Following an action-packed final level of yesterday's play, Event #8: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw is down to the last two tables. Only 12 players remain in the hunt for the $180,455 first-place prize that comes along with the gold, with none other than Chris Vitch sitting at the top of the leaderboard.
Vitch, who won the inaugural edition of this very event back in 2016, added considerably to his stack during the late stages of Day 2. A quiet second level at 6,000/12,000 was followed by fast-paced play with a lot of big pots once the blinds were raised one final time last night, and Vitch was among those who capitalized on that.
With chips flying left and right and players leaving their chairs, the average stack naturally grew and Vitch now has only a narrow lead over his following rivals.
Vitch is on 493,000 good for the chip lead, but Damjan Radanov (476,000) and George Trigeorgis (462,000) aren't far behind. Fourth in chips is high stakes superstar Scott Seiver (431,000). Seiver spent the mid-stage of the tournament on a table that also included Vitch. And while Seiver dropped down to a short stack, he found a way to double through Vitch to start trending upward.
Final day chip counts and seating chart:
| Seat | Table 1 | Chips | Table 2 | Chips |
|---|
| 1 | Mike Leah | 174,000 | Michael Wagner | 147,000 |
| 2 | Scott Seiver | 431,000 | Chris Vitch | 493,000 |
| 3 | Frank Kassela | 268,000 | Damjan Radanov | 476,000 |
| 4 | Jesse Hampton | 350,000 | George Trigeorgis | 462,000 |
| 5 | Bryce Yockey | 271,000 | Alex Simma | 400,000 |
| 6 | Luis Velador | 390,000 | Johannes Becker | 172,000 |
Vitch and Seiver have already been decorated with the prestigious wrist-wear at the World Series of Poker and the rest of the field includes some more bracelet owners. Luis Velador (390,000), Bryce Yockey (271,000), Frank Kassela (268,000), and Mike Leah (174,000) have all made it to the summit in the past, with Velador and Kassela doing so multiple times.
Meanwhile, players such as Alex Simma (400,000) and Jesse Hampton (350,000) will do everything in their power to join the WSOP winners club, trying to convert shots at their first title.
The second shortest stack to start today belongs to Johannes Becker, last year's Poker Players' Championship runner-up. Becker has 172,000, over eight big bets, so his chances are still pretty fair and so are those of Michael Wagner who closes the standings with 147,000.
Deep-stacked triple draw poker guarantees us a great competition for the title. PokerNews live reporting team will be on their toes again with pencils and notebooks, so make sure you come back at 2 p.m. PDT to follow the most exciting stage of the tournament.
Tags:
Alex SimmaBryce YockeyChris VitchFrank KasselaGeorge TrigeorgisJohannes BeckerMike LeahScott Seiver
instead and exchanged some "good games" before leaving the tournament area.
as Radanov's cards hit the muck to an announced nine from Becker: 
