It looks to be an exciting race for the final table at the 2023 WPT World Championship as the top of the leaderboard is tight heading into Day 5. Leading the 45 remaining players is Mark Mounsey with 18.725 million chips.
There are a handful of players not far behind Mounsey: Maxime Chilaud with 17,900 million, Ren Lin with 17,750 million and Raphael Blouet with 17,450 million. Also not far off the pace are Ben Heath with 16,600 million and Ben Jacobs with 16,425 million, especially considering the blinds will be 100,000/200,000 and an ante of 200,000 chips.
Three former World Poker Tour champions are still in the field: Chris Moorman (10,200 million chips), Alex Foxen (4,425 million) and Roberto Romanello (4,050 million).
Mounsey moved to the top thanks in large part to a sizable hand late in the fourth day. Mounsey raised from the button preflop, only to see Igor Kurganov move all-in with 3.8 million chips. Mounsey, who had well covered his opponent, called with AK offsuit, while Kurganov showed AJ with diamonds.
Mounsey hit a king on a rainbow K-9-9 flop without diamonds and all Kurganov could do was hope for a runner-runner straight. He actually got a queen on the turn, but that was it and he was eliminated in 48th place. That $111,300 consolation check isn't too shabby, though.
This pot brought Mounsey's stack to 19,200 million, not much higher than at the end of Day 4.
According to TheHendonMob.com database, the $111,300 that Mounsey will be guaranteed if he fails to improve a single spot in the standings (that would obviously be a shock if that happened) is more than three times that of his total live tournament winnings for life. His best live cash is just $3,396. The next jump in salary alone is almost equal to his total income of $33,440.
Day 5 is scheduled to begin at 12:00 PM PT from Wynn Las Vegas. The plan is to play a further five 90-minute levels, with the six-handed final table scheduled for Thursday. Fans can watch today's action live (with a 30-minute delay) on the World Poker Tour's YouTube, Twitch and Facebook pages.
WPT World Championship 2023 – Day 4 Chip Leaders
- Mark Mounsey – 18,725,000
- Maxime Chilaud – 17,900,000
- Ren Lin – 17,750,000
- Raphael Blouet – 17,450,000
- Ben Heath – 16,600,000
- Ben Jacobs – 16,425,000
- Naj Ajez – 14,600,000
- Noel Rodriguez – 13,925,000
- Mario Navarro – 12,225,000
- Alex Jauregui – 12,075,000
