Masa Kagawa, Igor Kurganov, Dan Shak, Tobias Reinkemeier, Vanessa Selbst, Andrew Robl and Niklas Heinecker will compete for a $1 million first-place prize tomorrow.
Thanks to a rare double-elimination on the last hand of the night, the final table will only have seven players instead of the usual eight.
Russian Kurganov busted both Chris “Genius28” Lee and Malaysian businessman Wilfred Yu in the hand.
This year’s $100k Challenge ended up drawing a total of 22 entries, exactly the same as 2012, with just Andrew Robl opting to re-enter after busting in a bad beat to Dan Shak early.
This meant the prizepool would tip the scales at $1.9 million (AUD) with the top four places paying out.
Hansen, Antonius, Mercier Bust Short of the Cash
High Rollers Gus Hansen, Patrik Antonius, Mike Watson, Jason Mercier, Sam Trickett, John Juanda and Tony Bloom all took part in the $100k Challenge but were eliminated before the final table.
Dan Smith, last year’s champ, surprisingly decided not to play the tournament.
Antonius made a very brief appearance in the tournament. The Finnish pro registered late, played for about 20 minutes, and then busted in a bad beat to a rampaging Dan Shak.
Apparently that was enough poker for Antonius on this day because he opted not to re-enter.
The final table begins at 2 p.m. local time tomorrow. Here’s a look at the chip counts heading into play tomorrow:
1. Masa Kagawa – 695,000 2. Igor Kurganov – 563,000 3. Dan Shak – 435,000 4. Tobias Reinkemeier – 160,000 5. Vanessa Selbst – 136,000 6. Andrew Robl – 129,000 7. Niklas Heinecker – 85,000Visit www.pokerlistings.com