What a turnaround for Jordan Griff.
The Illinois poker player is the chip leader heading into the final table of the 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas after rallying Sunday to make the final nine of the world’s most prestigious poker tournament.
The $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event attracted a record 10,112 players, surpassing the previous record of 10,043 set last year.
Final table play begins Tuesday in Las Vegas, with each competitor guaranteed a payout of $1,000,000. The WSOP Main Event winner gets $10,000,000, a gold bracelet and the title of world champion of no-limit hold-em poker.
Illinois poker: How Illinois poker players are doing at the 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event
Here is what you need to know about the last Illinois player standing and the WSOP Main Event final table.
How did Jordan Griff make the final table?
Griff began Sunday’s play in 18th place among the 18 remaining players. On the first hand, he had all of his chips at risk with pocket queens — and faced a 95 percent chance of elimination after his opponent flopped a set of 3s. He was saved when one of the two remaining queens in the deck was dealt on the river.
“It was a roller coaster of emotions, that hand,” Griff told PokerNews. “The very first hand of the day, I pick up queens. I’m excited about it. … I saw the threes, and I was just, like, in shock … And then, you know, I heard the noises that something happened. I look back, I see the queen, and I let out some sort of noise. I don’t remember what it was, but just pure emotion from it.”
Who is Jordan Griff?
Jordan Griff, 30, is from the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg and now is a resident of Arizona who works as a data and analytics supply chain manager, according to CardPlayer.com. He was one of 34 players from Illinois to finish in the money in the main event and the first final Illinoisan to make the final table since Chicago’s Kevin Maahs in 2019.
Griff started playing poker at age 21 in college, according to PokerNews. He came into the 2024 WSOP Main Event with $47,192 in previous live tournament earnings, according to the online poker database Hendon Mob.
“I mean, the money’s great, but this is a dream for me,” Griff told PokerNews. “I mean, everyone who watches poker growing up in the Moneymaker era or watching the TV programs, you want to be at the final table, and to do it this year with the largest field — it’s just it’s a dream come true.”
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Who made the 2024 WSOP Main Event final table?
- Jordan Griff, Schaumburg, Illinois, 143,700,000
- Brian Kim, Walnut, California, 94,600,000
- Niklas Astedt, Sweden, 94,200,000
- Joe Serock, Las Vegas, 83,600,000
- Jason Sagle, Canada, 67,300,000
- Boris Angelov, Bulgaria, 52,900,000
- Jonathan Tamayo, Humble, Texas, 26,700,000
- Malo Latinois, France, 25,500,000
- Andres Gonzalez, Spain, 18,300,000
What are the payouts for the WSOP Main Event final table?
- $10,000,000
- $6,000,000
- $4,000,000
- $3,000,000
- $2,500,000
- $2,000,000
- $1,500,000
- $1,250,000
- $1,000,000