just to hold on for one of the final nine spots. He doubled Angelov up early in the day, kept hemorrhaging chips in tough spots and then hit a low point when he doubled up fellow French player Malcolm Franchi. A double-up with a flopped flush against a flopped set sustained Latinois enough to let him grind his way through to Tuesday’s final table, where he’ll start in eighth place. The $1 million he’s guaranteed at this point is more than 10 times Latinois’ previous total career live tournament earnings. End of Day Chip Counts: Day 1: 70,800 (3,495/6,966) Day 2: 424,500 (101/3,617) Day 3: 1,132,000 (47/1,524) Day 4: 4,130,000 (6/464) Day 5: 6,115,000 (26/160) Day 6: 22,375,000 (3/59) Day 7: 61,300,000 (1/18) Andres Gonzalez – 18,300,000 | 11 Big Blinds Hometown: Cartagena, Spain Lifetime Live Tournament Earnings: $294,249 Biggest Lifetime Cash: $201,518, 3rd, 2024 $1,500 WSOP Freezeout Other Prominent Scores: $21,838, 24th, 2021 WSOP $5,000 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em; $10,459, 19th, $3,000 WSOP NLHE Four of the five shortest stacks to start Day 8 of the 2024 WSOP Main Event managed to fight their way to the final table, including Andres Gonzalez. Gonzalez entered 10-handed play with less than 10 big blinds and despite multiple all-in shoves managed to chip up without ever being called. He’ll have 11 big blinds and a long way to go when play resumes on Tuesday, but the Spaniard has proven himself adept with a short stack to this point. Gonzalez got close to winning his first WSOP bracelet earlier this summer in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event, and his third-place finish for $201,518 represents the bulk of his career earnings prior to this WSOP Main Event. End of Day Chip Counts: Day 1: 98,800 (2,012/6,966) Day 2: 186,000 (1,290/3,617) Day 3: 428,000 (528/1,524) Day 4: 2,650,000 (39/464) Day 5: 6,225,000 (24/160) Day 6: 14,775,000 (16/59) Day 7: 14,900,000 (15/18) All stats courtesy of The Hendon Mob.

Astedt Tamayo Griff Remain in Hunt for 2024 WSOP Main Event Title

The ninth day of the 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event ended the championship dreams of six players, and with one more day to play a field that was once 10,112 players is now down to just three title hopefuls: Sweden’s Niklas Astedt, and Americans Jonathan Tamayo and Jordan Griff. Astedt, the online poker legend best known as ‘Lena900,’ will take the chip lead into Day 10 of the 2024 WSOP Main Event with 223,000,000, but in what’s almost certainly one of the closest three-handed races to close out a WSOP Main Event in history, Tamayo’s 197,000,000 and Griff’s 187,000,000 have both other players directly in the mix. Each is guaranteed $4 million, with $6 million for second place and a first-place prize of $10 million and a customized WSOP bracelet. Griff entered Day 9 as the chip leader, but Astedt surged into the chip lead on the strength of busting out two of the most experienced players at the final table – Joe Serock in 8th, and Brian Kim in 7th – in a matter of just seven hands. Astedt’s stack took a dip over the next several hours, but on the strength of eliminating Jason Sagle in fourth place to end the action on Tuesday night at Horseshoe Las Vegas – his fourth elimination of the night – Astedt will begin three-handed play with a slight advantage over his two remaining opponents. “I think things went very well, under the circumstances,” said Astedt. “I had 240 million early on when we were six- and seven-handed, I lost a few pots and ended somewhere on my top peak.” For Astedt, who has well into eight figures worth of confirmed lifetime online tournament earnings including multiple PokerStars WCOOP and SCOOP titles, the pace of playing 10 days of the Main Event has been quite slow in comparison to multi-tabling a dozen or more games at once. But there has been one significant positive – sweating out the all-ins with his friends and family crowded around him for support. “It’s among the coolest things I’ve ever done in poker, for sure.” And while Astedt has largely shied away from the poker spotlight, preferring the far more subdued environment of playing online poker at home, he feels as though he has handled the biggest stage and publicity that poker has to offer as well as ever could have expected. “It’s not my favorite thing to do, but I’m just proud that I have been able to stay composed and play my game,” said Astedt. “But today, I enjoyed it a lot. I mean, it was so much fun. I’m so happy everyone came.” Tamayo, who will begin action on Wednesday in second place, entered the night in a far different circumstance. He started in seventh place and at one point sat in last place during nine-handed play. But then Tamayo picked up his first double of the day via Griff with a superior ace holding through the runout and remained steady until the field was reduced to six. Griff had Tamayo down to the river with only six outs to hit, as his trumped Tamayo’s , but after an flop and turn, the river saved Tamayo’s tournament and sent him on a skyward trajectory up the chip counts. Then, in one of the two biggest pots of the tournament so far, Tamayo flopped a straight with while Astedt flopped a set of 10s. Tamayo check-called all in on the river to secure a double to over 100 million in chips. Astedt picked off Andres Gonzalez in sixth place in a coinflip, as his spiked an on the flop to defeat Gonzalez’s pocket jacks, and then Tamyo got into the mix once more. In the first of two eerily similar spots, Boris Angelov folded himself down to a point where he couldn’t protect his hand, and despite a strong advantage with pocket sixes against Tamayo’s , a king on the flop and turn had Angelov drawing dead going into the river. After a day in which almost all of the key pots he played went his way, Tamayo was riding high into the finale of the 2024 WSOP Main Event. “It’s a dream,” said Tamayo. “Because you can prepare all you want, you may never get to this spot. And when you get to a stage like this, you kind of look around, you take it in as like, ‘I’m at the final table of the Main Event of the World Series of Poker,’ and then it’s time to get to work. One more day of work and then I can relax a little bit after that. Whatever happens, happens.” As far as what lies ahead, Tamayo feels ready no matter what Wednesday might bring. “I’m probably fresher than I thought I’d be,” said Tamayo. “It’s three-handed in the World Series of Poker Main Event, so whomever’s at the table, let’s go. I don’t care.” Finally, there’s Griff. He entered Day 9 with the chip lead, and despite scoring the first knockout of the day saw quite a few all-ins go against him on Tuesday. He still managed to win enough pot and apply enough pressure to keep himself firmly in contention in a three-way race. “It’s been a long nine days,” said Griff. “I can’t believe I’m saying I’m going into Day 10. But I’m going to try and get well rested and come in fresh tomorrow. I made some great pay jumps, I’m down to three people and I increased my chip stack. That’s everything I ever wanted.”

Jonathan Tamayo Turns 14-Year Friendship into WSOP Main Event Win

Fourteen years ago, Jonathan Tamayo met Joe McKeehen at Turning Stone Casino, a location that’s proved a vital forging ground for some of the greatest poker players in the world over the last two decades. Little could they have known upon that first meeting that both individually would go on to enter poker’s brightest spotlight as a World Series of Poker Main Event champion – McKeehen in 2015, and Tamayo joining him by securing the 2024 WSOP Main Event title on Wednesday night at Horseshoe Las Vegas. It was a friendship that saw McKeehen and Tamayo as roommates for every WSOP since 2012, sharing a rental car as they played a full slate of tournaments. “I’m 33. Every year since I turned 21, we’ve roomed together in some capacity, maybe with a couple other people, a couple years by ourselves,” said McKeehen. “But we’ve always been together, just spent years and infinite car rides back and forth, talking about poker, talking about life, and talking about how to navigate the beast that is the World Series.” On Wednesday, Tamayo survived a wild rollercoaster of a final day that saw both he and Jordan Griff at risk multiple times during their heads-up battle. After trading the lead multiple times, Tamayo jumped out in front one final time and, holding 8-3 on a 9-8-3 board, managed to hold off Griff’s 9-x on the final hand to secure the oversized WSOP gold bracelet and the $10 million first-place prize. Tamayo, Griff, and Niklas Astedt started Day 10 of the 2024 WSOP Main Event with virtually even stacks and a lot of depth compared to the blinds. From hand one, Griff and Astedt battled and kicked off a chain of events in which big pots became the norm. McKeehen spent the entirety of the final table over the last two days sitting on Tamayo’s rail, as part of a support system that helped push Tamayo over the finish line. Having McKeehen and Dominik Nitsche running through scenarios over the last few days put Tamayo in just the right spot and frame of mind to be prepared for those kinds of fireworks. “That was one of the scenarios that was discussed overnight, what could happen,” said Tamayo. “And we had a game plan for that, if it ended up with them wanting to go to war. It was kind of sit back, watch it happen, and then once your heads up deal with the problem.” That’s exactly how it played out, with Astedt calling off his tournament with top pair and a gutshot straight against Griff’s flopped set of nines and failing to get there. That set up a heads-up match between Tamayo and Griff with Griff holding a tremendous chip advantage to start. Tamayo was ready when the pots got big right away. He called Griff down with one pair of aces, and then the battle really began. Each player won a key coinflip to continue their tournament run, and the best hand held during each and every heads-up collision through the very end of the tournament. Tamayo had his highs and lows, but he was prepared for the moment. From McKeehen’s perspective on the rail, the attention Tamayo and his assembled team on the rail paid was commensurate to the moment at hand. “One thing I noticed on the final table is it felt like a lot of people didn’t have a support system to tell them like in the middle of the game, how maybe they should adjust their play,” said McKeehen. “During the final table, Jonathan was the only one in the middle of hands getting up from his seat, coming to talk to us, and we’re giving him a lot of additional information that he could use to do what he did. “I think the game plan that we ended up formulating works very well,” said McKeehen. “The assumptions we made based on our film study worked very well and we kind of just put it all into play.” Beyond the technical side of things, McKeehen and Tamayo’s assembled rail of friends and family each took a level of responsibility for keeping Tamayo level-headed. BJ Craig, the friend who first introduced Tamayo and McKeehen on that fateful day at Turning Stone, became a willing punching bag and provider of humor and levity throughout the run. “Being friends with John for 12 years, I know some of his emotional tendencies – what gets him going and what doesn’t,” said McKeehen. “This morning, I was just trying to make him laugh a lot when we weren’t doing when we weren’t doing a lot of studying. I didn’t want him to get in his head or anything. “I think he was ready to go business-wise, I think the balance we had between study and fun worked out well,” said McKeehen. “BJ, he’s John’s emotional support animal and we made sure to fly him out for this. And when you have a human emotional support animal, the jokes do come pretty easily.” The results speak for themselves. Tamayo’s WSOP Main Event winner’s banner will be up on the wall next year, about 10 spots down from McKeehen’s. Tamayo was all smiles in his post-victory interview and relished in the fact that he and McKeehen could now team up against the rest of their friends as fellow champions. “We have a circle of friends that have two Main Event winners now, which you would never, ever think,” said Tamayo. “It’s gonna be kind of fun that we can both make fun of all of our friends at the same time.” Even when McKeehen is dropping jokes, though, he drops knowledge laced into it. He, Tamayo, and every player in the 10,112-entry field for the 2024 WSOP Main Event knew the impossibility of winning this tournament at the outset, and yet every moment in Tamayo’s career and friendship with McKeehen put Tamayo in just the right mindset to make a victory possible. “Joe McKeehen told me that this tournament is impossible to win,” said Tamayo. “And then when the field size is bigger, you feel like it’s even more impossible to win. But you just sit down Day 1 and think ‘Eventually, I’m going to bust this tournament. It’s not going to be pretty, I’m not going to feel great. And I’m going to go on with my life.’ And you can mentally prepare yourself for it. “And I just can’t believe I did not bust the Main Event.”

Embracing Change Puts James Hartigan in the Game

James Hartigan is not a grinder and is not about to become one. Hell tell you that straight up if you ask him. But who knowsmaybe that will change. Change, and accepting change, has become a big part of Hartigans life over the past two years. Id say the last 18 months have been transformative, Hartigan said. I went through a period of very dramatic change in my life. My dad died, my wife and I separated, we got divorced, we had to sell the house. I had to move. And so the joke I always make is there’s that list of the most stressful things you can go through in life: grief, divorce, moving a house. I mean, I was playing bingoin a very short period of time, all this was happening. And I have always been one of those people who has very much feared change. And that change also extended to his career. Its a shift that sees the GPI award-winning commentator for PokerStars Live spending more time on the road, on the felt, and in the action. Hes in the mix – celebrating the wins and taking the tough losses as opposed to solely being behind the mic on the sidelines. Im not a professional poker player and never have any aspirations to be, Hartigan said. There was not an ounce of hedging in his declaration. Still, from the outside, taking a look at his social media for the past six months, one could be convinced otherwise. Hartigan has been playing far more poker than he has in the recent past with his adventures taking him from battling online in the UK to the WSOP Circuit event at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, from Las Vegas for the start of the WSOP to Spain for UKIPT Malaga. Most recently, Hartigan found himself back in Vegas, making a Day 2 run in the WSOP $1,979 Hall of Fame Bounty event for a career-high score and his first-ever WSOP cash. If this isnt grinding, fine. But its clearly a significant uptick in Hartigans poker volume, the seeds of which were planted roughly two years ago. When PokerStars partnered with the Irish Open in 2023 to livestream its Main Event, Joe Stapleton, Hartigans long-time co-commentator and podcast partner, took the opportunity to surprise Hartigan with not just an entry to the Irish Open but a spot on the featured table. It was one part present for Hartigan, who has dual citizenship with Ireland and England, and one part gimmick – the star commentator would get commented on. I did not know what to expect, he said. I did not know what the audience was going to be like. I know that playing on a livestream can be nerve-wracking and you’ve got the entire world telling you everything that you’re doing is wrong. And I’ve got to be honest with you, I quite enjoyed the experience. The one thing I found is that the community was very, very supportive. It could have been a one-and-done. As much as he loves the game of poker, at that time Hartigans duties at PokerStars as Head of Poker Editorial simply didnt leave a ton of time for getting in the game – he was too busy showcasing it from the other side. But it was Stapes who, once again, opened the door for Hartigan to jump back in. Joe then tells me he won some charity event where the prize was free entry to the World Series of Poker Main Event, he said. I kind of had this insane idea that we should both play. Having had the experience of playing in the Irish Opennow Im going to enter the World Series of Poker Main Event for the first time because, lets be honest, its a bucket list item for anyone whos into poker. Even though he didnt make it terribly far in his first WSOP Main Event, the experience sparked an idea, one that may have been in the back of his mind for some time. Playing those two tournaments, I guess, made me realize that Ive been missing out. His multiple roles, in front of and behind the camera, were akin to having two full-time jobs. And its more than just the time, its the creative capital that it takes to continually create high-caliber content. For the better part of a decade, Hartigan juggled these roles, winning industry awards for his work, but ultimately, for him, it became a little bit unsustainable. So coincidentally, having had that experience of playing live poker and having this epiphany that I can’t do two jobs anymore, conversations opened up about how I could effectively change my relationship. And to cut a very long story short, coming into 2024, I left my full-time job at PokerStars, and signed a deal as a PokerStars Ambassador. Of course, Hartigan is still fully committed to commentary for the PokerStars livestreams, the podcast, and presenting but now hes formally patched up and out in the field. Hartigans Hendon Mob page is sparse (but growing), however, he notes that his love of the game has spanned nearly three decades and has never waned. Dating back to discovering poker at 18 from films like The Cincinnati Kid, and learning the rules of Seven Card Stud from his fathers copy of the book Gambling by Alan Wykes, Hartigan has always had a healthy competitive spirit. I’m very lucky in that when I play, it’s for entertainment. And if I win, fantastic. If I lose, I paid my money, I got my entertainment, he said. So for me, it’s a game and I will never take it too seriously. I’m never going to have a ‘Hellmuthian’ blow-up at a poker table. But yes, of course, it’s a game of competition. And as much as you converse and are friendly with the other people at the table and you wish them no ill will, you want to win their chips, you want to beat them in a hand. So it’s the outlet for my competitive spirit. And hes finding, outside of potentially winning money, the extended benefits of showing up in events. Its sitting with the players, getting into their mindset, understanding whats important to them. Its a massive benefit and Hartigan gets it. Not just for commentating, but in every aspect of the industry, from media to management, understanding the game and the players is the recipe for success. The great thing about playing a multi-day multi-table tournament is that there’s a lot of time where nothing is happening and a lot of time where everyone is folding. So it’s a great opportunity to talk to people and get to know people. I’ve had the experience now in multiple events, over multiple months where I’ve sat down with people who are pro players, who I respect, who I’ve commentated on probably multiple times. I get to meet them and they get to know me as a person rather than just that objective voice behind the microphone. I think that is really, really good. I do think it’s important as part of my job in the industry and as a commentator that I am also in the game as well but to be clear, it wasnt because the desire wasnt there. The poker community can also be incredibly supportive. Hartigan admits that thrugh this time of major life transformation, there were kind of dark periods but he chose to focus on the positive aspects that this change has brought about. And that includes a new balance of both playing and being a part of the poker media and getting to feel the appreciation that comes from the community for both. A trip to Northern California for the RunGood event at Thunder Valley is next up for Hartigan, followed by another intercontinental flight back to London for a PokerStars Ambassador Meet Up – of which he is now an official one. It’s so weird because on paper – and if you look at it rationally – this was the obvious move I should have made years ago. But it took all that other crap to happen. It needed my mindset to change and have a more positive view of change and a more positive view of risk, dare I say, which is kind of essential if you’re going to be a poker player to understand that, go for it, do it, make this happen. Yeah, it was just everything in my life has just been uprootedand I know this is going to sound so fucking wanky, but I generally feel that I’ve come out of it a happier, better person and I have very much latched on to all of the positive things that have come out of that change. And there have been many positive things that have come out of that change and just feel that almost in every single aspect of my life, I’m in a much better place right now.

WPT Global Summer Festival Offers Players Shot At WPT Championship

This summer, WPT Global, the online arm of the World Poker Tour, is really starting to cook. From July 28 running through August 18, the WPT Global Summer Festival not only gives players around the world an action-packed festival with more than $8 million guaranteed but also, a shot at becoming a WPT Champion. It has been incredible to witness the growth of WPT Global, said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. This coming Summer Festival is one for the books and is, once again, giving players around the world a chance to compete for the Sexton Cup. In addition to a diverse schedule jam-packed with high-value tournaments, the Summer Festival is headlined by the $3,500 buy-in WPT Championship Event with a $1 million guarantee. The winner will not only have their name etched on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, and be admitted to the WPT Champions Club, but will also win their seat to one of the biggest events of the year, the 2024 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. Thats not the only shot at a major title during the WPT Global Summer Festival. Players will have the chance to become a WPT Prime Champion in the $1,060 buy-in WPT Prime Championship that boasts a $750,000 guarantee as well as the $530 WPT 500 Championship that offers up a $400,000 guarantee – the first flight of which takes place on July 28. This is the most expansive festival WPT Global has ever run, said WPT Global President Alex Scott. From the jam-packed schedule with tons of guarantees to having a chance to become a WPT Champion, the value is abundant for online poker players at all levels. The full schedule of events for the WPT Global Summer Festival spans more than 350 tournaments and has buy-in that is sure to appeal to players at every level. Plus, for players who enjoy the grind, there are two ways to pick up some extra value in the WPT Global Summer Festiva. First, theres a $75,000 freeroll that will take place after the festival, on August 25, for players who enter at least 30 or more Summer Festival events or have a total cumulative buy-ins of more than $500. Then, for those who are fortunate enough to win an event outright, WPT Global will issue a ticket to the $25,000 Champion of Champions freeroll, also on August 25. Sign up now to receive an exclusive sign-up bonus from WPT.com

WPT Global Summer Festival Offers Players Shot At WPT Championship

This summer, WPT Global, the online arm of the World Poker Tour, is really starting to cook. From July 28 running through August 18, the WPT Global Summer Festival not only gives players around the world an action-packed festival with more than $8 million guaranteed but also, a shot at becoming a WPT Champion. It has been incredible to witness the growth of WPT Global, said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. This coming Summer Festival is one for the books and is, once again, giving players around the world a chance to compete for the Sexton Cup. In addition to a diverse schedule jam-packed with high-value tournaments, the Summer Festival is headlined by the $3,500 buy-in WPT Championship Event with a $1 million guarantee. The winner will not only have their name etched on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, and be admitted to the WPT Champions Club, but will also win their seat to one of the biggest events of the year, the 2024 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. Thats not the only shot at a major title during the WPT Global Summer Festival. Players will have the chance to become a WPT Prime Champion in the $1,060 buy-in WPT Prime Championship that boasts a $750,000 guarantee as well as the $530 WPT 500 Championship that offers up a $400,000 guarantee – the first flight of which takes place on July 28. This is the most expansive festival WPT Global has ever run, said WPT Global President Alex Scott. From the jam-packed schedule with tons of guarantees to having a chance to become a WPT Champion, the value is abundant for online poker players at all levels. The full schedule of events for the WPT Global Summer Festival spans more than 350 tournaments and has buy-in that is sure to appeal to players at every level. Plus, for players who enjoy the grind, there are two ways to pick up some extra value in the WPT Global Summer Festiva. First, theres a $75,000 freeroll that will take place after the festival, on August 25, for players who enter at least 30 or more Summer Festival events or have a total cumulative buy-ins of more than $500. Then, for those who are fortunate enough to win an event outright, WPT Global will issue a ticket to the $25,000 Champion of Champions freeroll, also on August 25. Sign up now to receive an exclusive sign-up bonus from WPT.com