Day 4 of the Season XVIII WPT L.A. Poker Classic saw 39 players return to The Commerce Casino & Hotel, and after four 120-minute levels, just 11 players remain as Isaac Baron (pictured above) returns to the top to bag the chip lead with just under 3 million in chips.
After leading Day 2, Baron slipped back to fourth overall heading into the day. During the second level of day, Baron five-bet shoved his suited ace-king and Blair Hinkle called off with his own suited ace-king. Baron would see three spades fall by the river to send Hinkle out in 27th place, while moving his chip stack to nearly two million. Once play was down to two tables, Baron held the chip lead and position on the next biggest stack – WPT Champions Club member James Carroll – and he continued to apply pressure before he bagged 2,970,000 in chips.
With over $6.4 million in lifetime tournament earnings, Baron’s resume lacks a WPT title as he previously has won both a WSOP bracelet and an EPT Monte Carlo title. On the World Poker Tour, this will be Baron’s 18th cash where he has already amassed over $1,15 million in earnings with his best result being a runner-up finish in the Season XIII WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star.
Sitting behind Baron is Scott Hempel who ended the day with 2,725,000 in chips. Hempel began the day as the second shortest stack but was on the good side of several double ups before he mounted a charge up the leaderboard to finish second overall. The other players sitting above the two-million chip-mark include Balakrishna Patur (2,480,000), WPT Champions Club member James Carroll (2,370,000), Season XV WPT L.A. Poker Classic champion Daniel Strelitz (2,280,000), and WPTDeepStacks champion Upeshka De Silva (2,250,000). Also still in contention include WPT Champions Club members Matas Cimbolas (1,405,000) and Kevin Eyster (440,000).
Table 15
Seat 1: — empty —
Seat 2: Balakrishna Patur – 2,480,000 (99 bbs)
Seat 3: Matas Cimbolas – 1,405,000 (56 bbs)
Seat 4: — empty —
Seat 5: Shi Chen – 1,255,000 (50 bbs)
Seat 6: Daniel Strelitz – 2,280,000 (91 bbs)
Seat 7: James Carroll – 2,370,000 (95 bbs)
Seat 8: — empty —
Table 22
Seat 1: — empty —
Seat 2: Charles Kassin – 435,000 (17 bbs)
Seat 3: Kevin Eyster – 440,000 (18 bbs)
Seat 4: Isaac Baron – 2,970,000 (119 bbs)
Seat 5: Upeshka De Silva – 2,250,000 (90 bbs)
Seat 6: Ka Kwan Lau – 985,000 (39 bbs)
Seat 7: — empty —
Seat 8: Scott Hempel – 2,725,000 (109 bbs)
There are only a handful of events remaining in Season XVIII as the battle for the Hublot WPT Player of the Year race begins to wrap up. Brian Altman is currently the runaway leader with 2,100 points and has a spot locked up at the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open final table to be played out at the HyperX Esports Arena on April 1. Of the remaining players in the WPT L.A. Poker Classic, just six players have cashed so far in Season XVIII with Matas Cimbolas (pictured below) sitting on 200 points. Baron and Strelitz both have 100 points, while Balakrishna Patur, Shi Chen, and Carroll have 50 points each. Reaching the WPT L.A. Poker Classic final table of six will guarantee 800 points, while victory will earn the eventual champion 1,400 points.
The final 11 players are all currently guaranteed $71,950 in prize money. The schedule for Day 5 will see players play down until the final six players are reached. Play will then be halted until April 2 when those final six players will resume play at the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although they will have already been paid out $185,330 in prize money, they will all be fighting over the $1,000,000 first-place prize that includes a seat into the season-ending $15,000 buy-in WPT Tournament of Champions presented by Baccarat Crystal, along with having the honor of his name engraved on the WPT Champions Cup.
Day 5 of the WPT L.A. Poker Classic begins at 12 p.m. (PT) on Wednesday with continuous live updates being provided by the World Poker Tour. Stay tuned right here to WPT.com for the exclusive live coverage of the tournament from start to finish to see who becomes the WPT L.A. Poker Classic champion, and wins his way to the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions presented by Baccarat Crystal.
Photography by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive
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