WSOP 2024: Main Event Reaches Final Table, Kristen Foxen Falls Just Short of Poker History

The biggest field in WSOP Main Event history played down to the final table during Day 48 of the 2024 World Series of Poker, with history making implications on the line. The Paris and Horseshoe casinos in Las Vegas were host to a total of eight bracelet events on Sunday, with three Championship events and another High Roller tournament on the docket as the WSOP starts to wind down.

The WSOP Final Table is Set

For nine of the eighteen players returning for the WSOP Main Event, Day 8 heartbreak was on the horizon. A host of storylines were in play as the final two tables commenced, and all eyes were on Kristen Foxen in her attempt to become the second woman to reach the Main Event Final Table. Malo Latinois was hoping to break the curse of the chip leaders before him and avoid falling short of the final nine. Joe Serock, Niklas Astedt and Brian Kim were looking to use their experience to make a push towards the top of the leaderboards. Some were successful, others fell short in a dramatic day of action.

Jordan Griff, who started the day tied for the shortest stack, will return to Tuesday’s final table with a hefty chip lead; his 143,700,000 chip stack is the only one above 100 million. He was nearly the first elimination of the day, finding a miracle two-outer on the river after Jessie Bryant flopped a set. Gerardo Hernandez and Bryant were the only two eliminations in the first level, as Serock, Astedt and Foxen contended for the chip lead.

Stacks started to shorten as only one more player, Guillermo Sanchez Otero, fell in the second level of play. Yegor Moroz then got his last 28 big blinds in with J♠ J♦, but was crushed by Kim’s K♠ K♦. No jack would come for Moroz and his boisterous rail, and it was Kim’s turn to take the chip lead. Jason James would soon follow, losing a flip with 10♣ 10♥ for his last 20 big blinds against Joe Serock’s A♣ Q♠. 

Foxen Falls But Sets New Record In Process

James’s elimination helped Foxen make history; she had secured the biggest ever cash by a female in Main Event history. The $600,000 she was guaranteed was barely more than the $590,442 earned by Elisabeth Hille and Gaelle Baumann in 2012, securing her place in the storied lore of the Main Event.

Alas, her run at the final table ended soon after. With the big blind at 1.2 million, Serock opened with a min-raise under the gun, and Foxen defended her big blind. Foxen check-called a bet of 4 million on a A♥ K♥ J♠ flop, and Foxen checked again on the 5♠ turn. Serock bet 11.6 million, and Foxen went into the tank, rechecking her cards at one point. She came out of the tank with a check-raise all in for 36.9 million, and Serock took just a few seconds before looking back at his cards and uttering, “Call,” with A♠ K♣. 

Foxen looked back at her rail and said, “I need a ten,” before tabling K♠ Q♦. While Foxen was able to hit a miracle yesterday to survive, fate couldn’t save her again, as a 6♥ fell on the river, ending her amazing run in 13th, four spots shy of the official final table.

Three More Fall Short as Griff Claims the Chip Lead

From there, the remaining short stacks started to fall, as Gabriel Moura and Malcolm Franchi were dispatched in short order. Griff then ascended to the chip lead after winning a monster pot off Serock, in which Serock flopped the nut straight but Griff’s set of fives found the case five on the river, costing Serock over 50 million in chips. Diogo Coelho then busted out to set the 2024 WSOP Main Event Final Table.

Despite the brutal cooler at the end of the night, Serock, along with Kim and Adstedt, made it through the day with healthy stacks above 50 big blinds. Jason Sagle and Boris Angelov are just below them with a bit of breathing room, while Jonathan Tamayo, Latinois and Andres Gonzalez will be looking to make their moves early, as all three sit with less than 20 big blinds.

The final nine players have all secured a million dollar payday, and those who survive Day 8’s paring of the field down to the final four will go to sleep with $3 million bucks locked up. But the goal on everyone’s mind is the $10 million dollar top prize and the greatest trophy in poker; the WSOP Main Event gold bracelet. The remaining nine players get a day off tomorrow and return Tuesday to play down to the final four.

Bleznick Breaks Through For First Bracelet in $50k High Roller

It was a five-hour sprint to the finish for the final five players in Event #92: $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em, and Jared Bleznick finally crossed his name off the list of the “best without a bracelet,” earning $2,037,947 for his victory. After Justin Saliba’s knockout at the start of the day, it took nearly two full levels before Nacho Barbero and Christoph Vogelsang busted in short order. Bleznick started heads-up with a 2:1 chip lead, and eventually got luck with A♣ 4♣ against a short-stacked Jesse Lonis and his 7♥ 7♠. An ace on the flop was all it took to secure one of the biggest first prizes of the 2024 WSOP for ‘Blez, who will surely buy a few boxes of Panini Flawless to celebrate the score.

Bolden Bests Racener For $3k Horse Crown

John Racener and Gary Bolden came into the bonus day of Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. knowing it would be a quick sprint to the finish. With only fourteen big bets between them, one hand could (and did) swing the counts in anyone’s favor. Despite starting with a roughly 2.5:1 chip deficit, Bolden bounced back and denied Racener his second bracelet, earning $206,321 and his first WSOP gold bracelet for his efforts. A wheel by Bolden in Omaha Hi-Lo evened the stacks off the bat, and thirty minutes later, Bolden had Racener all-in on seventh in stud hi-lo with two pair and a bad low. Racener could beat neither, and Bolden earned the victory in swift fashion.

Black and Owen Atop Mid-Stakes Championship

From the 147 players who returned for Day 3 action in Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship, just 17 found a bag when all was said and done, with Taylor Black (20,725,000) and Adam Owen (15,175,000) a considerable margin ahead of the remainder of the field. Dong Chen (10,950,000) and Alec Torelli (7,800,000) made it through to Day 4, while Michael Soyza, David Jackson, and Jim Collopy had to settle for deep runs while falling short of the final scheduled day of action.

Mateos Amasses Another Big Stack in $10k 6-Max Championship

A total of 84 entries joined the 414 who fired Day 1 of Event #94: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em, and only 28 remained after another 10 levels of action. Fahredin Mustafov (3,300,000) and Adrian Mateos (2,860,000) both managed monster bags of over 100 big blinds to end the day. Viktor Blom (1,160,000) managed to burst the bubble by cracking the aces of Atanas Malinov with the mighty J♠ 7♦ in a monster all-in preflop confrontation. With 76 players earning a payday, Rania Nassreddine, Joe McKeehen and Jonathan Little all managed to earn a piece of the prize pool before departing.

Three More Day 1’s Bring Day 48 to a Close

Event #96: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E. brought a total of 94 entrants in the mix, with Paul Volpe on top with a stack of 650,000. Phil Hellmuth (269,000) had a productive day on his hunt for WSOP gold bracelet #18, and Jared Bleznick (204,000) hopped right in the mix after winning the $50k high roller and doubled his stack before day’s end.

The second flight of Event #93: $777 Lucky Sevens No-Limit Hold’em added a total of 1,559 entrants to the field, bringing the total number of runners to 3,057. Victor Dermendjiar (2,820,000) holds the chip lead over the surviving 77 players, with Domnick Sarle (2,150,000) and Jason Wheeler (1,725,000) in the top 5.

And finally, 1,124 players tried their luck at securing a Poker Hall of Famer’s bounty in Event #95: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold’em. Two of those bounties are still up for grabs, as Jack McClelland (209,000) and Erik Seidel (95,000) both made it through the day, while Martin Finger (554,000) and Roman Korenev (529,000) bagged impressive stacks.

With thanks to PokerGO for their official WSOP photography. The 2024 World Series of Poker is available to watch exclusively on PokerGO. Subscribe today and watch all the drama play out in Las Vegas!

This article originally appeared on PokerStake.com