Ben Jacobs Leads WPT World Championship Final 16; Moorman, Lichtenberger & Sepiol Alive
The World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas started with 3,835 entrants, but after Day 5 action on Tuesday, just 16 players remain in contention for the title and $5,678,000 first-place prize.
The man best positioned to make a run at it is Ben Jacobs, who finished as chip leader with 46,400,000 (77 bb). Not too far behind are Maxime Chilaud (38,200,000 – 64 bb) and Artur Martirosian (36,200,000 – 60 bb), while Carl Shaw (29,000,000 – 47 bb) and Daniel Sepiol (27,900,000 – 47 bb) round out the top five.
Others still alive, and guaranteed $291,700 in prize money, are John Richards (26,400,000 – 44 bb), Chris Moorman (21,200,000 – 35 bb), and Andrew Lichtenberger (19,500,000 – 33 bb), just to name a few.
WPT World Championship End-of-Day-5 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben Jacobs | 46,400,000 (77 bb) |
| 2 | Maxime Chilaud | 38,200,000 (64 bb) |
| 3 | Artur Martirosian | 36,200,000 (60 bb) |
| 4 | Carl Shaw | 29,000,000 (48 bb) |
| 5 | Daniel Sepiol | 27,900,000 (47 bb) |
| 6 | John Richards | 26,400,000 (44 bb) |
| 7 | Georgios Sotiropoulos | 24,600,000 (41 bb) |
| 8 | Ben Heath | 22,300,000 (37 bb) |
| 9 | Chris Moorman | 21,200,000 (35 bb) |
| 10 | Andrew Lichtenberger | 19,500,000 (33 bb) |
| 11 | Jason Min | 19,200,000 (32 bb) |
| 12 | Henrique Zanetti | 17,300,000 (29 bb) |
| 13 | Ade Olonoh | 15,500,000 (26 bb) |
| 14 | Raphael Blouet | 15,400,000 (26 bb) |
| 15 | Mark Mounsey | 14,000,000 (23 bb) |
| 16 | Paulius Vaitiekunas | 10,000,000 (17 bb) |
Day 5 saw 45 players return to action, but over the day 29 of them hit the rail including Andrei Boghean (17th - $236,300), Ren Lin (20th - $236,300), Alex Jauregui (25th - $159,200), Kristen Foxen (33rd - $132,500), Alex Foxen (39th - $132,500), Princess Love (40th - $132,500), and Jack Salter (46th - $111,300).
According to live updates from the tournament, Alex Foxen was eliminated in Level 26 (100,000/200,000/200,000) before jamming 1.625 million holding the A♠6♠ in middle position and flipping against Chilaud, who called out of the big blind with the 3♣3♥. The 9♠6♣4♦ flop gave Foxen the lead, but the running 5♠ turn and 2♣ river gave Chilaud a runner-runner straight.
Two levels later with the blinds at 150,000/300,000/300,000, Foxen’s wife, Kristen, followed him out the door after she nearly moved all in from the cutoff for 3.7 million with the A♣7♥ and Martirosian jammed from the big blind with the A♠Q♠. Foxen called off the little she had behind and the board ran out A♦10♥6♥8♠K♣ to give Martirosian the win thanks to his superior kicker.
Join WPT Global Today
With WPT Global, poker players around the world now have the chance to qualify for WPT events, win prizes and enjoy exciting games on one of the world's largest cash game poker networks. WPT Global is available in over 50 countries and territories around the world.
WPT Global offers a large deposit match bonus: 100% on deposits up to $1,200 (using any payment method). New players depositing a minimum of $20 automatically receive this match bonus which is unlocked in $5 increments (credited straight to the cashier) for every $20 of rake contribution.
Both tournaments and cash games count towards bonus unlocking; new players have 90 days from the date of first deposit to unlock and claim their full bonus amount.
