PCA Main Event Final Table Set: Faraz Jaka Leads
January 13, 2012 10:54 amThe $10k PCA Main Event has now reached its final table after Day 5 of the competition saw the remaining 24 players reduced down to a table of eight.
Although pleased to be guaranteed a minimum of at least $156,400 for making it through this far, the players will instead now have their thoughts firmly set on the $2 million first place prize.
Chip leader at the final table is Faraz Jaka, who is nicknamed “The Toilet,” because of his love for suited cards and chasing flushes. Jaka has lead the tournament for most of the way, and finished Day 5 on a 6.47m stack, but the 27 year-old with $2,385,962 in live winnings, has now had his lead reduced with both Kyle Julius (6.45m) and last woman standingXuan Liu (6.355m) not far behind.
Xuan Liu was helped on her way to a big stack after being dealt A-Q and calling the 2.1 million four-bet shove of Alex “Assassinato” Fitzgerald with Ks-10s, with two aces then falling on the flop.
Also making it through to the final table is Dutch pro Ruben Visser (4.4m) and John Dibella (3.465m), who eliminated Lee Goldman in 9th ($101,000) with pocket nines to Goldman’s pocket kings. For a while it looked like Tony Gregg was going to be the final table bubble boy, as he was reduced to just six big blinds at one stage. However, he was then relieved to see Lee Goldman exit and instead made it through to the final table on a 1.16m stack, alongside other smaller stacks David Bernstein (1.96m), and Mark Drover (1.43m),
Amongst those players falling short of the final table, were Martin Jacobson in 10th ($101,000), Phil D’Auteuil in 11th ($85,000), David Peters in 22nd ($52,000) and Alex Venovski in 23rd ($52,000).
The final table will now get underway later today at 1pm ET with livestream available on PokerStars.tv forty minutes later.