Day Five of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Foxwoods World Poker Finals could turn out to be the shortest day in the history of the Tour. The televised six-handed final table is scheduled for Tuesday, but entering play Monday, there are just eight players remaining. The schedule will not change, though, so only two players need to be eliminated before the tournament is paused. Leading the way is Christian “charder30” Harder with 1,437,000 chips, while Daniel Santoro is close behind with 1,249,000.
Bob Carbone and Eli Berg appear to be the odds-on favorites to be the two to not make the final table, as they are easily the shortest stacks remaining, with 263,000 and 227,000 chips, respectively. Neither player has much of a history on the live tournament circuit, so it will be interesting to see how they handle being in such vulnerable positions so close to the final six. Berg did place 25th in the 2009 Foxwoods Poker Classic and has two deep runs including one final table, in preliminary events at previous Foxwoods World Poker Finals, so he is not a complete stranger to big-time tournament pressure. Carbone has just one cash on his record in a tournament with a buy-in of larger than $600. As it turns out, in was in this same event in 2006, when he placed 53rd for $14,309.
Perhaps the most interesting story line of Day Five is the continued success of Jonathan Little and Andy Frankenberger. Should they both survive the day, it would mark the first time that two former WPT Players of the Year (POY) made the same televised final table. Little earned his POY honor in Season VI by winning the Mirage Poker Showdown in May 2007 ($1,066,295), bubbling the televised final table of the Gulf Coast Poker Championship in September of that year ($93,451), and then finishing as the runner-up at the North American Poker Championships ($738,821). He also won this very event in 2008.
Frankenberger was the latest to be named WPT POY, winning his title in Season IX. He had three cashes during that season, winning the Legends of Poker in August 2010 ($750,000), placing 5th in the Festa Al Lago Main Event in October ($161,200), and then finishing 16th in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic Main Event in December ($33,785).
The player to be eliminated in eighth place on Monday will take home a consolation prize of $54,060, while the television final table bubble boy will earn $68,465. The payouts at the six-handed final table start at $83,580 with the top four earning six-figure paydays. Tuesday’s eventual winner of the 189 entrant tournament will receive $449,910.
Day Five will pick up at noon ET on Monday and, as mentioned earlier, should end quickly, as just two players need to be eliminated for the chips to be bagged for the night.
WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals – End of Day Four Chip Counts
1. Christian Harder – 1,437,000
2. Daniel Santoro – 1,249,000
3. Steven Brackesy – 984,000
4. Chris Klodnicki – 534,000
5. Jonathan Little – 504,000
6. Andy Frankenberger – 486,000
7. Bob Carbone – 263,000
8. Eli Berg – 227,000
