WPT Final Table Begins at 3:00 pm ET

The WPT Maryland Live! Final Table begins today at 3:00 pm ET. Here are the official chip counts, followed by the remaining prizepool and information on the players:

Seat 1.  Ryan Belz  –  4,865,000  (81 bb)
Seat 2.  Zachary Smiley  –  1,255,000  (21 bb)
Seat 3.  Mario Silvestri III  –  2,700,000  (45 bb)
Seat 4.  Darren Elias  –  4,515,000  (75 bb)
Seat 5.  Benjamin Zamani  –  2,075,000  (35 bb)
Seat 6.  Cate Hall  –  1,235,000  (21 bb)

1st:  $356,536*
2nd:  $239,412
3rd:  $153,983
4th:  $113,905
5th:  $85,429
6th:  $68,554

* First-prize amount includes a $15,000 seat into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions.

Photography by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive.com

Seat 1.  Ryan Belz  –  4,865,000  (81 bb)

Occupation:  I.T. Sales
Career Live Tournament Earnings:  $135,100
Best Cash:  $19,000 (2nd in $100 NLHE at Maryland Live! Casino in August, 2014)
WPT Career:  1st cash, 1st WPT Final Table

With 11 players remaining, Ryan Belz was the short stack with just eight big blinds. Belz went on to eliminate the last four players (7th-10th places) on his way to taking the chip lead to his first WPT Final Table.

Seat 2.  Zachary Smiley  –  1,255,000  (21 bb)

Occupation:  Unemployed
Career Live Tournament Earnings:  None found
WPT Career:  1st cash, 1st WPT Final Table

Seat 3.  Mario Silvestri  –  2,700,000  (45 bb)

Occupation:  Professional Poker Player
Career Live Tournament Earnings:  $657,351
Best Cash:  $196,174 (39th in 2011 WSOP Main Event)
WPT Career:  3rd cash, 1st WPT Final Table

Primarily an online player, Mario Silvestri has more than $2.9 million in online poker earnings.

Seat 4.  Darren Elias  –  4,515,000  (75 bb)

Occupation:  Professional Poker Player
Career Live Tournament Earnings:  $3,962,059
Best Cash:  $843,744 (1st at 2014 WPT Borgata Poker Open)
WPT Career:  21st cash, 7th WPT Final Table

Darren Elias is a two-time WPT champion, and the first player in history to win back-to-back WPT events in the same season.

Seat 5.  Benjamin Zamani  –  2,075,000  (35 bb)

Occupation:  Professional Poker Player
Career Live Tournament Earnings:  $3,610,081
Best Cash:  $1,000,000 (4th place at 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure)
WPT Career:  14th cash, 5th WPT Final Table

With two runner-up WPT finishes in the past ten weeks, Benjamin Zamani is crushing the Hublot WPT Player of the Year race. Zamani will finish today with somewhere between 2,400 and 3,000 POY points, while his nearest contender has 1,250.

Seat 6.  Cate Hall  –  1,235,000  (21 bb)

Occupation:  Professional Poker Player
Career Live Tournament Earnings:  $548,215
Best Cash:  $291,320 (5th place at the 2015 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic)
WPT Career:  8th cash, 3rd WPT Final Table

Cate Hall gave up her career as a lawyer and played her first WPT event just 13 months ago. Since then she has cashed in eight WPT events and this is her third WPT Final Table.