2015 WSOP Main Event Chip Leader Wins Poker Tournament Two Weeks Before November Nine

In the years since the November Nine format was adopted for the World Series of Poker main event final table in 2008, it has been commonplace for WSOP final tablists to play a few live tournaments in the intervening months to keep their skills sharp. Some have made deep runs in events like when Ivan Demidov finished third in WSOP Europe main event a month before becoming the runner-up for the inaugural November Nine final table. Or when Kevin Schaffel and Steven Begleiter final tabled the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker main event a month after making the 2009 WSOP main event final table.

In keeping with this burgeoning tradition, 2015 WSOP main event chip leader Joseph McKeehen tried his hand in this year’s Wynn Fall Poker Classic $300,000 guaranteed $1,600 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event earlier this week. From a field of 267 entries he emerged victorious, defeating Seth Berger heads up to capture the title just under two weeks before the WSOP main event is set to resume.

For the win McKeehen earned $90,125 and 432 Card Player Player of the Year points. Perhaps more importantly, he also gained crucial experience in closing out a final table as his impending showdown for a top prize of $7,680,021 and the title of World Champion loomed.

McKeehen comes into the final table with 64,100,000 in chips, or 158 big blinds when play resumes with limits of 200,000-400,000 with an ante of 50,000. McKeehen ran away with the lead as the main event field was narrowed down to just nine, sending poker’s biggest star Daniel Negreanu to the rail in 11th place en route to bagging up 32.76 percent of the chips in play (the most of any November Nine chip leader).

Also of note is the fact that McKeehen played with 2008 WSOP November Niner Dennis Phillips at the final table of this Wynn event. Phillips, who finished third in the 2008 main event for $4,517,773, placed fourth in this tournament.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at this final table:

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