Ryan Hagerty (5,075,000 -- 34 BBs)
While most poker players were likely disappointed in having to play the 2020 WSOP Main Event online, that fell right into the wheelhouse of Ryan Hagerty, who has been one of the most successful players on the regulated U.S. sites over the past few years. There, he has racked up almost $2 million in cashes while climbing the PocketFives rankings into the national top 15, where he currently sits.
However, the 28-year-old only hopped into this tournament on a late whim thanks to what he called "late FOMO." Managing to sell 50% of his action, he made a run to the final table with the third-place chip stack, putting him in pretty strong position with pay jumps coming up that are bigger than his biggest live cash of $70K according to HendonMob.
Once at the final table, the confident Hagerty will get the pleasure of sharing the experience with Michael Cannon, one of his good friends in the industry who happens to be fifth in chips. The two have roomed together for live tournaments in the past and now compete against each other in the hunt for $1.5 million.
"We were kind of like, ‘Is this going to happen? Is this really going to happen?’" Hagerty said. "I couldn’t believe it. It’s pretty amazing to share this experience with somebody I’m pretty close with.”
As one of the few full-time pros in the final nine, with a solid chip stack, Hagerty said one of the keys will be ignoring the money jumps and simply playing poker.
"Even on Day 2, I wasn’t worried about busting the tournament," he said. "I can’t be thinking about that; about how big the moment is. I just have to play my game, focus, and I kept that approach until I got to the final table.”