Tonight on the World Series of Poker Main Event coverage, things start getting serious. The field is on to Day 4, which means when coverage begins at 9pm, the play will begin on the money bubble. There were 666 players who bagged up chips. Of those, 18 will leave Day 4 disappointed, while the other 648 can let out a sigh of relief they made the money.
For Poker Hall of Famer Doyle Brunson, the min-cash is never something he aspires to reach. When you’re an 80 year old two-time Main Event Champion with countless cashes and final tables, you reach a point where just making the money loses the luster.
For reigning World Champion Greg Merson, Day 4 may mean a min-cash, but for Merson there is more on the line than just money. We learned from last year’s coverage that Merson is incredibly competitive. Throw in a shot at history with the possibility of back-to-back final table appearances, or even back to-back Main Event bracelets and Merson has pride and history motivating him to perform as well.
Carlos Mortensen is another Main Event Champ whose hopes to repeat are still alive going into Day 4, but, if history is any indication, it will likely be a new player to claim the bracelet come November. Perhaps it will be bracelet winner Max Steinberg. He was the talk of Day 3, but can the incredible run continue into Day 4? Will we see another call with jack-high like we got from Steinberg in the National Championship coverage?
You’ll have to tune in at 9pm ET tonight for two more hours of new coverage to find out. Steinberg, Merson, and Brunson will all be getting plenty of air time, so tune in and Tweet about #WSOPonESPN to tell us who impresses you, who annoys you, and who you want to see more of in the coming weeks. If you can’t wait until this evening, check out this clip of ESPN’s trip to visit Brunson at his family home in Montana: