14 July 2019 (Las Vegas) – The final table of the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event is officially underway! The first night of the 2019 final table was a relatively short one, but it was fast-paced and action-packed. When the dust settled, Hossein Ensan, who started the day as the chip leader, retained his lead. And Garry Gates, who started the day in second, pulled up on his heels. The two them are well ahead of the three other remaining players
Four players were eliminated Sunday night: Milos Skrbic, Timothy Su, Nick Marchington, and Cai Zhen.
After a day off on Saturday, the nine final tablists returned to the Rio Hotel and Casino Sunday evening for the first of three days of final-table action, and every hand Sunday night was broadcast on ESPN2 (on a 30-minute delay).
Fans looking for action didn’t have to wait long tonight. On just the third hand of the final table, Nick Marchington, who started the day as the short stack, doubled through Zhen Cai to give himself some breathing room. Then three hands later, Milos Skrbic became the first player eliminated from the official final table. Skrbic also started with a fairly short stack, and his ace-jack ran into Garry Gates’s ace-queen. They got the chip in the middle preflop, and Skrbic got no help from the board. He finished in ninth place, earning $1,000,000.
Then on the 11th hand of the day, Timothy Su became the next player to bust. After Marchington's early double-up, Su was left as the short stack at the table. He moved all in with pocket threes, and was called by the chip leader Hossain Ensan. Ensan held pocket jacks, and he flopped a jack. Su got no help, and he finished in eighth place for $1,250,000.
That pace of eliminations was impossible to maintain, but action remained fast as chips moved back and forth. Ensan and Gates, who started the day with the two biggest stacks, continued to set themselves apart from the rest of the field, and Marchington's stack slowly dwindled.
At about 9:00 p.m. - roughly two and half hours after the final table began - Marchington made a stand. He picked a bad time, though. He shoved all in with ace-seven, and Ensan called with pocket kings. The kings held up, and Marchington became the seventh-place finisher, earning $1,525,000. The 21-year old Marchington had the chance to become the youngest Main Event winner ever, but it was not to be.
Before the final table started, the tentative plan was to play down to six players tonight. But since it happened so quickly, the remaining six players continued for about another 90 minutes. At that point, Cai Zhen became the sixth-place finisher ($1,850,000), and the remaining five players bagged up their chips for the night.
Play will resume Monday at 6:30 p.m. with 28:08 remaining in Level 38 (600,000/1,200,000 blinds with a 1,200,000 big blind ante).
This was, and still is, a remarkably international final table. When it began, six countries were represented: Germany, Canada, Italy, Serbia, the UK, and the US. With five players left, four countries remain (Germany, Canada, Italy, and the US).
Here’s the remaining final table schedule:
Monday, July 15 – 6:30 p.m. PDT start. Live on ESPN starting at 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, July 16 – 5:30 p.m. PDT start. Live on ESPN starting at 6:00 p.m. Play will continue until the 2019 World Champion of Poker is crowned.
Results so far
Live Updates from the event
Photos from the event
Here are the chip counts of the remaining players, and final table results so far:
1 – Hossein Ensan – 207,700,000
2 – Garry Gates – 171,700,000
3 – Kevin Maahs – 66,500,000
4 – Alex Livingston – 45,800,000
5 – Dario Sammartino – 23,100,000
6th place – Zhen Cai - $1,850,000
7th place – Nick Marchington – $1,525,000
8th place – Timothy Su – $1,250,000
9th place – Milos Skrbic – $1,000,000