Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy Leads Final 18 at Dinner Break on Day 7 of WSOP Main Event
Day 7 of the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event kicked off at noon on Monday with 27 players remaining from the original 6,737 that started. Vojtech Ruzicka led the way to start, but at the dinner break it was Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy sitting atop the final 18.
| Seat | Player | Chips | Seat | Player | Chips | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Kassouf | 22,525,000 | 1 | Vojtech Ruzicka | 30,825,000 | |
| 2 | Michael Niwinski | 8,850,000 | 2 | Michael Ruane | 37,100,000 | |
| 3 | John Cynn | 11,200,000 | 3 | James Obst | 5,100,000 | |
| 4 | Andrew Christoforou | 8,000,000 | 4 | Mike Shin | 21,125,000 | |
| 5 | Joshua Weiss | 11,000,000 | 5 | Qui Nguyen | 17,750,000 | |
| 6 | Jerry Wong | 22,425,000 | 6 | Tom Marchese | 19,450,000 | |
| 7 | Griffin Benger | 17,425,000 | 7 | Jared Bleznick | 6,800,000 | |
| 8 | Fernando Pons | 23,500,000 | 8 | Kenny Hallaert | 25,675,000 | |
| 9 | Gordon Vayo | 6,475,000 | 9 | Cliff Josephy | 41,575,000 |
The first elimination of the day belonged to Christopher Kusha, and he was followed quickly out the door by Philip Postma. Not too long after that, Michael Ruane played a big pot against Australian James Obst that saw Ruane move all in on the river over the top of a bet from Obst. Obst folded, and Ruane vaulted into the chip lead.
Although the first two bust outs came quick, there was a lull in the action before Adam Krach and Antoine Saout hit the rail, both falling on the same hand to Kakwan Lau. On this hand, Krach had opened to 500,000, Saout moved all in for 3.2 million on the button, Lau four-bet out of the small blind, and then Krach called all in for 5.84 million. It was a clash of aces for Lau, queens for Krach, and sevens for Saout, and the aces scooped it all to bust two players.
Valentin Vornicu then busted in 23rd, Jeff Hakim hit the rail in 22nd, Matthew Moss was out in 21st, and then Lau finished in 20th despite winning the big three-way all-in pot earlier. Lau's final hand occurred when he jammed with the 2♣2♥ and Ruzicka called with the A♣10♣ before hitting trips on the flop.
With 19 players left, the click ticked down to zero for the third level of the day and it looked like all 19 would head to dinner break. But then, Thomas Miller moved all in and got called by Tom Marchese on one of the outer tables, and it resulted in Miller's bust in 19th. His K♥J♦ flopped a king for top pair against the A♦Q♥ for Marchese, but the A♠ on the turn gave Marchese the win.
Two 888poker qualifiers also remain at dinner break with 18 left, including Fernando Pons with 23.5 million and Griffin Benger with 17,425 million. Benger finished 90th in the 2014 WSOP Main Event for $72,369 and 304th in the 2012 WSOP Main Event for $38,453. He qualified for this event via a $160 qualifier on 888poker.
The final 18 are guaranteed $338,288, but Day 7 is all about reaching the final table of the world's most prestigious poker tournament. Stay tuned to PokerNews.com find out who makes it.
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