2018 WSOP Main Event Final Table: Tony Miles Leads, Joe Cada's Run Comes To An End

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The 2018 World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in main event drew a massive field of 7,874 entries, the second largest turnout ever for poker’s marquee tournament. After 12 full days of poker action, that field has been narrowed down to just three players left with a shot at the championship bracelet and the $8,800,000 first-place prize.

Friday, July 13th saw six players return to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino for the second day of final table action. This date is associated with bad luck, and that seems to have been the case for 2009 WSOP main event champion Joe Cada (pictured above). Nine years after outlasting a field of 6,494 entries to win it all in 2009, Cada outlasted 7,869 players in this year’s main event in what has to go down as one of the most impressive accomplishment’s in tournament poker history.

Cada came into the day as the second shortest stack and laddered up one payout spot when Aram Zobian shoved his last 17 blinds with 86 and ran into the A8 of chip leader Michael Dyer. Zobian failed to come from behind and he was knocked out in sixth place, earning $1,800,000.

Cada locked up a larger payday with Zobian’s elimination, but he surely had his heart set on becoming the first two-time main event winner of the modern era of the WSOP. The three-time bracelet winner’s incredible run was halted in a huge hand that changed the trajectory of the final table. Fresh off of winning a few pots, Cada picked up the 1010 and raised to 2.2 million from under the gun. Tony Miles three-bet to 6.9 million from the button holding the AK. Cada had started the hand with just less than 48 big blinds, an awkward stack size in this situation. He elected to move all-in over the top of Miles’ raise, sending his opponent into the tank for several minutes. Miles eventually made the call, and the two were in a preflop coin flip for a massive pot worth roughly 85 million chips. The board ran out K98Q9 and Cada was sent to the rail in fourth place.

While Cada’s run came to an end, Tony Miles’ was just getting a run toward the top of the leaderboard started. After that hand his stack surged to 104.5 million, enough to see him jump into second chip position behind Michael Dyer, who had entered the day as the dominant chip leader with just shy of 40 percent of the chips in play.

Miles, a 32-year-old poker pro based out of Florida, clashed with Dyer just a few orbits later in a massive pot. John Cynn opened 2.1 million from under the gun with J9 and Miles called from the button holding the 33 and Dyer came along from the big blind holding the 43. The flop brought the K43 and Dyer and Cynn checked to Miles, who bet 4.3 million with his set. Dyer raised to 14.3 million and Cynn folded. Miles made the call and the 5 hit the turn. Dyer bet 21.4 million with his two pair and Miles called with his bottom set. The K hit the river, counterfeiting Dyer’s two pair and giving Miles a full house. Dyer checked, Miles bet 27 million and Dyer called. With that Miles overtook the lead, chipping up to over 182 million while Dyer fell to just shy of 130 million.

Nicolas Manion entered the nine-handed final table as the chip leader, but he quickly relinquished the top spot on the leaderboard to Dyer and never really got much traction. He was able to double up through Dyer during four-handed play, and while that took a chunk out of the former leader Manion was still left as the shortest stack. Miles used his newfound chips to put pressure on the other three players and expand his lead.

In the end Manion took his final stand with A10, shoving all-in for just shy of 24 million over the top of a raise to 3.8 million from John Cynn on the button. Cynn quickly called with the KK. The board ran out Q6326 and Cynn’s kings held up to earn him the pot. Manion was awarded $2,825,000 as the fourth-place finisher. The 35-year-old from Muskegon, Michigan had just less than $17,000 in live tournament earning before this huge score. In fact, Manion had never played in a WSOP tournament prior to this year’s main event.

With Manion’s elimination play was halted for the night, with Cynn securing his claim on the second largest stack with while Dyer limped across the finish line with just 16 big blinds. The final three will return at 5:30 p.m. Pacific time on Saturday, July 14 to play down to a champion. Action will resume with just more than 50 minutes left in level 40, with blinds of 800,000-1,600,000 with an ante of 200,000. The final three have all locked up at least a $3,750,000 payday, but surely have their eyes on the title and the $8.8 million up top.

Here is a look at the chip counts of the final three players:

For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2018 WSOP landing page complete with a full schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.

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