Who Will Walk Away with the Title in Event #47: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship?
Will Kathy Liebert be able to win her second WSOP bracelet and cement her spot in the poker hall of fame? Will Ben Sarnoff take his big chip lead and run away with the title? Or will an underdog come from behind and capture their biggest career payday?
There are many questions left to be answered with just five players remaining in Event #47: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship here at the 2022 World Series of Poker at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas. The action will get underway bright and early at 11 a.m. local time and last until a champion is crowned with a WSOP gold bracelet and the first-place prize of $694,909.
Sarnoff will come into the day with a healthy chip lead, bagging up 55,000,000 chips after a dominating performance on Day 4. He eliminated opponent after opponent and ran his stack up to more than 75 million at one point, but took a few setbacks late in the day before it was all wrapped up. Sarnoff has had some poker success in the past, but nothing like this, and winning his first WSOP title at the age of 65 would be nothing short of amazing.
However, he will have to contend with the likes of WSOP bracelet winner and all-time poker great Kathy Liebert. The lady dressed in purple with the largest rail in the building will have plenty of support as she looks to conquer the feat that she hasn't done since 2004. Liebert will enter the day in third place with 29,100,000 chips but has plenty of experience to know how to get the job done.
Eric Smidinger also had a successful day yesterday, quietly spinning up his stack to 32,800,000 chips. Smidinger will have family and friends flying into Las Vegas to cheer him on at the final table as he looks to accomplish a once-in-a-lifetime dream of winning a WSOP title. Biagio Morciano (19,000,000) and Charles Mitchell (7,900,000) round out the top five and still have plenty of opportunities to make their dreams come true as well.
Final Day Seating Assignments
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kathy Liebert | United States | 29,100,000 | 49 |
| 2 | Ben Sarnoff | United States | 55,000,000 | 92 |
| 3 | Charles Mitchell | United States | 7,900,000 | 13 |
| 4 | Biagio Morciano | Italy | 19,000,000 | 32 |
| 5 | Eric Smidinger | United States | 32,800,000 | 55 |
The cards will go in the air at 11 a.m. sharp after players pleaded with the tournament staff to allow them to come back to finish the tournament today rather than play it out yesterday. It took a lot of effort but in the end, the players got their wish and were allowed to return for the fifth day. The blinds will resume on Level 36 at 300,000/600,000 with a 600,000 big blind ante. The levels will continue to be 60 minutes in length with a 15-minute break after every two levels.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the tournament floor to bring you all of the live updates throughout the day en route to crowning a WSOP champion in this record-breaking field.
and it checked around to Mitchell, who fired out a bet of 1,600,000. Liebert raised to 3,700,000 and after Sarnoff got out of the way, Mitchell quietly pushed his entire stack in front of him.
and Sarnoff came out firing with a lead of 1,600,000. Morciano called.
and Sarnoff continued for a second barrel, this time for 3,500,000. Morciano sat there in deliberation for about 30 seconds and moved all in for roughly 13,000,000 total.
and Liebert checked to Sarnoff who bet 1,000,000. Liebert called.
turn, Sarnoff fired again, this time for 1,500,000. Liebert called.
hit the river and Sarnoff fired a third bullet, putting out a total of 2,500,000. Liebert quickly called.
, to which Liebert shrugged at as she turned over 
.
turn. The 
came through on the river and Mitchell fired for 2,500,000. Morciano seemed hesitant and appeared to nearly fold before calling.
for the low end of the straight.
turn provided a river sweat for Mitchell and his rail.
to give Mitchell the full double and make the Italian the short stack.
