Hossein Ensan and Garry Gates Lead the Way With Five Players Remaining in the Main Event
The 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event final table continues on Monday evening with five players remaining from the second largest Main Event field ever of 8,569 entrants.
Hossein Ensan remains chip leader, Garry Gates is still in second place and between the two they hold almost 75% of the chips in play. They have combined to win 22 of the 56 hands played at the final table thus far and after accounting for three of the four eliminations, a heads-up clash between the two may look more and more likely. Still, their competitors, while shorter stacked, won't go down without a fight.
Here is how they stack up entering play tonight:
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hossein Ensan | Germany | 207,700,000 | 173 |
| 2 | Dario Sammartino | Italy | 23,100,000 | 19 |
| 3 | Kevin Maahs | United States | 66,500,000 | 55 |
| 4 | Garry Gates | United States | 171,700,000 | 143 |
| 5 | Alex Livingston | Canada | 45,800,000 | 38 |
There is 28:08 remaining in Level 38 (600,000/1,200,000, with a 1,200,000-big blind ante).
"It's a crazy dynamic," Gates said after play concluded last night. "I'm staring at the chip counts now and to think Hossein and I have what we have, the bottom three guys are kind of strapped in that way."
Those three shorter stacks belong to Kevin Maahs, Alex Livingston and Dario Sammartino. PokerNews caught up with Sammartino, who is the shortest stack of the bunch, after play concluded Sunday night and he won't be folding to a fifth-place finish.
"Tomorrow, I have nothing to lose," Sammartino said
For the five remaining players, here were their respective paths to this point and also their final table chip graph.
| Day | Hossein Ensan | Garry Gates | Kevin Maahs | Alex Livingston | Dario Sammartino |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 180,000 | 57,800 | Day 2ab entry | 159,000 | 121,000 |
| 2 | 209,000 | 283,300 | 262,100 | 360,600 | 522,700 |
| 3 | 336,000 | 348,000 | 123,000 | 681,000 | 552,000 |
| 4 | 3,250,000 | 1,085,000 | 2,596,000 | 660,000 | 2,302,000 |
| 5 | 7,100,000 | 4,990,000 | 7,630,000 | 3,935,000 | 860,000 |
| 6 | 34,500,000 | 25,025,000 | 19,550,000 | 2,800,000 | 19,850,000 |
| 7 | 177,000,000 | 99,300,000 | 43,000,000 | 37,800,000 | 33,400,000 |
| 8 | 207,700,000 | 171,700,000 | 66,500,000 | 45,800,000 | 23,100,000 |
The plan for tonight is subject to change based on how things progress. If heads-up play is reached, play will absolutely be halted. If the action lasts for a while, then there is a chance that they could bag up with three players still in the mix.
Here's what's at stake for the remaining players:
Results and Remaining Payouts
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | $10,000,000 | ||
| 2nd | $6,000,000 | ||
| 3rd | $4,000,000 | ||
| 4th | $3,000,000 | ||
| 5th | $2,200,000 | ||
| 6th | Zhen Cai | United States | $1,850,000 |
| 7th | Nick Marchington | United Kingdom | $1,525,000 |
| 8th | Timothy Su | United States | $1,250,000 |
| 9th | Milos Skrbic | Serbia | $1,000,000 |
The cards should be in the air at about 6:30 p.m. local time. The action will be televised and streamed on a 30-minute delay on ESPN and PokerGO, respectively (check local listings for non-ESPN and non-ESPN-affiliated regions).
As always, the PokerNews live reporting team will on hand providing hand-for-hand coverage of the action.