The Ladies Event Final Table
Today is Day 3 of the Ladies Event and it will begin with the official final table of nine. After navigating a field that began with 954 players, the remaining players are within reach of the first-place prize of $173,922 and the coveted gold bracelet.
Here is how the final table lines up:
Shana Matthews of Mill Valley, CA comes in as our chipleader with 497,000 in chips. Matthews has had some success in ladies events in the past, placing 89th in this event in 2011 and 4th place in the ladies event at the EPT Grand Final earlier this year in May.
Chris Priday from Colorado, started the day as the chip leader and is currently second in chips with 455,000. Priday has over $90,000 in WSOP cashes. Her cashes have come from former WSOP ladies events which includes a 4th-place finish in 2008 and a 65th place in 2009.
Eleanor Gudger hails from London, England. She is sitting on a very healthy 398,000 stack. Gudger has over $34,000 in tournament winnings with her best result a 1st-place finish in the 5th Annual Binion’s Poker Classic Ladies Event held in 2011.
Connie Bruce of Longmont Colorado is sitting with an above average stack of 360,000. Bruce has played on the Heartland Poker Tour and has a 30th-place finish in the main event at Blackhawk.
Kristen Bicknell from Ontario, Canada was responsible for the last elimination of the evening which set the final table. She is coming into the day with 316,000. Bicknell has over $26,000 in tournament winnings and started the day with one of the larger packs. She has had a bit of a roller coaster day yesterday but is now back in the middle of the pack.
Amanda Baker calls Las Vegas home. She may well be the most experienced player at this final table with over $300,000 in tournament winnings and nine WSOP cashes to her name. Baker has found success in several tournament series in addition to the WSOP including the World Poker Tour, North American Poker Tour, European Poker Tour and The Heartland Poker Tour.
Leanne Haas is joining the final from Newcastle, Australia. Haas has been sitting on a short stack for a good part of the day yesterday but some timely doubles have given her a stack that will allow her to utilize the skill she gained from some recent cashes at the WSOP Deepstack Series.
Julie Monsacre of France has had some success at the Caesars Palace Mega Stack Series earlier this month with 2nd-place and 12th place finishes. Monsacre starts the day with 188,000 in chips and has been managing her short stack to get to the final table often referring to herself as the “short stack ninja”.
Cindy Kerslake from Calgary, Canada is no stranger to the felt with over $74,000 in tournament winnings. Kerslake comes in as the short stack with 100,000 after the last hand of the night
saw her aces get cracked by Bicknell’s set of jacks and included the final elimination of the night to set the final table.
Seat Assignments:
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Julie Monsacre | 188000 |
| 2 | Eleanor Gudger | 398000 |
| 3 | Connie Bruce | 360000 |
| 4 | Chris Priday | 455000 |
| 5 | Shana Matthews | 497000 |
| 6 | Kristen Bicknell | 316000 |
| 7 | Cindy Kerslake | 100000 |
| 8 | Amanda Baker | 277000 |
| 9 | Leanne Haas | 272000 |
It should prove to be an exciting day on the felt. Stay with PokerNews as we bring you hand-for-hand coverage of the final table starting at 1 p.m. local time. While you are waiting for the action to begin, get your latest news from the Rio with Sarah Grant and your June 30th Update.