2016 WPT Five Diamond Day 5: Romero Leads Final Table, Bonomo Vying For First WPT Win
The 2016 World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic Main Event reached its official final table after Day 5 concluded on Friday night. Day 5 began with 19 of the original 791 entrants remaining. It took less than seven-and-a-half hours for the field to be reduced to six players with James Romero establishing a significant lead of 9,860,000 (164 big blinds) or more than double that of Day 4 chip leader Ryan Tosoc, who currently is in second place with 4,465,000 (74 big blinds) in chips.
2016 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic Main Event Final Table
| Rank | Player | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Romero | 9,860,000 | 164 |
| 2 | Ryan Tosoc | 4,465,000 | 74 |
| 3 | Justin Bonomo | 3,360,000 | 56 |
| 4 | Igor Yaroshevskyy | 2,570,000 | 43 |
| 5 | Alex Condon | 2,265,000 | 38 |
| 6 | Jake Schindler | 1,210,000 | 20 |
Day 5 began with the 19 players spread across three tables. Despite the short-handed play, it took almost an hour for the first elimination. In a battle of the blinds Jake Schindler shoved all in from the small blind with ace-queen against Corey Hochman. According to WorldPokerTour.com, Hochman tanked before calling with ace-seven and was unable to improve to be the first player of the day eliminated in 19th place for $45,269.
From there, the number of tables was reduced from three to two. More than an hour ticked by before three-time NFL Super Bowl champion Richard Seymour ended his run to the winner's circle to hit the rails in 18th place for $52,174, despite getting it in as a three-to-two favorite against Ryan Tosoc with ace-ten vs. king-queen.
After Seymour's elimination, it took less than three hours for the field to be reduced from 17 to 10 to create the unofficial final table. The eliminations included WPT Champions Club member Tommy Vedes (16th - $52,174), David "Doc" Sands (14th - $61,382) and Tyler Reiman (11th - $76,727).
Day 5 was on the books 38 hands later. Notable players eliminated during this time included WPT Season V WPT Player of the Year JC Tran (10th - $76,727), WPT Champions Club member Taylor Paur (eighth - $153,454) and Chris Klodnicki (seventh - $207,163).
Day 6: Final Table
The final day of action is set to kick off with its televised final table on Saturday at 4 p.m. local time with blinds at 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante). While Romero currently boasts a substantial lead, many eyes are on the player currently sitting in third place, Justin Bonomo. He is vying for his first WPT title to add to his impressive resume ($12.5 million in live tournament wins according to The Hendon Mob).
The six returning players will be guaranteed at least $268,545 with hopes of etching their names into WPT history and securing the $1,938,118 top prize which includes a $15,000 seat into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions.
While the final table will be televised, poker fans will need to be patient and wait until 2017 before they will be able to view it on FOX Sports Regional Networks. Be sure to stay tuned right here on PokerNews for a recap of the final table following the completion of play.
*Lead image and data courtesy of WorldPokerTour.com
