Unknown Ukranian player leads with 22 remaining in WSOP Main Event

Anton Makievskyi, a 21-year-old Ukrainian, and Eoghan O'Dea of Canada, are the chip leaders as the World Series of Poker winds toward determining the Main Event’s final table.

When play resumes at noon today at the Rio in the $10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em World Championship, the last 22 players out of the starting field of 6,865 still have their eyes trained on a potential payday of $8.7 million, which will be awarded to the winner.

Makievskyi took the lead early this morning with 21.045 million in chips when play was halted. This is his first trip to the World Series of Poker.

O’Dea, 26, holds 19.05 million in chips. Going into the Main Event, O’Dea had five total in-the-money finishes at the World Series of Poker, including three this year. His total winnings were $37,516.

The field will be cut to nine sometime tonight – or most likely early Wednesday morning – with the players returning to the Rio in November.

Of the 22 remaining players, the best known is Ben Lamb of Tulsa, Okla., who had a rollercoaster ride during Day 8. Lamb sits in fifth with 14.69 million in chips. At one point Monday evening, he lost more than half his chip stack when his pocket jacks were over-run by pocket aces.

The move might have been Lamb’s first mistake of the whole tournament.

Lamb, who also has a home in Las Vegas, is the leader for the World Series of Poker’s Player of the Year standings. He is enjoying one of the best runs ever experienced by a player at the tournament. He won his first-ever gold bracelet in the $10,000 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha Championship on June 24, earning $814,436. He also has second-, eighth- and 12th-place finishes and has won more than $1.3 million total.

Lamb has been in this position before. He placed 14th in the 2009 Main Event.

World Series of Poker officials had hoped to get down to 18 players for Tuesday’s start, but ended play after five levels were completed. The 22 players have been divided into three tables.

On Monday, the last woman left in the competition, Erika Moutinho of Easton, Conn., was eliminated in 29th place, earning $242,636. Her finish matched places in recent years by Maria Ho, 38th in 2007, Tiffany Michelle, 17th in 2008 and Leo Margets, 27th in 2009.

Barbara Enright remains the only woman to reach a Main Event final table, finishing fifth in 1995.
Moutinho’s elimination was one spot better than the finish of her boyfriend, David "Doc" Sands of Las Vegas, who also earned $242,636. The pair played side-by-side for part of the day Monday on the ESPN feature table.