By TheNuts - Jul 17, 2012
WSOP Main Event Final Table Set
The 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table is set, only 9 of the original 6,598 participants remain with a shot at the $8.5 Million first prize and championship bracelet. Monday began with 27 hopefuls looking to lock up their seat at the most prestigious final table in poker, however, the day proved tough for those that began the day near the top of the leaderboard. Of the 9 players that began Day 7 with the most chips, only 2 survived the day - Salaburu and Thomas.
The final table, complete with age and chip counts are as follows:
Seat 1 - Russell Thomas - 24 Years Old - 24,800,000
Seat 2 - Jacob Balsiger - 21 Years Old - 13,115,000
Seat 3 - Jeremy Ausmus - 32 Years Old - 9,805,000
Seat 4 - Steven Gee - 57 Years Old - 16,860,000
Seat 5 - Greg Merson - 24 Years Old - 28,725,000
Seat 6 - Jesse Sylvia - 26 Years Old - 43,875,000
Seat 7 - Robert Salaburu - 27 Years Old - 15,155,000
Seat 8 - Andras Koroknai - 30 Years Old - 29,375,000
Seat 9 - Michael Esposito - 43 Years Old - 16,260,000
This years installment will be less diverse than in past years, as Andras Koroknai is the only non-American, representing Hungary.
One of the key story lines at the beginning of Day 7 was the presence of not one, but two women. Both Norway's Elisabeth Hille and Gaelle Baumann of France were attempting to be the first woman to final table the World Series of Poker Main Event since Barbara Enright finished 5th in 1995 - and the first since the field size ballooned to epic proportion in 2004. Unfortunately lady luck was not with either, as they both fell painfully short. Hille was eliminated in 11th place when her Ah-Qh could not outrace the 7-7 of Andras Koroknai, and Baumann exited on the final table bubble when her shortstacked A-9 could not improve against Koroknai's A-J. Both received just over $590,000 for their efforts.
In making the final table, Gregory Merson earned himself an additional 100 WSOP Player of the Year points which vaults him past Phil Ivey and into the lead for the 2012 competition. However, both players will have an opportunity to earn points later this year at the World Series of Poker Europe. At the 2012 World Series of Poker, Greg Merson got his feet wet by finishing in 21st place in the $3K NLH 6-Max event for $16.8K, before finishing 5th later that week in the $2.5K buy-in 4-Max event for $70K. The bulk of his points (and money) were earned along with his first WSOP bracelet, taking down event #57 - the $10K buy-in NLH 6-Max tournament for $1,136,197. A 7th place (or better) finish would lock up his second 7-figure score of the series.
Previous installments of the delayed WSOP final table have taken place in early November, with the participants being called the 'November 9'. However, this years bunch will have to adopt a new name, as play will resume on October 28th.
Here's what they are playing for:
1st - $8,527,982
2nd - $5,292,889
3rd - $3,797,558
4th - $2,850,494
5th - $2,154,616
6th - $1,640,461
7th - $1,257,790
8th - $971,252
9th - $754,798
and the most prestigious piece of jewelry in poker, shown above. More coverage to follow this fall...