Cool, Calm & Collected Efthymia Litsou is WSOP Main Event's Last Woman Standing

Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S.

Jul 13, 2022 3 min read

What's at Stake
WSOP Main Event Last Woman Standing Since 2018

Efthymia Litsou, a recreational player who works as a project manager for a living in New York, is the last woman standing in the 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event, and she could be just days away from making history.

There are two potential historical accomplishments on the line starting on Day 7 for Litsou in her quest to win the $10 million first place prize. During a break on Day 6, the amateur poker player spoke with PokerNews to discuss the ride she's been on the past week.

Litsou, originally from Greece, referred to the experience of running deep in poker's most prestigious annual event as "pretty cool."

Many inexperienced players buckle under pressure deep in the Main Event, but Litsou has been noticeably calm and is playing under control.

"It's really weird, people are asking me for my name for interviews, and yeah, it hasn't sunk in," the Main Event last woman standing said of the situation she's currently experiencing.

Shelby Wells, who won a Twitter contest hosted by Nadya Magnus for a free Main Event seat, busted in 97th place for $73,100 on Tuesday, leaving Litsou as the only woman left in a field that started with 8,663 players, second most in the tournament's 53-year history.

Litsou will enter Wednesday's Day 7 session with 15,600,000 — 50 big blinds and 35 players remaining. She is guaranteed a minimum payout of $262,300. Jeffrey Farnes is the chip leader with 37,825,000. By the time the session concludes, the tournament will be down to its final table.

What's at Stake

Beyond a massive payday that she's already locked up, and could potentially win much more, Litsou has a shot to become just the second woman ever to reach the WSOP Main Event final table, and the first to win it. Poker Hall of Famer Barbara Enright finished fifth for $114,180 in 1995 and no other female since has made it that deep.

"I'll try my best, there's quite a long way to go before that," Litsou said of attempting to become the second woman at the Main Event final table. "It would be cool."

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Litsou had just $26,000 in live tournament cashes heading into the Main Event, according to Hendon Mob. So, she's in some unchartered territory. But the cool, calm, and collected demeanor she's displayed through the first six days certainly bodes well for the Greek poker player.

Her admitted limited experience playing poker isn't stopping her from achieving greatness on the biggest stage.

"I didn't expect it, so I'm quite pleased," she said of her deep run in the Main Event.

Litsou works a full-time job back in New York as a project manager and has two kids, which prevents her from playing poker more frequently. If she wins the Main Event, she might change her career path.

On Day 6, Litsou quickly built up one of the biggest stacks and was dominating the table for quite some time. With the blinds at 50,000/100,000, she had over 130 big blinds and was in full control. The luck began to go the other way and her stack dropped significantly by the dinner break, but she would bounce back and finish strong.