WSOP Day #47: Final table hopes alive as Kristen Foxen aims to make history

Kristen Foxen has more bracelets than the rest of the Main Event field combined
Howard Swains
Howard Swains
Posted on: July 14, 2024 04:35 PDT

The $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event reduced its remaining field by more than two thirds during a punishing day on Saturday, but miraculously all its principal, scintillating storylines continue to be written.

The hopes of the No 1 ranked woman player in world poker, Kristen Foxen, seemed certain to be snuffed out during an especially gruelling passage of play in Las Vegas, but she found a miracle river card to keep her alive and begin a fresh resurgence. Foxen went from the brink of elimination to a top-five stack with now only 18 players left.

Kristen Foxen, center, and Niklas Astedt, right, are central to the two most compelling Main Event storylines Kristen Foxen, center, and Niklas Astedt, right, are central to the two most compelling Main Event storylines
Matthew Berglund

This tournament started more than a week ago with a record-breaking field of 10,112 players. But now the final table is in clear sight and Foxen is brilliantly placed to become the first woman to make it there since 1995. She has a stack of 47.4M, which is 59 big blinds.

The online sensation Niklas Astedt is right beside Foxen in the chip counts, attempting to bring his all-conquering virtual game to the live environment. Astedt has neither the name nor the face recognition of live poker's most established stars, but as 'Lena900' at the online tables he is a peerless tournament titan. He is demonstrating to the live players in Las Vegas what his online opponents have endured for many years, and his stack of 50M (63 big blinds) is more than enough for him to push home an advantage.