Shiva Dudani Rides Post-Dinner Heater to Final Five Chip Lead of $10,000 PLO Championship
After a fast-paced day with bursts of lightning-quick eliminations, just five players remain to vie for the title in WSOP Event #69: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship (8-Handed).
The man to beat will be two-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Shiva Dudani of Chicago, Illinois, who lit the tournament on fire after dinner, winning the two largest pots of the event to first take the chip lead, and then solidify it to bring 15,650,000 into Tuesday’s Day 4.
Michael Duek will go in with the second-most chips (9,405,000), while Tom Hu, who had the chip lead for much of the evening until he lost a huge pot to Dudani, comes in third with 7,330,000.
Tuesday’s final five will be playing for the $1,246,770 top prize and one of the most prestigious of World Series of Poker bracelets available.
Seat Assignments for the Final Day
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joachim Haraldstad | Norway | 3,580,000 | 30 |
| 2 | Sean Troha | United States | 5,045,000 | 42 |
| 3 | Tom Hu | United States | 7,330,000 | 61 |
| 4 | Shiva Dudani | United States | 15,650,000 | 130 |
| 5 | Michael Duek | Argentina | 9,405,000 | 78 |
Day 3 Recap
The day began with 39 contestants, but that field was quickly whittled down by the first break with nine players sent to the rail, and not long after that the field was down to the three-table redraw with Duek’s elimination of Tommi Lankinen that saw him move up the leaderboard early in the day.
The next round of eliminations that led up to the dinner break included several notables, including Brandon Adams (24th), Jeff Madsen (19th), and David Coleman (17th).
Post-Dinner Bustout Bonanza
The PokerNews reporting team was unsure of what the final 12 players had for dinner, but whatever they ate inspired them to come out blasting their stacks, with double-ups and eliminations in quick succession, leading to a final table within an hour.
As mentioned, Hu had built up a healthy chip lead until Dudani doubled through him, then eliminated Thair Kallabat in a pair of ten million chip pots to wrap up Day 3 play before midnight.
Final Table Results and Remaining Payouts
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,246,770 | ||
| 2 | $770,556 | ||
| 3 | $548,015 | ||
| 4 | $395,465 | ||
| 5 | $289,630 | ||
| 6 | Thair Kallabat | United States | $215,326 |
| 7 | Nitesh Rawtani | United States | $162,542 |
| 8 | Toby Lewis | United Kingdom | $124,611 |
A Champion Will Be Crowned Tuesday
Play will resume Tuesday at 2 p.m. in the Bally’s Event Center with 11:09 remaining in Level 28 (blinds 60,000/ 120,000/ 120,000 big blind ante).
The final five will play down to a winner and the PokerNews live reporting team will be there for all the action as the largest PLO Championship event in the history of the World Series of Poker determines a champion.
Stay tuned for all the excitement from this and every event from the 53rd World Series of Poker from its new home at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas.