Victoria Larkin was down to just three big blinds earlier in the night, but for an experienced tournament grinder there is always hope when you have a few chips in hand.

Larkin has more than a few chips to work with now, as she stormed back from the severe short stack to amass the highest count of the 39 players left in contention.

The money bubble will be burst when the 28th player goes broke, and Larkin is in prime position to begin abusing the bubble with her big stack. Larkin should know how to wield the chips at her disposal, as the young player told us she has learned from some of the game's up-and-coming stars. Matt Affleck - who took down the Six-Max event here earlier in the series - and Tyler Patterson - who just missed final tabling the WPT Main Event today - are longtime friends of Larkin's who have had her back while she learned the ropes of tournament poker.

Larkin played earlier this week on Day 1b of the WPT Main Event, and although she fell short there, today's impressive comeback from crippled to chip leader provides a chance to join Affleck and Patterson at the payout desk to clear a bit of profit from yet another poker journey.

We'll let you know how Larkin fares a bit later, so stay tuned to see if she can best Patterson's performance with a final table run, and match Affleck's with a win here at the Borgata Winter Poker Open.

Tags: Matt AffleckTyler PattersonVictoria Larkin