Only six players remain in the WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Main Event, with the winner to be determined on Wednesday afternoon. Istvan Briski enjoys a significant chip lead, with 23.975 million chips more than twice as high as his closest competitor.
But while Briski has the chips, several other players have the experience. In third place is Fred Goldberg (13.325 million), making his third World Poker Tour final table appearance, not to mention his 10th place finish in the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event. Rayan Chamas (11 million) is tied fourth place and has already made it to a WPT final table. And although he has an extremely tough fight ahead of him, Darryll Fish (4.625 million, fifth place) won the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open in 2018.
Rounding out the final table is Sandy Sanchez (15,050 million) in second place and Matt Bond (4,350 million) as the short stack.
Everyone at the final table is guaranteed at least $157,800 in prize money, although they are eyeing the $752,500 top prize.
Briski was the chip leader entering day four on Tuesday, although the placings were much closer. He had 11.875 million chips at the start of the day and while no one else had even 10 million, several players had over 7 million. Most of the others were in the roughly 3 million chip range.
In many of these big events we often see the chip leader at the final table win one or two big pots to take pole position, but in Briski’s case it was more consistent pressure and chip-up that helped him. With eight players remaining, he still only got around 17 million. Only then did he manage to win a few bigger pots to bring his stack to where it is today.
Although he doesn’t have the WPT final table experience of some of his opponents, Briski has made some deep runs in other events. Just this summer he finished third in the WSOP’s $777 Lucky 7’s event. He also made two final tables at the WSOP Online last year, including a fifth-place finish in the Main Event.
His total live earnings are less than a quarter of a million dollars, but that score alone in the 2022 WSOP Online Main Event earned him $883,404, and his other final table netted $451,883 in cash.
The party is just getting started at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida. Check back later to see how it turned out.
2023 WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Main Event – Final Table Chip Counts
- Istvan Briski – 23,975,000
- Sandy Sanchez – 15,050,000
- Fred Goldberg – 13,325,000
- Rayan Chamas – 11,000,000
- Darryll Fish – 4,625,000
- Matt Bond – 4,350,000
