The largest-ever Main Event in the history of the World Series of Poker is officially over, and the name of the man who outlasted the other 10,111 runners is Jonathan Tamayo!
Tamayo takes home the massive $10,000,000 first prize and the most coveted of all WSOP trinkets, the $500,000 Main Event bracelet made of gold and containing over 2,200 precious stones.
The final day of play started with just three players coming back, and it looked like it could be a short one, as Jordan Griff quickly got rid of Niklas Astedt to solidify his chip lead and proceed to the final battle against Tamayo with 75% of chips in play in front of him.
However, Tamayo wasn’t going to go down easy, and the final skirmish turned into a prolonged heads-up battle, with the chip lead exchanging hands a few times before the last showdown.
2024 WSOP Main Event Final Table Results
| Position | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Tamayo | USA | $10,000,000 |
| 2 | Jordan Griff | USA | $6,000,000 |
| 3 | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | $4,000,000 |
| 4 | Jason Sagle | Canada | $3,000,000 |
| 5 | Boris Angelov | Buglaria | $2,500,000 |
| 6 | Andreas Gonzalez | Spain | $2,000,000 |
| 7 | Brian Kim | USA | $1,500,000 |
| 8 | Joe Serock | USA | $1,250,000 |
| 9 | Malo Latinois | France | $1,000,000 |
Two-Day Battle for the Title
The WSOP Main Event final table was a two-day affair. The final nine players came back to the Horseshoe on July 17 to begin the biggest journey of their poker careers.
Leading the way was Jordan Griff, arguably the least experienced of the remaining nine, with just $47,000 in live tournament cashes. However, Griff was having an amazing tournament, and he wasn’t afraid to mix it up with much more experienced pros, often putting them to the test.
It took 30 hands for the first elimination. Malo Latinois got the last of his chips in a coin-flip situation against Griff, but despite a good flop, Griff caught his two-outer on the turn to send the Frenchman packing and adding more chips to his stack.
The next to go was Joe Serock, one of the most experienced players still standing. Serock ran into pocket queens of the online tournament crusher Niklas Astedt, and his Main Event adventure was cut short.
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Brian Kim, another experienced pro, fell next, and once again, it was at the hands of Astedt, who managed to build his stack and take over the chip lead by this point.
After this hand, eliminations slowed down, as chips went back and forth between the remaining six players. And then, in a quick succession, the three shorter stack fell.
First, it was Andres Gonzalez, whose pocket Jacks couldn’t hold against overcards from Astedt. Following him to the rail shortly thereafter was Bulgaria’s Boris Angelov, who submitted the last of his chips to Tamayo. And finally, Niklas Astedt went runner-runner on Jason Sagle to send him out in fourth.
With Sagle’s exit, the stage was set for the final day of play. The Swede Astedt was coming back as the chip leader, but all three players had fairly even stacks, so it was truly anyone’s tournament to win.
A Step Away from the Dream
For Jordan Griff, making the final table of the Main Event was a dream come true. But now, there were only a couple of players standing between him and the biggest title in poker (and the $10,000,000 first prize that came with it).
Of the three, Griff was by far the least experienced, but he wouldn’t let that stop him. Not long into the final day of play, after picking up a few chips, he got into a huge pot with Astedt. Griff flopped middle set while the Swede held only a gutshot draw.
The turn card, however, improved Niklas to a top pair, and when Jordan decided to move all in, over-betting the pot, Astedt went into a deep tank. It was a board with flush draws and straight draws all over the place, so it was possible that Griff was taking a stand with a weaker hand.
Eventually, he made the call, and he was delivered the bad news. The Swede could only catch one of the four remaining queens to win the pot, and although the paint came on the river, it wasn’t the card he needed. He ended up with two pair, Kings and Jacks, which wasn’t enough against Griff’s flopped set of 9s, and it was time for the final skirmish.
The Battle of Nerves
After eliminating Astedt, Griff was holding about 75% of chips in play, and he was going into the heads-up battle against Jonathan Tamayo as the mathematical favorite. Tamayo, however, was an experienced opponent who won four WSOP Circuit rings, so he was much more familiar with the pressure of these situations.
It didn’t take long for Tamayo to even things, as Griff’s mistimed bluff got called, and Tamayo was right back in it. He was also having a better run of cards overall, which helped the situation.
At one point, Jordan managed to have Tamayo on the ropes, with his pocket 7s going against Tamayo’s KT. Tamayo was the player at risk, but it wasn’t a big sweat, as the flop brought a straight for KT, and it was back to even stacks.
Griff had another chance to seal the deal, although he was behind when chips went into the middle. However, he couldn’t find any of the cards he needed to improve, and once again Tamayo survived, and the battle continued.
And finally, the hand that decided the winner came when the flop of 9-8-3 gave Griff a top pair and Tamayo a bottom two. All chips went into the middle on the flop, and the best hand held. It was all over, and Jonathan Tamayo became the 2024 WSOP Main Event champion.
Jordan Griff will certainly not be disappointed with his amazing run, outlasting all but one player in a field of over 10,000. For his efforts, he takes home $6,000,000, which is a life-changing money by anyone’s standards.
But he was just a few cards away from closing the deal a couple of times during the heads-up skirmish, and he just needed a bit more luck in one of those spots. It’s impossible not to feel at least some regret for what could have been, but finishing second in the biggest-ever Main Event is the best consolation prize there is.