Nick Marchington Takes a Commanding Lead Ahead of NAPT Main Event Finale

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Nov 10, 2024 5 min read

Nick Marchington was a fresh-faced 21-year-old when he burst into the poker spotlight by making the final table of the WSOP Main Event. Five years later, the British pro is on the verge of another shot at stardom as he takes a massive chip lead into the final table of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour Las Vegas Main Event.

Marchington, using relentless aggression in the day's closing levels, built up a stack of 9,990,000 as he leads the remaining six players with a shot at the trophy and $765,200 first prize. The now-26-year-old finished seventh in that 2019 Main Event, but he finds himself in a commanding position to capture his first major title.

Final Table chip counts

In second place is Jeff Madsen with 5,585,000. Madsen also first rose to poker stardom as a 21-year-old nearly 20 years ago when he won two WSOP bracelets and Player of the Year in 2006. The California veteran will cross $6.5 million in live earnings tomorrow as he chases the biggest score of his already-storied career.

Joel Micka (4,475,000) came close to winning a PokerStars title before finishing runner-up in the PCA in 2013. The Washington native doesn’t play much poker these days but, 11 years later, finds himself in third place with a chance at redemption.

The MIT-trained businessman Curt Kohlberg is in fourth place with 3,290,000. Kohlberg is no stranger to appearing at major final tables, with four on the World Poker Tour and a runner-up finish in Florida in 2011. Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Marco Johnson takes 2,475,000 into the final day and sits in fifth place.

At the bottom of the counts is Japanese superstar Masato Yokosawa (1,085,000). Yokosawa has nearly a million subscribers on his YouTube channel and is the most-followed poker vlogger in the world. The eyes of a poker-mad nation will be on him as he tries to spin up his short stack tomorrow and take a run at the title.

Day 4 Action

Day 4 began with 18 players returning to Resorts World Las Vegas to try to secure their spot at the final table. A flurry of early double-ups signalled that players were in for a long day if they hoped to get there.

First, Johnson doubled up with queens against Brent Hart’s ace-king. Matt Affleck also doubled with queens against Madsen, while Hart then won a race with tens against David “ODB” Baker’s ace-jack. Byung Eun Shin flopped two pair against Maria Konnikova’s aces and was poised for his double up. Still, the river gave Konnikova a better two pair to send Shin out in 18th place.

Victor Paredes, who began the day as chip leader, got off to a shaky start when he doubled up Madsen. He then shoved the small blind only for Matthew Wantman to wake up with aces in the big blind. Left with just 220,000, Paredes’ stunning downfall would be completed a few hands later when Wantman flopped trip tens and improved to a full house on the river.

Martin Carnero ran sixes into Marchinton’s flopped trips to fall in 16th place. Hart busted in 15th when Johnson hit a queen on the river to beat his pocket nines.

Konnikova was down to less than 500,000 and shoved from under the gun with jack-ten. Micka woke up with queens in the cutoff and the PokerStars Ambassador was sent to the rail in 14th. Baker then raised to 600,000 in early position, leaving just 65,000 behind, and Marchington called. Baker got his last chips in on the flop and was still ahead with pocket fives, but Marchington spiked a flush on the turn to eliminate him in 13th.

Jared Jaffee then jammed for 700,000 and Yang Li called. Brock Wilson then reshoved for 1,500,000 and Li called with ace-queen. Jaffee had ace-nine, but Wilson had picked up kings and held on to scoop the entire pot and eliminate Jaffee in 12th while doubling up off Li.

Mike Vanier made a full house to double off Johnson, but Johnson got his revenge in a big way when he picked up aces against Vanier’s kings in a nearly 5,000,000-chip pot as Vanier was sent to the rail in 11th.

Kohlberg was riding a short stack when he moved all in for 650,000 with two queens. Madsen called with ace-queen, but Marchington reshoved with jacks to force out Madsen. Kohlberg’s queens stayed in the lead to earn him a triple up. Wantman was eliminated on the final table bubble as he got his last 455,000 in with two nines, but Yokosawa picked up two jacks.

Marchington led at the start of the nine-handed final table with 5,100,000. Wilson began in second place but on the first hand ran queens into Kohlberg’s kings as Kohlberg doubled up yet again. Marchington continued to use his big stack to his advantage, constantly three-betting and taking down most pots with little resistance as he began to separate from the field.

Wilson hit two pair on the turn to bust Li in ninth place. After a dinner break, Affleck shoved for 1,940,000 with ace-king but couldn’t win a classic race against Micka’s queens to fall in eighth. Wilson then shoved for 1,395,000 with ace-seven and Madsen called with two eights. Wilson hit a pair of sevens on the flop but improved no further as Madsen took the pot to end the night with Wilson’s bustout in seventh.

The remaining six players return at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow to play down to a champion. The action will be streamed on PokerStars’ YouTube and Twitch channels on a 30-minute delay, with updates provided to match the stream. There is 70:41 remaining in Level 29 with blinds of 50,000-100,000 and a 100,000 big blind ante at the start of play tomorrow. Everyone left has already locked up $155,550, but the gold-plated trophy and top prize awaits only one player.

Final Table Payouts

PokerNews will be back covering all the action from the final table until a new NAPT champion is crowned.

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