W.S.O.P. Main Event 2022 – First Ever Ten Man Final Table Set
After seven huge days of play, the final table at this year’s W.S.O.P. Main Event has been set. Here’s a look at how we got there, and which players are favorites heading into the tournament’s final two days.
W.S.O.P. Main Event 2022 – First Ever Ten Man Final Table Set
A touch before 7am in the morning, an announcement rang out across the two feature tables at the 2022 W.S.O.P.
The day’s play was done, and players would reconvene on Friday for the tournament’s final table.
“We get to go home?!” was the immediate response, as hugs spontaneously erupted between players.
In a world first, the W.S.O.P. Main Event took no less than 17 hours on Day Seven to whittle the field down to its final table—and even then, the decision was made to send ten players through, rather than the conventional nine.
With play due to occur over the next two days to reveal a winner of this year’s W.S.O.P. Main Event, here’s a look at how the final table is shaping up, and who’s favorite to win.
Co-chip Leaders Looking to Carry on Momentum
One thing is for sure: There will be a new W.S.O.P. Main Event champion by the end of the weekend.
Espen Jorstad and Matthew Su will both be hoping their name is added to that list of champions. As the joint chip leaders, both players are well positioned to push on and go deep into this final table.
Espen is riding a vein of good form, having come sixth in last year’s $5,000 W.S.O.P. Main Event, securing his biggest cash of $603,000. Su, however, has never cashed in a W.S.O.P. event, with his previous largest live tournament winning a modest $29,230 in a 2021 WPT event. The American is running hot, however, having increased his chip stack from 7,000,000 at the start of Day Seven, to 83,200,000 by the day’s close.
Of the two, Espen’s previous experience gives him the slight edge, and heads into the final table as tournament favorite.
An Even Middle Section of the Field
Outside of the two chip leaders, the next five players all have between 50-70 million chips, giving the final table a relatively even middle section.
Matija Dobric, Aaron Duczak, John Eames, Adrian Attenborough and Michael Duek all sit in this middle band, and bring a depth of experience and form to the final table. Notably, Duek, the youngest player remaining in the field, has already won $608,000 this W.S.O.P., coming third in the $10K PLO 8-Handed Championship just before entering the W.S.O.P. Main Event.
Several other players also boast multi-million dollar live tournament earning records, meaning that the competition at this final table will be hot, and the level high.
Only One Real Short Stack Remaining
Englishman Philippe Souki is the only real short stack at the final table, and will have been relieved at the decision to end Day Seven play with ten players remaining.
He’ll be looking to prove that his inclusion in the final table was no clerical error by putting his 11 big blinds to work early on. Souki is entering this tournament off the back of several good results over the past six months, and will be high on confidence despite his short stack.
Look for Espen to make the final four from this final table, and experienced players such as Dobric to make a deep run as well.
