Can Higgs Use His Big Chip Advantage to Play His Way to a WSOP Bracelet?
Four events are in the books here at the 2014 World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific, and by the end of the night it'll be five as Event #5 $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, a tournament that attracted 80 players and created a prize pool of AU$376,000, looks to play down from the final six to a champion.
The man best positioned to capture the AU$127,843 first-place is Sam Higgs, who holds a 4-1 chip lead over his nearest competitor. Higgs had an up-and-down day on Day 2, but obviously he ended it on a high note.
Even with a big chip lead, Higgs won't have it easy. Standing in his way is an accomplished table of pros including 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event champ Jonathan Duhamel, who begins the day second in chips. Duhamel looks to equal Joe Cada's feat this past summer by becoming just the second former Main Event champ to win another bracelet since Carlos Mortensen.
Also still in contention is Mike Watson, who made a miraculous comeback on Day 2. He was crippled by Brian Roberts and left with just 1,500 in chips at the 1,000/2,000 blind level. Some fortuitous doubles saw him work that stack back up, and now he begins the third and final day third in chips. German pro Ismael Bojang; Australian superstar Jeff Rossiter; and Day 1 chip leader Jamie Pickering round out the final table of six, which was established last night after Richard Johnston (8th – AU$15,021) and Kahle Burns (7th – AU$17,386) hit the rail.
Here’s a look at today's final table:
| Seat | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Watson | 145,000 |
| 2 | Ismael Bojang | 44,000 |
| 3 | Sam Higgs | 667,000 |
| 4 | Jeff Rossiter | 63,500 |
| 5 | Jonathan Duhamel | 153,000 |
| 6 | Jamie Pickering | 99,500 |
Cards will be in the air at 12:10 p.m. local time, which is about an hour from now. Of course the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on hand to capture all the action from the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, so stay tuned.