Hobbs Leads Final 123 Heading Into Day 6 of Event #70: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event World Championship
Out of a near record breaking starting field of 8,663 entries, just 123 players return for Day 6 of Event #70: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event World Championship at the 20222 WSOP at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas. Everyone who takes their seat today is guaranteed at least $62,500, but so deep in the flagship event of the poker calendar, all eyes must now turn to the stratospheric payouts that are suddenly within reach, as well as the opportunity to etch their name into poker lore.
James Hobbs leads the field coming into the day with a stack of 12,505,000, good for 156 big blinds. Close on his heels is one of two remaining women, Efthymia Litsou, sitting on 11,675,000. Aaron Mermelstein rounds out the top three with 10,680,000.
Several notables remain in contention, including two former WSOP Main Event champions in Koray Aldemir (3,800,000) and Damian Salas (2,435,000). Were Aldemir to go back to back in the main event, it would surely rank among the greatest achievements in poker since Stu Ungar won his third title in 1997. High stakes regular and gold bracelet winner Dan Smith also returns, sitting on 2,030,000 after nursing a shortstack for pretty much the entirety of Day 5.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Hobbs | United States | 12,505,000 | 156 |
| 2 | Efthymia Litsou | United States | 11,675,000 | 146 |
| 3 | Aaron Mermelstein | United States | 10,680,000 | 134 |
| 4 | Alejandro Lococo | Argentina | 10,020,000 | 125 |
| 5 | Gerald Morrell | United States | 9,775,000 | 122 |
| 6 | Jorge Jou | Panama | 9,500,000 | 119 |
| 7 | Dingxiang Ong | Singapore | 9,500,000 | 119 |
| 8 | Philippe Souki | United Kingdom | 9,425,000 | 118 |
| 9 | Robert Minor | United States | 9,160,000 | 115 |
| 10 | Imran Bhojani | South Africa | 8,635,000 | 108 |
The tournament resumes at 1p.m. PDT Tuesday, July 12th halfway through Level 26 with blinds of 40,000/80,000 with a 80,000 big blind ante. Play will continue for five and a half more levels at which point the survivors will bag for the night.
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews as its live reporting team continues to provide comprehensive coverage of this, the most prestigious tournament in the world, as we approach the business end of proceedings.
and Litsou check-called the all-in but was well behind in the following showdown.
turn confirmed the double of Rocco and the 
river further improved his hand to the nut flush.
of Kenneth Baime when he got there on the 
board. However, the potential comeback of Smith was then cut short when he ran with ace-queen into the ace-king of Rocco to become the next early casualty on Day 6.
board as the superior pair held and ensured the next knockout for Eames.
. The 2020 Main Event champion loudly clapped his hands as he secured a double up.
. Nothing changed on the 
flop, and the 
turn left him drawing dead to the 
river, while Mermelstein moved into the chip lead.
turn did keep her drawing live. The miracle runner-runner was not to be, however, as the 
