Phil Hellmuth, J.C. Tran Headline Final Table at WPT Legends of Poker
Another exciting day of the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker at The Bicycle Hotel & Casino saw the field dwindle from 24 to the final six from an original 763 total entries. The TV final table is set with none other than two-time WPT champion J.C. Tran still leading the way and Phil Hellmuth in search of his first title.
Final Table Lineup
| Seat | Player | Chip Count | Number of Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat 1 | D.J. Alexander | 2,730,000 | 34 bb |
| Seat 2 | Adam Swan | 1,655,000 | 21 bb |
| Seat 3 | Marvin Rettenmaier | 1,225,000 | 15 bb |
| Seat 4 | Art Papazyan | 6,005,000 | 75 bb |
| Seat 5 | J.C. Tran | 8,295,000 | 104 bb |
| Seat 6 | Phil Hellmuth | 2,940,000 | 37 bb |
It’s a very significant final table for each of the final six.
Tran has two WPT titles to his credit (and two WSOP bracelets), and says he has been “chasing number three” for a while now. A third title would put him in an elite group of individuals with three WPT titles: Darren Elias, Gus Hansen, Carlos Mortensen, Chino Rheem, and Anthony Zinno.
He bagged by far the biggest stack with 8,295,000. According to Tran, he made four or five sets on Day 4 and was able to extract max value every time. He also made call-downs with marginal hands and kept being right.
He told reporters at the end of the day, "I feel like my instincts were dead on. Not only did I hit sets, but my opponents made hands and found ways to put chips in the pot. Ran good today for sure."
For the final table, Tran said he thinks the cameras and everything could affect play, so his plan is to "pay attention to what’s going on, see what style everyone is playing and adjust to that."
The next biggest stack belongs to Papazyan with 6,005,000. Papazyan’s biggest tournament cash to this point is $16,130, so it’s safe to say this is a significant one for him. He has already locked up at least $91,825 and is in good position to win more than that, beginning the day second in chips.
Third in chips behind Papazyan to start the final table is the WPT’s newest member, Raw Deal Analyst Phil Hellmuth. Despite being the all-time leader in WSOP bracelets with 14 with plenty of other notable poker accolades, Hellmuth has yet to capture that elusive WPT title. He’s made three WPT final tables, has had 13 WPT cashes totaling more than $1 million, but still, no title.
He seeks to change that today, coming in with a third-place stack of 2,940,000.
Fourth in chips to start the day is D.J. Alexander with 2,730,000. Alexander took second in the WSOP $1,500 buyin Millionaire Maker in June and now that he is in another big spot, hopes to close it out.
“It would mean everything. Since I missed out on winning a bracelet this summer, a WPT title, especially a televised one, would be great."
As a poker pro from Houston, Texas, he’s also donating five percent of his winnings in the tournament to the Hurricane Harvey relief efforts in his hometown, giving him all the more to play for.
Adam Swan begins the day fifth in chips with 1,655,000. Swan, from nearby Irvine, California, will be booking his biggest tournament cash to date in this event, like Papazyan. Before his cash in the WSOP Main Event this summer for $53,247 (150th place), he did not have a tournament cash over $10,000. That will change today.
Marvin Rettenmaier will start the day as the short stack with 1,225,000. He is also the only other player besides Tran with a WPT title, and like Tran, he also has two of them, looking to add a third to tie the record for most WPT titles.
Day 4 Eliminations
Among the 18 eliminations of the day were L.A. pro Oddie Dardon in 9th place ($43,570), David “ODB” Baker in 11th place ($31,510), Jason Les in 17th place ($22,685), two-time WPT champion Tuan Le in 19th place ($19,880), Garrett Greer in 20th place ($19,880), and Allan Le, the first elimination of the day, in 24th place ($17,430).
The TV Final Table Bubble
Tran had momentarily lost the chip lead to Art Papazyan three hands before, but regained it in the final hand of the night when he eliminated David “Doc” Sands in seventh place.
It was the 111th hand of the final table and Tran opened to 170,000 from the cutoff. Sands made it 560,000 from the small blind and after the big blind folded, Tran moved all in. Sands called all-in for around 2,500,000 with K♠K♥ and was in good shape against Tran’s A♦Q♠.
Unfortunately for Sands, the flop came Q♥Q♦6♠, giving Tran trips to take a commanding lead in the hand. Sands would need one of two remaining kings in the deck to win. The 3♦ turn changed nothing, and the Q♣ on the river gave Tran quads for the nail in the coffin. Sands made his exit in seventh, collecting a consolation prize of $72,985.
TV Final Table Rundown
The televised final table of six will kick off at 4 p.m. PT and fans at home can watch the livestream on a 30-minute delay at PokerGO.com. The Action Clock will continue to be in play so players will have 30 seconds for each action, unless they toss in a time-extension chip that buys them 30 additional seconds. Each player will start the day with eight.
Cards go in the air at 4 p.m. PT and blinds start in Level 29 at 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante. They will play down to a winner, who will be getting $668,692 in addition to a snazzy Hublot Big Band Steel watch, and their name on the WPT Champions Cup.
Images courtesy of WPT/Flickr
