BRACELET RACE: WSOP Main Event Reaches Final 10 Players; Two Tied for Chip Lead, Asher Conniff Among Those Returning
After seven days of play in the $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event, only 10 players remain after a marathon Day 7 that lasted until the early morning hours on Thursday.
The winner takes home $10 million and the coveted gold bracelet. Norway’s Espen Jorstad and Massachusetts’ Matthew Su return as chip leaders, each with 83.2 million chips.
The final 35 players returned on Wednesday and were expected to play down to the final nine. However, because of the long day, 10 players will return to the action on Friday. Players now have an off day on Thursday.
The final 10 will play down to four on Friday and then crown a winner on Saturday as PokerGO streams the final table. Here’s a look at the 10 players heading to the final table on Friday.
Espen Jorstad – 83.2 million chips
- Leuvanger, Norway (now London, United Kingdom)
- Biggest live tournament win: WSOP $1,000 Tag Team (2022), first for $74,042
- Occupation: poker pro
The 34-year-old player lives in London and already has one bracelet win. He partnered with partypoker ambassador Patrick Leonard to take down the Tag Team event. Jorstad is now looking for an even bigger finish. He had just $266,860 in live tournament winnings before this final table.
Also an online player, Jorstad notched a sixth-place finish in GGPoker’s WSOP Online $5,000 Main Event in 2021 for $603,058. He began playing poker after a life in video games led to some friends who also played. Can he make it a second bracelet in the biggest event in poker?
Matthew Su – 83.2 million chips
- Boston, Massachusetts (now Washington D.C.)
- Biggest win: $10,400 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic (2021), 43rd for $29,230
- Occupation: poker pro
Tied for the chip lead with Jorstad, the 34-year-old has just $49,340 in live tournament winnings. However, he’s made his Main Event entry count. He first took up the game while in law school at Boston College.
When not playing cards, skiing and scuba diving are two of his other interests. If he can get it done in the final two days, Su will have plenty of cash for more of those two passions.
Matija Dobric – 68.7 million chips
- Slatina, Croatia
- Biggest win: $10,000 WSOP Main Event (2021), 34th for $198,550
- Occupation: poker pro
This marks the second-straight huge Main Event run for Dobric, 31, and he now is hoping to finish things off. Dobric has $239,167 in live tournament winnings with that 2021 Main Event finish as a huge part of the total.
He’s been playing full-time since 2016 and learned the game from friends. He’s now in a good position to vastly increase his winnings with some life-changing money.
Aaron Duczak – 56 million chips
- Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
- Biggest win: $1,100 Mid-States Poker Tour event (2014), first for $77,681
- Occupation: businessman
One of two recreational players at the final table, Duczak, 40, brings a nice poker record. He has 36 WSOP cashes and $423,887 in live tournament winnings. Married with a 7-month-old daughter, he began playing poker during the Moneymaker boom. No doubt his family will be cheering him on as he works to make his own Moneymaker dream come true.
John Eames – 55 million chips
- London, United Kingdom
- Biggest win: WSOP Circuit (2014), first for $289,706
- Occupation: poker pro
This Englishman brings quite a poker background to the table. That includes $2.2 million live tournament winnings. Beyond his WSOPC championship ring, in 2011 Eames scored third place in the PokerStars European Poker Tour Copenhagen Main Event for $257,011.
The 33-year-old has plenty of experience and a nice chip stack to make some noise at the final table. If some things go his way, Eames could be raising the bracelet in the end.
Adrian Attenborough – 50.8 million chips
- Queensland, Australia (now Las Vegas)
- Biggest win: $10,400 Bellagio Cup XIII (2017), third for $361,660
- Occupation: poker pro
This is another seasoned pro who has some chips and the chops to get it done. Attenborough, 28, has $1.4 million in live tournament winnings. The same year as the big score at Bellagio, he also recorded a win in a Macau Poker Cup event for $193,172.
His poker record includes eight WSOP cashes for $288,249 including a second place for $108,908 in a $5,000 WSOP International Circuit event in Sydney. Look for him to battle as the action plays out.
Michael Duek – 49.8 million
- Buenos Aires, Argentina (now Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
- Biggest win: $10,000 WSOP Pot Limit Omaha Championship (2022), third for $548,015
- Occupation: poker pro
It’s been a nice run this summer already for Duek, 23, and he now has a shot at making it even bigger. The half-million dollar score this summer greatly boosted his live tournament winnings, which now top $651,000.
He began playing poker with friends and believes his reads play a key part of his game. He’ll be hoping those work out well again when the final table resumes.
Jeffrey Farnes – 35.4 million chips
- Blackfoot, Idaho (now Dallas, Oregon)
- Biggest win: $2,500 MGM Grand Summer Series (2022), seventh for $61,250
- Occupation: consultant
This part-time player may have played some of the best poker of his life to reach this stage. He enters the final table with only $181,550, but is on a bit of a hot streak with the cash at MGM.
Farnes, 39, scored another nice cash in 2017, finishing runner-up in the $1,100 WPTDeepStacks Main Event in Reno for $39,735. He also has won a major PokerStars tournament with more than 20,000 players. He’ll need to accumulate some chips and keep the momentum going.
Asher Conniff –24,400,000 chips
- Brooklyn, New York (now Las Vegas)
- Biggest win: WPT World Championship at Borgata (2015), first for $973,683
- Occupation: poker pro
Conniff, 34, brings plenty of poker skill to the table and is probably the best-known player remaining. He has $2.9 million in live tournament winnings including $821,752 at the WSOP.
Beyond the WPT title, he also has big runs in multiple WSOP events as well. Could a bracelet on the biggest stage be in his future? It won’t be easy because of his chip stack size. But if he can get in the final nine and accumulate some chips early, Conniff will be quite a tough opponent.
Philippe Souki – 13.5 million chips
- London, United Kingdom
- Biggest win: $1,600 event at the Wynn Summer Classic (2022), fourth for $102,214
- Occupation: poker pro
Souki sits on the shortest stack and will have a tough road to making the final nine. He does have some skills at the tables for sure, with $830,812 in live tournament winnings. He’ll need to bring his best short stack game in hopes of moving up to bigger payouts.
* Photos courtesy PokerGO