Just moments ago, Warren Wooldridge made the final table of Event 54's $1,000 No Limit Hold'em freezeout, battling through a gargantuan field of 4,576 to earn his spot in the final nine. He's now guaranteed $53,333, but will return for the fourth and final day with a shot at capturing his first bracelet to date, not to mention the small matter of a $648,880 first prize.
Despite a strong start, Warren spent most of the three days with a below-average stack and was constantly fighting to stay alive. At the start of Day 3, he had just 15 big blinds, but the Poker Gods were smiling down on him as he enjoyed a succession of double-throughs: K-J vs. A-5, A-K vs. Q-J and A-K vs. 9-8. In the blink of an eye, Warren's acorn of a stack had grown into a giant oak tree as he catapulted above the average and away from the danger zone.
After eliminating a short stack with Q-9 versus J-5 (blind on blind), Warren continued to keep his head above water, eventually surpassing the one million mark when he four-bet shoved A-J uncontested. He ducked and dived his way to the final table before the final man fell; with the players rising from their seats and casting a shadow over the table, Dror Michealo's 9-9 held up against Mario Doria's K-8 to bring us to our official final table.
The first thing Warren did was call his wife to share the good news, and then his father who he later reported was in tears. Meanwhile, the rail of support had increased with Neil Channing utilising his break in the $1,500 to offer his praise, joining Kevin Williams, Jamie Burland, Keith Hawkins and even award-winning comedian David Mitchell, who'd been watching the action alongside Vicky Coren.
"I'm relieved," commented Warren in the aftermath. "I thought that once I had a million, It would be enough to sail onto the final table, but it wasn't that easy. You have to really brave in this. Thankfully, I got a few hands and it worked out for me."
"I've been coming to the World Series since 1996," he continued, "and I always come with my dad, but this year I had work duties so it was difficult. He was as pleased as anyone when I told him the news though and he even cried down the phone. It was a very proud moment and I'm so excited to have made the final."
As well a being a Blue Belt and recipient of $1,500 per month in live tournament backing, Warren is also the Black Belt Poker CEO, so has been juggling playing with his administrative duties at the Black Belt Poker mansion. Prior to this event, he boasted total winnings of $284,965, including a WSOP final table in 2007 when he finished third in a $1,500 Limit event.
Warren isn't the only member of the Vegas 11 to have cashed in this event. Jerome Bradpiece and Kevin Williams also made the money, as did WSOP Warrior Master League winner Hasmukh Khodiyara. Meanwhile, this isn't our first final table either; Richard Ashby finished fourth and third respectively in the $10,000 Omaha High-Low and 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship events for a combined $305,212.
Warren's performance is also great news for those involved in our Vegas Prize Fund promotion. Prior to the Series, we decided to give away three percent of all Black Belt Poker winnings from five preselected tournaments to the pool of players who maintained Orange Belt or above during the months of May and June. Warren is therefore playing for both himself, and the Orange Belts as he looks forward to what could be a bracelet-winning day.
Play restarts at 2.30pm (Vegas time). The final table chip counts are as follows:
Maxim Lykov -- 3,875,000
Dror Michaelo -- 1,980,000
Joshua Evans -- 1,670,000
Sebastien Roy -- 1,400,000
Douglas Mackinnon -- 1,160,000
Warren Wooldridge -- 1,030,000
Harald Olsen -- 1,025,000
Stanislav Alekhin -- 820,000
Ren Ho Zhang -- 785,000
This year, Black Belt Poker are offering live coverage of sponsored players in 10 WSOP events, including the $10,000 Main Event. Check out our Vegas page to follow the updates, where you'll also find all the latest news, results, pictures and articles.
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