Cards went into the air for Day 5 of the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas at 12 p.m. PST on December 18 with 37 players left.
Just shy of 18 hours later, a hair before 6:00 a.m. local time in Las Vegas, seventh-place finisher Lucas Foster lost a coinflip with pocket nines finally lock in the official WPT final table of six.
It took over 7 hours and 158 total hands just to get from the unofficial final table of nine players down to six. And now each of these remaining six players is guaranteed over $1 million in prize money, which will be the largest result for each of their careers. In fact, with the exception of chip leader Benny Glaser, this singular result will eclipse the entirety of these players’ lifetime poker tournament earnings in a single swing.
So who are these six freshly minted millionaires who will play for the largest prize in WPT history on Tuesday?
Frank Funaro – Seat 1 – 21.1 million chips (13.2 BBs)
WPT Earnings: $124,092
Lifetime Earnings: $980,579
Biggest Lifetime Cash: $219,089, 2nd, 2020 WSOP online $3,200 High Roller
Prominent Wins: $1,000 October 2022 WSOP Online Bracelet; $320 May 2022 6-Max WSOP Online Circuit Ring
Funaro was on the ropes pretty quickly in the playdown from nine players to six. After running a bluff straight into Colton Blomberg’s pocket aces on the river, Funaro was left with just 5 big blinds. But an improbable comeback was in the cards on this night. Over the next 50 hands, Funaro would double up, triple up, and then double up again to get to 30 big blinds. In his last major hand of the night, Funaro managed to earn a come-from-behind chop with 
vs. Blomberg’s 
While Funaro’s biggest career result was in a WSOP online bracelet event in July 2020, the New Jersey native is no stranger to high-stakes live tournaments. He finished 44th in this year’s WSOP main event, has cashed in multiple $25,000 and $10,000 PokerGO Tour events, and counts three top-50 results on the World Poker Tour – his best, a 20th in the 2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown.
End of Day 1 chip count: 210,000 (604/1,185)
End of Day 2 chip count: 1.375 million(39/399)
End of Day 3 chip count: 4.265 million (13/128)
End of Day 4 chip count: 8,125,000 (14/37)
Jean-Claude Moussa – Seat 2 – 19 million chips (11.8 BBs)
WPT Earnings: $675,988
Lifetime Earnings: $863,094
Biggest Lifetime Cash: $346,550, 4th, 2019 WPT LA Poker Classic; $321,840, 5th, 2010 WPT LA Poker Classic
Prominent Wins: None
Moussa was the shortest stack when the field combined to a nine-handed table, and he had to grind hard to make the final six. His first all-in resulted in an unlikely chopped pot between his 
and Michael Rocco’s 
as the board ran out a broadway straight. Moussa went on to double up three times and took down enough blinds to keep his head above water, though he did lose a tough all-in when Foster shoved 
on the button and outran Moussa’s just before the end of the night.
Moussa, who hails from Brighton, Massachusetts, is the only player among these six with WPT final table experience. He twice made the top six at the WPT LA Poker Classic, finishing 5th in 2010 and then 4th in 2019.
End of Day 1 chip count: 107,000 (993/1,185)
End of Day 2 chip count: 305,000 (335/399)
End of Day 3 chip count: 3.5 million (25/128)
End of Day 4 chip count: 14.475 million (4/37)
Adam Adler – Seat 3 – 27.2 million chips (17 BBs)
WPT Earnings: $36,990
Lifetime Earnings:$1,174,060
Biggest Lifetime Cash: $243,323, 2018 WSOP $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty
Prominent Wins: 2009 $560 WPT Borgata Poker Open prelim
As opposed to every other player save for Glaser, Adler’s path to the final six was relatively uneventful. He was all-in exactly once over the final seven-plus hours, and it was when his offsuit ace-king went up against Glaser’s offsuit ace-king. Despite a flush draw on the turn, it would ultimately be a chopped pot. Despite Glaser’s looming presence over the proceedings, Adler and Eliot Hudon combined for the last three eliminations of the night. Adler’s effort was knocking out Drew O’Connell in 8th place, as his 
outraced O’Connell’s 
on a 
runout.
Adler, who is originally from South Carolina, has had two close calls in WSOP bracelet events in his career – a second-place finish in the 2018 $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty, and a 4th place in a $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event in 2009.
End of Day 1 chip count: 260,000 (448/1,185)
End of Day 2 chip count: 700,000 (180/399)
End of Day 3 chip count: 1.2 million (94/128)
End of Day 4 chip count: 3.1 million (32/37)
Colton Blomberg – Seat 4 – 14 million chips (8.8 BBs)
WPT Earnings: $1,500
Lifetime Earnings: $231,722
Biggest Lifetime Cash: $41,102, 1st, $550 No Limit Hold’em, 2022 Wynn Summer Classic
Prominent Wins: $550 No Limit Hold’em, 2022 Wynn Summer Classic
Blomberg is the shortest stack among the final six players in the 2022 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas, but the bottom three are bunched up fairly tightly. To get to this point, Blomberg battled on a short stack for an extended stretch of time. After securing the early double through Funaro, Blomberg sat on a short stack without a true double for hours. Late in the day, Blomberg’s pocket tens held against Hudon’s 
, and those are the chips he’ll carry onto Tuesday.
A Tempe, Arizona native, Blomberg has had a couple of close calls with deep runs in non-Hold’em WSOP bracelet events that ended just shy of final tables. He also has a WSOP main event cash to his name, in 2019. Blomberg clearly enjoys playing at The Wynn, as his biggest winner and career live score came in a $550 event at the 2022 Wynn Summer Classic.
End of Day 1 chip count: 167,000 (771/1,185)
End of Day 2 chip count: 980,000 (100/399)
End of Day 3 chip count: 2.175 million (57/128)
End of Day 4 chip count: 8.65 million (13/37)
Benny Glaser – Seat 5 – 133.6 million chips (83.5 BBs)
WPT Earnings: $71,265
Lifetime Earnings: $3,655,692
Biggest lifetime cash: $464, 420, 4th place, 2022 WSOP $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
Prominent Wins: 4 WSOP bracelets: 2015 $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw; 2016 $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo; 2016 $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo; 2021 $10,000 Razz Championship.
Undoubtedly the most recognizable name at this final table, Glaser has found the bulk of his career success away from No Limit Hold’em. The four-time WSOP bracelet winner’s 14 biggest live cashes in a career with over $3.6 million in earnings are all in non-Hold’em events. That includes a career-best cash for the Eastleigh, England native in this year’s $50K WSOP Poker Players Championship and a second-place finish in an 8-Game Mix event just days before this World Championship began.
The playdown from nine to six was a master class in pressure, as Glaser wielded a stack that had him the end-of-day chip leader since Day 3 to an unbelievable amount of leverage. Despite dropping some of his chips back in double-ups, Glaser’s leverage had him with over 160 million, 54% of the total chips in play at one point. He’ll have a little bit less leverage to start Tuesday’s final table despite four significantly shorter stacks, though, as the man to his right made a big run just before the end of the night.
End of Day 1 chip count: 219,000 (569/1,185)
End of Day 2 chip count: 1.18 million (63/399)
End of Day 3 chip count: 7.565 million (1/128)
End of Day 4 chip count: 28.8 million (1/37)
Eliot Hudon – Seat 6 – 80.8 million chips (50.5 BBs)
WPT Earnings: $0
Lifetime Earnings: $205,342
Biggest Lifetime Cash: $113,800, C$1,150 No Limit Hold’em Main Event, Playground Poker Club, November 2022
Prominent Wins: C$1,150 No Limit Hold’em Main Event, Playground Poker Club, November 2022
Hudon’s pace throughout the late-night and early-morning session was slow and measured, as he took full advantage of his preflop time bank chips on big decisions. His deliberate approach kept him in the game for the majority of the night, until his 
improbably turned into turned trip threes and helped Hudon overcome Rocco’s pocket kings to knock him out in ninth place. He’d soon scoop another big pot when his 
turned a straight against Foster’s pocket aces. Then, when he needed big hands to hold, Hudon made that happen, too. In a pot that developed slowly, Hudon’s 
spiked the case on the turn to flip the script on Glaser, who had flopped top pair with on an 
board, and a river shove earned Hudon a double. Hudon completed his spin up when his outraced Foster’s pocket sevens to end the night.
Hudon, who is from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, has limited live results, but counts a 63rd-place finish in the 2019 WSOP main event and a recent win at Playground Poker Club in Kahnawake among his best results.
End of Day 1 chip count: 244,000 (489/1,185)
End of Day 2 chip count: 1.695 million (15/399)
End of Day 3 chip count: 3.09 million (38/128)
End of Day 4 chip count: 3.6 million (30/37)