button in SafariRobert Cowen Holds Commanding Lead Heading Into $50,000 High Roller PLO Final Table
After a very long Day 2, during which the money bubble lasted more than two and a half hours, only eight players managed to bag chips and advance to the final table of Event #55: $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) hosted at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Late registration closed at the start of the day with 110 entries, creating a $5,525,000 prize pool that was shared among the 17 players who reached the money. Richard Gryko unfortunately fell just short of the money when Yuri Dzivielevski (1,450,000) eliminated him on the bubble.
There was no such concern however, for Robert Cowen, who scored the next two eliminations once the money was reached. Cowen later won a massive pot with aces against Naoya Kihara (2,035,000) to take the chip lead, and he ultimately ended the day on top of the counts with 9,060,000.
$50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha final table
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santhosh Suvarna | India | 1,185,000 | 12 |
| 2 | Naoya Kihara | Japan | 2,035,000 | 20 |
| 3 | Venkat Chivukula | United States | 4,700,000 | 47 |
| 4 | Veselin Karakitukov | Bulgaria | 1,510,000 | 15 |
| 5 | Yuri Dzivielevski | Brazil | 1,450,000 | 15 |
| 6 | Carlo van Ravenswoud | Netherlands | 6,300,000 | 63 |
| 7 | Robert Cowen | United Kingdom | 9,060,000 | 91 |
| 8 | Joao Simao | Brazil | 6,985,000 | 70 |
The gap between the chip leader and second-in-chips Joao Simao is significant, with the Brazilian set to return with 6,985,000, nearly 20 big blinds behind. Simao steadily built his stack throughout the day and notably eliminated Jason Koon in 14th place and Dylan Weisman in 10th place to gather the nine remaining players around the last table. He then lost a million chips, but made a disciplined fold with a flush to avoid further damage before winning the million back moments later.
Simao also doubled up Daniel Negreanu, though “DNegs” was eventually sent to the rail in 11th place by Santhosh Suvarna. Suvarna advanced with 1,185,000 and remains in contention for a remarkable $50K double after already capturing the $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em title earlier in the series.
There will be no such double for $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha champion Eelis Parssinen, however, as he was eliminated before the money. He was joined on the rail by Phil Ivey, Martin Kabrhel, Chance Kornuth, Brian Rast, defending champion Dylan Linde, Shaun Deeb, Artur Martirosian and Stephen Chidwick, who was eliminated not long before the bubble burst.
Among the remaining contenders, Carlo van Ravenswoud sits third in chips with 6,300,000. A late double once the money was reached put him back on track before he continued his climb into the top three.
Venkat Chivukula bagged an average stack of 4,700,000 after doubling up twice on the bubble. He later spiked a rivered flush at the final table to double again, leaving Youness Barakat on fumes before Barakat was eliminated in 9th place moments later.
Last but not least, Naoya Kihara (2,035,000) will look to capture his third bracelet of the summer, but returns among the short stacks, alongside Veselin Karakitukov (1,510,000) and Dzivielevski and Suvarna, who could both add another bracelet to their résumés.
Play is scheduled to resume at 2 p.m. local time with blinds of 60,000/120,000 and a 120,000 big blind ante. Levels will remain 60 minutes long until a champion is crowned. All eight finalists have already locked up $152,020, but their eyes will be on the top prize of $1,368,700 and the coveted WSOP gold bracelet.
Remaining payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $1,368,700 |
| 2 | $912,420 |
| 3 | $628,510 |
| 4 | $445,440 |
| 5 | $325,080 |
| 6 | $244,510 |
| 7 | $189,720 |
| 8 | $152,020 |
A delayed livestream of the final table, running 2.5 hours behind real time, will be available, but be sure to keep it with PokerNews for live updates and complete coverage from the floor!