Monday, July 15, 2024 12:06 AM Local Time
Miracle River on First Hand Propels Griff to Chip Lead WSOP Main Event Final Table
The record-breaking 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in Las Vegas has reached its final nine players, and each of them are guaranteed a seven-figure payday with a chance to make poker history and walk away with $10 million.
Leading the way is Illinois native Jordan Griff, who had just $47,192 in live earnings heading into poker's biggest event and has now locked up a minimum cash that is more than 50 times his previous best score of $18,104. Griff was all in on the first hand of the day against a flopped set but managed to river a bigger set in a miraculous shift of events that will almost certainly end up being worth several million.
"It was a roller coaster of emotions, that hand," Griff told PokerNews at the end of Day 8. "The very first hand of the day, I pick up queens. I'm excited about it. There was a big pay jump, too, so I'm a little nervous. I get it in most of my stack pre-flop, assuming we're just committed ... He beat me to the pot (on the flop) ... I saw the threes, and I was just, like, in shock ... And then, you know, I heard the noises that something happened. I look back, I see the queen, and I let out some sort of noise. I don't remember what it was, but just pure emotion from it."
Jordan Griff
Griff has an uphill battle as two of poker's most accomplished players, American high roller regular Brian Kim and Swedish online poker legend Niklas "Lena900" Astedt, both bagged impressive stacks that will see them return to the final table with over 50 big blinds.
Astedt, who is widely recognized as one of the greatest online players of all time, will look to scrub his name from the "best without a bracelet" list, while Kim will seek redemption after a 23rd-place finish in the 2022 Main Event and his second WSOP bracelet.
"I think that run is the only reason why I'm here today," Kim said. "I never really played tournaments. I actually just played the Main once every year. So from that run, I got interested in tournaments and started doing a lot of work and playing them a lot, and now I have quite a bit of experience."
Brian Kim
Astedt may be known as an online player, but make no mistake—he has not been fatigued by the long hours in the live arena.
"(This is a) piece of cake compared to SCOOP," laughed Astedt. "People say this is a marathon; they should try 23 tables for 40 days during SCOOP. That's what I say."
Another player seeking redemption is Boris Angelov, who earlier this year finished runner-up in the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event for $663,565 in what he told PokerNews felt like a disappointing finish.
Meanwhile, Joe Serock, New Mexico's all-time money leader and the only player at the final table with a bracelet other than Kim, will seek a second piece of WSOP hardware after winning last year's online $500 PLO 8-Max and qualifying into the Main Event on GGPoker.
Day 7 chip leader Malo Latinois ended the night toward the bottom of the counts alongside Texan four-time Circuit ring winner Jonathan Tamayo (who finished 21st in the 2009 Main Event) and Spain's Andres Gonzalez, while Canada's Jason Sagle rounds out the final nine as a middling stack.
2024 WSOP Main Event Final Table
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|
| 1 | Boris Angelov | Bulgaria | 52,900,000 | 33 |
| 2 | Malo Latinois | France | 25,500,000 | 16 |
| 3 | Brian Kim | United States | 94,600,000 | 59 |
| 4 | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | 94,200,000 | 59 |
| 5 | Joe Serock | United States | 83,600,000 | 52 |
| 6 | Jordan Griff | United States | 143,700,000 | 90 |
| 7 | Jonathan Tamayo | United States | 26,700,000 | 17 |
| 8 | Andres Gonzalez | Spain | 18,300,000 | 11 |
| 9 | Jason Sagle | Canada | 67,300,000 | 42 |
Foxen Falls Ahead of Final Table
It took just one hand for Griff to find himself all in with queens, and it was shaping to be his only hand of the day as he was against Jessie Bryant's flopped set of threes. But as luck would have it, the river brought one of two queens left in the deck, and Griff made a better set to stay alive and make a run to the final table.
The ghillie-suit-wearing Southerner soon after doubled up Angelov to be left short to fall in 17th place after the elimination of Gerardo Hernandez in 18th place, who went out in painful fashion as a double-paired board counterfeited his pocket sixes to lose to ace-high.
Jessie Bryant
There was another painful elimination after the first break as Guillermo Sanchez Otero got it in with ace-queen to be in front of the offsuit nine-seven of his opponent. A double appeared imminent for Otero as his ace-high stayed ahead until a seven landed on the river to send him out in 16th place.
It was around this time that Foxen took the chip lead as she outflopped Diogo Coelho in a three-bet pot with ace-queen to the Portgeuese grinder's Big Slick.
Though it was an exciting development for the thousands of poker enthusiasts hoping to see the first woman Main Event champion crowned, it was short-lived. As the field got smaller with the exits of Jason James and the jovial Yegor Moroz, Foxen lost a sizable pot against Kim before a hand that will likely be discussed for the remainder of the event.
After defending her big blind with king-queen in a heads-up pot against Serock, Foxen check-called on a board of before check-jamming on the turn. Unfortunately for the four-time bracelet winner, Serock wasn't going anywhere with top two pair and "Krissyb" couldn't hit Broadway for a painful exit for one of the best woman players in poker history.
Foxen was consoled after her elimination by her husband, fellow crusher Alex Foxen, and those on the rail roared and applauded as she left the table.
Kristen Foxen Elimination
Action picked up after dinner break, and it didn't take long for Brazil's Gabriel Moura, who had one of the loudest and most enthusiastic rails of Day 8, to go out in 12th place as his flopped middle pair couldn't hold up against the straight draw of Sagle, who binked the turn to leave the Brazilian drawing to a bigger straight draw that didn't hit.
Not long after, France's Malcolm Franchi got it in with ace-queen only to find himself dominated by the ace-king of Griff to go out on the unofficial final table bubble.
Griff's spin-up only continued from there as he hit quads before the elimination of Portugal's Diogo Coelho, who entered the ten-handed table with crumbs and ran ace-jack into the ace-king of Astedt to mark the end of Day 8.
Diogo Coelho
Final Tablists Get a Day Off
After bagging their chips, posing for photos, and doing media interviews, the nine players left the Horseshoe Event Center to further prepare for their quest for eight figures.
The players will have a day off on Monday, July 15, before returning for Day 10 on Tuesday, July 16 at 1:30 p.m. local time. Action will pick back up with 51:20 left in Level 39 with blinds of 800,000/1,600,000/1,600,000. The plan for Day 10 is to play down to four players with TV breaks throughout play and no extended breaks.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team will return on-site on Tuesday for continued coverage of the record-breaking 2024 WSOP Main Event. Be sure to check out the live reporting hub in the meantime.
WSOP Main Event Final Table 2024
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize (in USD) |
|---|
| 1 | $10,000,000 |
| 2 | $6,000,000 |
| 3 | $4,000,000 |
| 4 | $3,000,000 |
| 5 | $2,500,000 |
| 6 | $2,000,000 |
| 7 | $1,500,000 |
| 8 | $1,250,000 |
| 9 | $1,000,000 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 11:30 PM Local Time
Seat Draw for Day 9
The first part of the final table will commence at 1:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, when the penultimate stage will aim to reduce the field from nine hopefuls to the final three. There are 51:20 minutes left in the level with blinds of 800,000-1,600,000 and a big blind ante of 1,600,000.
Below is the redraw of the official final table.
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|
| 1 | Boris Angelov | Bulgaria | 52,900,000 | 33 |
| 2 | Malo Latinois | France | 25,500,000 | 16 |
| 3 | Brian Kim | United States | 94,600,000 | 59 |
| 4 | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | 94,200,000 | 59 |
| 5 | Joe Serock | United States | 83,600,000 | 52 |
| 6 | Jordan Griff | United States | 143,700,000 | 90 |
| 7 | Jonathan Tamayo | United States | 26,700,000 | 17 |
| 8 | Andres Gonzalez | Spain | 18,300,000 | 11 |
| 9 | Jason Sagle | Canada | 67,300,000 | 42 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 11:25 PM Local Time
End-of-Day 8 Chip Counts
| Jordan Griff | 143,700,000 | -300,000  |
| Brian Kim | 94,600,000 | -400,000 |
| Niklas Astedt | 94,200,000 | 200,000  |
| Joe Serock | 83,600,000 | -400,000 |
| Jason Sagle | 67,300,000 | -700,000 |
| Boris Angelov | 52,900,000 | -4,100,000 |
| Jonathan Tamayo | 26,700,000 | -300,000 |
| Malo Latinois | 25,500,000 | -3,500,000 |
| Andres Gonzalez | 18,300,000 | 300,000 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 11:22 PM Local Time
Diogo Coelho Eliminated in 10th Place ($800,000)
Diogo Coelho raised to 6,800,000 from under the gun for most of his stack. Niklas Astedt called from early position and the rest of the table got out of the way.
The flop was checked by Coelho and Astedt bet enough to put him all in. Coelho ended up putting in his last 4,900,000.
Diogo Coelho:
Niklas Astedt:
Astedt showed top pair and Coelho needed running cards or a ten to avoid elimination, but the turn and river ended his run in tenth place for $800,000. The final nine players will now be bagging their chips before taking on all picture and interview duties.
Full chip counts and a recap of today's action are to follow.
| Niklas Astedt | 94,000,000 | 15,000,000 |
| Diogo Coelho | 0 | -7,700,000 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 11:08 PM Local Time
Gonzalez Risks It All on Final Table Bubble
Andres Gonzalez jammed all in for 15,100,000 in the small blind. Jason Sagle sat in the big blind and asked for a count.
Ultimately, he opted to fold as Gonzalez stayed alive in the Main Event.
| Jordan Griff | 144,000,000 | 4,000,000 |
| Brian Kim | 95,000,000 | -3,600,000 |
| Joe Serock | 84,000,000 | 0 |
| Niklas Astedt | 79,000,000 | 0 |
| Jason Sagle | 68,000,000 | -17,000,000 |
| Boris Angelov | 57,000,000 | 3,300,000 |
| Malo Latinois | 29,000,000 | 300,000 |
| Jonathan Tamayo | 27,000,000 | -3,700,000 |
| Andres Gonzalez | 18,000,000 | -300,000 |
| Diogo Coelho | 7,700,000 | -800,000 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 11:01 PM Local Time
Griff Hits Quads to Take the Lead
Jordan Griff min-raised to 3,200,000 from under the gun and was called by both Niklas Astedt and Joe Serock in the blinds. The flop saw Astedt lead for 3,500,000 and Serock called, as did Griff.
The trio headed to the turn and Astedt slowed down and checked. Serock bet 11,000,000 and Griff called while Astedt got out of the way.
That led them to the on the river where Serock glanced at his table neighbor before he bet 35,000,000.
Griff moved all in after some consideration and Serock was instantly stunned, shook his head and asked for the exact amount of the shove. The all-in was for 61,000,000 and Serock folded to get shown the for quads by Griff.
"I had eight-seven," Serock said, indicating he folded a flopped straight.
| Jordan Griff | 140,000,000 | 61,300,000 |
| Joe Serock | 84,000,000 | -55,000,000 |
| Niklas Astedt | 79,000,000 | 8,000,000 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:52 PM Local Time
Sagle Goes One-For-One
Joe Serock raised to 3,200,000 in early position and Jason Sagle called in the hijack. The flop was spread and Serock checked. Sagle bet 4,000,000 and received a quick fold from his opponent.
The next hand, Sagle opened for 3,200,000 in middle position and Niklas Astedt defended his big blind. Both players checked the flop before Sagle bet 4,000,000 on the turn.
Astedt check-called and checked again on the river. Sagle checked behind and Astedt showed . Sagle mucked and Astedt took the pot.
| Joe Serock | 139,000,000 | -2,900,000 |
| Jason Sagle | 85,000,000 | 13,700,000 |
| Niklas Astedt | 71,000,000 | -6,200,000 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:43 PM Local Time
Gonzalez and Latinois Get Shoves Through
In the first hand of the unofficial final table, Andres Gonzalez pushed all in for 14,300,000 and collected the blinds and big blind ante to boost his second-shortest stack among the final ten contenders.
On the next hand, Malo Latinois shoved from the small blind and Diogo Coelho gave up his big blind.
| Malo Latinois | 28,700,000 | 0 |
| Andres Gonzalez | 18,300,000 | 4,000,000 |
| Diogo Coelho | 8,500,000 | -3,200,000 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:42 PM Local Time
Play Back Underway
The ten remaining players have found their seats on the table and cards are back in the air for Day 8 of the WSOP Main Event.
Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:40 PM Local Time
Redraw Of the Unofficial Final Table
Below are the new seat assignments and updated counts of the final ten players with 90:12 minutes left in the level. The action for tonight will conclude after the next elimination.
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|
| 1 | Boris Angelov | Bulgaria | 53,700,000 | 34 |
| 2 | Malo Latinois | France | 28,700,000 | 18 |
| 3 | Diogo Coelho | Portugal | 11,700,000 | 7 |
| 4 | Brian Kim | United States | 98,600,000 | 62 |
| 5 | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | 77,200,000 | 48 |
| 6 | Joe Serock | United States | 141,900,000 | 89 |
| 7 | Jordan Griff | United States | 78,700,000 | 49 |
| 8 | Jonathan Tamayo | United States | 30,700,000 | 19 |
| 9 | Andres Gonzalez | Spain | 14,300,000 | 9 |
| 10 | Jason Sagle | Canada | 71,300,000 | 45 |
| Joe Serock | 141,900,000 | 3,900,000 |
| Brian Kim | 98,600,000 | -3,400,000 |
| Jordan Griff | 78,700,000 | -3,300,000 |
| Niklas Astedt | 77,200,000 | 3,200,000 |
| Jason Sagle | 71,300,000 | 300,000 |
| Boris Angelov | 53,700,000 | -1,300,000 |
| Jonathan Tamayo | 30,700,000 | -300,000 |
| Malo Latinois | 28,700,000 | -300,000 |
| Andres Gonzalez | 14,300,000 | 300,000 |
| Diogo Coelho | 11,700,000 | -4,300,000 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:39 PM Local Time
Small Break
The 10 remaining players have been sent on a 15-minute break before they converge on one table.
Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:35 PM Local Time
Malcolm Franchi Eliminated in 11th Place ($800,000)
Jordan Griff opened to 3,200,000 on the button and Malcolm Franchi three-bet jammed for 34,700,000 in the big blind. Griff called with a bigger stack.
Malcolm Franchi:
Jordan Griff:
Franchi was dominated and couldn't get any help as the board ran out to mark his elimination in 11th place for $800,000.
| Jordan Griff | 82,000,000 | 37,000,000 |
| Malcolm Franchi | 0 | -36,000,000 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:34 PM Local Time
Serock Shows Kim The Nuts
Brian Kim opened to 3,200,000 from the cutoff and Joe Serock called from the small blind. Serock led out for 1,800,000 on the flop and folded out Kim. Serock had the goods and tabled for the flopped nuts.
On the next deal, Kim made it 3,200,000 from the hijack and took down the pot.
| Joe Serock | 138,000,000 | 7,000,000 |
| Brian Kim | 102,000,000 | 1,000,000 |
| Niklas Astedt | 74,000,000 | -3,000,000 |
| Jonathan Tamayo | 31,000,000 | -4,000,000 |
| Diogo Coelho | 16,000,000 | 3,000,000 |
| Andres Gonzalez | 14,000,000 | -4,000,000 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:34 PM Local Time
Astedt Shoves on Coelho
Niklas Astedt put in enough chips from the small blind to put Diego Coelho in the big blind all in for 16,000,000.
Coelho spent a minute or so in the tank before folding and leaving himself with seven big blinds.
| Niklas Astedt | 77,000,000 | 0 |
| Diogo Coelho | 13,000,000 | 1,000,000 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:27 PM Local Time
Griff Wins Three-Way Pot Without Showdown
Malo Latinois raised to 3,200,000 in the cutoff and Jordan Griff called in the small blind. Boris Angelov came along in the big blind as the trio headed to the flop. They all checked to the turn and Griff led for 5,000,000. Angelov called and Latinois folded.
Heads-up to the river, Griff bet 7,500,000 and Angelov opted to fold.
| Jason Sagle | 71,000,000 | 63,900,000 |
| Boris Angelov | 55,000,000 | -6,000,000 |
| Jordan Griff | 45,000,000 | 1,900,000 |
| Malcolm Franchi | 36,000,000 | -4,200,000 |
| Malo Latinois | 29,000,000 | 7,800,000 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:21 PM Local Time
Gabriel Moura Eliminated in 12th Place ($600,000)
Jason Sagle raised to 10,800,000 in the small blind and Gabriel Moura moved all in for 12,400,000 in the big blind. Sagle called to put him at risk.
Gabriel Moura:
Jason Sagle:
The flop gave Moura a pair of nines but Sagle hit the on the turn to make a straight. Moura needed a ten to survive but the river ended his run in 12th place for $600,000.
| Jason Sagle | 7,100,000 | -53,900,000 |
| Gabriel Moura | 0 | -14,000,000 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:20 PM Local Time
Gonzalez Jams First Hand Post-Dinner
Andres Gonzalez jammed all in for 14,300,000 on the button. Jonathan Tomayo and Joe Serock folded their blinds, seeing Gonzalez get back above ten big blinds.
| Joe Serock | 131,000,000 | -4,000,000 |
| Jonathan Tamayo | 35,000,000 | 0 |
| Andres Gonzalez | 18,000,000 | 3,000,000 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:19 PM Local Time
Astedt Four-Bets Kim
Niklas Astedt raised to 3,200,000 in the cutoff. Brian Kim then three-bet to 10,900,000 in the small blind.
Astedt clicked it back to 21,000,000, roughly a third of his stack. Kim spent a good while in the tank before folding, chipping up Astedt without showdown.
| Joe Serock | 135,000,000 | 300,000 |
| Brian Kim | 101,000,000 | -10,100,000 |
| Niklas Astedt | 77,000,000 | 13,900,000 |
| Jonathan Tamayo | 35,000,000 | -500,000 |
| Andres Gonzalez | 15,000,000 | 700,000 |
| Diogo Coelho | 12,000,000 | -3,700,000 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:16 PM Local Time
Latinois Check-Raises the Flop
Jordan Griff raised to 3,200,000 and was called by Malo Latinois in the big blind. The flop was checked by the start-of-the-day chip leader and Griff continued for 2,700,000. Latinois tanked for more than two minutes and then check-raised to 8,000,000.
Griff folded and Latinois took the pot.
| Jason Sagle | 61,000,000 | 6,000,000 |
| Boris Angelov | 60,000,000 | -1,000,000 |
| Malcolm Franchi | 36,000,000 | -4,200,000 |
| Jordan Griff | 36,000,000 | -7,100,000 |
| Malo Latinois | 28,000,000 | 6,800,000 |
| Gabriel Moura | 14,000,000 | 0 |
Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:15 PM Local Time
First Pot After Dinner for Angelov
Jason Sagle made it 3,500,000 to go and was called only by Boris Angelov in the big blind. They checked the flop and the followed on the turn. Angelov then bet 6,000,000 and Sagle folded.
| Boris Angelov | 61,000,000 | 4,200,000 |
| Jason Sagle | 55,000,000 | -3,100,000 |
