Pokerstars Ambassador and Irish Open High Roller winner Kenny Hallaert is chip leader for Day 7 of the WSOP Main Event.
Hallaert, who was a WSOP November Niner back in 2016, snagged a huge 36.9 million chip pot in the last 20 minutes of play yesterday after his aces held in a three-way all-in against QQ and JJ. There are now just 57 players in the WSOP Main Event with the winner guaranteed $10 million.
Hallaert won one of the biggest cashes of his live poker career in April when he took down the €5k NLH High Roller 8-Max at this year’s Irish Open. He outlasted a 147-entry field packed with elite talent, securing €140,674 from the €680,793 prize pool. His live tournament winnings now total nearly $6 million but it’s his sixth place finish in the 2016 WSOP Main Event – for $1,464,258 – which cemented his status as one of Europe’s most respected tournament professionals.
Last night the Belgian pro told PokerNews: “It doesn’t feel real but I’ve been in this position before, obviously made a final table. I’ve been 64th even before, so I’ve already topped that result… Getting aces and having two people go all in before you also helps to make it as a chip leader.
“People have started in this position as the chip leader and not made it to the final three tables. When you’ve been playing poker for 20 years, I’ve seen it all happen in the past. Been there multiple times in tournaments when you have all the chips and all of a sudden you’re out.”
