Online and live poker crusher Chris Moorman is in a good position to reach the World Poker Tour World Championship (WPTWC) final table for the second straight year.
The $10,400 buy-in tournament, which started with 2,392 entries, played down to the Sweet 16 on Thursday night at Wynn Las Vegas. Michael Berk entered the Day 4 session with the chip lead. But he busted in 31st place for $101,000.
Moorman bagged the Day 4 chip lead at 30,600,000 with the blinds returning to 125,000/250,000. He finished off the day by eliminating Glen Keogh in 17th place ($176,000) when pocket jacks bested top pair. All remaining players are guaranteed at least $176,000, but the winner on Saturday will take home $3,138,900.
The chip leader who has over $9 million in live tournament cashes, according to The Hendon Mob, finished fourth in this same tournament one year ago, good for a career-best $2,095,300 payday. While he's hoping to close it out this year, he isn't getting ahead of himself.
"There's still so much poker to be played," Moorman told PokerNewsfollowing Day 4. "Obviously, I played seven days last year, so it was even longer. So it's just more of the same, enjoy the moment and see what happens, no pressure. Whatever happens, you know, it's already been a great score, an early Christmas present."
Moorman couldn't quite capture the title last year — Dan Sepiol did for $5.3 million. But he is a World Poker Tour (WPT) champion. The poker legend from England won the $10,000 buy-in WPT LA Poker Classic at Commerce Casino almost 11 years ago for $1,015,460. He has fond memories of that life-changing day.
"It was actually probably the hardest time I've had in poker," Moorman said of his 2014 WPT title. "I dropped down in stakes for a year, dropped all my horses and lost some money myself. I kind of had to rebuild my bankroll. I came into that live tournament after a year off and just ran really hot and, yeah, it was a marquee kind of win."
Mikita Badziakouski spent part of Day 4 atop the leaderboard. But the Belarusian high roller with over $58 million in live tournament cashes fell fast and was eliminated in 19th place for $176,000 about a half hour before the session concluded. Niall Farrell (55th place for $71,000), Mark Seif (51st for $71,000), and Michael Rossitto (39th place for $101,000) were among the players who busted on Thursday.
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Moorman | 30,600,000 |
| 2 | Scott Stewart | 29,125,000 |
| 3 | Brian Yoon | 22,550,000 |
| 4 | Christian Roberts | 22,050,000 |
| 5 | Ryan Yu | 20,000,000 |
Moorman will enter Day 5 at noon PT on Friday with the chip lead, but it's a slim one over Scott Stewart, who bagged 29,125,000. Brian Yoon is in third place with 22,550,000 chips. Fabian Gumz, a WPT Prime champion, is middle-of-the-pack with 14,800,000, while WPT Champions Club member Andrea Dato has 7,725,000.
The tournament will play down to a final table of six on Day 5. Livestreamed action will take place on the WPT's YouTube channel.
*Images courtesy of the World Poker Tour.
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