Game On: Guide to a Trio of WPT Final Tables at HyperX Esports Arena

March 11, 2019

Chad Holloway PR & Media Manager

WPT L.A. Poker Classic (Monday, March 11 at 4 p.m.)
WPT Gardens Poker Championship (Tuesday, March 12 at 4 p.m.)
WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open (Wednesday, March 13 at 4 p.m.)

Today at the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, a trio of World Poker Tour (WPT) final tables to be played over the next three days kick off inside HyperX Esports Arena.

PokerNews will be on hand to offer features and recaps from each event, and you can also watch the live streams on PokerGO. In addition, you can follow live updates on worldpokertour.com.

Here’s a look at the three filmed-for-television WPT Season XVII events that will play to a winner in the coming days.

WPT L.A. Poker Classic (Monday, March 11 at 4 p.m.)

The headliner in this event is Darren Elias, who is going for a mind-blowing fifth WPT title. A win would not only solidify Elias as the top player in WPT history, but it would also secure him the biggest cash in a career that's seen him rake in north of $6.6 million in live tournaments.

Up top is a $1.015 million prize, which includes a $15,000 seat into the season-ending Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions.

Here’s a look at the final table lineup:

Seat	Player	Home Country	Stack (big blinds)
1	Jean-Claude Moussa	USA	1,250,000 (25)
2	Matas Cimbolas	Lithuania	4,675,000 (93)
3	John Smith	USA	895,000 (17)
4	Darren Elias	USA	9,070,000 (181)
5	David "ODB" Baker	USA	4,760,000 (95)
6	Steve Yea	South Korea	1,205,000 (24)

Additionally, here are the payouts awaiting the six players:

Place	Payout
1	$1,015,000*
2	$646,930
3	$473,280
4	$346,550
5	$267,400
6	$201,650

_{*includes $15,000 seat to WPT Tournament of Champions}

WPT Gardens Poker Championship (Tuesday, March 12 at 4 p.m.)

The first WPT event of 2019 was the $10,000 buy-in WPT Gardens Poker Championship, which began with 253 players but played to the final table of six back in January. They’re all guaranteed $110,225 in prize money, but the winner will receive a hefty $548,825.

Frank Stepuchin is way out in front with a more than 2-1 chip lead over his next closest competition. However, his path to victory won’t be easy as he’ll have to contend with the likes of Shannon Shorr, Steve Sung, Brent Roberts, and the short-stacked Ray Qartomy and Jonathan Abdellatif.

Here's a look at how things stack up:

WPT Gardens Poker Championship Final Table

Seat	Player	Home Country	Stack (big blinds)
1	Shannon Shorr	USA	1,710,000 (57)
2	Frank Stepuchin	USA	4,065,000 (135)
3	Brent Roberts	USA	1,385,000 (46)
4	Jonathan Abdellatif	Belgium	555,000 (18)
5	Ray Qartomy	USA	820,000 (27)
6	Steve Sung	USA	1,580,000 (52)

Additionally, here are the payouts awaiting the six players:

Place	Payout
1	$548,825*
2	$355,885
3	$259,880
4	$192,465
5	$144,595
6	$110,225

_{*includes $15,000 seat to WPT Tournament of Champions}

WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open (Wednesday, March 13 at 4 p.m.)

After four days of play last month in the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Main Event, the field of 1,415 was whittled down to just six with Dave Farah leading the official final table with a whopping 126-big blind stack.

Farah, a Fairfield, N.J., resident, enters the final table with just $80K in live earnings to his credit, already guaranteed to at least triple that with this run. He’ll be looking to do much more than that, but has his work cut out for him with the likes of Daniel Buzgon, Ian O’Hara, Brandon Hall and Joseph Di Rosa Rojas to get through. Whoever wins will walk away with $728,430.

Hall will start the final table second in chips with 94 big blinds, the only player in the vicinity of the overwhelming chip leader. Buzgon will bring a healthy 61-big blind stack while the bottom three all sit between 20 and 40 bigs.

WPT Borgata Main Event Final Table

Seat	Player	Home Country	Stack (big blinds)
1	Ian O'Hara	USA	5,100,000 (34)
2	Dave Farah	USA	18,850,000 (126)
3	Joseph Di Rosa Rojas	Venezuela	5,800,000 (39)
4	Brandon Hall	USA	14,100,000 (94)
5	Vinicius Lima	USA	3,550,000 (24)
6	Daniel Buzgon	USA	9,100,000 (61)