Josh Kay Leads WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble Final Table; $331,480 for the Winner

By Tim Duckworth

Day 3 of the Season XVIII WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble has concluded at bestbet Jacksonville with the final table of six players set. Leading the way is Josh Kay (pictured) with 4,075,000 in chips, while Jonathan Cronin looks to become only the second player to capture both a WPT Main Tour and WPTDeepStacks title.

Kay and Cronin are joined at the final table by Josh Adkins, Tan Nguyen, Jason Lee, and Jeff Cunningham. Each player is currently guaranteed $66,457 in prize money, while all eyes are set on the $331,480 first-place prize that includes the $15,000 entry into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions, as well as an inscription of their name on the WPT Champions Cup.

The button is on Josh Adkins and there is 11:02 remaining in Level 25 (20,000-40,000 and a 40,000-big blind ante).

Josh Kay began the final level of today as one of the short stacks with 16 big blinds, but a few monster pots along with the final elimination saw him soar into the chip lead. Kay is a regular on the World Poker Tour with over $635,000 in WPT career earnings that include 14 previous cashes and a final table at the Season XVI WPT Choctaw where he finished in third-place for a $270,801 payday.

Sitting second in chips is Josh Adkins who began the day as chip leader. Adkins finished with 3,220,000 in chips although he eclipsed the 4 million chip mark throughout the day before settling with a stack of 81 big blinds. For Adkins, this is the first time he has played a $5,000 buy-in event, and his decision to do so has guaranteed him a handsome payday of at least $66,457.

In Season XVI, Tan Nguyen finished in 10th place in this event for $25,333 in prize money, and with his appearance at the final table, he has already doubled his World Poker Tour career earnings. Like Kay, Nguyen was one of the short stacks once the the tournament was down to the final table, but following some patience and a double through Joe McKeehen, Nguyen managed to bag 2,690,000 in chips which is good for 67 big blinds.

Sitting fourth overall is WPTDeepStacks champion Jonathan Cronin. Cronin won the WPTDeepStacks Jacksonville event for $107,386 and also finished in 27th place in the Season XV WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble. Cronin’s lifetime tournament results predominately occur here in Jacksonville, and for Cronin, he has the opportunity to become the second player to win both a WPT Main Tour and WPTDeepStacks title, and the first player to win two different tour events in the same location.

Rounding out the final table are Jason Lee and Jeff Cunningham who are both registering their first WPT cash and sit with 1,465,000 and 690,000 respectively which is good for 37 and 17 big blinds respectively.

Day 3 saw many notable players fall short of the final table as the likes of WPT Champions Club member Sam Panzica (22nd), bestbet bounty Jessica Dawley (20th), Ian O’Hara (19th), WPT Champions Club member and bestbet bounty Marvin Rettenmaier (17th), WPT Champions Club member Aaron Van Blarcum (15th), WPT Champions Club member Larry Greenberg (14th), and Joe McKeehen (9th). Carlos Guerrero was the final elimination of the day when he lost a flip holding ace-king against Kay’s queens to be eliminated in seventh place leaving the WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble final table of six players.

For a complete list of the payouts, click the “Payouts” tab here.

The final six players will return on Tuesday, October 15, to play for the $331,480 first-place prize as the WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble final table action gets underway at 2 p.m. (ET) with a live stream on a 30-minute delay on the WPT.com YouTube channel. As always, keep your browsers locked right here to WPT.com for continued coverage of the World Poker Tour, and to see who will be crowned the WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble champion for Season XVIII.

Photography by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive

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