2016 World Poker Tour Choctaw Main Event -- Bastian Fischer Leads Final SixCraig Varnell, James Mackey and Benjamin Zamani In With A Shot At The $681,758 Top Prize |
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The second ever World Poker Tour Choctaw $3,700 no-limit hold’em main event drew a field of 1,066 entries to blow away the $3 million guarantee and create a $3,619,070 prize pool.
Over the span of three days the field has be narrowed down to a final table of six players, each of whom have their eyes on the WPT title and the first-place prize of $681,758 (including a $15,000 entry into the WPT Tournament of Champions at the end of the season.)
Here is a look at the remaining payouts on over for the finalists:
Place | Payout |
1 | $681,758 |
2 | $412,234 |
3 | $306,346 |
4 | $230,300 |
5 | $175,122 |
6 | $134,720 |
The chip leader heading into the final day is Bastian Fischer with 8,780,000 which is good for 73 big blinds. The German poker pro will have plenty of tough competition to deal with including 201 Aria WPT500 winner Craig Varnell (7,495,000), WSOP bracelet winner James Mackey (6,315,000) and three-time WPT final tablist and bracelet winner himself Benjamin Zamani (3,300,000).
The last player in the field who had previously won a WPT title was 2009 Borgata Poker Open main event champion Olivier Busquet. Busquet came incredibly close to his second final table on the tour, but ultimately was eliminated in seventh place when his JJ lost an all-in preflop race against Craig Varnell’s AQ. The board ran out K973J to give Varnell the flush and the massive pot that propelled him into second chip position.
Play is set to resume at 4:00 PM central time on Tuesday and continue until the next WPT champion is crowned. Here is a look at the chip counts and seating positions for the final table:
Seat 1. James Mackey – 6,315,000
Seat 2. Matthew Smith – 2,330,000
Seat 3. Craig Varnell – 7,495,000
Seat 4. Bastian Fischer – 8,780,000
Seat 5. Benjamin Zamani – 3,300,000
Seat 6. Jack Duong – 3,750,000