The final table of the 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event, and the nine characters who will fight for a $10 million top prize. (Image: Caroline Darcourt / Winamax) 

The penultimate day of the 2024 World Series of Poker $10,000 Main Event World Championship did not lack drama. There was the opportunity for the largest field in the tournament’s history to finish with an equally historic final table on Sunday in the “Thunderdome" in the bowels of the Horseshoe Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.

The effort to whittle down the last 18 survivors to a final nine included a female pro in commanding chip position, a longtime veteran reemerging after a few years absence from the limelight, and an online wunderkind staking his name out in the live poker world. 

Who Emerges Victorious?

All the players on Sunday were guaranteed a sizable chunk of this year’s $94 million prize pool, generated from a record 10,117 players. The first departure was assured of $350,000, but the real goal was making the final table, where payouts would be at least $1 million. France’s Malo Latinois led the runners to the line with his 61.3 million in chips, but the eyes of many were cast a bit further down the leaderboard to the “Last Woman Standing.”

In the world of poker, there is the hope that it someday will not be necessary to celebrate the final woman left in the field. Kristen Foxen was just that, the "Last Woman Standing” after the elimination of Shundan Xiao during Saturday’s Day Six, and she was in prime position to drive even deeper into the battle with her 47.4 million in chips. There was also the online wizard, Niklas “Lena900” Astedt, and veteran pro Joe Serock in the mix. 

The action was tentative in the early going, befitting the pressure-packed nature of Day Seven of the WSOP Main Event. Few chips would change hands, although Mexico’s Gerardo Hernandez and the US’s Jessie Bryant would depart the action in the day’s first level. Serock demonstrated his veteran skills in surging to the lead as the first break of the day occurred. 

After Guillermo Sanchez Otero, Yegor Moroz, and Jason James departed in 16th through 14th places, respectively, history was dashed in a heartbeat. Although she had been able to climb to the chip lead at one point, Foxen hit a rough patch that saw her chips slip away. After she committed the remainder of her stack against Serock, with Serock’s A-K outpipping Foxen’s K-Q on an A-K-J flop and no saving ten on either the turn or river, Foxen’s run at history was done in 13th place.

After a dinner break following Foxen’s elimination, the purse strings seemed to open for the dozen men on the felt. Gabriel Moura and Malcolm Franchi’s eliminations (in 12th and 11th) brought the tournament to the unofficial table of ten, with the redraw sitting the chip leader Serock to the left of Astedt, who was to the left of Brian Kim. The players settled in for the slog, but it was all decided in a quick 30 minutes. 

On the final hand of the night, Diogo Coelho put out a bet from “under the gun” (one to the left of the big blind) and Astedt called that bet to see a flop. The K-Q-6 rainbow flop seemed to be innocent but, after Coelho checked, Astedt fired a bet that was large enough that it would take Coelho’s stack to make the call. He did just that, tabling an A-J offsuit for a Broadway straight draw, while Astedt showed a powerful Big Slick (A-K) for the lead in the hand. Needing running cards or a 10 to take the hand, Coelho instead saw a second Queen and an eight run out the board, ending his tournament in 10th place and sending the final table to glory. 

1. Jordan Griff (USA), 143.7 million
2. Brian Kim (USA), 94.6 million
3. Niklas Astedt (Sweden), 94.2 million
4. Joe Serock (USA), 83.6 million
5. Jason Sagle (Canada), 67.3 million
6. Boris Angelov (Bulgaria), 52.9 million
7. Jonathan Tamayo (USA), 26.7 million
8. Malo Latinois (France), 25.5 million
9. Andres Gonzalez (Spain), 18.3 million

Handicapping the Final Nine

Seeing one of the short stacks – Tamayo, Latinois (who was the start-of-day chip leader on Sunday’s Day Seven), or Gonzalez – charge up the leaderboard to victory would be a stirring story. It would also be highly unlikely; on average in a poker tournament, there will only be a one or two-place deviation from where a player starts the final table. Someone who starts at a massive disadvantage is rarely able to storm up the leaderboard. 

With this in mind, then you must cast your eyes upward to the top and the four men that reside there – chip leader Griff, Kim, Astedt, and Serock. Serock spent some time on top of the standings on Day Seven and he is a wily veteran (231 cashes dating back to 2007) who has been in this position before. 

Astedt, who has made somewhere north of $48 million in just online play (according to PokerStars’ statistics), has been stalking the leaders for the past few days, while Kim and Griff have been fighting off the hordes that are looking to knock them off their horse. Your winner will come from these four men and, if you are looking for a wager, then look towards Serock or Astedt to take the title. 

But there will be a day’s wait for this. Monday is an off day for the final nine players, a chance to recuperate from the last two weeks of poker warfare before they reconvene at 1:30 PM (Pacific Time) to resume the battle. Every one of the nine men left is guaranteed a $1 million payday, but it is the prize at the top – $10 million and the World Championship WSOP bracelet – that they all have their eyes on. Who will take it? How long will it take? That will be revealed on Tuesday when the 2024 WSOP Main Event will crown a champion.