2018 WSOP Main Event Finalists
John Cynn | $8,800,000
AGE 33
PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 12
PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0
PREVIOUS EARNINGS $713,071
Two years ago, John Cynn came within a breath of the Main Event final table. But he just barely missed out, finishing in 11th place ($650,000). It was the best live tournament performance of his career – until now. The 33-year old from Indiana bested his own performance from 2016, and now finds himself at the final table.
Tony Miles | $5,000,000
AGE 32
PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 2
PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0
PREVIOUS EARNINGS $17,539
Tony Miles is a professional poker player and adrenaline junkie. His final-table run in the Main Event hits big for both vocations. The 32-year-old attended the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. He was born in Ogden, Utah and now resides in Lake Mary, Florida. Miles had not cashed at the annual World Series of Poker until this summer where he has cashed in the Colossus (438th), Millionaire Maker (442nd), and of course the Main Event. The momentous payout coming his way will greatly surpass his best live cash of $18,000 from a 3rd place finish at a WPT Jacksonville Summer Series. When Miles is not on the felt he enjoys wakeboarding, snowboarding, rock climbing, among other activities.
Michael Dyer | $3,750,000
AGE 32
PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 3
PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0
PREVIOUS EARNINGS $71,515
Michael Dyer, a 32-year old from Houston, held the lead most of Day 7, and enters the final table second in chips. Dyer has only three previous WSOP cashes, the biggest of which came in 2009 – he finished eighth in a $2,000 no-limit hold’em event for $65,905. That score accounts for over 2/3 of his total recorded career live tournament earnings ($95,020). But with his final-table performance in this event, he will add at least $1,000,000 to that total.
Nicolas Manion | $2,825,000
AGE 35
PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 1
PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0
PREVIOUS EARNINGS $5,769
To say that 35-year old Nicolas Manion is having the best tournament of his life would be an understatement. Manion, hailing from Muskegon, Michigan, has only one previous WSOP cash, for $5,769, and $16,739 in total recorded earnings. Now the proud dog-dad (he has an English bulldog, an French bulldog, and a Boston terrier), is guaranteed to increase that total nearly 60-fold, and potentially much more than that.
Joe Cada | $2,150,000
AGE 28
PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 33
PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 3
PREVIOUS EARNINGS $10,779,041
Joe Cada has done something no one else at this final table can claim: he’s been here before. Not only did Cada make the Main Event final table in 2009, he won the bracelet, the most prestigious prize in poker. He’s now the first previous Main Event champion to return to the final table since Dan Harrington. (Harrington, the 1995 champion, made the final table again in 2003 and 2004.) Not surprisingly, Cada is the most accomplished player at the 2018 final table. He has three previous bracelets and $10,779,041 in total tournament earnings. Most of that amount ($8,546,435) came from his 2009 victory, and he has the chance to win even more than that this year if he takes home the $8,800,000 first-place prize. That impressive feat would make him the first player to repeat as Main Event champion since the legendary Stu Ungar won his third title in 1997.
Aram Zobian | $1,800,000
AGE 23
PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 3
PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0
PREVIOUS EARNINGS $9,735
The youngest player remaining at this table is 23-year-old Aram Zobian, originally from Cranston, Rhode Island, now living in North Providence. Zobian plays poker for a living and has just over $100,000 in tournament earnings. His largest live tournament cash came from a 2nd place finish in the No-Limit Hold’em Championship at the MegaStack Challenge, Mashantucket, good for $47,000. This will be Zobian’s fourth cash at the annual World Series of Poker and he has guaranteed himself a monster payday.
Alex Lynskey | $1,500,000
AGE 28
PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 13
PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0
PREVIOUS EARNINGS $556,389
There hasn’t been an Australian at the Main Event final table since Joe Hachem won it in 2005. That changes this year, as 28-year old Alex Lynskey of Brisbane attempts to recreate Hachem’s success. Lynskey’s biggest WSOP cash to date came last year in the Marathon event, when he finished runner up for $426,663. In total, he has 13 previous WSOP cashes for $556,389.
Artem Metalidi | $1,250,000
AGE 29
PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 25
PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0
PREVIOUS EARNINGS $728,254
A 29-year-old hailing from Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, Artem Metalidi has been playing in the annual World Series of Poker since he was of age. Metalidi made a huge statement early on in his career as a professional poker player by placing 2nd in the $3k Six Max of 2012. The score of $350,806 is still his largest live tournament cash to date. In total, Metalidi lays claim to $728,254 in WSOP earnings, stemming from 25 separate cashes.
Antoine Labat | $1,000,000
AGE 29
PREVIOUS WSOP CASHES 2
PREVIOUS WSOP BRACELETS 0
PREVIOUS EARNINGS $6,857
The 29-year old Antoine Labat is the only French player at this year’s Main Event final table. He continues a recent tradition of French success that included two final tablists last year (Antoine Saout and Benjamin Pollak). Labat has two prior WSOP cashes, totaling under $7,000. He has $194,789 in recorded tournament earnings. He is an experienced games player, listing board games and chess among his hobbies.