Will Berry will be in pole position when the WPT Choctaw final table resumes May 31 in Las Vegas. (WPT photo)

On Monday morning, 31 players woke up with the chance to make the final table of the World Poker Tour Choctaw event knowing full well they’d have to wait 11 more days before playing down to a winner. Over the course of six hours of play, 25 players were sent to the rail with the final six needing to get themselves to Las Vegas by the end of the month.

Will Berry made his way through those 25 eliminations and now holds the chip lead heading into the final table on May 31 in Sin City. Berry was responsible for five of the 25 players sent packing on Monday. He made quick work of the unofficial final table, eliminating Joe Elpayaa in eighth place with [as][ks] against Elpayaa’s [qd][qh] and then was on the good side of a cooler when sent Denny Tran out in seventh with [ad][as] against [kc][kh]. Those two pots mean Berry returns to a stack of 7,575,000 (189 big blinds) when action resumes at the HyperX Esports Arena at the Luxor.

The most decorated player at the final table, Craig Varnell spent a good amount of time on Monday as the chip leader. He eliminated six players on his way to bagging up 6,230,000 (156 bb). Varnell finished fourth at the WPT Gardens Poker Festival last July weeks after winning his first World Series of Poker bracelet earlier that month. He also won the WPT500 event in Las Vegas in 2015.

Nick Pupillo sits in third place with 3,135,000 (78 bb). Pupillo has two Heartland Poker Tour titles and two WSOP Circuit rings to his name. His previous best WPT finish came last September when he finished 13th in the Borgata Poker Open. He has six WPT Main Tour cashes for a little over $108,000 in winnings.

Trung Pham and Austin Lewis make up the fourth and fifth spots with nearly identical stacks. Pham, who has three WSOP Circuit rings, has 2,600,000 while Lewis has 2,560,000.

The short stack is Stacey Jones with 980,000 (25 bb). Jones has by far the least amount of previous tournament success of the remaining six players. He’s won just $42,476 through 13 cashes and has no recorded live wins according to Hendon Mob. The sixth place payout of $76,980 – which all players received at the conclusion of Monday’s action – nearly triples Jones’ lifetime earnings.

Arthur Morris began the day as the chip leader but was eliminated in 21st place by Austin Lewis.

The $3,700 buy-in event drew 577 entries to create a total prize pool of $1,958,915 with the eventual champion earning $379,990, which includes entry into the Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions. WPT Choctaw is one of three final tables being filmed at the HyperX Esports Arena at the Luxor in Las Vegas to close out Season XVIII. The Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown final table will play down to a winner the night before.

The average stack at the start of the six-handed final table will be 3,850,000 and play will start with blinds of  20,000/40,000 (40,000 ante).

Final Table Chip Counts

  1. Will Berry – 7,575,000
  2. Craig Varnell – 6,230,000
  3. Nick Pupillo – 3,135,000
  4. Trung Pham – 2,600,000
  5. Austin Lewis – 2,560,000
  6. Stacey Jones – 980,000