Phil Hellmuth in Position to win 2012 WSOPE Main Event


With $16,159,430 in live tournament winnings and a record 12 WSOP gold bracelets, it seems like Phil Hellmuth has won just about everything. But the reality is that there are titles the Poker Brat hasn’t won including the WSOPE Main Event. Interestingly enough, the Poker Brat is in a good position to add the 2012 WSOPE Main Event title to his decorated resume since he leads the final table with 3,434,000 chips.

But it’s worth mentioning that he leads by the slimmest of margins because Sergii Baranov is right behind him with 3,339,000 chips. The Ukrainian businessman is an amateur player who’s won two EPT side events in his career.

Joseph Cheong (1.966 million) is definitely a player of interest on this final table since he finished third place in the 2010 WSOP Main Event. Thanks to this $4,130,059 cash and plenty of other strong tournament finishes, Cheong has racked up $5,377,687 in career winnings.

Both Stephane Albertini (1.162m) and Christopher Brammer (851k) are certainly formidable players. Both of these poker pros have experienced considerable success on the live tournament circuit and will be looking to add their biggest career cashes.

One more player that should definitely be discussed here is Jason Mercier. Sure the Florida native has one of the smallest remaining chip stacks, but his experience definitely makes him someone to watch. It would be nice to see Mercier collect a big cash since he’s struggled in 2012 – or at least struggling for a guy who’s collected $7,912,297 in live tourneys.

With just one more day to go in the WSOPE Main Event, we’ll get to see the winner crowned tonight. Hellmuth would certainly provide a marquee winner, but both Cheong and Mercier are well-noted players as well.

2012 WSOPE Main Event Final Table

1. Phil Hellmuth – 3,434,000 chips
2. Sergii Baranov – 3,339,000
3. Joseph Cheong – 1,966,000
4. Stephane Albertini – 1,162,000
5. Christopher Brammer – 851,000
6. Stephane Girault – 664,000
7. Jason Mercier – 652,000
8. Paul Tedeschi – 543,000