Notable players to watch as WSOP Main Event nears final table

It has been nearly 30 years since the World Series of Poker Main Event featured a woman at the final table.

Odds are against the glass ceiling breaking this summer.

Professional poker player Kristen Foxen was low on chips during Day 7 of the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship at Horseshoe Las Vegas. She was one of two women remaining in the Main Event at the 7 p.m. dinner break, joined by Shundan Xiao of San Jose, California, who also had a short stack.

The only woman to reach the WSOP Main Event final table was Barbara Enright, who finished fifth in 1995.

Malo Latinois of Carrollton, Texas, was the unofficial leader with 66 million chips as 30 players were still chasing the $10 million first prize. All the remaining players are guaranteed $300,000.

The tournament continues Sunday with Day 8 and is expected to play until the final table of nine players is reached.

Xiao has a limited poker resume after learning to play a little more than a year ago. The software engineer finished 53rd in the 2023 WSOP Ladies No-limit Hold’em Championship and cashed in a $3,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em event this summer.

Foxen, meanwhile, is one of the world’s top tournament players. The native of Nepean, Ontario, owns four career WSOP bracelets, which are awarded for tournament victories, and has more than $7.7 million in career live tournament earnings, according to the Hendon Mob Poker Database.

Here are a few other players to watch as the Main Event gets closer to crowing a champion:

— Niklas Astedt: Poker journalist Remko Rinkema posed a question on X on Friday asking where Astedt, known as “Lena900” in online poker circles, ranks all time. Here is a brief sampling of some of the responses:

“Top 10 easy, top 5 maybe.”

“1.”

“Top 3 of all time.”

“Sir, you are talking about the goat.”

Astedt has more than $47 million in online tournament earnings, and the Gothenburg, Sweden, native is no slouch in live tournaments, either, with more than $3 million in winnings.

— Brian Rast: A member of the Poker Hall of Fame and a six-time WSOP bracelet winner, Rast is the most accomplished player remaining in the field.

Rast has more than $27 million in live tournament earnings, according to the Hendon Mob Poker Database, and is one of two players to win the WSOP Poker Players Championship three times. He is credited as the only player to have earned more than $1 million in tournaments for seven straight years.

This is only his third cash in the Main Event and by far the deepest run for the mixed-game specialist.

— Joe Serock: The professional poker player residing in Las Vegas has more than $4.5 million in career live tournament earnings, according to the Hendon Mob.

Serock earned his first career WSOP bracelet in 2023, winning the $500 buy-in Pot-limit Omaha Eight-Max Online Event for more than $93,000.

— Jonathan Tamayo: The tournament grinder from Humble, Texas, owns four WSOP Circuit victories and has more than $2.3 million in live tournament earnings, according to the Hendon Mob.

He also has a secret weapon in the Main Event. Tamayo is roommates with former champion Joe McKeehen and calls himself “Defensive Coordinator of the 2015 Main Event Champion” in his X bio.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.