It’s every poker player's dream to win the World Series of Poker Main Event, and for 49 players, that dream is still alive heading into Day 7 at noon local time.
Getting this far in a record-setting field of 10,043 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most, but for Joshua Payne and Juan Maceiras, their sights are set much higher. Payne, the 23-year-old engineering student from Atlanta, went on a tear yesterday on his way to bagging 47,950,000 into the penultimate day before the final table. Maceiras, the Spanish online star with more than $1,000,000 in career earnings dating back to 2006, is in second place with 40,500,000.
The two chip leaders are far ahead of the rest of the field, but several notable players are lurking behind them hoping to make a move today. They include bracelet winner Daniel Weinman (24,375,000), Tim Van Loo (21,700,000), and high stakes regular Alec Torelli (21,075,000).
Day 7 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Payne | United States | 47,950,000 | 192 |
| 2 | Juan Maceiras Lapido | Spain | 40,500,000 | 162 |
| 3 | Daniel Weinman | United States | 24,375,000 | 98 |
| 4 | Richard Ryder | United States | 22,650,000 | 91 |
| 5 | Tim Van Loo | Austria | 21,700,000 | 87 |
| 6 | Alec Torelli | United States | 21,075,000 | 84 |
| 7 | Daniel Scroggins | United States | 20,800,000 | 83 |
| 8 | Pierpaola Lamanna | Italy | 18,875,000 | 76 |
| 9 | Nicholas Gerrity | United States | 18,075,000 | 72 |
| 10 | Ryan Tamanini | United States | 17,325,000 | 69 |
Toby Lewis has already bettered his previous best Main Event finish of 53rd back in 2015 as the British star takes 15,250,000 into Day 7. Gabi Livshitz (10,300,000), Ryan Tosoc (9,450,000), Mark Teltscher (9,300,000), Sam Stein (7,875,000), the loquacious Maurice Hawkins (4,475,000), Matthew Wantman (4,425,000), and Raj Vohra (4,300,000) are further down the leaderboard.
Three players remain who’ve made it this far in previous Main Events. Andrey Pateychuk (8,050,000) used his aggressive playing style to make it all the way to 15th place in 2011. Adam Walton (12,225,000) and Mitchell Halverson (1,150,000) have more recent Main Event success, having finished in 42nd place and 15th place, respectively, in 2021. So close, but so far, once before and now they have another shot at WSOP glory.
The action on Day 7 picks up on Level 31, with blinds of 125,000/250,000 and a 250,000 big blind ante. The schedule calls for five 120-minute levels and a 75-minute dinner break after Level 33 around 6:40 p.m.
More than 10,000 players once packed the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas in the biggest Main Event in WSOP history with nothing more than a dream. For these 49, that dream is close to becoming reality. They've already guaranteed themselves $188,400. By the end of today, the final table and the $12,100,000 top prize will be in their sights, and PokerNews will be following the journey the entire way.
