A Look at the Final Six Left In Contention for the $50,000 Poker Players Championship

1st – Benny Glaser – 8,610,000

Leading the way is Benny Glaser, one of the world’s best Mixed Games players and Southampton’s most notable export since Craig David. Holder of the most SCOOP and WCOOP titles on PokerStars, Glaser is synonymous with the Mixed Games scene and has been at the top level for the last ten years. His first of nine bracelets so far came back in 2015 in the $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw. Last year, Glaser hit new heights in terms of achievements, rattling off a hat-trick last summer in the $1,500 Dealers Choice 6-Max for $150,246, the $1,500 Mixed Omaha Eight or Better 7-Handed for $258,193, and the $1,500 Mixed Limit Triple Draw Lowball (2-7, A-5, Badugi) for $208,552. Below is the full list of Benny’s bracelets.

Benny Glaser Bracelet Wins

Glaser ended Day 1 second in chips, Day 2 again second in chips, before finishing Day 3 and 4 at the top of the counts after an up and down Day 4, an incredible feat of consistency in one of the toughest fields and tests of poker mettle. Glaser has had a deep run in the PPC before, finishing 4th in 2022 for $464,420. During yesterday’s session, Glaser’s stack peaked at 10,610,000, which would have been good for at least a 2:1 advantage on second place. One thing we know for sure is that Glaser will be tough to beat when play resumes.

2nd – Maxx Coleman – 5,565,000

Atop the chasing pack is Maxx Coleman, a Mixed Games specialist and 2022 $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw bracelet winner. Coleman has already racked up seven cashes at the WSOP this summer, the largest of which came in the $1,500 PLO, where he finished 5th for $117,950. Coleman will receive a career-best score for a second or first place finish, having won $750,000 in the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em Main Event at the 2015 The River Poker Series in Thackerville.

3rd – Josh Arieh – 5,265,000

One of the four with previous PPC final table experience, Josh Arieh, sits in third place. During the $25,000 Fantasy Draft, Daniel “KidPoker” Negreanu asked ChatGPT to rate how good a purchase Arieh was for his team, to which our large-language model overlord simply replied, “No.” Clearly, ChatGPT ignored Arieh’s seven WSOP bracelets and Mixed Games chops, having finished runner-up in this event in 2019. So far, Arieh has cashed nine times this summer, making the final table and finishing runner-up in the $1,500 HORSE for $275,620, being denied an eighth bracelet by Calvin Anderson. Arieh has the know-how and the skills to mount a serious challenge to Glaser at the top when play resumes tomorrow.

4th – Kristopher Tong – 5,180,000

Another previous final tablist, Kristopher Tong, comes into the final day of play fourth of the sixth, but very much close to the tightly bunched chasing pack. A Mixed Games specialist, Tong secured his biggest ever score last summer, winning a bracelet and $452,689 in the $10,000 Limit HORSE. In 2023, he finished fifth in the PPC, cashing for $303,071. So far this summer, Tong has only recorded one cash, which came in the $25,000 PLO High Roller, where he finished 35th for $59,982.

5th – Phil Ivey – 5,135,000

Everything to be said about Phil Ivey has already been said at least twenty times over. One of the rare characters who really needs no introduction, known by humans who don’t even know what poker is, Ivey is a Hall of Famer and nine-time WSOP Bracelet winner, and quite possibly the greatest all-around poker player to have ever taken to the felt. Despite coming into the finale second last, it is impossible to write Ivey off, whatever his stack size. So far this summer, the GOAT has two cashes, one in the $250,000 No Limit Super High Roller, where he finished 8th for $553,270, and in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship, where he finished 8th for $30,292.

6th – Paul Volpe – 2,725,000

Last but certainly not least is Paul Volpe, who is the clear short-stack. Like his tablemates, Volpe has a wealth of Mixed Games experience, having won three WSOP Bracelets in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship in 2018, the $1,500 Eight Game Mix in 2016, and his first bracelet in the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship in 2014. Volpe is no stranger to the PPC final table, having finished 3rd in 2021. So far this summer has had two cashes, one in the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Mystery Bounty and the $10,000 Limit Seven Card Stud Championship.