Seven Return for First Four Card Bracelet with Esposito in the Lead
The final seven players in Event #4: $1,500 Omaha 8 or Better will be returning today at 12 p.m. local time to battle it out for the first non-Hold'em bracelet of the summer. A total of 853 entry slips were sold in this event, accumulating a prize pool of $,1,151,550, with the winner pulling in $228,228 for first as well as a WSOP gold bracelet.
Leading the way is well-known grinder John Esposito who bagged 2,330,000 by the end of last night and will be the start of day chip leader. Esposito's resume is impressive, with over 1.2 million in WSOP cashes and a bracelet to his name. He will be looking to secure his second prestigious piece of jewelry today and put another six-figure cash on his already stacked resume.
Nipping at the heels of Esposito is Jason Berilgen with 2,145,000 in chips. Berilgen spotted a short-stack for the better part of Day 3, but showed he had the patience as he grinded his way back into contention and even had the lead for a couple of levels. He will be coming into the final day second and if he finishes in the top two will surpass his biggest cash of $131,410.
The most achieved player at the final table will be starting near the bottom in Ben Yu, who will be beginning with just three bets to start. Yu may be starting the day on the shorter side of things but he has all the talent and experience to take down this tournament. He has three bracelets and over 4 million in WSOP cashes. Yu finished second only to Shaun Deeb in the 2018 WSOP Player of the Year race and is already off to a great start here with an early final table to start the series.
Derek McMaster began the third day near the bottom and managed to spin up a third-place stack of 1,775,000. McMaster was even sitting in the lead until a few late hands knocked him down on the totem. David Halpern (1,270,000) and Joseph Aronesty (855,000) will be starting the day in the middle of the pack and Tom McCormick is on short stack duty with just 85,000. McCormick may be coming in short but has enough final table experience to make a comeback, with this being his 17th WSOP final table.
All remaining runners are now guaranteed at least a $27,530 payday and will have their eyes set on the $228,288 first place cash prize. Players will be returning at noon to 25,000/50,000 blinds with 50,000/100,000 limits. There will be a 15-minute break after every two levels of play, a dinner break is not currently in the schedule but may be added. The remaining seven will play until a champion is crowned, taking home that $228,228 top prize, as well as the priceless gold WSOP bracelet.
The final table will be airing on CBS All Access for viewers in the USA, Canada, and Australia while the rest of the world can watch along on PokerGO from 1 PM local time according to their schedule. The PokerNews live reporting team will be bringing you all of the updates throughout the final day of the event, so stay tuned as all of the action unfolds.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Counts | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derek McMaster | United States | 1,775,000 | 18 |
| 2 | Joseph Aronesty | United States | 855,000 | 9 |
| 3 | Jason Berilgen | United States | 2,145,000 | 21 |
| 4 | John Esposito | United States | 2,330,000 | 23 |
| 5 | Ben Yu | United States | 290,000 | 3 |
| 6 | David Halpern | United States | 1,270,000 | 13 |
| 7 | Tom McCormick | United States | 85,000 | 1 |