William Tonking, 27, hails from Flemington, New Jersey, one of three states that currently offer legalized online poker. It is there that Tonking plays on PartyPoker, Borgata, and WSOP.com under the screennames “amazin_mets” and “WillTonk21”; in fact, just prior to the 2014 World Series of Poker Tonking notched a $50K score on WSOP.com.
“I was never much of a tournament player. This is only the third one that I’ve played this year. I’m more of a cash game player,” Tonking explained. “I play online on the New Jersey sites. I play live some. I play in a $10/$25 game at Sam’s in Bethlehem, some at Borgata, and I play some of the Borgata Open Series and the WSOP, but other than that I’ve never been much of a tournament player. That’s why there’s not much out there on me.”
Tonking’s poker career began in the mid-2000s while he was still attending Hunterdon Central Regional High School, and he progressed to online poker while studying economics at the University of South Carolina. When Black Friday struck in 2011, Tonking was forced to find action elsewhere, most notably in regional casinos.
In December 2012, Tonking notched his largest career score (not including his 2014 WSOP Main Event run), which was a fifth-place finish in the Sands Bethlehem Deepstack Extravaganza $2,500 Main Event for $28,000. Other cashes that grace his poker résumé include 56th in a 2010 WSOP $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event or $6,571; seventh in the 2010 Borgata Poker Open $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em for $11,330; 33rd in the WSOP Circuit Atlantic City $1,675 Main Event for $4,188; and 77th in the 2014 WSOP Event #58 $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em for $3,924.
Tonking, who is a fan of the Mets, Cowboys, and Knicks, was recently featured on the PokerNews Podcast, which you can listen to by clicking here.
Born November 27, 1983, Dan Sindelar of Omaha, Nebraska attended the University of Nebraska—Lincoln as a part of the Class of 2006. Since then Sindelar has moved to Las Vegas. Prior to his deep run in the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event, Sindelar had $335,962 in tournament winnings.
“By the time my junior year rolled around, I pretty much withdrew from all my classes,” Sindelar told PokerNews. “Started playing in casinos and everywhere I could play. Made the move to Omaha to play at Council Bluffs, Iowa, and started playing a little bit more online there. When I turned 22 I moved out here to Vegas.”
Sindelar’s best cash up to the 2014 WSOP Main Event has been $105,312 for winning the 2007 Fall Poker Classic $1,000 Championship Event at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota. Other tournament highlights for Sindelar include winning the 2013 Card Player Poker Tour Wynn Las Vegas Event #1 $550 No-Limit Hold’em for $60,000; a 13th-place finish for $44,110 in the 2012 WSOP Event #57 $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six Handed; runner-up in the 2013 WSOP Circuit Caesars Palace $365 No-Limit Hold’em Reentry for $31,523; and 27th in the 2012 WSOP Event #46 $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em for $20,327.
“This is so much fun, I can’t really explain it right now, so much blood pumping right now,” Sindelar said while playing the Main Event. “I’ve never played for this amount of money, so I’ve never really quite felt this feeling before. I just love it. I want to come back again next year and hopefully do the same thing.”
Martin Jacobson is one of poker’s most consistent players, and he proved that in the 2014 WSOP Main Event when he finished Day 1a as the chip leader and rode it all the way to the November Nine. Only two other players – Joe Cada and Ben Lamb – have done that since the November Nine concept was introduced in 2008.
Originally from Stockholm, Sweden, Jacobson now makes London his home base as he travels the globe playing his trade. Since 2008, Jacobson has amassed $4,807,316 in tournament winnings, not including the money he’ll earn from his deep run in the 2014 WSOP Main Event.
Jacobson, who currently sits second on Sweden’s all-time money list behind Chris Bjorin, first appeared on the poker scene when he finished third in the 2008 European Poker Tour Budapest €4,350 Main Event for €197,904. Less than a year later he would finish runner-up to fellow Swede Ragnar Astrom in the World Poker Tour Venice €4,400 Main Event for €238,840.
As far as the WSOP is concerned, Jacobson’s first cash came in 2009 when he finished eighth in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event for $65,486. Amazingly, his second WSOP cash was also a final table appearance when he took fourth in another $1,500 event a year later, good for $183,345. In 2012, Jacobson final tabled Event #5 €10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Mixed Max at the WSOP Europe, ultimately finishing seventh for €42,094, and then in 2013 he placed sixth in the $111,111 One Drop High Roller for $807,427, his largest career cash. Of course he’ll have a shot of besting that come November.
“It feels incredible to make it this far in such a big and prestigious tournament … this is probably my biggest achievement so far,” said Jacobson.
There is little doubt 31-year-old Bruno Politano will have the largest and loudest rail in the Penn & Teller Theater, and his early estimate is that he’ll be bringing 200 boisterous Brazilians with him. Despite being the short stack with 12.125 million — though that is the “biggest” short stack since the November Nine was established in 2008 – rest assured Politano will make his presence known.
Born Oct. 15, 1982, Politano, also known as Bruno Foster, is the pride and joy of Ceará, Brazil. Politano, who studied at Colégio 7 de Setembro in Fortaleza, Brazil, currently ranks 98th on the Brazilian all-time money list with $110,054 in live earnings (obviously not including what he’ll take home for 2014 WSOP Main Event performance). His poker prowess comes as no surprise when you consider he’s friends with some of his homeland's best poker players, such as Andre Akkari, Maria Mayrinck, and Thiago Decano.
Prior to his deep run in the Main Event, Politano’s biggest cash was for $47,493 for a third-place finish in the 2013 Brazilian Series of Poker Main Event (BSOP) in Florianópolis. Other significant finishes include eighth in the Latin American Poker Tour IV Sao Paulo R$5,000 Main Event for $27,206 and seventh in the 2011 BSOP High Roller for $10,594.
In 2011, Politano notched his first WSOP cash when he placed 148th in a $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event for $2,548. In 2014, Politano returned to Las Vegas and earned two more cashes prior to the Main Event – 17th in Event #39 $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em for $20,148 and 135th in Event #58 $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Mixed Max for $2,708.
Politano has fully embraced the November Nine experience and was the only one of them to travel to Australia for the WSOP Asia-Pacific, which is where he made the final table in Event #7: AU$2,200 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed. He ultimately finished in sixth for AU$19,809.
Welcome to the final table of the 2014 World Series of Poker, live from the Penn & Teller Theatre inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Today is the day that the remaining nine players from a staring field of 6,683 return to lock horns after a four-month hiatus from play. Up for grabs will be the most coveted prize in all of poker, the WSOP Main Event gold bracelet, and this year the players will also be vying for a top prize of $10 million.
Leading the way into the final table is Dutchman Jorryt van Hoof. Van Hoof brings 38.375 million to the table, and he's trailed by Felix Stephensen in second place with 32.775. Third place on the leaderboard belongs to Mark Newhouse, and the American has been the talk of the town since he made back-to-back WSOP Main Event final tables in 6,000-plus player fields. That's quite the feat, and Newhouse will have 26 million to work with when the cards get in the air in hopes of improving upon his ninth-place finish from last year.
Andoni Larrabe from Spain and Dan Sindelar from the United States sit fourth and fifth on the leaderboard with 22.55 million and 21.2 million, respectively. Those two are nestled together in the middle with right around the average stack, which sits at just over 22.275 million. Both are quiet characters, but their play can be viewed as loud and aggressive at times.
Billy Pappas has 17.5 million entering the final table, and the foosball world champion is the only true amateur remaining. Behind Pappas, you've got the short stacks William Tonking (15.05 million), Martin Jacobson (14.9 million), and Bruno Politano (12.125 million) bringing up the rear. Jacobson is a big favorite amongst the touring pros, especially those who frequent events in Europe, and Politano will have the entire country and Brazil resting on his shoulders.
The goal for today's play will be to go from nine players down to the final three. Once the final three is reached, play will be halted for the night in order for the trio to return tomorrow to continue action. Right now, each November Niner is guaranteed $730,725, but everyone wants a bit more. After a long four months off from the event, no one will want to leave in ninth place and receive no extra cash, so things could be awhile before the first elimination comes to fruition.
The cards will be int he air promptly at 4:30 p.m. PT. PokerNews will be right there from start to finish with our exclusive live hand-for-hand coverage, so stayed tuned for the festivities to kick off in a couple hours time.
