Final Table of the Borgata Winter Poker Open Is Here; Gruneberg with Big Lead

Welcome to the final table of the Season XVI WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship! Today, the final six players from a 1,244-entry field will battle it out for the $651,928 top prize, including a $15,000 seat into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions. It all takes places starting at 2 p.m. local time from Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City.

The final six players have already locked up $138,254.

Leading the way with a big lead is Zach Gruneberg with a stack of 17.6 million. The next closest stack is Joe McKeehen with 5.955 million. To further put Gruneberg’s lead into perspective, he has 17.6 million in chips to start and the rest of the final table, the other five players, have a combined total of 19.62 million.

WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship Final Table

Seat 1: Eric Afriat – 2,280,000 (23 bb)
Seat 2: Zach Gruneberg – 17,600,000 (176 bb)
Seat 3: Joe McKeehen – 5,955,000 (60 bb)
Seat 4: Justin Zaki – 5,565,000 (56 bb)
Seat 5: Stephen Song – 2,740,000 (27 bb)
Seat 6: Michael Marder – 3,080,000 (31 bb)

For Gruneberg, he’s looking to better his second-place finish from the Season XV WPT Borgata Poker Open. In that event, Gruneberg placed runner-up and earned $490,617. It and of itself, a WPT title is a tremendous accomplishment for poker players, but for Gruneberg it would be extra special, as he talked to WPT.com about.

McKeehen has made the final table os this event before, back in Season XIV. There, from a field of 1,171 entries, McKeehen finished fourth for $249,267.

Third in chips is Justin Zaki, who was a former WPT Ones to Watch and has 15 WPT Main Tour cashes on his record.

Michael Marder, fourth in chips, had nearly $550,000 in live tournament earnings heading into this event, according to his HendonMob.com profile, but he’s making his first WPT Main Tour cash in this event.

Like Marder, Stephen Song is also making his first WPT Main Tour cash, and he’ll enter the final table fifth in chips.

Last in chips heading into the final table is WPT Champions Club member Eric Afriat, who won the largest-ever WPT Main Tour event. That tournament was the Season XII WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown, where Afriat topped a field of 1,795 entries to win $1.081 million. If Afriat comes from behind to win, he would continue the streak that’s been happening on the World Poker Tour since Season VI. Every season since Season VI, a WPT Champions Club member from a prior season has won a title. That’s yet to be the case in Season XVI, but Afriat could break that run.

The final day of play kicks off Friday at 2 p.m. local time. A live stream will be available starting at 2:30 p.m., accessible here on WPT.com via the ‘Live Stream’ tab and on the WPT’s Facebook page. Stay tuned to WPT.com for continued coverage as the next WPT champion is crowned!

Photography by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive.com

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