Dan Zack, the surprising WSOP Player of the Year leader, looks to extend that lead in the $10,000 Razz tournament in which he reached the final table. Chris Ferguson, the 2017 Player of the Year, holds the chip lead with 12 remaining players.
When the final table is achieved on Friday, play will conclude for the day and come back on Saturday to finish things off and determine who wins $301,421 and a gold bracelet.
If you’re within driving distance of the Rio, you might want to come check it out in person along with the final table of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship (Josh Arieh leads heading into Friday’s session). The talent in this $50K PPC field is packed with superstars.
Player of the Year Race Heating Up
Before the series started last month, no one could have foreseen Dan Zack leading the Player of the Year race this deep into the summer. Certainly not CardsChat, which projected one of 14 other players would win the award.
It’s not that Zack isn’t capable. He’s one of the best high stakes cash pros around and is a regular crusher on “Live at the Bike.” But his tournament resume heading into the 2019 WSOP included just $700,000 in cashes.
2019 WSOP POY RACE:
1. Daniel Zack 2,516.41
2. Scott Clements 2,368.02
3. Jason Gooch 2,268.02
4. Upeshka De Silva 2,162.02
5. Daniel Strelitz 2,032.04
Zack put more of a focus on tournament play this summer and it’s paying off. He won the $2,500 Limit Mixed Triple Draw for $160,000 earlier this month. Now, he has 11 cashes for the series.
At 2,516 points, he holds a slim lead over Scott Clements (2,368) and Jason Gooch (2,268) in the Player of the Year race. But he’s guaranteed 101 additional points regardless of where he finishes in the Razz event. If he wins the tournament, however, he’ll earn 1,010 points and will undoubtedly become the favorite.
POY Implications at Stake for Jesus and Kid Poker
Dan Zack isn’t the only Player of the Year hopeful among the final 12 who could stand to earn those valuable points. Daniel Negreanu is way back in 31st place with 1,438 points, but he’s in a position where if he could ship the Razz bracelet, he’ll be right in the thick of things.
Chris Ferguson, who enters Day Three with the chip lead, was a pre-WSOP POY favorite. The 2019 WSOP hasn’t gone so well for Jesus overall and although he made the money in 13 events, all of his previous cashes were just min-cashes. That isn’t enough to win POY. A win in Razz could get him back within striking distance, but he’ll need some additional big scores before the series concludes.
WSOP $10,000 Razz Chip Leaders
- Chris Ferguson (USA) 1,280,000
- David Bach (USA) 1,087,000
- Andrey Zhigalov (Russia) 976,000
- Dan Zack (USA) 815,000
- Scott Seiver (USA) 622,000
*Daniel Negreanu has 478,000.
Play in the $10K Razz resumes at 2 pm PT on Friday. There is no live stream available for this event.
