Sonny Franco Leads WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Final Six
It’s a little more than 2,500 miles from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida to the PokerGo Studio at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and none of the six players who made the final table of the record-setting World Poker Tour Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown are going to mind making the trip.
Each of the six made the final table of the record-setting SHRPS and will play the final table at the PokerGo Studio on May 18 with $1,261,095 going to the eventual champion.
France’s Sonny Franco bagged up the slightest of chip leads when play concluded on Wednesday morning in Florida. Franco, who won the WPTDeepstacks Paris event in February 2020, finished with 31,900,000 which put him just ahead of Brekstyn Schutten, who finished with 31,350,000.
The third largest stack belongs to Steven Snyder, with 15,975,000 while Ken Aldridge sits fourth with 10,600,000.
Two players will be heading to Las Vegas with stacks in need of some help if they have any intention of winning the title and adding their name to the WPT Champions Cup. Albert Calderon, with 5,350,000, and Viet Vo, with 4,150,000, will each be looking to avoid busting in sixth place as they attempt their climb out of the danger zone.
WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Final Table Seating Assignments
Seat 1: Brekstyn Schutten – 31,350,000 (78 Big Blinds)
Seat 2: Ken Aldridge – 10,600,000 (27 BB)
Seat 3: Steven Snyder – 15,975,000 (40 BB)
Seat 4: Viet Vo – 4,150,000 (10 BB)
Seat 5: Albert Calderon – 5,350,000 (13 BB)
Seat 6: Sonny Franco – 31,900,000 (80 BB)
None of the six have ever won a WPT event but two of them have come as close as possible. In 2011, Aldridge finished second to Will Failla in the WPT Legends of Poker and walked away with $365,800 while Vo was the runner-up to Brady Hollman in the WPT Choctaw event in 2018 for $302,725.
The WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown broke the record for the largest field in WPT history with 2,482 total entries. The previous record for a live WPT event was the 2013 SHRPS which had 1,795 runners. Last May, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the WPT took their product online and ran the WPT Online Championship on partypoker. The Championship event had a $3,200 buy-in and drew 2,130 entries. Former #1-ranked Christian ‘Eisenhower1’ Jeppsson won the event for $923,786 and a $15,000 WPT Tournament of Champions seat.
Each of the remaining six players is guaranteed a $261,700 which was they received before leaving the Seminole property on Wednesday.
Final Table Payouts
- $1,261,095
- $899,295
- $593,140
- $438,500
- $326,750
- $261,700
