Maria Konnikova Bags a Top Stack Heading to the Final Table of the $1,650 PCA National
Play has concluded for the evening in the $1,650 PCA National with the official final table of eight confirmed. PokerStars Team Pro, Maria Konnikova is among the leaders heading into the final day on Tuesday.
Mostly known for her journalism in the heart of New York City, Konnikova is starting to find her new passion at the poker tables. When the action resumes tomorrow, Konnikova will be looking for her first career title after finishing in the runner-up position multiple times.
The Russian-American is the only lady left standing but she will be on everyone's radar. Konnikova was cruising through the day with an average stack when Kevin MacDonald made a huge river bet bluff and Konnikova picked it off. That sent her near the 1,000,000 chip mark where she now sits with 883,000 chips.
The only player to bag more chips was Alexander Ziskin with 914,000. Ziskin picked up a lot of small pots throughout the day and maintained a steady pace to end the day with the chip lead. Kevin MacDonald made a nice comeback to finish in the top three with 863,000 chips.
Here is a look at the seating assignments and chip counts heading to the final day:
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Moorman | United Kingdom | 379,000 | 31.6 |
| 2 | Marcos Carneiro Antunes | Brazil | 516,000 | 43 |
| 3 | Kevin MacDonald | Canada | 863,000 | 71.9 |
| 4 | Loek van Wely | Netherlands | 743,000 | 61.9 |
| 5 | Maria Konnikova | United States | 883,000 | 73.6 |
| 6 | Ryan Smith | Canada | 827,000 | 68.9 |
| 7 | Harrison Gimbel | United States | 674,000 | 56.2 |
| 8 | Alexander Ziskin | United States | 914,000 | 76.2 |
The action will resume at 12:00 P.M. local time and will play down to a winner. The final eight players are guaranteed to walk away with at least $10,640. However, the winner will be taking home $84,600 and a Platinum Pass to the 2019 PSPC $25,000 event.
Here is what they are playing for:
| Place | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|
| 1st | $84,600 |
| 2nd | $56,250 |
| 3rd | $41,140 |
| 4th | $33,210 |
| 5th | $26,040 |
| 6th | $19,710 |
| 7th | $14,480 |
| 8th | $10,640 |
Continue to follow along with the PokerNews live reporting team as we bring you all of the live updates until a winner is crowned.