First-Time World Poker Tour Champion to Be Crowned in Tampa this Week?

On Day 3 of the $3,500 buy-in World Poker Tour Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Main Event, the odds of a new player joining the exclusive WPT Champions Club is growing.

Following the first break of the day, just after 2:00 p.m. in Tampa, 70 players remained out of the original 1,165 entrants. One of those lucky and skilled individuals will walk away with $615,530, and there’s a pretty good chance it will be a first-time WPT champion. That’s because only three previous winners are still standing — Daniel Weinman, Aaron Mermelstein, and James Calderaro.

Plethora of Intriguing Storylines to Follow

At the time of publishing, Mermelstein and Weinman had above-average stacks, while Calderaro was nursing a short stack. There’s still a shot a past WPT champion will end up winning this massive field event, but even if one of those three poker pros can’t take it down, there are still a number of storylines to follow over the final two-plus days of play.

First off, the Season XII (2013-2014) Player of the Year, Mukul Pahuja, has a shot to end the “arguably the best World Poker Tour player ever to have never won a title” reputation. During his POY season nine years ago, Pahuja had two runner-up finishes and three final table appearances. He also had an eighth place finish and a min-cash in a fifth event. It was without question the best WPT season ever from a player who didn’t win a title.

Pahuja has four final table appearances, along with a number of other deep runs, during his impressive World Poker Tour career. With a seventh place or better finish this week at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, he’d crack the $2 million WPT mark lifetime.

Brad Owen, the most popular poker vlogger ever, is still grinding away in the middle of Day 3. He’s seeking his first ever major poker tournament title, and the poker community would certainly be thrilled if he were to win, as would the WPT given that he’s one of the tour’s newest ambassadors.

Loni Hui (Harwood), one of the top female poker players in history, is another player to watch down the stretch at WPT Tampa. She’s seeking her first WPT title and would crack the $4 million mark in live poker tournaments if she does, according to Hendon Mob. Hui has five WPT Main Tour cashes in Florida since 2018, all at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood. The talented poker pro also won a $600 Deepstack event for $85,355 at the same South Florida casino in 2021.

There are also a few inexperienced tournament players remaining who could have their “Moneymaker Moment” this week. That includes David Gaskin, who had just one previous recorded live tournament cash for $5,024, which occurred last year at the Venetian in Las Vegas. Corey Wade, who bagged the chip lead following Day 2, is having a career year thanks to a runner-up finish for $179,010 in a $1,500 Omaha hi-lo event at the 2022 World Series of Poker. He came close to earning his first ever major tournament title this past summer, but has another opportunity this week.

By the end of the day, at around 9 p.m. ET, the tournament will likely be down to around 20 players. On Tuesday, those individuals will return to action to play down to the final table of six, scheduled for noon on Wednesday.

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Photos courtesy of Drew Amato/WPT