Finger, already an EPT winner at just 22, knocked off his first WSOP title in the $3k Six-Max event for $506,764.
McNeil returned to play his postponed heads-up match with Can Kim Hua in Event #20, $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo, and despite losing his chip lead came back to seal the deal and $277k.
Noah Schwartz, Frank Kassela, Scott Seiver and Michael Mizrachi also put themselves into position for a bracelet run when action picks up again today.
Finger Thwarts Stout, Berkey, Pham
Chip leader Matt Stout was the sentimental favorite coming into the final table in Event #21, $3k No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max.
The veteran grinder with three WSOP final tables to his credit looked poised to take home his first gold bracelet but couldn't get past Finger heads-up despite a 2.5-1 advantage.
Finger took control late with is aggression, winning some smaller pots to take back the lead then finding queens against Stout's A7.
Finger earned $506,764 for the win to take his career earnings up over $2.1 million.
Pro Matt Berkey, who had a boisterous rail including Jason Mercier out in his support, and David "The Dragon" Pham finished third and fourth respectively.
For a full rundown of the final-table action, check our WSOP Live Updates. The final six and payouts:
1. Martin Finger $506,764 2. Matt Stout $313,370 3. Matt Berkey $199,733 4. David Pham $131,679 5. Nikolai Sears $89,402 6. Andrew Dean $62,458McNeil Battles Back to Edge Hua
After postponing their heads-up match the night before Calen McNeil and Can Kim Hua returned to the Rio to play things out on Monday.
Canadian McNeil, who battled back from being in a coma in 1994, battled back in this one as well after losing his chip lead to Hua.
A long-time WSOP attendee with a slew of poker friends on the rail, McNeil rewarded them with a celebration when his set of kings held up in the final hand.
The complete final nine and payouts:
1. Calen McNeil $277,274 2. Can Kim Hua $171,577 3. Todd Brunson $107,349 4. Joe Ford $77,917 5. Tony Ma $57,521 6. Stephen Chidwick $43,120 7. John Monnette $32,798 8. Won Goag $25,283 9. Dao Bac $19,753Schwartz Crushing with Nine Left in Event #22
Another talented grinder with plenty of big wins but no WSOP gold yet, Noah Schwartz is on the brink of changing that in Event #22, $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha.
Up over 1 million in chips for much of the day yesterday, Schwartz held on to enter the final table as the chip leader.
With $3.2 million in career earnings already Schwartz will be looking to leverage that hard-earned experience against a relatively unknown mix of players at the final table. The final nine:
1. Noah Schwartz 1,162,000 2. Shawn Silber 808,000 3. Eddie Blumenthal 560,000 4. Josh Pollock 543,000 5. Eric Shanks 425,000 6. KT Park 361,000 7. James Park 323,000 8. Brandon Crawford 248,000 9. David Greene 163,000Kassela Back in Contention, Seiver and Mizrachi Chase
A number of familiar names will be battling it out at the final table in Event #23, $2,500 Seven-Card Stud.
At the top of the counts is 2010 WSOP Player of the Year Frank Kassela, who's hoping to add a third bracelet to his collection.
He'll have his work cut out for him though with seven former bracelet winners chasing him including David Chiu and Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi.
The final ten and chip counts:
1. Frank Kassela 331,500 2. David Chiu 295,000 3. Matthew Ashton 277,500 4. Scott Seiver 237,500 5. Gary Benson 213,500 6. Helmut Koch 157,500 7. Michael Mizrachi 128,000 8. Jesse Martin 84,000 9. Adam Friedman 74,500 10. Freddie Ellis 26,000Check our WSOP Live Coverage for the latest action from the flor of the Rio in Las Vegas including live "Follow the Chips" coverage from Event 27, $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Mix-Max.
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