The record field of more than 10,100 runners has been narrowed down to just nine players left in the game now as the final table of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event is now set. Jordan Griff leads the way with the big stack of 143 million, which is miles ahead of two players virtually tied for second-place, Brian Kim and Niklas “Lena900” Astedt with a bit less than 95 million each.
One player notably absent from the final nine is Kristen Foxen. The Canadian superstar who is second in the world for women in Hendon Mob earnings was the last woman standing in this year’s game and was a good bet for the first woman winner of the event, but her epic 2024 run came to an end on Day 8 just four players away from the final table.
One other player to watch in the final nine is Joe Serock. The New Mexico native leads his state in poker earnings and brings 84 million to the final table, good for third place behind the tie between Kim and Astedt.
The 2024 WSOP Main Event Final Table
| Seat | Player | Home | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boris Angelov | Bulgaria | 52,900,000 | 33 |
| 2 | Malo Latinois | France | 25,500,000 | 16 |
| 3 | Brian Kim | United States | 94,600,000 | 59 |
| 4 | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | 94,200,000 | 59 |
| 5 | Joe Serock | United States | 83,600,000 | 52 |
| 6 | Jordan Griff | United States | 143,700,000 | 90 |
| 7 | Jonathan Tamayo | United States | 26,700,000 | 17 |
| 8 | Andres Gonzalez | Spain | 18,300,000 | 11 |
| 9 | Jason Sagle | Canada | 67,300,000 | 42 |
ME Grind is a “piece of cake” According to Astedt
start the 2024 ME final table with both he and Brian Kim
playing around 95 million.
As far as live poker goes, the Main Event every summer is among the most grueling bits of poker anyone will play. When the winner hoists the bracelet, they’ll have been at the tables for 12 days of poker, most of which are 12+ hours long.
But for an online wizard like “Lena900”, the “grueling” side of the live poker extravaganza is a bit muted. “(This is a) piece of cake compared to SCOOP. People say this is a marathon; they should try 23 tables for 40 days during SCOOP. That’s what I say.”
While the long hours may be nothing new to Astedt, the challenge for an online grinder might well be keeping focus on just a single table for such a long period. That said, while the Swede is largely known as an online GOAT, the man has more than $3 million in wins on his Hendon Mob page so he clearly knows how to play live poker as well.
Two Bracelets at Final Table
While Astedt is one of the most familiar faces on the final table, he has yet to bag himself a bracelet at WSOP. There are just two players in the final nine who have bracelets to their name — Brian Kim and Joe Serock, who both won online bracelets in the last couple of years.
Kim bagged his bracelet in the High Roller event of the 2022 Demostic US Online Series while Serock topped an online PLO game in last year’s series.
Foxen Makes Deepest Run in History by Woman
It was a pretty epic run for Kristen Foxen in this year’s Main as she was within spitting distance of a final table performance. While there are a few metrics by which to measure the “deepest run” it looks like Foxen is in contention for the title by at least one measure.
Going into this year’s event, the deepest run by percentage of the field for any woman was Gaelle Bauman’s epic final table bubble run in 2012. She was 10th out of a field of 6,598 for a finish in the top .15% of the field. Elizabeth Hille, who finished right behind Bauman in 11th that year, comes in at .17%.
With 10,112 entries in the 2024 field, Foxen’s 13th place finish looks to be significantly better than Bauman’s 2012 result. Foxen finished in the top .12% of the field with her 13th place cash.
As mentioned, there are a few ways to measure the race and percentage of the field is only one. That said, Foxen’s 2024 run is one for the record books no matter how we look at it. In terms of raw finish position, veteran woman’s player Barbara Enright holds the top spot from her 5th-place finish in 1995 and that remains the only final table appearance by a woman in the Main Event.
There are four players, including Bauman on 10th place, with one 11th and one 12th. Foxen’s 13th-place finish this year will slot into that list in the #8 spot. A third way to measure the race is by the prizes won, and it looks like Foxen scored the win that way as well.
She pocketed $600k for her 13th-place finish, which looks to have just capped the previous top player, Bauman, who won just over $590k for her FT bubble run. (All stats pulled from w50p.com).
$1 million Guaranteed for July Nine
remain and Griff has 143 million, nearly 50 million more than Brian Kim in second.
The final nine players this year are all already millionaires as the guaranteed prize for 9th place is a cool $1 million. The winner is set to pocket $10 million, which is tied for the third-biggest Main Event prize in history. Last year’s $12.1 million tops the list while Jamie Gold’s $12 million win from 2005 is second.
There is a three-way for third now with 2022, 2019, and now 2024 coming in at $10 million for the top prize. The player with the best shot at that big prize to start the final table is American Jordan Griff.
Griff is the only player with more than 100 million and he is playing nearly 150 million to start Day 9, with Kim and Astedt on less than 95 million in second. There are still three days of poker before a winner will be decided as the plan for the remainder of the tournament is to play through three eliminations per day.
The 2024 Main Event Final Table Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000,000 |
| 2 | $6,000,000 |
| 3 | $4,000,000 |
| 4 | $3,000,000 |
| 5 | $2,500,000 |
| 6 | $2,000,000 |
| 7 | $1,500,000 |
| 8 | $1,250,000 |
| 9 | $1,000,000 |
