Elezra Leads Final Five of Event #60: $50,000 Poker Players Championship
After four hard-fought days of mixed nine-game action, the initial 63-player field of Event #60: $50,000 Poker Players Championship has been reduced to just five.
Today at 2 p.m. local time, Eli Elezra, Paul Volpe, Dan "Jungleman" Cates, Chris Brewer, and Ryan Leng will battle it out on the green felt for the $954,020 first-place prize and right to have their name engraved on the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy as the next Poker Players Champion.
Final Table Lineup
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Cates | United States | 3,875,000 |
| 2 | Paul Volpe | United States | 4,360,000 |
| 3 | Eli Elezra | Israel | 4,620,000 |
| 4 | Chris Brewer | United States | 4,325,000 |
| 5 | Ryan Leng | United States | 1,625,000 |
Elezra enters the final table in prime position to seal his poker legacy with a win today. Elezra was able to secure his current chip lead on the final hand of Day 4, in which he eliminated Arieh — who finished runner-up in the 2019 Poker Players Championship.
Elezra, who is a current Poker Hall of Fame nominee, has four WSOP bracelets, a World Poker Tour title, and over four million dollars in combined live-tournament earnings. The Israeli-born Vegas resident has been playing poker since he moved to Las Vegas in the eighties and has been featured on televised cash games such as High-Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark.
Volpe enters the final table second in chips and will be seeking his fourth WSOP gold bracelet. The Pennsylvania native and mixed-game specialist has racked up 59 WSOP cashes prior to this event and amassed more than $8.5 million in tournament earnings.
Rounding out the top three is Brewer, who enters as the third and final player with over four million in chips. Brewer, a former collegiate runner, has had something of a breakout year in 2021 after winning multiple tournaments — including an an online WPT High Roller event for $249,791 and a Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Super High Roller for $420,670. Brewer will be seeking his first WSOP bracelet.
Cates, who enters fourth in chips, is well-known for his nosebleed-stakes battles on Full Tilt against other high-profile players, including Tom "durrrr" Dwan and Viktor "Isuldur1" Blom. Cates, who has racked up over nine million dollars in tournament earnings from various high roller events over the years, will be looking to improve on his sixth-place finish from this event in 2019.
Leng will enter as the short stack but will surely be looking to run it up as a victory today would vault him into first place in the 2021 WSOP Player of The Year standings. Leng is having a wildly successful series, having already secured an online No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout bracelet, an eight-game mix bracelet, and a runner-up finish in the Monster Stack event.
Play will resume on level 22 with Pot-Limit Omaha (25,000/50,000 blinds with a 50,000 big-blind ante). The action will be streamed with a one-hour delay on PokerGO beginning at 3 p.m. but PokerNews will also be providing live updates from the get-go until a new Poker Players Champion is crowned.
and Elezra shoved for his last 385,000. Brewer called.
turn gave Brewer a flush draw, but the 
river kept Elezra best with set of jacks and he doubled through.
flop brought a bet worth 275,000 by Leng and Brewer called all-in.
turn was a blank, as was the 
river, and that sent Brewer to the rail in 5th place for $211,235.
flop was checked and the 
for tens and nines, which beat the 
of Cates.
to win the pot as Elezra mucked his cards in disgust.
/
/
turn and Leng raised enough to put Volpe all in for his last 1.5 million. Volpe called and hands were revealed.
— leaving Cates with the nut flush and doubling him up.
