Of the 58 players that started yesterday at Day 5 of the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event, we are now down to the last 27 players. Mike Matusow is the new chip leader with $5,140,000 in chips and Phil Ivey is second with $4,635,000. The average chip stack at this point is $2,080,000 in chips. The tournament will be played down to 9 players today at Binion's Horseshoe.

After Day 1, almost two-thirds of the starting field was eliminated. After Day 2, another two-thirds of the remaining players got knocked out and the numbers dwindled to 568 players. On Day 3, yet another two-thirds busted out and the total number of remaining contestants was 185, and, on Day 4, it was played down to 58 players.

Upon completion of Day 5 we were left with 27 players and a number of rivalries. First, we have Greg Raymer vs. Mike Matusow, two players locked in a battle of prestige dating back to last year's Main Event when Matusow insulted Raymer. Greg has said the following about his rival: "Basically, I don't like Mike, and don't yet have any evidence that my opinion is likely to change in the future. He's smart enough and quick-witted enough to be a likable guy, but I'm not sure he cares enough for that to ever be who he will be." Second, we have the USA vs. the World. Approximately half of the remaining field consists of Americans, with the remainder hailing mostly from Europe.

Plenty of big names are left to fight for the title, including Mike Matusow, Phil Ivey, and Greg Raymer. To see the total chip count after Day 5, please click here: Chip Count Day 5.

For Main Event results, please click here: Results.

Listed below is a breakdown of the prize pool for the remaining 27 players:

1st $7,500,000
2nd $4,250,000
3rd $2,500,000
4th $2,000,000
5th $1,750,000
6th $1,500,000
7th $1,300,000
8th $1,150,000
9th $1,000,000
10th $600,000
11th $600,000
12th $600,000
13th $400,000
14th $400,000
15th $400,000
16th $350,000
17th $350,000
18th $350,000
19th-27th $304,680