After two weeks of furious poker the World Series of Poker Main Event is down to the “November 9″. The last 9 players of the tournament have clinched their spots to fight for the most prestigious win in poker.
Leading the pack in notoriety, if not in chips, is Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, who has been a chip leader for most of the tournament and a force to be reckoned with at the final table.
Mizrachi’s three brothers were also playing in the tournament, and amazingly enough, all three cashed. Eric at 718th, Danny at 345th, and Robert at 116th. This is enough to make one wonder what was in the water at the Mizrachi household to see a family take such a commanding lead in a major tournament.
The Grinder will have his work cut out for him at the final table, however, as third to last in chips, over 51 million behind the big stack, Jonathon Duhamel, who has over 65 million in tournament chips. Still, as one of the most winning tournament players of the past year, one can’t help but think his chances are good.
But the action leading up to the final table was not as fast-paced as other moments of the tournament. In fact, it was downright grueling. Despite a few exciting moments such as Matt Affleck’s aces getting cracked by Jonathon Duhamel’s jacks, the knockouts leading up to the final table were slow and laborious.
Once down to ten players, play continued for over six hours without a bust out, which must have been a very tense situation for the remaining players. Nevertheless, Brandon Steven eventually put his chips into the pot with an Ace, King against Matthew Jarvis’ pair of queens and got no help from the board, busting out in 10th place.
The full list of November 9 players and their chip counts is:
Seat 1: Jason Senti (7,625,000)
Seat 2: Joseph Cheong (23,525,000)
Seat 3: John Dolan (46,250,000)
Seat 4: Jonathan Duhamel (65,975,000)
Seat 5: Michael Mizrachi (14,450,000)
Seat 6: Matthew Jarvis (16,700,000)
Seat 7: John Racener (19,050,000)
Seat 8: Filippo Candio (16,400,000)
Seat 9: Soi Nguyen (9,650,000)
