Event #68: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT - World Championship

The 2016 November Nine

Day 7 of the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event is now complete. The 6,737 entrants have been whittled down to a final table of nine players. They'll take the traditional 3.5 month hiatus and return for the final table, which will air live on ESPN from October 30 through November 1.

The chip leader heading into the Main Event final table is one of the more famous names in poker - Cliff Josephy, two-time bracelet winner and one of online poker's original heroes.

He's followed by an international field that shows the WSOP is truly a global competition. This year's crop of November Niners hail from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Spain, and Canada, as well as the US.

The 2016 November Nine

Cliff Josephy	Previous Bracelets: 2	Previous WSOP Cashes:17	Previous WSOP Earnings: $810,358
Current Position: 1		Current Chips: 74,600,000
	Cliff Josephy is undoubtedly one of the most well-known - and most accomplished - players in the 2016 November Nine. He first made a name for himself in online poker, and he has since become successful in live poker as well. He already has two bracelets, most recently from a shootout victory in 2013.
Qui Nguyen	Previous Bracelets: 0	Previous WSOP Cashes: 1	Previous WSOP Earnings: $9,029
Current Position: 2		Current Chips: 67,925,000
	Qui Nguyen has less experience in high-stakes tournament poker than many of his November Nine competitors. He has just over $50,000 in recorded career earnings, and the largest cash of his career - his only previous WSOP cash - is for $9,029. That's not even enough for the buy-in in this event. But now he's one of the big stacks heading into November, and he's guaranteed a payout of at least $1,000,000.
Gordon Vayo	Previous Bracelets: 0	Previous WSOP Cashes: 26	Previous WSOP Earnings: $608,136
Current Position: 3		Current Chips: 49,375,000
	This is Gordon Vayo's third career WSOP final table. His best performance so far is a runner-up finish in a $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max event two years ago. He now has a chance to improve on that and earn his first bracelet in the biggest tournament of the year.
Kenny Hallaert	Previous Bracelets: 0	Previous WSOP Cashes: 22	Previous WSOP Earnings: $367,855
Current Position: 4		Current Chips: 43,325,000
	Kenny Hallaert already has over $1.3 million in career earnings. His best WSOP performance to date was a fifth-place finish in the 2015 Colossus. Hallaert is also only the second Belgian to make the November Nine. A year ago, Pierre Neuville became the first. Now Belgians have made the final table in back-to-back years.
Michael Ruane	Previous Bracelets: 0	Previous WSOP Cashes: 3	Previous WSOP Earnings: $24,438
Current Position: 5		Current Chips: 31,600,000
	Compared to some of his competitors, Michael Ruane is fairly inexperienced at tournament poker. He has only five recorded tournament cashes – three in WSOP events. His largest recorded score is $17,244. But now he’s guaranteed a payout of at least $1 million for his Main Event performance, and he has the opportunity to win the most prestigious prize in poker.
Vojtech Ruzicka	Previous Bracelets: 0	Previous WSOP Cashes: 17	Previous WSOP Earnings: $138,585
Current Position: 6		Current Chips: 27,300,000
	Vojtech Ruzicka has over $1,000,000 in career earnings, mostly on the European tournament circuit. His best WSOP finish to date is a final-table performance in last year's bounty event for $42,228. Ruzicka is the first Czech November Niner since Martin Staszko in 2011.
Griffin Benger	Previous Bracelets: 0	Previous WSOP Cashes: 13	Previous WSOP Earnings: $231,201
Current Position: 7		Current Chips: 26,175,000
	Griffin Benger is one of the world's most accomplished poker players. In fact, he's one of the world's most accomplished games players. He was a highly-ranked video game player, at one point winning the Counterstrike World Championships. He was also formerly the #1 ranked online poker player in the world. He's also no stranger to running deep in the Main Event, having finished 90th two years ago.
Jerry Wong	Previous Bracelets: 0	Previous WSOP Cashes: 19	Previous WSOP Earnings: $127,343
Current Position: 8		Current Chips: 10,175,000
	Jerry Wong has quite a bit of tournament experience. He has over $1.3 million in recorded earnings. At the WSOP he has 19 cashes to his name. However, this will be his first WSOP final table. Despite his success, he's already guaranteed the biggest payout of his career.
Fernando Pons	Previous Bracelets: 0	Previous WSOP Cashes: 0	Previous WSOP Earnings: $0
Current Position: 9		Current Chips: 6,150,000
	This is Fernando Pons's first WSOP cash. In fact, it's his first WSOP event, and this is first time time in Vegas. Pons is mostly an online player; he has only two live tournament cashes on record. But his first WSOP experience is a memorable one, and he'll be back in Vegas again in a few months for the final table.

The 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event started over a week ago, on Saturday July 9. A total of 6,737 players ponied up the $10,000 entry fee, creating the largest field since 2011. It’s also the fifth-largest Main Event in WSOP history.

The starting field was spread across three Day 1s. Here’s a breakdown of the Day 1 participation 

Day 1A – July 9 – 764
Day 1B – July 10 – 1,733
Day 1C – July 11 – 4,240

Day 1C made WSOP history – it’s the largest single-day flight ever for the Main Event. This year’s tournament set another record as well: most players paid. In 2016, virtually all tournaments at the WSOP moved to a new payout structure in which roughly 15 percent of the field is paid out. For the Main Event, that resulted in 1,011 players making the money.

Of the 6,737 entries, 5,099 advanced to Day 2. By the start of Day 3, only 2,186 remained. One of them was defending champion Joe McKeehen. However, he was eliminated on Day 3 just short of the money, and the bubble burst later on Day 3 during Level 16. At the end of that night, only 800 players remained. And by the end of Day 4 there were only 251. As they returned for Day 5, several interested stories had started to emerge: 

Perhaps the most talked about story surrounded Johnny Chan, who had the potential to win the Main Event for the third time. Just two players in WSOP history have even won the title three times. Johnny Moss accomplished the feat in 1970 (based on a vote of the players), 1971, and 1974. Stu Ungar captured his three titles in 1980, 1981, and 1997. Now Chan had a chance to join that elite club.

Chan first won the Main Event in 1987, then won again in 1988 in a final hand immortalized in the film Rounders. He was only the fourth player to win back-to-back (the others are Moss, Ungar, and Doyle Brunson in 1976 & 1977). However, he was eliminated just a couple hours into Day 5, finishing in 180^th place. 

One former Main Event champion outlasted Chan. Greg Raymer – who won in 2004 – was also eliminated on Day 5. He finished in 122^nd place, and has a long history of deep runs in the Main Event. After winning it in 2004, he made it to 25^th the following year, and nearly made the top 100 yet again this year.

With the former Main Event champs dominating the headlines, some other players with millions in WSOP earnings flew under the radar. Dan Colman – most famous for winning the 2014 Big One for One Drop for over $15 million – was still in contention, as was Tony Gregg, who won the $111,111 One Drop High Roller event the previous year for $4.8 million. Both One Drop champions advanced to Day 6, but Gregg bowed out in 50^th and Colman was eliminated in 31^st, just barely missing out on Day 7. 

For many people, the buzz in the room surrounded the contest for last woman standing – the female player with the best finish in the Main Event. Maria Ho – who was the last woman standing in both 2007 and 2014 – was near the top of the leaderboard on Day 4. She lost some chips, but made it to Day 5 and had a chance to become the first woman to win that honor three times. However, she was eliminated early in the day. Eventually, it was down to Melanie Weisner and Gaelle Baumann. Baumann had also previously won the honor, finishing in tenth place place in 2012. Weisner was eventually eliminated in 127^th place, and Baumann officially became the last woman standing in the 2016 WSOP Main Event.

Also on Day 5, Scott Montgomery was eliminated in 140^th place. Montgomery made the November Nine in 2008, and his elimination meant there was only one former November Niner remaining. Antoine Saout, who finished third in the Main Event in 2009. Saout made it to Day 7, finishing in 25^th place.

Others making it to Day 7 include eight-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Valentin Vornicu (23rd place), British pro William Kassouf (16th place), Tom Marchese (14th place), and Australian pro James Obst (13th place).

Kenny Hallaert raises to 1,300,000 in early position, and Griffin Benger calls in middle position.

The flop is    . Hallaert continues for 1,600,000, and Benger calls. The turn is the  , and Hallaert checks. Benger checks behind. The river is the  , and both players check.

Hallaert shows    for sixes and threes. Benger tables    and wins the pot with jacks up.

Griffin Benger - 26,250,000 (53 bb)
Kenny Hallaert - 43,400,000 (87 bb)

Kenny Hallaert raises to 1,350,000 in middle position, winning the blinds and antes.

Kenny Hallaert - 46,450,000 (93 bb)

Gordon Vayo raises to 1,100,000 in middle position, and Vojtech Ruzicka defends his big blind.

The flop is    . Ruzicka checks, Vayo bets, and Ruzicka folds. Vayo wins the pot.

Gordon Vayo - 50,600,000 (101 bb)
Vojtech Ruzicka - 27,925,000 (56 bb)

Kenny Hallaert raises to 1,150,000 on the button, winning the blinds and antes. Joshua Weiss, who surrendered his big blind, is left with barely three big blinds in his stack.

Kenny Hallaert - 43,750,000 (88 bb)
Joshua Weiss - 1,625,000 (3 bb)

Qui Nguyen raises to 1,200,000 in late position, and Kenny Hallaert defends his big blind.

The flop is    . Hallaert checks, Nguyen continues for 1,700,000, and Hallaert calls. The turn is the  , and Hallaert checks again. Nguyen checks behind. The river is the  , and Hallaert checks for a third time. Nguyen bets 2,500,000, and Hallaert folds. Nguyen wins the pot.

Qui Nguyen - 66,775,000 (141 bb)
Kenny Hallaert - 42,650,000 (85 bb)

Kenny Hallaert raises to 1,300,000 in early position, winning the blinds and antes.

Kenny Hallaert - 45,700,000 (91 bb)

Cliff Josephy

Cliff Josephy raises to 1,100,000 from under the gun, and Griffin Benger three-bets to 3,400,000 in the cutoff. Joesphy calls.

The flop is    . Josephy checks, Benger continues for 3,300,000, and Josephy calls. The turn double pairs the board with the  , and Josephy leads out for 5,500,000. Benger calls, and the river is the  . Josephy bets 13,000,000, and Benger folds. Josephy wins the pot, retaking the chip lead in the process.

Cliff Josephy - 74,325,000 (149 bb)
Griffin Benger - 23,500,000 (47 bb)

Vojtech Ruzicka gets a walk in the big blind.

Vojtech Ruzicka - 28,525,000 (57 bb)

Griffin Benger raises to 1,150,000 from under the gun, and Kenny Hallaert three-bets to 3,500,000 on the button. Benger calls.

The flop is    , and both players check. The turn is the  , and Benger checks again. Hallaert bets 4,000,000, and Benger folds. Hallaert wins the first pot at this ten-handed unofficial final table.

Kenny Hallaert - 44,650,000 (89 bb)
Griffin Benger - 35,250,000 (71 bb)