The third annual $10,400 buy-in World Poker Tour World Championship (WPTWC) reached its final table, and six players still have a shot at the $3,138,900 first place prize. One of those players — Chris Moorman — made the final day in this same event a year ago.
Edward Pak bagged the chip lead at 66,200,000, with Moorman in second place (60,800,000). Play will resume at 4 p.m. on Saturday from Wynn Las Vegas. There will be some major pay jumps at stake with sixth place paying $665,000 and four players taking home seven-figure payouts.
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edward Pak | 66,200,000 |
| 2 | Chris Moorman | 60,800,000 |
| 3 | Scott Stewart | 40,800,000 |
| 4 | Christian Roberts | 28,600,000 |
| 5 | Rob Sherwood | 25,600,000 |
| 6 | Ryan Yu | 17,200,000 |
Moorman, a 2014 WPT champion, began Day 5 with a slight chip lead. He'd quickly lose a small chunk of his stack to Scott Stewart, who then became the chip leader. San Kim was the first player out — 16th place for $176,000 — when he ran jacks into Moorman's queens.
AJ Kelsall (13th place for $215,000) and WPT Prime champion Fabian Gumz (12th place for $255,000) were among those who busted just short of the final table.
Pak, who hails from Culver City, California (Los Angeles area), has already more than doubled his previous live tournament cashes regardless of his finish at the final table. He began the day with a middling stack at around 13 million chips, and spun it up fast on Day 5.
"I do feel there's a little pressure," Pak said of entering the final table as the chip leader. "I've actually come into the final day as a chip leader before and I didn't get the job done. I actually finished seventh."
Pak hasn't won a poker tournament recorded by The Hendon Mob. He has over $400,000 in cashes, however. But the final six players are all guaranteed $665,000, and the top four will receive seven-figure payouts.
The session ended at around 9:30 p.m. in Las Vegas when Mykhailo Lendel put his small stack in the middle with K♦9♠and ran into the Q♥Q♦Stewart had in the hole. The best hand held up and Lendel was out in seventh place for $515,000.
Moorman finished fourth in this event last year for just over $2 million. If he goes on to win the tournament, it would certainly be in the conversation as the most impressive accomplishment in World Poker Tour history. He'll be coming in second in chips, not far off the lead, and will likely be considered by most to be the favorite to win given he's the most accomplished poker player at the final table.
Pak, when asked who he fears most at the final table, gave an unsurprising answer.
"Yeah, I would say Chris Moorman," Pak answered. "For a little bit he was getting shorter (on Day 5) and then he got a huge double a few hands before we finished, and now he's pretty close to my stack. But I still feel pretty good about my game and I'm going to continue doing what I've been doing."
It won't be an easy task for Pak to hold off Moorman, who has $9 million in live tournament cashes, or the other four players. But he showed on Friday that he's capable.
*Images courtesy of the World Poker Tour.
