The hope for a Canadian making the November Nine of the 2016 World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 Main Event is down to three. When play began on Day 5, 251 players entered the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Only 80 remained at the end of five levels.
Former world number-one ranked online poker tournament player Griffin Benger, Burnaby, BC’s Michael Niwinski, and Ronald Giles of Airdrie, AB. Giles was very short towards the end of the night but scored a massive quadruple up finding himself in a set-over-set spot in a three-way pot against Chris Klodnicki and Pierre Merlin. Merlin was eliminated and Giles stacked up from 700,000 to 3,050,000. Here is how the Canadian contingent looks heading into Day 6:
| 4th | Griffin Benger | TORONTO, ON | 9,860,000 |
| 16th | Michael Niwinski | Burnaby, BC | 6,400,000 |
| 52nd | Ronald Giles | Airdrie, AB | 2,530,000 |
Jerry Wong sits atop the leaderboard with 11,555,000. Jan Suchanek (10,305,000), Kenny Hallaert (10,050,000), Benger (9,860,000), and Joshua Weiss (8,330,000) are the closest in the chase. Notables still in the hunt include eight-time WSOP circuit ring winner Valentin Vornicu, Tom Marchese, WSOP Main Event final tablist Antoine Saout, 2014 Big One for One Drop winner Dan Colman, James Obst, Max Silver, Jason Les, and Chris Klodnicki.
A number of Canadians were eliminated from contention on Saturday. Professionals Ami Barer, Andrew Chen, Sorel Mizzi, and Montreal Nationals team manager Marc-Andre Ladouceur had their deep runs cut short. WSOP bracelet winners Scott Montgomery and Tyler Bonkowski were also sent to the rail. Day 4 chip leader Bryan Piccioli busted late in the day along with 2015 WSOP Player of the Year Mike Gorodinsky, Jon Turner, last female standing Gaelle Baumann, Chris Hunichen, Brandon Adams, and former WSOP Main Event champions Greg Raymer and Johnny Chan. Here are the places and payouts for Canadians eliminated on Day 5:
| Ami Barer | 101st – $49,108 | Vancouver, BC |
| Andrew Chen | 113th – $49,108 | MISSISSAUGA, ON |
| Michael Carter | 130th – $49,108 | Vancouver, BC |
| Marc-Andre Ladouceur | 139th – $49,108 | Mont-Saint-Hilaire, QC |
| Scott Montgomery | 140th – $49,108 | Ottawa, ON |
| Noeung Troeung | 147th – $49,108 | Montreal, QC |
| Thomas Archer | 149th – $49,108 | London, ON |
| Sorel Mizzi | 157th – $49,108 | TORONTO, ON |
| Jason James | 170th – $42,285 | MISSISSAUGA, ON |
| Jaroslaw Jaskiewicz | 174th – $42,285 | Kamloops. BC |
| Daniel Cheater | 178th – $42,285 | Winnipeg, MB |
| Min Huang | 191st – $42,285 | Vancouver, BC |
| Chris Back | 219th – $42,285 | VANCOUVER, BC |
| Tyler Bonkowski | 224th – $42,285 | REGINA, SK |
The remaining players will return at noon local time in Las Vegas on Sunday. Another five two-hour levels are scheduled.
The WSOP is now quickly coming to an end, but there is still hope for another Canadian bracelet. Good luck to all Canadians on their Main Event adventure in Las Vegas. Stay tuned to Canada Poker for up-to-date WSOP news and events and follow your favorite Canadian poker players throughout the series. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for live updates over the series.
