Day 7 of the Main Event ends with crazy hand as Joe Cada and Alex Lynskey reach final table

The World Series of Poker Main Event has been an interesting affair this year, with plenty of interesting hands and notable journeys, but no journey has attracted quite as much interest as Joe Cada’s.

The man who triumphed over a final table that included Phil Ivey to win poker’s biggest title in 2009 is once more back at the final table, with a shot at taking home an $8,800,000 slice of the $74,015,600 prize pool. He made some bold moves toward the end of day 7 to earn himself a very workable stack going into the final table tomorrow.

Crazy Hand ends the day

Play always tightens up a few spots away from the final table in this event, and so it often takes an unusual hand to break the deadlock and send someone home. Unusual doesn’t come close to describing what happened in this hand however, with a situation unfolding that many of us will never experience in a lifetime of playing Hold’em. Nicolas Manion was on the blessed side of the exchange, which involved himself looking down at AA, and finding two other players around him waking up with KK. Yueqi Zhu was busted in the hand, and Antoine Labat knocked all the way down to around 13 big blinds. This brought the field down to 9 players and ended the day’s action.

Notable fallers

With 26 players starting the seventh day, there were still plenty of interesting players in contention. Two-time bracelet winner Eric Froelich was the first notable name to hit the rail, finishing 23rd place for $282,630. Bracelet winner Ivan Luca soon followed, falling in 20th for the same prize.

Former 4th place finisher in this event, Sylvain Loosli managed to bank a bigger prize of $375,000 for his creditable run, which eventually came to an end with his 18th place finish. Chinese player Ming Xi followed him immediately in 17th place, taking home the same prize, before Yueqi Zhu exited in 10th place for $850,025 during the aforementioned crazy final hand.

Final table line up

Nicolas Manion was the recipient of a huge slice of luck at the end of day 7 and will bring 112,775,000 to the final table, enough to lead the way with 9 remaining. He only has three previous live cashes to his name.

Following closely is Michael Dyer with 109,175,000. Dyer had been strong throughout the late stages of the tournament, having been chip leader at the end of day 5. He brings the second largest stack to this final table and has two previous WSOP cashes.

In 3rd place on the chip counts is Tony Miles. He picked up a couple of small cashes earlier in this series and is already guaranteed to add one more very large one in this event. He brings 42,750,000 to the table.

John Cynn has five previous WSOP cashes amounting to $944,786 and will be looking to add a life changing cash to this list tomorrow. He brings a very comfortable stack of 37,075,000 to the table.

Alex Lynskey is an established Australian pro who has looked in great form throughout this event, slowly building his stack up to a promising 25,925,000. He has lifetime cashes of $1,769,666 which makes him one of the most experienced players at the table and will be one to watch tomorrow.

In 6th on the chip counts is none other than Joe Cada. Having spent a large part of the tournament working with a relatively small stack he now has a slightly more comfortable 23,675,000 to work with. The 2009 WSOP Main Event champion is not short on experience, with $10,779,041 in lifetime cashes and three WSOP bracelets.

In 7th on the counts is Aram Zobian. Having led the way at the end of day 6, he will perhaps have been hoping for more going into the final table. With $110,444 in lifetime cashes and 18,875,000 in chips, he still stands a fighting chance going into the final day.

With 15,475,000 Artem Metalidi is another player who was looking strong at the end of day 6 but now faces an uphill battle. The Ukrainian has plenty of live tournament experience with $2,131,437 in lifetime cashes and will be one to watch if he starts gaining traction tomorrow.

Bringing up the rear of the field with 8,050,000 is Frenchman Antoine Labat. After losing a huge pot in the final hand of the day he has plenty of work to do tomorrow. He has $194,789 in lifetime cashes and will be looking to start moving upward quickly when play begins tomorrow.

We will bring you a roundup of all the final table action after our champion is crowned.

Article by Craig Bradshaw