Level 42
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Andres Gonzalez
Hand #137: Niklas Astedt raised to 7,500,000 and Andres Gonzalez in the small blind pushed all-in for just 31,500,000, ten and a half big blinds. Astedt asked for a count and called to put the Spaniard at risk.
Andres Gonzalez: J♥J♣
Niklas Astedt: 3♥3♦
The board ran out 10♣9♦2♠A♦4♠ and Gonzalez earned yet another double-up to stay in contention.
Level 42
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Andres Gonzalez
Hand #146: Andres Gonzalez opened to 6,000,000 and Niklas Astedt three-bet out of the small blind to 18,000,000. The four-bet shove by the Spaniard followed for 61,500,000. Astedt asked for a count and called.
Andres Gonzalez: J♥J♦
Niklas Astedt: A♥Q♦
The A♣10♣10♠ flop vaulted Astedt into the lead and the Swedish rail had reason to celebrate after the 7♥ turn as well as 3♣ river completed the board. Gonzalez had doubled a few times after coming in as the shortest stack but ultimately bowed out in sixth place for $2,000,000.
Level 42
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Boris Angelov Elimination
Hand #152: After the fold by second-shortest stack Jason Sagle, it was Boris Angelov who moved all-in for just 18,000,000. It folded all the way to Jonathan Tamayo.
"Count," he asked, pointing at Angelov's stack.
"18 [million]," replied Angelov.
The all-in was for just six big blinds and Tamayo leaned sideways from his chair, then double-checked his cards. He motioned towards his chips, before checking himself, before making a reluctant call.
Boris Angelov: 6♠6♦
Jonathan Tamayo: K♣6♥
The Bulgarian rail started chanting wildly as Tamayo's head fell seeing he was dominated. However, the boisterous Bulgarian fell silent on the K♠5♥4♣ flop, with Angelov left in dire shape.
It was all over with the K♦ turn as the case six no longer would have helped. A meaningless 10♠ fell on the river and Angelov's departure in fifth place for $2,500,000 was confirmed.
Boris Angelov EliminationBoris Angelov Elimination
Level 42
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Jason Sagle
Hand #161: Niklas Astedt raised it up to 6,000,000 first to act and it folded to Jason Sagle in the big blind. The Canadian pushed all-in for just 28,000,000, as Astedt went into the tank once more.
After more than two minutes, Astedt called and they headed into the following showdown.
Jason Sagle: J♠J♦
Niklas Astedt: A♣3♣
The 8♦4♥3♦ flop kept Sagle in the lead with his pair of jacks but Astedt picked up more outs. Further equity for the Swede followed with the 5♠ turn as he picked up a gutshot wheel draw as well.
It came to a dramatic ending with the 2♠ river as Astedt improved to the wheel. Sagle's run came to an end in fourth place and the final three players will bag up for the night to determine the winner in tomorrow's final.
Niklas Astedt Niklas Astedt Celebrates the End of the Night with Rail
Level 42
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Final Three Main Event 2024
The penultimate day of the 2024 World Series of Poker has come and concluded at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. While several gold bracelet events took place, most of the attention was undoubtedly on the record-breaking 2024 WSOP Main Event. Out of a field of 10,112 unique entries, only nine players from six different countries took their seat in the mothership, each of them supported by a boisterous rail.
When the dust had settled, only three of them remained. The two big stacks heading into the day, Jordan Griff and Niklas Astedt, retained their prime spots while Jonathan Tamayo went from seventh in chips to nearly even atop the leaderboard. One year ago, it took 164 hands to whittle the final nine contenders to a winner. This is still possible in tomorrow's grand finale, albeit very unlikely as 161 hands have already been completed to reach the final three in the record-breaking contest.
Astedt did the lion's share throughout the day and notched up four eliminations en route to a stack of 223,000,000 while Tamayo (197,000,000) and Griff (187,000,000) both dispatched one opponent each. Only twelve big blinds separate them, though, most onlookers will give the role of favorite to Swedish online poker legend Astedt, who is known for his moniker of "Lena900". Tamayo's rail included 2015 WSOP Main Event champion Joe McKeehen and four-time bracelet winner Dominik Nitsche.
The Final Three in the 2024 WSOP Main Event
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Niklas Astedt
Sweden
223,000,000
74
2
Jordan Griff
United States
187,000,000
62
3
Jonathan Tamayo
United States
197,000,000
66
"I think I played well, yeah. I don't have too many regrets. I haven't seen the hands, all of them, but I think I played well. It's a big stage to stay composed, to try to make the best decision looks easy but if I get most of them right I am happy," chip leader Astedt told PokerGO in the interview after the conclusion of Day 9 and jokingly referred to this event as a "football game" and "nothing like playing online".
For the Swede, it was just another day at the office on the grandest stage possible. "I mean, now it's only three guys left and all the money's up top, so it's pretty simple," Astedt mentioned and added that his preparation for the conclusion won't be anything special. "Same usual. Not much. Try to sleep as long as possible. Eat a banana. Come over here."
While he earned several double-ups and won sizable pots once he was propelled to a bigger stack, one of the defining moments of Tamayo's final table was the double through Astedt with Broadway against a set.
"It made me want to jump on top of the wall, but I know I'm not athletic enough."
Upon reaching the final three, Tamayo said he's finding it hard to believe it's real life.
"Most people never make it," he told PokerNews. "Most people never make it to the top hundred. And sure as heck almost nobody makes it to the final three. You just have to play and wherever you end up, you end up. And it is what it is."
Does Tamayo think he has a fighting chance three-handed tomorrow?
"I have chips, so I do have a fighting chance."
Jonathan Tamayo doubles through Niklas Astedt
Griff's rail was full of friends and family, all supporting the start-of-day chip leader.
"It's amazing. It's the greatest thing ever for me. We are all just together. These are people who are all different parts of my life, coming together as one and sharing in this moment. It's really unbelievable. And I just feel so amazing to be here with them.
Does Griff think he has what it takes to take down the Main Event?
"I'm going to try and get as much sleep as possible. I'm going to try to make it happen."
Action of the Day
As has been the case throughout the last few years, the rails of each player were very vocal and rowdy as the flagship tournament of the summer headed towards the climax. Around 50 minutes were left in the first level when the action resumed and it was a cagey affair from the get-go. Table short stack Andres Gonzalez doubled against chip leader Griff and there would be no further all-in showdown until the first break while Astedt slowly gained momentum.
The second level of the day brought instant action when chip leader Griff flopped a set of fours and rivered a full house to decimate the stack of Brian Kim. In the very next hand, he found another small pocket pair and took on Malo Latinois. It was a classic flip that ended in dramatic fashion when Latinois' ace-king suited hit the flip only for Griff's pocket treys to spike a two-outer on the turn.
"Well, I was super happy to have the chance to play to this final table. I just wanted to take and one by one and try to play my best poker, and, yeah, see what happens. And also, one of my main goal was to enjoy the moment. I mean, that's one of a kind. And unique moments. So I just try to be in the moment, enjoy it. as long as I can. It was not very long, but, I mean, still, I'll take that. And I will maybe never be on this final table again," the young Frenchman said in his interview after the rollercoaster coin flip.
Joe Serock had dropped into the middle of the pack and then three-bet jammed with ace-jack out of the big blind. Griff folded, but Astedt called with his slow-played queens in the small blind. Only one jack appeared and Serock became the second casualty of the final table. The very next hand, Gonzalez doubled once more with kings against the queens of Kim.
Astedt climbed into the lead with seven players remaining and pulled further ahead when catching Kim with his fingers in the cookie jar. Kim five-bet jammed out of the small blind with king-six suited and Astedt looked him up with pocket tens. A ten on the flop left Kim on thin ice and he missed running clubs to bow out next.
Brian Kim bowed out in seventh place
Tamayo doubled once more with ace-nine against Griff, who had him dominated this time, and the bottom four stacks were suddenly within six big blinds on the second break of the day. Boris Angelov doubled off Astedt and Tamayo earned another double soon after with flopped Broadway to double against Astedt's set of tens to shift the momentum.
The Swede jumped back into the driver's seat with trip sixes against Griff and from there on, it became a survival contest for the short stacks in which Tamayo chipped up significantly to join Astedt and Griff atop the leaderboard.
Gonzalez first doubled through Astedt with jacks versus treys but he could not do so again a couple of hands later. This time, the Swede took the flip with ace-queen and spiked an ace on the flop to knock out the Spaniard. Only six hands later, Angelov's sixes were out-flopped by Tamayo's king-six and they were down to the final four already.
Sagle was the shortest stack and his fate was sealed with the now dreadful pocket jacks. Astedt called his shove with ace-trey suited, flopped a trey, but got there with running cards to a wheel instead to unleash wild celebrations from the large Swedish rail. The Canadian left the stage with a smile, whereas the Scandinavians chanted "Lena, Lena, Lena" over and over again while the yellow-shirted bird armada of Sagle headed out of the Horseshoe Event Center.
Jason Sagle's Rail
The final three will return at 2 p.m. Local time on Wednesday, July 17, to play down to a winner. There are 17:40 minutes remaining in Level 42 with blinds of 1,500,000/3,000,000 and a big blind ante of 3,000,000.
With at least $4 million locked up and seven-figure pay jumps on the horizon, the final trio is separated by a mere twelve big blinds to potentially turn the conclusion into a tense and lengthy affair.
Final Table Results and Remaining Payouts
Place
Winner
Country
Prize (in USD
1
$10,000,000
2
$6,000,000
3
$4,000,000
4
Jason Sagle
Canada
$3,000,000
5
Boris Angelov
Bulgaria
$2,500,000
6
Andres Gonzalez
Spain
$2,000,000
7
Brian Kim
United States
$1,500,000
8
Joe Serock
United States
$1,250,000
9
Malo Latinois
France
$1,000,000
As usual, the final day will be streamed on the PokerGO platform and all PokerNews updates for the final day will be published on a delay to not spoil any of the action.
