WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown ME: James Carroll and Maria Ho Lead Delayed FT

The 2019 World Poker Tour Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $3,500 buy-in NLH event attracted a huge field with 1,360 entries, easily crossing the $3 million guarantee to create a $4,352,000 prizepool. After 4 days of action, the field is down to 6-handed FT. Each of the final tablists will be eyeing the top prize of $715,175 when the final table play begins on May 30.

This is the fourth WPT event with a delayed final table. The final six players will head to the HyperX Esports Arena at the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas at the end of May. Everyone at the FT is guaranteed at least $148,380 and they will have their travel and hotel stays covered by the WPT. It was Jason Marshman who bubbled the final table and took home $114,285 for the 7th place finish.

Headliner among final 6 is Maria Ho, a poplar female player and a broadcaster with $3,280,386 in live earnings. She recently won an award for Broadcaster of the Year at the Global Poker Awards.

Just a couple of days back, she spoke to WPT Team about wanting to add a big win to her resume. She now has a chance in Las Vegas as she sits second with 16,650,000 chips. Recently, she had won the 2019 L.A. Poker Classic $25,000 buy-in High Roller for $276,690. She had also won a WPTDeepStacks title in South Africa for $70,000 in October of 2018. Ho had come close to winning a WSOP bracelet – finishing runner-up in a $5,000 NLH event for $540,020. The only female player heading into the FT has got plenty of talent and chips and should be a tough contender at the FT.

The chip leader at the final table is none other than 2014 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star main event champion James Carroll. He will enter the FT battle for the title with 18,525,000 chips when the play resumes at 75,000-150,000 blinds with a big-blind ante of 150,000. Carroll has over $3.7 million in total live earnings. With a massive chip lead and lots of talent, he is in great shape to win the title.

Eric Afriat has entered the final table with 4,425,000 chips. He is one of the most successful WPT players moving into the FT. He is a two-time champion with over $2.1 million in lifetime WPT cashes. His most recent victory came in 2018 at the Borgata Winter Poker Open where he won $651,298.

Sitting at the bottom with 3,225,000 chips is Jerry Wong. He doesn’t have any big WPT wins but he has a stellar $3.7 million in live winnings. He had finished 8th in the 2016 WSOP Main Event for $1,100,000. Wong may be the shortest stack at FT, but he has played at biggest stages before.

On the final of four days of play, a total of 18 players returned out of the 1,360 entries to battle it out for a seat at the final table of six. Leading them was Chad Eveslage ( 10,760,000) followed by Carroll with half of the chip leader’s stack. As the day progressed, notable names like former Super Bowl champion Richard Seymour exited in 15th place for $36,195 and Ryan D’Angelo in 9th for $69,920.

Final Table Chip Counts:

  1. James Carroll (18,525,000)
  2. Maria Ho (16,650,000)
  3. Ami Allibay (8,175,000)
  4. Eric Afriat (4,425,000)
  5. Chad Eveslage (3,350,000)
  6. Jerry Wong (3,225,000)

Final Table Payouts:

  1.  $715,175
  2.  $465,120
  3.  $344,960
  4.  $257,815
  5.  $194,610
  6.  $148,380

Want to win big in online poker but don’t have account as yet? Sign-up HERE & get 1000 to play!

header ad banner