Current Chip Leader: Chance Kornuth
Currently leading the way is newly-minted WSOP gold bracelet winner Chance Kornuth. Winning this year's $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event at the WSOP in Las Vegas netted Kornuth a whopping first-place prize worth $508,090. That was just Kornuth's second WSOP cash. Also on his record are some cashes in smaller events, but nothing that stretches outside of the four-figure zone.
Kornuth has much bigger results online where he plays under the monikers "Chances Cards" and "ChanceCU". His total online earnings total about $1.2 million. One of his premier online wins came just about a week after he scored his bracelet in Vegas. Kornuth won the Mini Series of Poker held on Full Tilt, beating out a field of 5,714 players to pocket $102,600. That's quite the accomplishment for a period not greater than one week. He also won the Super Tuesday on PokerStars for over $68,000 in February and the $250,000-guaranteed rebuy on PokerStars in March of this year for just under $62,000. So yeah, we'd say he's had a pretty sick year so far.
Kornuth dropped out of the University of Colorado after completing three-and-a-half years of college, something you hear a lot about younger poker players these days. As of right now, it seems like the move has paid off for the young star in the early half of his twenties, but only time will tell if he can prove his worth on the felt. He does plan on returning to finish off his education at some point.
Is another gold bracelet waiting in the whim for Kornuth across the pond? Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all the coverage and see if Kornuth can continue to keep himself atop the leaderboard here on Day 1b.