$10,000 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale (Freeze-Out)
Level 4: 200/400 with a 50 ante
Players: 283

The WPT Finale added some athletic talent to the field this afternoon when Shane Warne grabbed a seat this afternoon.

Warne is considered one of the best bowlers in cricket history and the Aussie was inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame in 2013. That success hasn’t completely translated to the felt but he does have a couple deep WSOP runs plus a third place finish in the A$10,000 2010 Victorian Poker High Stakes Event.

$10,000 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale (Freeze-Out)
Level 4: 200/400 with a 50 ante
Players: 279

Seminole Hard Rock Poker Team Member Sheddy Siddiqui was among those to bust today’s Day 3 of the Showdown Championship. After hitting the rail, he took to Twitter saying he wasn’t in the mood to play another tournament and thought he’d maybe late register the $10,000 Finale tomorrow.

Well, he couldn’t stay away for long. Siddiqui had a change of heart and is one the tournament’s newest entrants. He currently holds just under starting stack.

GL to all the heros in the $10k @SHRThePokerRoom today. Not in mood to play another tourney today, MMN buy in tmrw tho

— Sheddy (@Sheddy88) April 17, 2016

Firing up the $10k here @SHRThePokerRoom
Gonna be another big one!#HomeCourt

— Sheddy (@Sheddy88) April 17, 2016

Sheddy Siddiqui – 39,500

$10,000 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale (Freeze-Out)
Level 3: 150/300 with a 50 ante
Players: 277

We missed the 2012 WSOP Main Event Champion on our first walk through the room and might be excused with Greg Merson channeling his inner-Emperor Palpatine. He worked his stack up near 40,000 before the first break and grinding in the front of the ballroom.

With 277 players so far, the prize pool climbed over $2.5 million with plenty of time to run it higher.

$10,000 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale (Freeze-Out)
Level 3: 150/300 with a 50 ante
Players: 272

Former pro football player Richard Seymour has had a busy Sunday in the ballrooms at the Seminole Hard Rock. His day started with some one-on-one interviews at 1 p.m. and the cameras have followed him to the tournament felt. Despite the added attention, it’s been a fairly uneventful first few levels for Seymour who sits at just above starting stack with 43,000.

Seymour is a three-time NFL Super Bowl champion who’s appeared in seven Pro Bowls.

Richard Seymour – 43,000

$10,000 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale (Freeze-Out)
Level 3: 150/300 with a 50 ante
Players: 263

The $10K WPT Finale isn’t your run of the mill tournament. There are few soft spots and there are big time players as far as the eye can see.

The first break chip leader was WSOP Circuit winner David Malka with 94,950 while Chance Kornuth, Vladimir Dobrovolskiy, and Curt Kohlberg round the list of those over 80,000.

With all the stars, everyone is a notable so here’s a random group of 50 players.

David Malka – 94,950 (317 bb)
Chance Kornuth – 83,675 (279 bb)
Vladimir Dobrovolskiy – 83,275 (278 bb)
Curt Kohlberg – 81,475 (272 bb)
Ryan D’Angelo – 77,075 (257 bb)
Jeff Madsen – 73,475 (245 bb)
John Templeton – 72,725 (242 bb)
Jonathan Little – 69,350 (231 bb)
Loni Harwood – 67,000 (223 bb)
Jennifer Tilly – 65,225 (217 bb)
Jessica Dawley – 55,450 (185 bb)
Andrew Spears – 54,400 (181 bb)
Ray Qartomy – 53,700 (179 bb)
Marvin Rettenmaier – 53,525 (178 bb)
Fedor Holz – 52,775 (176 bb)
Myles German – 52,600 (175 bb)
Allen Kessler – 52,050 (174 bb)
Matt Wantman – 50,175 (167 bb)
Justin Liberto – 47,725 (159 bb)
Ian O’Hara – 46,225 (154 bb)
Joe Kuether – 46,150 (154 bb)
Tyler Patterson – 45,775 (153 bb)
Mike Sexton – 45,450 (152 bb)
Dan Shak – 44,025 (147 bb)
Anthony Spinella – 43,450 (145 bb)
Richard Seymour – 43,200 (144 bb)
Aaron Mermelstein – 41,025 (137 bb)
Eric Baldwin – 40,075 (134 bb)
Scott Clements – 38,900 (130 bb)
Shane Warne – 38,375 (128 bb)
Ryan Riess – 38,299 (128 bb)
Greg Merson – 38,050 (127 bb)
Hunter Cichy – 37,900 (126 bb)
Steven Karp – 37,625 (125 bb)
Jared Jaffee – 36,200 (121 bb)
Hans Winzeler – 36,000 (120 bb)
Anthony Zinno – 35,150 (117 bb)
Matt Stout – 34,025 (113 bb)
Phil Laak – 32,800 (109 bb)
Matt Berkey – 30,900 (103 bb)
Will Failla – 28,650 (96 bb)
Mike Leah – 28,650 (96 bb)
Stewart Newman – 27,175 (91 bb)
Maria Ho – 26,850 (90 bb)
Darryll Fish – 23,800 (79 bb)
Mohsin Charania – 21,625 (72 bb)
Harrison Gimbel – 17,750 (59 bb)
Kelly Minkin – 15,275 (51 bb)

$10,000 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale (Freeze-Out)
Level 3: 150/300 with a 50 ante
Players: 246

The field in the $10,000 WPT Finale is a who’s who of poker pros, but it’s also a who’s who of Championship bustouts. Among those who ran deep in the Championship before meeting their fate on Day 3 are Marvin Rettenmaier and Joseph Drory. Rettenmaier preceded Drory on the rail finishing 69th while Drory busted 59th. Both player are among the sizable field here in the Finale as the prize pool creeps up toward $3,000,000.

While it’s Drory who outlasted Rettenmaier in the Championship, Rettenmaier holds the advantage in the Finale counts to this point.

Marvin Rettenmaier – 53,500
Joseph Drory – 21,500

$10,000 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale (Freeze-Out)
End of Level 2: 100/200 with a 25 ante
Total Players: 245

Players in the $10,000 WPT Finale Freeze-out are on their first break of the say with 245 players putting up their money.

We found three WSOP Main Event champs so far today. Joe McKeehen (2015), Ryan Riess (2013), and Joe Hachem (2003) took their seats in the early levels but we should see a few more get in the game.

Players will return in 15 minutes to continue the long, slow grind.

$10,000 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale (Freeze-Out)
Level 2: 100/200 with a 25 ante
Players: 232

Yet another player to earn his way into the $10,000 Finale at a discount is Charlemagne Benjamin. Benjamin advanced in a $125 step satellite in the poker room and made his way into a $1,050 mega before ultimately scoring the $10,000 Finale seat.

He’s now among the elite field having ponied up less than 2 percent of the event’s actual buy-in.

$10,000 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale (Freeze-Out)
Level 2: 100/200 with a 25 ante
Players: 215

Myles German filled out a Seminole Hard Rock Poker Player Survey and was randomly selected as the winner of a $500 promotional ticket. He used the ticket in last night’s Finale satellite and parlayed it into a $10,000 seat. With that, he’s now among the field in the season-ending event and has a shot at its more than $2,000,000 prize pool.

Those looking to follow in his shoes can keep their eyes peeled for future surveys. They are distributed after each SHRP series.

Myles German – 44,000

$10,000 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale (Freeze-Out)
Level 2: 100/200 with a 25 ante
Total Players: 215

The WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Finale field is quickly filling up and the player count moved over 211 during the second level. That number puts us over the $2 million guaranteed prize pool and now it’s climbing.

We found a poker royal couple making their first appearance in the ballroom. Phil Laak and Jennifer Tilly rolled into town for some of the big action with Laak eligible to play in the WPT Tournament of Champions in a few days.