A Look at the Final Six in the WPT Choctaw Championship

Aug 7, 2018

After three days of action at the Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant, Oklahoma, the final table of six is set in Season XVII WPT Choctaw Championship event. The winner will take home $469,185, which includes a $15,000 seat into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions. The winner also receives 1,200 points in the Hublot WPT Player of the Year race. Here’s a complete look at the final players remaining.

Seat 1: Brady Holiman (10,840,000)

Brady Holiman

While he may not be a name recognizable to most poker fans, Brady Holiman has built a sizable chip stack and will be looking to close out the show when play resumes on Tuesday at 12 p.m. local time. With only about $42,000 in live tournament winnings, even sixth-place money ($95,780) will be the largest poker score of Holiman’s career, but he’s definitely looking for more. His previous best cash came in a preliminary event at WPT Choctaw in Season XV. In the $350 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack event, Holiman took home $18,782.

If he can keep his run going, Holiman will greatly increase his lifetime earnings and add a nice bullet point to his poker résumé. He’s been playing poker 16 years and was introduced to the game by a friend in high school. He tries to keep a solid game, but mix it up a bit and play position well.

When not playing cards, the 37-year-old Holiman works as a general sales manager at a car dealership in his hometown of Athens, Texas. He even sported his Elder Chrysler Dodge dealership cap as he battled it out to the final table. This is his second-ever WPT event, and Holiman notes that he has taught his children how to play poker also.

Seat 2: Christopher Smith (4,495,000)

Christopher Smith

While he may have only one $6,813 cash on the WPT, Christopher Smith boasts $174,889 in live tournament winnings and will be adding significantly to that total in this event. Another Texan at the table, Smith hails from Plano, Texas, and is a regular on the Oklahoma tournament scene. Recently, Smith took third in a $600 event at WinStar in May after a three-way chop, earning $31,143.

The 45-year-old Smith also has numerous cashes and final table appearances in events here at Choctaw. At the WSOP Circuit event here in 2012, Smith won the $345 Pot-Limit Omaha event for $22,222. If things go his way, he could be taking home the biggest win of his career. He describes his game as tight-loose and plans to use any winnings to put away in savings.

Away from the tables, Smith has worked in real estate for three years, but spent 10 years play poker full-time before that. He also really enjoys spending time with his nine-year-old son. Smith got started in poker by playing home games, and he already lists this final table as his greatest poker accomplishment.

Seat 3: Timothy Domboski (5,300,000)

Timothy Domboski

After back-to-back cashes in the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas, Timothy Domboski is looking for an even better result here in Durant, Oklahoma. In 2017, he finished 567th in the WSOP Main Event for $22,449 and then followed that up this summer with a 546th-place finish for $23,940 – certainly not an easy feat.

Domboski has several nice finishes and final tables in smaller buy-in events, but will take a step up in this tournament as he notches the biggest cash of his career – and hoping to turn this final table into something even more special. He’ll have his work cut out for him, but now with his first WPT cash there’s no telling what’s next.

Along with poker, the 38-year-old Domboski makes his living investing. He’s been playing poker for 16 years and this is his third WPT event. When not playing poker, he can usually be found studying poker, and he’s hoping that work pays off on Tuesday.

Seat 4: Tony Ruberto (2,675,000)

Tony Ruberto

Already on the WPT Champions Cup once, 37-year-old Tony Ruberto is looking to add his name for a second time and definitely has a shot here. With more than $3 million in live tournament winnings, Ruberto is a tough customer and brings plenty of skill to the table. This makes his second WPT final table appearance. His first? That came in 2011 at the Season X WPT bestbet Jacksonville where he took down the title for $325,928.

In a poker career dating back to 2006, Ruberto has numerous five- and six-figure scores and notched two wins already this year in events at Isle Casino in Pampano Beach, Florida, for a total of $33,346. He also won the $1,650 No-Limit Hold’em $500 KO event in January at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $34,390.

In September 2017, Ruberto added a WSOP Circuit ring to his trophy case with a win at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida, for $20,804. Ruberto will be looking for another big win at this final table.

Seat 5: Anthony Zinno (2,245,000)

Anthony Zinno

Certainly no stranger to poker fans, Anthony Zinno comes into this final table certainly as one of the favorites to add another title to his impressive poker résumé. On the WPT alone, Zinno has $2.7 million in winnings, three titles, and now five final table appearances. He was also named the Season XIII Hublot WPT Player of the Year.

The 36-year-old Zinno is fresh off a big win in Las Vegas, where he topped a field of 547 entries in a $5,225 event to score $466,670. He also had two third-place finishes this summer at the WSOP for almost $190,000.

With so much experience and plenty of skill, Zinno will be a major challenge for the others at the table – especially if he gets hands on more chips.

Seat 6: Viet Vo (4,770,000)

Viet Vo

WIth a nice stack of chips in front of him, Vo will be looking to add his name to the prestigious WPT Champions Cup and take home the biggest cash of his career. And for Vo, who has more than $1 million in live tournament earnings, there have been plenty of nice scores in his career.

A regular tournament regular, Vo only has three career WPT cashes. In June, he finished third at the $1,675 WSOP Circuit Main Event here at Choctaw for $151,248. In 2015 at the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open, Vo won the $1,650 Purple Chip Bounty event for $46,080. In 2014, he finished runner-up in the $1,675 WSOP Circuit Main Event in Hammond, Indiana, for $193,935.

Prior to poker as an occupation, Vo worked as an x-ray technician. With numerous deep finishes and final tables, the 35-year-old Pearland, Texas, native has plenty of experience to help bring home the title.


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