The biggest live freeroll in history of poker, the $5,000,000 ClubWPT Gold Invitational, is down to its last nine players! These nines will return tomorrow to battle it out to the eventual winner, and whoever ends up with that flattering title will also take home $1,000,000 in cold, hard cash.
The tournament kicked off with 1,457 players out of 2,000 that were expected, so those who turned out to play got even more value than expected. And that’s quite a tall order when you’re already playing in a freeroll with a prize pool of $5,000,000.
About a third of the field walked away with at least little something for their efforts, as 503 players made the money, cashing for at least $1,000. On top of regular cashes, there were 100 seats to the $10k WPT World Championship given away, alongside a host of mystery bounties.
It was an exciting journey for all players, probably more so for those who found themselves playing in a large live tournament for the first time ever. But the biggest excitement is still to be had, as the final nine players will come back tomorrow to find out who’ll walk away with the cool million.
Players Beware: Unique Final Table Ahead
Due to the nature of this unique tournament, tomorrow’s final table will be different to most. All nine coming back tomorrow have locked up $20,000, but pay jumps are unlike what you’d find in a regular event.
| Place | Payout |
| Winner | $1,000,000 |
| Runner-up | $250,000 |
| 3rd place | $125,000 |
| 4th place | $75,000 |
| 5th place | $50,000 |
| 6th place | $40,000 |
| 7th place | $30,000 |
| 8th place | $25,000 |
| 9th place | $20,000 |
Although picking up $20,000 from a freeroll is nothing to sniff at, the difference between busting out first tomorrow and being the last player standing is huge. Pay jumps between the 9th and the 5th place are quite flat, too, so players will be trying to get in one of those top three or four spots.
There is no telling how the cards will break down and how long the final table will take, but one thing is certain. Once the dust settles, one of these nine players will be turning their completely free entry into one million dollars.
Poker Dreams Coming True
When the play restarts tomorrow, the player to catch will be Daniyal Gheba, sitting pretty with 11.7 million in chips – more than double of Jacob Stufflebean starting with 5.2 million and almost three times the stack of Patrick Eskandar with 4 million.
The middle of the pack is quite tightly packed, with Chase Bricker, Tyler Hanckok, and Jason Christopher all sitting around the three million mark. Josh Guindon and Eric Zheng have some making up to do, with stacks of 2 and 1.5 million, respectively.
Here are the chip counts:
- Daniyal Gheba – 11,725,000 (94 BB)
- Jacob Stufflebean – 5,175,000 (41 BB)
- Patrick Eskandar – 4,005,000 (32 BB)
- Chase Bricker – 3,175,000 (25)
- Victor Avallone – 3,150,000 (25 BB)
- Tyler Hancock – 3,075,000 (25BB)
- Jason Christopher – 2,850,000 (23 BB)
- Josh Guindon – 2,075,000 (17 BB)
- Eric Zheng – 1,500,000 (10 BB)
Gheba, the chip leader, is certainly no slouch when it comes to tournament poker. With close to $700,000 in live tournament earnings, he’s an experienced low to mid-stakes grinder, and he has the skills required to take advantage of his big chip lead.
Of course, things can change quickly at a poker table, as all it takes is one cooler or bad beat for a chip leader to go back to the middle of the pack and to a short stack. And with stakes being so high and so much emphasis on winning, the pressure will certainly be on tomorrow.
Whatever happens, these nine players will remember their journey in this tournament for many years to come. However, for one of them, it will be a truly life-changing experience!
