Three-time WPT champ Darren Elias is heading a loaded final table of the WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic, the last event on the Season XVI schedule of the popular poker series. If Elias takes down the ongoing Main Event, the player will create history as the only one to have ever won four WPT titles.
Elias was among the twenty hopefuls that returned at the host venue on Tuesday for its Day 3. While it was Jonathan Little, a two-time WPT champion, to lead the pack of survivors when cards were thrown in the air, it should be said that it was Elias who dominated action.
By the time there were just six players left in contention, Elias was holding roughly 44% of all chips in play. Organizers called it a day at that point. The final six will return at Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas today to play the tournament’s official final table and determine the champion.
The winner will collect a first-place prize of $387,580, including a $15,000 seat into the season-ending Tournament of Champions which is just days away.
Star-Studded Final Table
While Elias might be holding a substantial chip lead over the rest of the final tablists, the player will have quite some hard time while trying to win a record fourth title. Aside from the poker pro, the final table of the WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic is comprised of three more former WPT winners, a WSOP Main Event champion and a seasoned female poker pro.
Through aggressive play, Elias managed to bag and tag 2.127 million in chips on Day 3 of the tournament. The player was the only one to break the 2 million mark. Germany’s Dietrich Fast finished second in chips last night but was anywhere close to the overnight chip leader with his 801,000 chips. Fast is vying for WPT title number two.
Kitty Kuo collected the third largest chip stack at the end of Day 3. The popular poker professional bagged 683,000 to secure herself with a comfortable position to attempt at winning her first WPT title.
Sam Panzica, who is looking to claim WPT title number three, accumulated a stack of 566,000 in chips on Day 3. Former WSOP Main Event champion Joe McKeehen will attempt to win his first-ever WPT title. The player is heading into Day 4 with 385,000. Jonathan Little, who was the Day 2 overnight chip leader, did not have that much momentum over the course of Day 3. The player ended the day as the short stack with 300,000. Little is too eying a third title from the WPT.
The final day of the final WPT tournament of the season is set to begin at 2 pm local time. The remaining finalists will play down to a winner who will then head into the WPT Tournament of Champions to celebrate the end of the season with the rest of the winners from the past year and try to win the major event.
Source : www.casinonewsdaily.com