Joseph Di Rosa Rojas Holds Commanding Lead Heading Into Day 5 of Event #23: "Marathon" No-Limit Hold'Em
In what has been a long and grueling tournament, Day 4 of Event #23: $2,620 "Marathon" No-Limit Hold'Em has come to an end. There were 13 players that bagged chips to return tomorrow and Joseph Di Rosa Rojas leads them all with 10,575,000 chips.
Rojas came into the day with a healthy chip stack and maintained that same stack throughout most of the day. In the last two levels, however, he went on a massive heater eliminating three players and winning almost every pot he was involved in. Rojas has already guaranteed himself his third cash of the 2017 WSOP to go along with two more in 2016. He is still looking for that big payday, however, as his career live tournament earnings total just over $55,000.
The day started with 56 players and within the first level, there were over 10 eliminations in what was a fast-paced 100 minutes. The action slowed down as the day progressed and with 13 players returning for the final day tomorrow, it could be another long grind. A total of seven levels were played today that lasted just over 14 hours from the beginning of the day. But this is what they all signed up for.
Some notables that exited the tournament on Day 4 include Eric Baldwin (21st place - $21,434), Ana Marquez (26th place - $21,434), Upeshka De Silva (30th place - $17,491), Kristen Bicknell (44th place - $14,446), and Adrian Mateos (52nd place - $12,077). Everyone that was lucky enough to find a bag at the end of the night will be guaranteed to at least take home $33,350.
There has been a schedule change for Friday, as the remaining players have agreed with tournament officials to return at 1 p.m. for the final day, where play will end once a champion is crowned. When they take their seats, the blinds will begin at 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante.
Here is a look at the seating assignments and chip counts when play resumes.
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Pratik Ghatge | United Kingdom | 955,000 |
| 1 | 2 | Empty | ||
| 1 | 3 | Andrew Jernigan | United States | 6,270,000 |
| 1 | 4 | Breixo Gonzalez | Spain | 2,180,000 |
| 1 | 5 | Empty | ||
| 1 | 6 | Tim Reilly | United States | 7,220,000 |
| 1 | 7 | Maurice Hawkins | United States | 3,630,000 |
| 1 | 8 | Julian Stuer | Germany | 3,055,000 |
| 1 | 9 | Alexander Lynskey | Australia | 1,775,000 |
| 2 | 1 | Empty | ||
| 2 | 2 | Empty | ||
| 2 | 3 | Empty | ||
| 2 | 4 | Bill Germanis | Canada | 2,470,000 |
| 2 | 5 | Joseph Di Rosa Rojas | Venezuela | 10,575,000 |
| 2 | 6 | Jeffrey Tomlinson | United States | 1,475,000 |
| 2 | 7 | Josh Weiss | United States | 1,280,000 |
| 2 | 8 | Faraz Jaka | United States | 3,215,000 |
| 2 | 9 | Patrick Mahoney | United States | 1,965,000 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
10,575,000 | -305,000 |
|
7,220,000 | 820,000 |
|
6,270,000 | 1,640,000 |
|
3,630,000 | -570,000 |
|
3,215,000 | 1,395,000 |
|
3,055,000 | 355,000 |
|
2,470,000 | -240,000 |
|
2,180,000 | 280,000 |
|
1,965,000 | -265,000 |
|
1,775,000 | -1,525,000 |
|
1,475,000 | 485,000 |
|
1,280,000 | -195,000 |
|
955,000 | -2,645,000 |
, Rojas had Li beat with his pair of tens. Li is out of the tournament and took $33,350 with him.
against Rojas' 
. 
and Luo avoided disaster thus far. The turn was the 
, counterfeiting Luo's pair of fives. Rojas' ace-high was good enough to win the pot and eliminate Luo in 15th place.
against Rojas' 
. The board ran out 
- no help for Phillips and he's out.
, giving him quads. The turn was the 
, sending Tian home in 18th place.
board, Eric Baldwin was first to act and checked. Tim Reilly bet 105,000 and Baldwin called. The turn was the 
, Tomlinson check-called the 100,000 bet of Jernigan.
flop.
, Luo opened to 75,000 and Gonzalez called.
on the river completed the board, Luo opened to 115,000 this time and again Gonzalez called. Luo showed 
for a full house and Gonzalez mucked.