Michael Cannon (4,400,000 -- 29 BBs)
Twenty-nine-year-old Michael Cannon has taken a very unusual route to the final table of the WSOP Main Event, one reminiscent of 2016 seventh-place finisher Griffin Benger.
Like Benger, Cannon transitioned to poker after a successful career as a progamer. There, he won numerous titles in the Gears of War series before making the switch to poker a little before Black Friday. However, his timing proved poor, and his poker skills stagnated when he was unable to keep playing high volume online.
After a few years without any life momentum, he righted the ship when he connected with fellow 2020 Main Event final table participant Ryan Hagerty, who helped Cannon improve and resharpen his skills.
Now, he says he's "on the border" of calling himself a pro again (he has $184,584 in lifetime earnings according to HendonMob). A $1.5 million win here at the final table would certainly go a long way to solidifying that, but he's got work to do coming in fifth in chips. Still, things are fairly tight below the top spot, so at the very least, Cannon will have some chances to ladder.
"Win or lose, I am just trying to enjoy the time and not overthink things," he said.