Twitter Reacts to the WSOP Final Table (Live Updates Blog)

Welcome to the Upswing Poker 2017 WSOP Main Event final table Live Blog! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5CKmKqILlE Here you will find live update content from Thursday’s WSOP Main Event final table, as posted by poker players and fans via Poker Twitter. We will provide general updated info such as average stack and number of players remaining, but will specifically refrain from publishing personally identifying details (such as chip stacks, bustouts, etc.) until action has been broadcast on the PokerGO/ESPN2 telecasts. If you would like to keep up with final table play as it happens — complete with spoilers — visit the PokerNews WSOP Main Event Live Reporting Page. Our readers can also tune-in to PokerGO.com for televised coverage ($10/month premium service), or discuss the final table in real time by entering the official WSOP 2017 Thread on the TwoPlusTwo NVG forum. *All times Pacific (Las Vegas, GMT-7) 11:45pm Day 2 action of the 2017 WSOP Main Event final table starts today at 5:30pm Las Vegas time, with the PokerGO/ESPN2 telecasts going live 30 minutes later. Thanks to all the players, personalities and media representatives who helped share Thursday’s Day 1 play via #PokerTwitter! Here are the chip stacks going into Day 2. Scott Blumstein – 178.3 million (Seat #2) Ben Pollak – 77.5 million (Seat #4) Bryan Piccioli – 35.8 million (Seat #8) John Hesp – 22.5 million (Seat #1) Dan Ott – 16.4 million (Seat #9) Damian Salas – 15.6 million (Seat #6) Antoine Saout – 14.6 million (Seat #3) Jack Sinclair – 8th Place – $1,200,000 Ben Lamb – 9th Place – $1,000,000 https://twitter.com/PokerGO/status/888285617510952960 https://twitter.com/bparispoker/status/888285984726458368 11:30pm Day 1 of the 2017 WSOP Main Event final table has concluded. There are seven players remaining and an upcoming blind structure of [800k/1.6M/200k-Ante]. The official PokerNews chip counts can be found here. Matt Glantz has some parting thoughts as we look forward to Day 2 action, which begins in less than 18 hours. https://twitter.com/MattGlantz/status/888274035221479425 11:05pm Doug Polk is impressed by the play of Ben Pollak in recent hands. As a matter of fact, there is significant buzz around #PokerTwitter that Pollak could be the player to beat although he is currently second in chips with 7 players remaining. https://twitter.com/j_j_j_t_m/status/888277720546684928 11:00pm In Hand #64, Jack Sinclair (King-Jack) was eliminated in 8th Place by Bryan Piccioli (Pocket Aces) in an all-in preflop pot. Jack Sinclair takes home $1,200,000 USD for his effort and there are now 7 players remaining, with blinds at [600k/1.2M/200k-Ante]. https://twitter.com/RemkoRinkema/status/888274501028397056 https://twitter.com/DougPolkPoker/status/888273235954946048 https://twitter.com/Joeingram1/status/888272976524726273 10:50pm We still miss your live streams from WSOP 2016, David Tuchman. All the best! https://twitter.com/TuckonSports/status/888271857803120640 10:45pm We have an entry for Most Frequent Tweeter of Day 1 WSOP Main Event final table action… meet Christopher Kruk. https://twitter.com/KrukPoker/status/888264262833000448 10:40pm Big name poker player Jason Koon shares his thoughts on how Day 1 final table action has played out so far. You can watch an exclusive Pokerography on Jason’s life inside and outside of poker exclusively on PokerGO. https://twitter.com/JasonKoon/status/888269589527707653 10:35pm Even high roller poker player and NBA ‘3-point value’ fortune teller Haralabos Voulgaris is down in the dumps after John Hesp lost a huge all-in versus Scott Blumstein. https://twitter.com/haralabob/status/888269487245467648 10:25pm If you’re rooting for Dan Ott (who’s patched-up for Team Upswing), then we just dodged a bullet. In Hand #54, Ott called a 2.5x preflop raise and went to the river on a board of [Qh-9c-6c-9h-Th], eventually folding to an all-in shove by Damian Salas. https://twitter.com/DougPolkPoker/status/888265439071019009 https://twitter.com/RyanFeePoker/status/888265560189845505 10:15pm The John Hesp hand has #PokerTwitter up in arms… https://twitter.com/ford0067/status/888258939023835138 10:10pm We have found religion. Amen, Brother Parker Talbot. https://twitter.com/tonkaaaap/status/887779987952201728 10:05pm Team GrindNation member and Poker Life Podcast host Joey Ingram wonders aloud whether John Hesp was the victim of a cooler. Matthew Parvis, i-gaming consultant, responds. https://twitter.com/MatthewParvis/status/888260248988860416 10:00pm OnlinePokerReport writer and consultant Steve Ruddock believes John Hesp will attract many new players to the game even if he doesn’t manage to win this year’s Main Event. https://twitter.com/SteveRuddock/status/888262251861254144 9:55pm Hand #47 just shook-up #PokerTwitter and the world may never be the same. The biggest pot in the tournament so far, and the story behind it, are best told directly by PokerNews within this Live Poker Reporting post. We will have more Twitter reactions from your favorite players soon. In the meantime, here’s a sample from Bryan Paris and PocketFives co-founder Adam Small. https://twitter.com/AdamLoebSmall/status/888259142355345408 9:45pm As you may have guessed by the previous Tweet, there was a big hand that just when down between Scott Blumstein and John Hesp. More details to come soon, but for now our hearts go out to Liv Boeree and Lynn Gilmartin… we feel your pain. https://twitter.com/Liv_Boeree/status/888258376429256709 https://twitter.com/LynnGilmartin/status/888259679700242432 9:40pm Dan Ott is currently third in chips with 8 players remaining. Scott Blumstein is the chip leader with 160 big blinds, Ben Pollak is in second with 70 big blinds and the rest of the field has 30 big blinds or less. Go #TeamOtt! https://twitter.com/UpswingPoker/status/888250183040983045 9:35pm Team GrindNation member and online poker tournament veteran Bryan Paris has entered into the 2017 WSOP Main Event final table discussion. In Hand #42, Dan Ott and Ben Pollak saw a flop in a 2.2x open from Ott. With a Qc-Ts holding and a [Qd-9d-9h-4c-6d] board, Pollack check-called the action on both the flop and river while leading the turn. He wound up winning the pot and Ott mucked. https://twitter.com/bparispoker/status/888251971886501888 9:20pm In Hand #39, Dan Ott turned a Full House with 6-4 and put in a raise after John Hesp led the turn [9s-4s-4d-6h]. Hesp folded and Ott took down the pot, but did he fail to extract maximum value from the situation? https://twitter.com/DougPolkPoker/status/888249711550808065 9:05pm Poker Night in America organizer Matt Glantz has been keeping up with the final table action along with the rest of us and gives a thumbs-up review of Benjamin Pollak‘s play up to this point. https://twitter.com/MattGlantz/status/888241931934982144 9:00pm More John Hesp love on #PokerTwitter. https://twitter.com/merv_harvey/status/888237366237724673 8:50pm So far the evening has belonged to John Hesp, who is currently the only player at the table with a stack exceeding 100 big blinds. https://twitter.com/DougPolkPoker/status/888238698873081857 8:35pm The #TeamOtt hype is for real! Dan Ott has managed to double-up through Scott Blumstein in Hand #32 with Ace-Jack. Ott had slightly under 20 big blinds going into the hand, which he opened for 2.2x. Doug likes an open-shove in that spot, #TeamOtt likes the double-up. https://twitter.com/DougPolkPoker/status/888237000444133378 8:20pm In Hand #22, Scott Blumstein decided to call a preflop raise with Ace-King. The hand eventually went to the river [Jh-8s-6s-Jc-Ah] with John Hesp picking up another pot. Here’s what Doug had to say about the hand. https://twitter.com/DougPolkPoker/status/888226772977725440 8:05pm The big story so far this evening has been semi-retired businessman John Hesp, who has gained even more fans after just a few hours of final table action. Four-time WSOP bracelet winner Max Pescatori pays homage to the 64-year old in this Tweet. https://twitter.com/maxpescatori/status/888217576240693248 7:50pm A river decision by Antoine Saout is bringing out analysis from some of the highest profile players in poker. You can click on the PokerNews Live Reporting link at the top of this page if you would like a hand-for-hand recap of WSOP Main Event final table action in real time. https://twitter.com/strassa2/status/888221783077175298 7:40pm More hand analysis incoming from Doug Polk and Sam Grafton. Blinds are currently [500k/1M/150k-Ante] with 8 Players remaining. https://twitter.com/SquidPoker/status/888217713826566144 7:30pm The 2017 WSOP “Live Poker Freezeout” tournament continues, with poker commentary anchor, co-host and reporter Kara Scott seeking out brand-wear sweatshirts. https://twitter.com/KaraOTR/status/888221477253795840 7:20pm As promised, our very own Doug Polk has been lighting-up the #PokerTwitterSphere with his thoughts on how the WSOP Main Event final table is playing out. You can scroll down to the bottom of this page to get FREE MTT WORKSHOP VIDEOS courtesy of Doug, Pratyush Buddiga, and your friends here at Team Upswing. https://twitter.com/DougPolkPoker/status/888204419782721536 7:15pm Here is the official recap of the hand in which Ben Lamb was eliminated from the 2017 World Series of Poker Main Event. https://twitter.com/PokerCentral/status/888214827788894208 7:05pm The PokerGO/ESPN2 30-minute delay telecast has caught up with real-time action. Ben Lamb has been eliminated in 9th Place and receives $1,000,000 USD. “Benba” is being a great sport about it… and we have another confirmed John Hesp fan, too! https://twitter.com/BenbaLamb/status/888206723743227905 6:55pm One more off topic issue, and this one could develop into a legitimate news story. A color-up during break at the Borgata appears to have resulted in a player losing nearly half his stack. The latest on this is that he took a snapshot of his chips before leaving the table for break. Kevin Mathers has commented and re-tweeted. https://twitter.com/Kevmath/status/888213168064929792 6:45pm Perhaps a bit off topic, but thanks to Poker Twitter we now know that Jake Cody is having passport issues again. https://twitter.com/JakeCody/status/888211945089712128 6:40pm Guess what’s for dinner? Shout-out to #GTOPapi Joey Ingram, Doug Polk and Upswing Kaitie. https://twitter.com/Joeingram1/status/888211686322192384 6:35pm Personally, we put the Over/Under on this one at 30 minutes when DNegs posted it. Doug Polk delivers with a solid Under. https://twitter.com/DougPolkPoker/status/888209700986134528 6:25pm BREAKING NEWS — There has been an elimination at the final table, with one player finishing in 9th place for a cash payout of $1,000,000 USD. We will have Twitter updates in approximately half an hour while the PokerGO/ESPN2 telecasts (30-minute delay) catch up. 8 Players remain. 6:20pm This photo by Jamie Kerstetter was taken a few hours ago, as 2017 WSOP Main Event final table participant Scott Blumstein drove to the Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. https://twitter.com/JamieKerstetter/status/888149457530781696 6:15pm “The Mouth” Mike Matusow loves John Hesp… and we do, too! https://twitter.com/themouthmatusow/status/888205148668940289 6:10pm If you’re looking for real-time live reports complete with hand history and chip count details, PokerNews has the exclusive scoop. https://twitter.com/PokerNews/status/888202973800570880 6:05pm One of the most talked-about hands from this year’s WSOP Main Event happened during Day 1 (non-final table) action between Vanessa Selbst and Gaelle Baumann. Poker blogger and industry consultant Kat Arnsby has the following take on the hand and gives her thoughts on Women in Poker. https://twitter.com/ThePokerBaffer/status/888201871076339713 6:00pm Poker Central on-air personality Drea Renee has this quick update as televised final table coverage begins on PokerGO/ESPN2. https://twitter.com/PokerCentral/status/888200311323508738 5:55pm WSOP social media consultant and PocketFives community manager Kevin Mathers is pumped! Live coverage on PokerGO begins shortly in select regions where ESPN is not available. https://twitter.com/Kevmath/status/888195902539575297 5:45pm The 2017 World Series of Poker Main Event final table is now underway! PokerNews has LIVE coverage in real time, while the PokerGO/ESPN2 broadcasts will follow on a 30-minute delay. https://twitter.com/PokerNews/status/888195858860130304 5:40pm Decisions, decisions… we sympathize Olivia! https://twitter.com/Olivia_Kenn/status/888195502323445762 5:35pm Here’s how WSOP Main Event final-tablist Bryan Piccioli spent his lunchtime Thursday. https://twitter.com/theczar19/status/888172384728924160 5:25pm Poker coach Chance Kornuth has just posted an image from the Brasilia Room. High stakes pro Ben Lamb comes in as the short-stack, but could be just one double-up away from significantly impacting tonight’s final table. https://twitter.com/ChancesCards/status/888192975825625088 5:15pm Upswing Poker featured pro Doug Polk spent time coaching WSOP Main Event final table participant Dan Ott this week. Here’s Dan’s profile page courtesy of PokerNews. Go #TeamOtt! https://twitter.com/PokerNews/status/888187769247453189 5:10pm Poker player, author, and consultant Zachary Elwood just posted this poll on Twitter. https://twitter.com/apokerplayer/status/888187935379423232 5:05pm If you’re wondering what the scene is like minutes before the final table begins, watch this live video feed provided by Remko Rinkema. https://twitter.com/RemkoRinkema/status/888186811012464641 5:00pm Speaking of Poker Central, podcast host and senior poker media correspondent Remko Rinkema & friends have discovered their own final table in Press Row. https://twitter.com/RemkoRinkema/status/888185846293176320 4:55pm Want to watch this evening’s final table on TV as it plays out? Read this Poker Central article which breaks down televised coverage availability per geographical region. https://twitter.com/RemkoRinkema/status/888185126290505728 4:50pm Former poker high roller tournament specialist-turned-businessman Mike McDonald has been doing a lot of great things over at PokerShares. Time is running out to book action on this evening’s final table. https://twitter.com/pokershares/status/888164150517448705 4:45pm Team GrindNation member and Poker Life Podcast host Joey Ingram has officially inspired 2003 WSOP Main Event champion Chris Moneymaker. https://twitter.com/CMONEYMAKER/status/887721464345935872 4:40pm PokerListings is on-site and checking out the spectator line as fans await to enter the Brasilia Room. https://twitter.com/PokerListings/status/888181026580713473 4:30pm Want a recap of Day 7 WSOP Main Event action before the final table goes live? Doug breaks down some of the key hands leading into tonight’s televised coverage. https://twitter.com/DougPolkPoker/status/888126136269459456 4:25pm WSOP 2017 Main Event final table participant John Hesp has made the front page of the BBC website. We agree with Nick that this will indeed be a huge story if the semi-retired businessman claims the $8.15 million USD championship prize. https://twitter.com/nickwealthall/status/888088640844439552 4:20pm World Series of Poker social media guru and forum legend Kevin Mathers has also arrived on the scene. https://twitter.com/Kevmath/status/888175320431345664 4:10pm Ace poker reporter Frank Op de Woerd is live on-set at the Brasilia Room inside the Las Vegas Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino. Final table action begins in less than two hours. https://twitter.com/webjoker/status/888172583681630208 4:05pm Looking for WSOP 2017 Main Event final table predictions? Doug Polk, Phil Hellmuth and Kara Scott give their thoughts ahead of this evening’s final table action. https://twitter.com/phil_hellmuth/status/888167169430663169 4:00pm PokerNews is doing some great work and has already published profiles for every player at the final table. Here’s a look at Damian Salas‘ career leading into this evening. https://twitter.com/PokerNews/status/888163357840351232 3:55pm PocketFives Editor-in-Chief Lance Bradley has been busy at this year’s WSOP, and is excited about how many fans this weekend’s final table coverage has the potential to reach. Lance recently won $8,000 USD for a one-year prop bet in which he wore the same shirt every day. https://twitter.com/Lance_Bradley/status/888167344270397440 3:50pm Former EPT San Remo champion ($1.7 million USD) Liv Boeree is still in Las Vegas and will be attending the final table live to support her players. If you’re a PokerGO subscriber, you can watch her Pokerography to find out more about the University of Manchester Physics graduate. https://twitter.com/Liv_Boeree/status/888163970267324416 3:40pm Our very own Doug Polk will be commentating alongside 14-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth this evening. Doug earned $1.5 million in profit for his 2017 High Roller for One Drop victory in June, and is excited along with the rest of us to see Day 1 of the WSOP Main Event final table play out. https://twitter.com/DougPolkPoker/status/887900605695406080 3:30pm: Welcome everyone! Here is a rundown of the pre-cast chip counts, with Day 1 Final Table action scheduled to begin in two hours. BLINDS: 400k/800k/100k-Ante ||| AVERAGE STACK: 40.1 million ||| PLAYERS REMAINING: 9 Scott Blumstein – 97.25 million (Seat #2) John Hesp – 85.7 million (Seat #1) Ben Pollak – 35.18 million (Seat #4) Bryan Piccioli – 33.8 million (Seat #8) Dan Ott – 26.48 million (Seat #9) Damian Salas – 22.18 million (Seat #6) Antoine Saout – 21.75 million (Seat #3) Jack Sinclair – 20.2 million (Seat #5) Ben Lamb – 18.1 million (Seat #7)