The 2017 World Series of Poker final table is set. It took seven days of poker to narrow the field from 7,221 players down to the final nine. The final table features Antoine Saout and Ben Lamb, who’ve made previous WSOP Main Event final tables before.
After a one-day lull on July 19, play begins anew on July 20-22. There is no “November Nine” this year. The July 20 session will last until the field is down to the final six. Play on July 21 continues until there are only three players left. July 22 continues until someone is the WSOP Main Event winner.
2017 World Series of Poker Final Table
Below is a short profile of the nine remaining competitors. This list includes several players with big reputations in the online poker industry, along with a player well-known in the South American and Latin American poker scenes.
Several amateurs placed among the finalists. Like most WSOP Main Event final tables these days, most members of the final nine are lesser known. Still, a couple of players have made deep runs in the Main Event before. While anyone who wins is going to make history, Ben Lamb and Antoin Saout each have a chance to distinguish themselves in a way few players do.
Scott Blumstein: 97.2 Million Chips
The chip leader heading into the final table is Scott Blumstein (@SBlum2711) from Morristown, New Jersey. The 25-year old Blumstein is a tournament grinder, but he had an unorthodox strategy for the 2017 WSOP. He decided to skip the other 70-odd events and enter the Main Event only (for the first time).
Mr. Blumstein (pictured above) won a $560 no-limit hold’em tournament at the Borgata earlier this year, so he got a free entry into the Main Event. The $199,854 in winnings from the Borgata event equals roughly two-thirds of his career earnings in tournament poker.
Scott Blumstein started playing poker in organized events about 4 years ago, after graduating from Temple University. He got a degree in accounting from Temple, so he’s got a naturally mathemetical mind. Though his competitive card playing began relatively recently, Scott Blumstein said he began playing poker early in his childhood, and poker is his life at the moment.
He added, “I never really had a ‘real’ job. I started watching and playing poker when Moneymaker won. I was just a kid. I know that sounds a bit cliche. Being here now and playing under the lights is so surreal. Day 7 was the first day I was on a feature table. I had to get used to the lights and cameras, but I settled in quickly and just tried to focus on the poker. A tournament is just a tournament and at the end of the day, it’s all poker.”
John Hesp: 87.9 Million Chips
John Hesp would be the oldest champion since 1974.
John Hesp, a 64-year old player from the United Kingdom, is the most colorful figure at the final table. The caravan home salesman said he’s never played for more than £10 before the current event.
Now John Hasp has $1 million in his pocket and is playing for the $8.1 million prize. Mr. Hesp, who resides in Bridlington, Hull, is one of two finalists from the United Kingdom, alongside Jack Sinclair of London.
Hesp says this is the “most surreal” event in his life, and describes himself as the Donald Trump of poker — “an amateur”.
Though he’s an amateur, John Hesp honed his skills playing at the Napoleon’s Casino & Restaurant in Hull. If he won the WSOP Main Event, Hesp would be the oldest player to win since 1974. With his loud suits, charming British accent, and elder status, John Hesp is a crowd favorite.
Benjamin Pollack: 35.175 Million Chips
The step down from 2nd place to 3rd place in the chip leader is drastic. Next is Benjamin Pollack of France, who holds a little over 35 million in chips. Benjamin Pollack is the 8th all-time leader in poker winnings for a Frenchman. He has 85 career cashes and a 12 WSOP money finishes. Pollack has cashed in a World Series of Poker event every year (besides 2012) since 2010.
Brian Piccioli: 33.8 Million Chips
Next is Brian Piccioli, an American who has been one of the most prolific online poker players of the decade. Piccioli has $6,361,566 in earnings from his online poker career. PocketFives.com named him the top online card player in the world in May 2011.
Those who follow the WSOP might remember that Brian Piccioli was the chip leader after Day 4 of last year’s WSOP Main Event. He stumbled in Day 5, went on tilt, and was eliminated in 84th place by Jerry Wong. Piccioli said of last year’s tumble, “I just kind of brain-farted myself out of the tournament.”
Describing the flame-out in the 2016 event, Piccioli said, “We started battling a little bit, and I just kind of let some things start getting to me that I shouldn’t have started let getting to me — and I lost my focus. I think about those mistakes I made on almost a weekly basis. And yeah, here I am again, and I’m just kind of taking a more casual approach and just letting things come to me instead of going out and trying to get it.”
Dan Ott: 26.475 Million Chips
Dan Ott of the United States is 5th-place in chips at the moment. The 26-year old resident of Altoona, Pennsylvania has two cashes in the WSOP this year, but Ott says he has little tournament experience otherwise. The relative unknown card player told PokerNews, “This is one of the first tournaments I’ve played and cashed in. This is a huge opportunity for me. I’ve been playing online, studying a little bit, trying to get better. I was able to take a shot out here, and it’s obviously going really well.”
Saying his bluffs have been working to this point, Dan Ott admitted that things have gone his way in the key hands. Ott said, “I’ve been winning some all ins. And winning the all ins is what has helped the most. Kings versus Ace-King. I held with that. Top pair versus a flush draw and that held.
“People have been making some aggressive plays against me, like ace-high shoving into my set. So, yeah, it’s been going my way.”
Damian Salas: 22.17 Million Chips
Damian Salas of Chascomus, Argentina is the 6th-place chip leader. The 42-year old Argentine brings a veteran poker ambiance to the final table, with salt-and-pepper beard, mirror shades, and leather jacket. Salas described his general attitude, along with his strategy for this event, saying, “The truth is I play to win, and that’s what I am going to keep doing. This whole time, the last few days, I’ve been calm. I never let myself think too far ahead — to think about getting to the final table. I never let myself look at how much money there was”
Mr. Salas is a regular in the South American poker scene, with $919,000 in live tournament winnings. He also has $3 million in online poker earnings, so Damian Salas is a veteran player. As the tournament progressed, the savvy card player said he’s begun to feel the drama of the moment.
Salas added, “The truth is, I’m feeling many emotions. It was seven days of a poker marathon with a lot of adrenaline, a lot of ups and downs.”
Antoine Saout: 21.75 Million Chips
Antoine Saout is making his second trip to the WSOP Main Event final table. In 2009, Saout made the November Nine and finished 3rd in the event, becoming the first Frenchman to make the final table. The 33-year old said he is a much better player now, adding, “Before, in ’09, I was just starting to play tournaments. I think it was my seventh tournament live. Now, I have nine years of poker (and) I play a lot better, I think. I know how to do it. I prepare. Maybe some people don’t know.”
Mr. Saout seems to have the Main Event figured out. Besides his 3rd place finish in 2009, Antoine Saout finished 25th in the event last year. Unfortunately, he comes into the final table 7th in chips.
Jack Sinclair: 20.2 Million Chips
The 26-year old Jack Sinclair has been a professional poker player for 2 years. Though he is not well known in the US poker community and has only three live tournament cashes (and $13,500 in earnings), Sinclair is friends with Philipp Gruissem and Anton Morgenstern and presumably has a lot of experience playing against elite players.
Like Antoine Saout, Jack Sinclair is playing with a short chip stack, so he is going to have to be sharp and a little lucky at the final table. If he can stick around any length of time, Sinclair could make a lasting impression on the poker viewing public. Jack Sinclair said he quickly gains a reputation at any table he plays.
In interviews after making the final table, Sinclair said cryptically, “As soon as I sit down at a table, people automatically assume I’m three betting them light and doing a bunch of crazy stuff….They might think, ‘This guy is going to be a huge fish.’ I sit down and play one hand, and my image is completely gone. Maybe the first hand I play, I can get away with something. But overall no.”
Ben Lamb: 18.05 Million Chips
Ben Lamb is another name WSOP fans might remember. Lamb made deep runs in 2009 and 2011. In 2009, Ben Lamb finished 14th. In 2011, Ben Lamb made the final table and was the chip leader, looking to all the world like he was going to win the event. He eventually busted out in 3rd place and took home over $4 million.
Lamb still seems in awe of the fact he’s made it this far in the tournament again. He told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “I don’t care if you’re 10 times better than the second-best player in the world. The odds are staggering to get to the (Main Event) final table once, let alone twice in six years.”
The Las Vegas resident knows he is facing long odds at the final table, since he has the fewest chips of any competitor. When asked whether his experience would be an advantage, Lamb suggested that his experience helped in the last stage of the event. Still, he downplayed the idea that his prior experience is going to help in the final nine. Lamb said, “I think the experience factor is big, but I think it’s big with like 30 to 40 people left and like 20 left and like 15 left or so.
“Basically, we’re playing a single-table, sit-and-go, which I assume everyone in this field has played more of those than me….I think everyone will play as expected. There’s some crazy people at the table.”
Where to Watch the WSOP Main Event Final Table
PokerGo offered live streaming of the World Series of Poker Main Event this year, but night sessions took place on ESPN and ESPN2 television and WatchESPN live streaming simulacasts. For the WSOP final table, ESPN2 carries the online and television simulcast on July 20. On the final two nights, broadcasts take place live on ESPN. WatchESPN has live streaming all three nights.
ESPN2 has a preview of the WSOP Final Table on July 19 at 10pm ET. Keep in mind that the Nevada Gaming Commission requires a 30-minute delay of the live coverage, so the ESPN simulcasts are going to be “virtually live”. Those wanting up-to-the-minute updates will need to follow via Twitter or other social media.
