WPT World Championship: Porbandarwala Dominates Rivals, Heads to Finals with Unprecedented Lead

The Main Event of the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas was down to its penultimate step yesterday. In the semifinal day, the top 16 players faced a tough elimination round, with only six tickets to Sunday's finals being awarded. The semifinal day kicked off briskly, and just three hours in, Hassan El Hakim was eliminated in 10th place, forming the unofficial final table.

The tension heightened when the field was reduced to nine, making every subsequent seat out increasingly painful. This was when Soheb Porbandarwala began to shine, showing why he’s a formidable opponent. One memorable moment came when he pulled off a 4-bet with 9d2d, forcing Linglin Zeng to fold her pair of 7s7d. Zeng ended up in 9th place, earning $255,000, marking the last female exit from the tournament.

The turning point came after David Pelosi's elimination in 8th place ($325,000), when the tournament stalled with seven players remaining, all knowing that the next elimination meant a direct entry to the televised table. The critical hand came when Graeme Newman went 5-bet all-in for roughly 31 blinds with KsQs, only to be called by Porbandarwala holding AcQh. Despite Newman opening a flush draw on the turn, the river couldn’t save him, ending in 7th place for $415,000 and confirming the final six.

Massive Lead for the Leader, No One Below 26 BB

The players bagged their chips with 1:14:00 left in Level 31 (250,000/500,000, BBA 500,000) and will return to the official final table on Sunday, December 21. Porbandarwala will start with 81,325,000 (162 BB), while Schuyler Thornton trails with 36,500,000 (73 BB). Although there's a gap behind them, no short stacks remain—Chad Lipton, the smallest stack, starts with 26 BB, indicating a marathon rather than a quick finish is likely.

Finalists' Seating and Chip Counts:

Final Table Payout Structure:

1st: $2,520,000
2nd: $1,700,000
3rd: $1,250,000
4th: $940,000
5th: $710,000
6th: $540,000

WPT Shooting Star Championship Won by Kharlin Sued

The Shooting Star Championship on the WPT is unique as it’s not a typical freezeout but a tournament with a bounty twist: Each table has at least one player marked as the “Shooting Star,” and eliminating them earns a special reward. These bounty players are preselected by WPT (usually well-known faces or notable personalities), and knocking them out brings an instant $2,500 reward, heightening aggression and the hunt for knockouts more than in other tournaments.

This season, the event had a $5,300 buy-in and garnered 672 entries, generating a $3,225,600 prizepool, with $480,700 going to the winner. The final table of this tournament occurred alongside the aforementioned fifth day of the Main Event and provided plenty of action.

Kharlin Sued emerged victorious at the finals, converting his momentum into a complete win, claiming the title of WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship champion. Neither Chance Kornuth (6th place) nor Danny Wong, who finished second, could stop him. Sued’s triumph earned him the biggest payday of his career ($480,700) and a place on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup.

Final Table Results:

Sources: WorldPokerTour, X, Flickr