Originally posted on 07/06/2016:


Michael Mizrachi
The final table is set for the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
From a starting field of 91 players, the final 13 returned to the Amazon Room yesterday to play for one of the six seats at the final table. Six hours later, Tommy Hang was eliminated in seventh place, setting the stage for Wednesday's finale.

Mike Gorodinsky, the defending champion of this event, was the first to take the long walk to the cashier's desk today. Gorodinsky was crippled on the first hand of the day in triple draw, theneliminated one hand later by Brian Rast. His elimination reduced the field to two tables of six.

Six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu also endured a rough start to his day, and he could not fade a twelfth-place exit at the hands of Lamar Wilkinson.That knockout gave Wilkinson the chip lead for a brief while, the only period during which Justin Bonomo wasn't atop the leaderboard today.

Paul Volpe was relieved of the majority of his stack during a subsequent round of Omaha hi-lo, though he managed to stick around for a few more games before finally succumbing. Volpe shoved his short stack with king-seven, running into Michael Mizrachi's pocket kings and hitting the rail in eleventh place.

With ten players remaining, Rep Porter and Justin Bonomo played a big pot-limit Omaha pot that resulted in Porter's elimination. The three-time bracelet winner was sent off in tenth place, earning a pay bump into six figures for his performance.

Elior Sion lost most of his stack in a stud hi-lo hand against Tommy Hang, then the rest of it to Brian Rast in triple draw to finish in ninth place. Sion, a Brit, was the last remaining non-American in the field.

Daniel Alaei's five bracelets made him arguably the most decorated player left in the room at that point, but he could not escape an eighth-place elimination. Alaei found pocket kings on the button in pot-limit Omaha, but Brian Rast found pocket aces in the small blind. A preflop raising war left Alaei all in and at risk, and he was unable to catch up as the board ran out blanks. His exit reduced the field to the unofficial final table of seven, and they played on for one more knockout to make it official.

Ray Dehkharghani had less than two big bets left when they combined, but he was able to nurse his short stack to the finish line. Tommy Hang, another of the bracelet winners in the field, tangled in another big pot-limit Omaha hand with Michael Mizrachi on what would be the final hand of Day 4. Hang started the hand with pocket aces, but Mizrachi's connected cards flopped a queen-high straight to all but end it. Hang could not catch back up, and his elimination in seventh place signaled the end of play for the night.

Here's how the final table will be set up when the players reconvene on the main stage:

Seat 1: Lamar Wilkinson - 2,045,000
Seat 2: Ray Dehkharghani - 395,000
Seat 3: Eric Wasserson - 3,840,000
Seat 4: Justin Bonomo - 7,750,000
Seat 5: Michael Mizrachi - 5,535,000
Seat 6: Brian Rast - 3,185,000

Bonomo is having himself quite a summer, coming close to a bracelet on several occasions already. He's yet to snag one this year, but he's put himself in a fine spot to claim this prestigious title. Mizrachi has already won this title twice (2010 & 2012), the only player to accomplish that feat. A third victory in this event would be unprecedented. Rast is also a former champion of this event (2011), looking to match Mizrachi's record with a second PPC title. There are no soft spots, though. The final six players have a total of seven bracelets between them and a combined $15 million in WSOP earnings.

Everyone left is guaranteed to earn at least $200,000 today, but it's unlikely any of them will be content with that payout. The eventual champion will collect the Championship bracelet, the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy, and nearly $1.3 million in cash.

Live updates will be provided here throughout the final table, and the action will also be broadcastwith hole cards and commentary on a 30-minute delay. Play resumes at 2:00 p.m.