The final table of the 2016 WSOP resumed their first battle on 30 October last month. The table of Final 9 had renowned poker pros with millions of dollars in live poker tournaments, plus players with the most impressive online poker resumes under their belt. Qui Nguyen and Fernando Pons started as the wild cards among November Niners, as they had none of that pedigree, but their unpredictability made them very dangerous. While Pons made quick exit, Nguyen is still fighting it out in heads-up with Gordon Vayo from the US for the most-coveted WSOP bracelet and a whopping $8,005,310 as the first place prize money.
The first day of the 2016 WSOP Final Table saw Fernando Pons making early exit from the table. He moved all-in with Ad-6c and Cliff Josephy quickly called with his Kh-Jc. The flop fell Ks-Qc-3c, giving Josephy the desired lead. The turn and river cards were 9d and Kc. Josephy’s three Kings sent Pons to the rail. He ended up earning $1 million for his ninth place finish.
After Pons, Jerry Wong became short-stacked, though he doubled up throughKenny Hallaert. He got eliminated by Vojtech Ruzicka in 8th place for $1,100,076. Ruzicka was holding Qh-Qd and Wong had Js-Jh. The turn and river didn’t help Wong and he got busted. Finishing in the 7th place was Canada’s Griffin Benger. He moved all-in with As-9s from the big blind and Gordon Vayo called with his 10s-10h. Since the flop, turn and river did not give much help to Griffin, he was eliminated in 7th place by Vayo. He earned $1,250,190 in the prize money.
The night of the 2016 WSOP Final Table ended with the elimination of Belgium’s Kenny Hallaert. He opened with a raise and the action folded to Nguyen, who then made three bets. Action folded back to Hallaert, who made four-bet all-in. Nguyen called and both players showed down their hands. Nguyen had As-Ad and Hallaert had Ac-Qc. Though the flop Qs-5h-4s helped Hallaert a little, the turn and river were blank cards. He got eliminated by Qui Nguyen in the 6th place. His 6th place finish gave him $1,464,258 in the prize money.
The day 2 of the 2016 WSOP Main Event got underway with just 5 remaining players next day. After the early elimination of Vojtěch Ruzicka in the 5th place and Michael Ruane in the 4th place, the Final Table came down to just 3 players. Qui Nguyen led the final three with the largest stack of 197,600,000 in chips. At second place was Gordon Vayo with 89,000,000 in chips, while Cliff Josephy, the chip lead at the start of the Final Table, was at the 3rd place with 50,000,000 in chips. However, the story changed when the play started among Final 3.
Josephy Exits in 3rd Place for $3,453,035
When the play resumed among the Final Three, Cliff Josephy had a good start with couple of double- ups through Qui Nguyen. In the very first hand, Josephy doubled up to 100 million chips while Nguyen dropped down to 150 million chips. In the 6th hand again, he doubled up to 19.8 million through Nguyen, who dropped down to 113.4 million. One more double up came for Josephy and he got back into the commendable position with 46,200,000 in chips.
Although the two-time WSOP Bracelet holder, Cliff Josephy had years of experience under his belt, he could not survive long. A few hands later, Nguyen made a bet of 1.9 million on the flop Ac-10s-3s and Josephy called. The river card was 9h and Nguyen again made a bet of 3.9 million. Josephy raised to 9 million and Nguyen called. The 6 competed the board and Nguyen checked, while Josephy made a bet of half his stack, betting 16 million. Nguyen called with Ad-8d and won the hand as Josephy tabled his Jh-3h.
The next hand started with the blinds level of 800,000/1,600,000 (200,000 ante). Josephy moving all-in for 18,700,000 from the small blind. Gordon Vayo in the big blind called with his Kh-6d. Josephy tabled Qd-3d and failed to improve on the board Kc-8c-3h-4c-2c. Josephy said goodbye finishing in the 3rd place for $3,453,035. With Josephy exiting in 3rd place, it is now heads up between Gordon Vayo and Qui Nguyen who are fighting it out for WSOP title.
Here Are the Chip Counts for Headsup Between Vayo andNguyen:
- Gordon Vayo- 200,300,000 chips
- Qui Nguyen-136,300,000 chips
Described by some as the most experienced player, the 27 year old Gordon Vayo from the United States leads in the heads up with 200,300,000 in chips, while Qui Nguyen, a self-proclaimed gambler living in Las Vegas, sits on the second spot with 136,300,000 in chips. Now it will be interesting to watch for as to who will be the next WSOP Champion?. Stay tuned in for the latest updates and news from the 2016 World Series of Poker ( WSOP).