Meet the Final Nine
Jean-Pascal Savard hails from Quebec, Canada. Leading up to the $25,000 High Roller, Savard's live tournament cashes amounted to just $61,857. This means that regardless of his finish today, Savard is guaranteed to more than double his earnings dating back to the summer of 2013.
Oleksii Khoroshenin is a Ukrainian professional poker player and the EPT 10 Vienna Main Event champion. For his victory in Vienna he pocketed €578,392 ($795,462). Over the course of his live career, he's earned $1,151,193 in tournament winnings.
Dan Heimiller is a 52-year-old professional poker player who hails from Las Vegas, Nevada. Heimiller's largest claim to fame came in 2014 when he rose to the top of the largest Senior's event in history (4,425 runners) to claim his second bracelet and $627,462 in prize money.
Lee Markholt is a professional poker player from Eatonville, Washington. He has live cashes dating back to 1990, has earned $3,871,915 in live tournament winnings, and holds a WPT title.
Nick Petrangelo is an American poker player from Feeding Hills, MA. Petrangelo has earned over $457,000 in live tournaments and looks to add even more to that number by kicking 2015 off in excellent fashion. Mere days ago, Petrangelo won a PCA side event - $4,850 #9 No Limit Hold'em - Turbo 8 Handed - for over $113,000.
Scott Seiver is an established presence in the poker world, frequently playing the highest buy-in tournaments available. A winner of both a WSOP bracelet and a WPT title, Seiver has amassed over $13,400,000 in live tournament winnings. Seiver's largest score came during the 2013 PCA when he won the $100,000 Super High Roller for just over $2 million.
Joe Kuether, a resident of Elm Grove, Wisconsin, is a regular presence on the poker circuit. He has over $2.6 million in live career earnings to his name with titles including a WSOP Circuit Main Event ring.
Faraz Jaka, 29, is an American professional poker player and best known for winning WPT Player of the Year during Season 8. He's earned over $4.3 million in live winnings and looks to eclipse that number with a high finish today.
Ilkin Garibli hails from Azerbaijan. Not much else is known about him, as this is his first recorded live tournament cash .