Chino Rheem leads a tough final eight at the $25k World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championships at The Bellagio. Daniel Negreanu and Erick Lindgren can still make it three WPT Main Event titles as they remain in the hunting pack.
After five 90-minute levels, 24 of the best players in the world have been reduced to a boiling pot of eight, and the unpredictable Chino Rheem is at the helm with 4,839,000 chips at the $25k WPT World Championships at The Bellagio.
Only 15-players were going to receive a pay check during the punch up on Day Four and there were a few big names that just fell shy of a $49,210 score: Andrew Lichtenberger, Jason Mercier, Jake Cody and Andy Frankenberger with nothing but the insides of a balloon to show for their efforts.
Poker can be a cruel game and this morning nobody knows that better than Hyon Kim. Dan Shak ended the South Korean’s tournament in the position of ‘bubble boy’ after queens met tens and tens was left lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
Chino Rheem eliminated Jeffrey Ishbia in 15th place to take a huge chip lead. The money went in on the turn on a board of [5c] [4s] [3s] [6s] with Rheem holding [As] [Kc], for the over cards and nut flush draw, and Ishbia was holding [Ad] [5d] for the flopped top pair. The [Ts] on the river handing Rheem the luck he needed and that pot saw him sail to the top of the charts.
“I came in with 27BB, started really short… then I got really lucky against LuckyChewy, he put it in with ace-king and I called with ace-five…hit a five… then I won a flip 99 v QJ and cruised from there. It felt good as soon as I got it in against Chewy.” Rheem told the WPT Sideline Reporter Jeanine Deeb after the day had ended.
Rheem has got a lot of talent for company though. The last time we saw Erick Lindgren on the poker circuit he was appearing in every magazine telling the world that he was broke after a crushing gambling addiction. Well somebody must have fancied his chances, and he is repaying their faith, as he comes into Day Five in second spot with 2,518,000 chips. Lindgren is one of two men hoping to join Carlos Mortensen and Gus Hansen in the echelons of people who have won three WPT Main Event titles.
The other player on that par is the in-form Daniel Negreanu. Kid Poker is on a roll after winning the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific (WSOP-APAC) Main Event, and finishing fourth at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final in Monte Carlo last week, and he will start as the short stack with 545k.
The WPT Season XI Player of the Year race is still not concluded. Amir Babakhani was eliminated in ninth spot, so it won’t be him, but Jonathan Roy can still pick off Matt Salsberg if he can win this event, and the Canadian will start in third spot with 1,987,000 when Day Five gets underway at noon (PT)
“Tomorrow we are going to stay in cruise control and let nature take its course.” Said Rheem.
Somehow we just can’t see that happening.
Final Eight
- Chino Rheem – 4,839,000
- Erick Lindgren – 2,518,000
- Jonathan Roy – 1,987,000
- Matt Hyman – 1,940,000
- Brandon Steven – 1,235,000
- David Peters – 858,000
- Rocco Palumbo – 680,000
- Daniel Negreanu – 545,000
