Chris Moorman has 122 big blinds, the chip lead and only 15 players to beat on his way to win more than $3 million.
He also has a very clear memory of being in a spot very similar to this last year in the 2023 WPT World Championship. That memory ends with him finishing in fourth place.
If Moorman finishes fourth or better this year, he will cross the $10 million mark in in lifetime live poker earnings. That would also catapult him into the top 150 players for lifetime earnings.
Now, however, is not the time to get ahead of oneself. There is a lot of work to be done before Moorman can think about millions.
Sixteen players remain in the 2024 WPT World Championship. Moorman may be leading them, but there are large (if very jolly) blockers on the road to the Mike Sexton Memorial trophy.
Beware the jolly Bud man
Scott Stewart was feeling it. He was full of positive vibes and at least one 12-ounce Budweiser. He was visualizing himself flopping the nuts with kind of positivity reserved for the truly optimistic.
"Maybe we go play UTH after this," Scott Stewart mused
"What's that?" Jeremy Wien asked from the other end of the table.
Stewart explained Ultimate Texas Hold'em. The way he saw it, he was full of positivity and just believing he could flop straight flushes. So, it was probably time to go cash in.
"So, you'd rather leave here where you're positive EV against everybody to go play a negative EV game in the casino?" he asked.
"Exactly!" Stewart exclaimed. "Finally! Somebody who gets me!"
Don't let Stewart fool you. He might be full of jokes and chilling in a pair of flip-flops while he drinks a Budweiser underneath his Bud cap, but he's a wrecking ball at the poker table. With nearly $900,000 in WSOP Circuit cashes (including six Circuit rings) and nearly $3 million in lifetime earnings, he's long proven himself to be much more of a monster than his goodtime image would make you believe.
He also will be three seats to Moorman's left on Friday as the final sixteen play down to the final table of six.
Final table in sight
Moorman and Stewart have nearly 25% of all chips left in play. Everybody in the final sixteen players has locked up $176,000 in prize money, and none of them seem keen on rolling over for the two top stacks. Here's how the remaining 16 stack up going into the penultimate day of play.
- Chris Moorman: 30,600,000
- Scott Stewart: 29,125,000
- Brian Yoon: 22,550,000
- Christian Roberts: 22,050,000
- Ryan Yu: 20,000,000
- Jonathan Willis: 19,275,000
- Joshua Lisberger: 19,325,000
- Fabian Gumz: 14,800,000
- Edward Pak: 13,250,000
- Anže Šmajd: 9,775,000
- Robert Sherwood: 8,950,000
- Andrea Dato: 7,725,000
- Jeremy Wien: 7,250,000
- San Kim: 6,600,000
- A.J. Kelsall: 4,600,000
- Mykhailo Lendel: 3,600,000
We lost a lot of good men that day
No matter how much you might root for a player, no matter how skillful they are, no matter how much money they've won, some days just aren't theirs.
On Day 4, many of the people we've introduced to you here left short of the big paydays. Kyle Birdwell (who was crippled in an ill-fated ace-queen versus ace-queen battle on Day 3) exited early. Niall Farrell, Mark Seif, Isaac Baron, Michael Berk, Preston McEwen, Joel Micka, Paul Volpe, and Mikita Badziakouski (who got brutalized by bad beats all day) were among the 50 players who followed Birdwell out the door.
Play in the World Championship resumes at 12pm Friday and will last until six players remain.
All photos courtesy WPT
