Eric Tsai Leads the Final Six Players in Event #25: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em
After just seven hours of play on Day 3 of Event #25: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em, the official final table of six players has been reached. Leading the way into the final day of competition is Eric Tsai who bagged up a whopping 8,040,000 chips.
Tsai was a bit of an unknown coming into the 2021 World Series of Poker, playing in the first series of his career. In the past few years, the majority of Tsai's tournament cashes have come in his home country of Taiwan. Tsai has already racked up two cashes at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino this fall, collecting payouts in Event #8: $600 Deepstack along with Event #13: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em.
Tsai mentioned after Day 3 that he has mostly been playing cards online over the past couple of years but what a moment it would be for him to capture his first WSOP gold bracelet in his very first appearance in Las Vegas. It won't be easy for the young lad as he will have five well-rounded players hot on his heels who have plenty of experience.
Scott Ball finished the day second in chips with 7,820,000 after a massive cooler late in the day. Ball cracked Craig Mason's pocket aces with his own pocket queens when he spiked a queen on the flop. Mason was left with just five big blinds after the hand and was eliminated just moments later, bringing the field down to just six players. Ball will also be looking to add his first WSOP bracelet to his list of recent accomplishments.
Jonathan Jaffe had a red-hot start to the day, quickly jumping out to the chip lead and holding on throughout. However, a downward spiral in the last level saw Jaffe close out Day 3 in third place with a stack of 6,170,000. Bin Weng (3,980,000), Galen Hall (2,245,000), and John Racener (1,950,000) round out the rest of the field. Hall and Racener already know the feeling of winning a WSOP bracelet and they will be looking to reach the top of the podium once again.
Final Table Seating Assignments
| Seat | Player | Chip Count | Country | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Ball | United States | 7,820,000 | 98 |
| 2 | Galen Hall | United States | 2,245,000 | 28 |
| 3 | Jonathan Jaffe | United States | 6,170,000 | 77 |
| 4 | Bin Weng | United States | 3,980,000 | 50 |
| 5 | Eric Tsai | Taiwan | 8,040,000 | 101 |
| 6 | John Racener | United States | 1,950,000 | 24 |
There were 31 players that returned to the felt for Day 3 and the eliminations came fast and furious to kick things off. Some of the early bustouts included Matthew Wantman, Nacho Barbero, George Wolff, and Daniel Negreanu. Negreanu came into the day in the middle of the pack but struggled to win a pot in the early going. His exit came when he shoved with ace-eight and was called by Tsai's king-jack. A king on the turn left Negreanu drawing slim and the river sealed his fate.
Other players to make their way to the payout desk before the final table included Ben Yu (20th place), Justin Liberto (16th place), Nick Petrangelo (13th place), and Vicent Bosca (9th place).
The final six players will return to their seats at 4 p.m. local time on the main stage inside the Amazon Room where they will compete for the first-place prize of $562,667 and a World Series of Poker gold bracelet. They will be live-streamed on PokerGO on a slight delay. There will be just over 30 minutes left in level 26 with the blinds at 40,000/80,000 and a big blind ante of 80,000.
Here's a look at the payouts for the final six positions:
| Place | Payout |
|---|---|
| 1 | $562,667 |
| 2 | $347,757 |
| 3 | $234,781 |
| 4 | $161,756 |
| 5 | $113,775 |
| 6 | $81,736 |
The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the tournament floor to bring you all of the updates on the way to crowning another WSOP champion.