Defending Champ Zhu Among Final Four in $1,500 Omaha Mix, Zyrin Leads
It's a rarity to talk about back-to-back-to-back final tables, but Yueqi Zhu has proved once again that the $1,500 Omaha Mix could once be called Zhu Invitational. This is the third year that it has been featured among bracelet events and Zhu has been to the final table each time.
Following his sixth place in 2017, Zhu came out on top last year to nab his first WSOP wristwear (along with $211,781). Now he's defending his title as fiercely as he can.
Zhu is bidding for the gold again, making a solid wager towards the $199,838 prize reserved for the winner of this year's 771-strong contest.
Zhu has already made it to the top four and he will come back for the final day second in chips (2,735,000), trailing only Anatolii Zyrin (3,330,000).
Zyrin has been the most active player on the final table, contesting the majority of the pots. He was able to double his stack in the final two levels of the night, with the blinds and limits increasing.
The high limits might be the biggest concern for [Removed:146] (1,960,000) and, even more so, for James Van Alstyne (585,000). Former bracelet winner Van Alstyne nursed a short stack for most of the play at the final table, but he was always able to find a double in the critical moments. He will have to go through some early spins tomorrow if he wants to be a serious challenger for the title.
With the 120,000/240,000 limits coming up next, every pot is getting more and more important. A couple of scoops might drastically change the landscape of the leaderboard as there are only 36 big bets left in play.
It is virtually guaranteed that the home stretch will be a question of a few hours, so come back to PokerNews at 2 p.m. PDT for the final session as the $1,500 Mixed Omaha is only three eliminations away from crowning its champion.