Event #4 of the 2023 World Series of Poker will enter its final day with Wissam Gahshan leading the remaining seven players at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
The invitation-only Tournament of Champions boasted a $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool and was open to players who had won a WSOP bracelet or WSOP circuit ring in the last year, with 741 players entering out of 989 qualifiers to attempt to claim the top prize of $200,000.
Gahshan finished the day atop the leaderboard with 5,130,000 in chips and his closest competitor, Patrick White, was not far behind with 3,885,000. Gahshan qualified for the tournament with a win at The Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles in December of last year. White punched his ticket at the March stop in New York at Turning Stone.
From there, it’s anyone’s game, as the chip counts run fairly close together. Brent Gregory finished with 3,400,000, while Justin Hotte-Mckinnon and Hunter Mcclelland both ended the day with 2,700,000. Gregory won his way in with a victory at the March stop in Tulsa and Hotte-Mckinnon picked up his ring on WSOP.ca in March. Mcclelland won two rings on WSOP PA and he is looking to add a gold bracelet to his trophy shelf.
Ronnie Day and Barry Schultz finished with 2,300,000 and 2,005,000, respectively, to round out the lineup for the final day. Day is a recent winner from the May circuit stop in Southern Indiana and Schultz won the Seniors event at Horseshoe Tunica in January.
Final Table Chip Counts
| Seat | Name | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wissam Gahshan | United States | 5,130,000 | 51 |
| 2 | Barry Schultz | United States | 2,005,000 | 20 |
| 3 | Ronnie Day | United States | 2,300,000 | 23 |
| 4 | Justin Hotte-Mckinnon | Canada | 2,700,000 | 27 |
| 5 | Patrick White | United States | 3,885,000 | 39 |
| 6 | Brent Gregory | United States | 3,400,000 | 34 |
| 7 | Hunter Mcclelland | United States | 2,700,000 | 27 |
Six of the seven remaining players will hope to keep the bracelet on American soil, with one, Hotte-Mckinnon, looking to bring the gold back to Canada. The players have already locked up a payday of $26,000, which for some is already a nice boost to their bankroll.
The action was fast and furious throughout the day, as Dylan Lemery was the first one eliminated from the “unofficial” final table, losing most of his chips when his pocket aces were cracked by the pocket nines of Daniel Marx. Left with only one big blind, Lemery tossed it in a few hands later after it was folded to him on the button. It was Gahshan who eliminated him with a dominating hand from the small blind, as Lemery's ace-five offsuit went down in flames to Gahshan's ace-queen.
Soon after, Zachary Gruneberg moved all in from middle position with pocket kings, but ran straight into the aces of the new chip leader, Gahshan. Gahshan's aces held and sent Gruneberg to the payout desk to collect a $16,000 payday.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 |
| 2 | $120,000 |
| 3 | $87,000 |
| 4 | $63,000 |
| 5 | $46,000 |
| 6 | $35,000 |
| 7 | $26,000 |
Players will return at 4 p.m. on Saturday to play down to a winner in a final table that will be streamed with cards-up coverage by PokerGO on a security delay. The action picks up in Level 28 with around 42 minutes remaining and blinds at 50,000/100,000/100,000.
Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team for live updates from the floor of the 2023 World Series of Poker.
