The final table is set for the Season XVI WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship. On Friday, the final six players from a 1,244-entry field will return to Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City to battle for the $651,928 top prize, and it’s Zach Gruneberg (pictured) leading the pack with a stack of 17.6 million in chips.
Gruneberg has a big lead on the field and will be looking to better his second-place finish from the Season XV WPT Borgata Poker Open. There, Gruneberg placed runner-up to Jesse Sylvia and earned $490,617. It and of itself, a WPT title is a tremendous accomplishment for poker players, but for Gruneberg it would be extra special, as he talked to WPT.com about.
“I mean, there has been a lot of weird stuff that has been happening here,” Gruneberg said of his day ahead of the last little bit of play. “Weird coincidences, weird things like random people saying weird stuff to me, like predicting. You know, there is still a lot of poker left. I’m going to play my game. Whatever happens, happens, but I’m giving myself a chance to win and that’s really all you can do. I’m running good and playing good. We’ll just see how it falls.”
Included in the $651,928 first-place prize is a $15,000 seat into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions at ARIA in Las Vegas in May.
The final six players have locked up $138,254 in prize money and will be back in action at 2 p.m. local time on Friday to battle for the title.
WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship Final Table
Seat 1: Eric Afriat – 2,280,000 (23 bb)
Seat 2: Zach Gruneberg – 17,600,000 (176 bb)
Seat 3: Joe McKeehen – 5,955,000 (60 bb)
Seat 4: Justin Zaki – 5,565,000 (56 bb)
Seat 5: Stephen Song – 2,740,000 (27 bb)
Seat 6: Michael Marder – 3,080,000 (31 bb)
The day started with 27 players in the field, including four WPT Champions Club members. Three of those four hit the rail before the final table, with David Paredes (15th – $33,811), Kevin Saul (16th – $33,811), and Jonathan Little (23rd – $23,046) falling short of Day 5. With their eliminations, Eric Afriat, winner of the largest WPT Main Tour event to date, became the last WPT Champions Club member remaining.
Steven Greenberg, who began the day as chip leader, finished ninth for $65,192, and then the elimination of Chase Bianchi in seventh place ended Day 4. Bianchi earned $106,497.
Joe McKeehen, former winner of the WSOP Main Event, was the one to knock out Bianchi, and he’ll enter Friday’s final table second in chips and looking for his first World Poker Tour title. Joining Gruneberg, McKeehen, and Afriat in the final six are Justin Zaki, Michael Marder, and Stephen Song.
The final day of play kicks off Friday at 2 p.m. local time. Stay tuned to WPT.com for continued coverage as the next WPT champion is crowned!
Photography by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive.com
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