Three days of play have come and gone at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort. The final six players remain in the WPT Rolling Thunder Main Event, battling for the $361,660 top prize, which includes a WPT World Championship entry and an engraved spot on the Mike Sexton Cup.
The final table is abundant with experience on the felt, and the viewers are the winners. The rest of the play will be live-streamed on YouTube and Twitch on a 30-minute delay, starting at 12:30 pm Pacific time. Let’s take a look at who’s still in the field.
WPT Rolling Thunder Main Event final table
| Place | Player | Chip count | Big blinds |
| 1 | Alejandro Jauregui | 10,450,000 | 105 |
| 2 | Tony Dunst | 7,125,000 | 71 |
| 3 | Albert Tapia | 4,500,000 | 45 |
| 4 | Victor Paredes | 3,125,000 | 31 |
| 5 | Scott Eskenazi | 2,150,000 | 22 |
| 6 | Jeremy Joseph | 2,050,000 | 21 |
Chip Leader Alejandro Jauragui – 105 big blinds
Alejandro Jauragui comes in with a large chip lead over the field. Jauragui has nearly $300,000 in live earnings according to Hendon Mob. With eyes on the top prize, he’s looking for his biggest cash on record when cards hit the air this afternoon. He’s done this before, as he took down a large-field tournament back in 2021 at the Sycuan Casino in San Diego, California.
Tony Dunst – 71 big blinds
Tony Dunst‘s résumé is extensive. WPT Ambassador, commentator, and Champions Club Member scratch the surface. Today, he’ll be skirting his duties in the commentary booth to focus on securing another WPT title, attempting to be one of the few to get his name on the trophy multiple times. With nearly $4 million in live earnings, he knows how to close the deal.
He suffered a rough loss near the end of the day when he lost a flip with pocket tens that left him with less than 10 big blinds. Undeterred, he battled back quickly to run his stack back up among the leaders. That has to inspire confidence as he returns this afternoon.
Albert Tapia – 45 big blinds
Albert Tapia comes in all smiles to the final table, and with good reason. With a mere $12,443 in live earnings, he’s already locked up $73,400 for his deep run this event. But make no mistake, Tapia has shown no signs of not being able to rise to the occasion. Navigating down to the final six has been no easy task, and he knows these spots don’t come around often. With his biggest score already secured, how far can he take this run?
Victor Paredes – 31 big blinds
Victor Paredes has just under $1 million in live cashes. None of that matters when you look at his success here at his home turf. Thunder Valley has been very good to him. Just over a year ago, he won a WSOP Circuit Ring for $169,294 here. Additionally, just about a week ago, he finished in second place in the $1,000, $1 Million GTD tournament at this festival. Home-field advantage can be a very real thing on the felt.
Scott Eskenazi – 22 big blinds
Scott Eskenazi has 15 years worth of results on Hendon Mob, with about 850k to show for his work. His very first recorded cash was a nearly $50k win at the Venetian. He’s had some deep runs and big scores since that lightning-in-a-bottle start, but hasn’t found the winner’s podium since. With 22 big blinds, he has some room for play, and will look to recreate the magic from 2008.
Jeremy Joseph – 21 big blinds
Ah, the bittersweet position of making the final table but being the short stack. All eyes are on Jeremy Joseph to see if he’ll battle up the leaderboard, or bow out early. He has 21 big blinds, so don’t count him out yet. He also knows what’s it like to go deep in WPT Main Events, with two final tables to his name in the 2018 season. He has over $2 million in live cashes, so he knows anything can happen in tournament poker. He’ll look to spin it up early to grab a spot on the Mike Sexton Cup.
Remaining payouts
| Place | Prize |
| 1st | $361,600* |
| 2nd | $234,000 |
| 3rd | $172,000 |
| 4th | $128,000 |
| 5th | $97,000 |
| 6th | $73,400 |
Final table action
Cards are in the air at 12 pm Pacific time. The live stream will be available on a 30-minute delay. A new champion will be crowned today.
All photos by: WPT/Joe Giron
