WSOP Main Event: The ‘November Nine’ are set
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
They came in their masses: 6,844 hopeful, all with dreams of
becoming the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event champion. For
most, that dream has died, but nine still have a chance to seal
their place in the record books.
They came in their masses: 6,844 hopeful, all with dreams of
becoming the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event champion. For
most, that dream has died, but nine still have a chance to seal
their place in the record books. On 9th November, the players will
come back to battle it out for the biggest prize in poker.
Each of the players who have made it this far have cashed for at
least $900,670, and they’ve each been allowed to take that amount
with them now. The rest of the prize money will be decided in the
winter, with the following players coming back:
Seat 1: Dennis Phillips - 26,295,000
Seat 2: Craig Marquis - 10,210,000
Seat 3: Ylon Schwartz - 12,525,000
Seat 4: Scott Montgomery - 19,690,000
Seat 5: Darus Suharto - 12,520,000
Seat 6: David 'Chino' Rheem - 10,230,000
Seat 7: Ivan Demidov - 24,400,000
Seat 8: Kelly Kim - 2,620,000
Seat 9: Peter Eastgate - 18,375,000
Hellmuth’s exit in 45th was disappointing for those who wanted
to see a previous champion win, while Matusow’s elimination in 30th
reminded us all of just how harsh a game this can be, to some
players seemingly more so. The last of the possibly huge storylines
faded away with the
elimination of Tiffany Michelle in 17th. While those headlines
are now impossible, there’s still the minor matter of $9.1m to be
decided.
Play from 27 down to the final nine saw Michelle’s run end, but
at the same time the momentum built for others. Brandon Cantu rode
his luck from time to time, while Scott Montgomery pulled himself
up from mid-table to a solid 19.7 million by the close of play. The
man who began the day on the top of the pile stayed there as well,
as Dennis Phillips demonstrated a solid ABC game which kept him out
of trouble for most of the day.
So, who will win it? We honestly can’t call it. Both Montgomery
and Rheem are talented young players, and Brandon Cantu is a man
who has been at the business end of big tournaments before. With a
mountain of chips in front of them both, Phillips and Demidov are
going to be hard to work around, that is for sure. All we have to
do in the meantime is discuss, analyse, and place our bets. Roll on
November.