The Final Nine Are Set for WSOP Main Event Showdown

The World Series of Poker Main Event has reached its final table, and nine players are still standing after more than a week of high-pressure poker in Las Vegas. What started with 9,735 hopefuls is now down to just a handful of contenders, each with their own story and path to this moment. When cards go in the air again on July 15 at 1:30 P.M. local time at the Horseshoe and Paris, someone’s life will change forever.

Good to know

• Michael Mizrachi could become the first player to win both the Main Event and Poker Players Championship in the same year.
• Leonor Margets is the first woman in nearly three decades to make the Main Event final table.
• Final table action spans two days, with the champion crowned July 16.

John Wasnock is the name at the top of the leaderboard right now. A 50-year-old from Washington, he came into the tournament with a modest resume—$143,000 in career earnings and no real headline-grabbing finishes. But that changed quickly. Now he enters the final table with the chip lead and a real shot at turning a quiet poker life into a headline story.

Right behind him is a name that poker fans know well—Michael Mizrachi. Already a seven-time bracelet winner, Mizrachi just pulled off something few have: he won the Poker Players Championship for the fourth time earlier this summer. If he wins the Main Event too, he will push his lifetime earnings well beyond the $19 million mark and add one of the only trophies missing from his case.

Then there is Braxton Dunaway from Midland, Texas. He is not a full-time pro—he works in oil and gas and is a father of four. But he already proved himself on this stage once, winning a bracelet in 2023. Now he is back, deeper than ever, with a chance to multiply his $1.5 million in tournament winnings many times over.

Kenny Hallaert is no stranger to deep WSOP runs. The Belgian pro and PokerStars ambassador, now living in London, has been here before and knows the pressure of the late stages. Still chasing his first bracelet, Hallaert has over $5.9 million in career cashes and enough experience to know that opportunities like this do not come around often. He is much appreciated in the poker community, and not just for his yearly Vegas tournament calendar that he shares.

Spain’s Leonor “Leo” Margets is making headlines of her own. She is the first woman to reach the WSOP Main Event final table since 1995. Already a bracelet winner with more than $2 million in live earnings, she now has a chance to break the biggest barrier in poker—becoming the first female Main Event champion.

Luka Bojovic has an unusual backstory. A Serbian doctor now living in Vienna, Bojovic balances poker with medicine. He earned his first major WSOP title in Marrakech last year and has been part of the Pokercode training group that includes some of Europe’s best minds. A deep run here would be his biggest result yet.

Adam Hendrix, the Alaskan pro now based in Virginia, is well-known among serious poker circles. With over $8 million in tournament winnings and several deep WSOP runs, Hendrix has the skill—and now the stack—to finally claim a bracelet that has eluded him despite multiple close calls.

From Seoul, Daehyung Lee is flying under the radar but playing solid poker. He has already crushed his previous best score and now has the chance to make history as the first South Korean to ever win the Main Event.

Jarod Minghini rounds out the group. A grinder from Lake Tahoe with five WSOP Circuit rings, Minghini comes in with the shortest stack but a resume full of experience. He has been here before in smaller events, and now he has a shot at the big one.

The final table plays down to four players on Tuesday. The winner will be decided on Wednesday. Nine players, one dream, and $10 million waiting at the top.

The post The Final Nine Are Set for WSOP Main Event Showdown appeared first on iGaming.org.