Moneymaker makes Venom final table, $1.8M for first

Posted on: May 1, 2024 01:45 PDT

Update: The Venom final table is live now and you can watch it right here.

The $12.5M Venom has been a rollercoaster ride for a lot of players, and ACR Poker has been dragged along for the ride. First, it looked like there was going to be a significant overlay before the last Day 1 saw it break the guarantee by just over $100K. That was the good news.

The bad news for ACR Poker came ahead of the start of Day 2 after the player with the second biggest stack, Withia, was suspended on suspicion of being a bot. That led to a lot of talk on X about the problems that seem to besiege ACR, although it had plenty of supporters for taking direct action in such a high-profile event. Withia ended up cashing for $9,648, although if it is proven to be a bot, as seems highly likely, its owner won’t be seeing any of that money and the genuine players will be laddered.

ACR Poker hit another upturn as its most high-profile ambassador, Chris Moneymaker, made a run to the final table. He started Day 2 in the top 10 before dropping down to 72nd of the 103 players that made Day 3.

Moneymaker then rode his own rollercoaster while live streaming on the ACR Poker Twitch channel, moving up to third in chips before losing a few key pots and dropping down to the mid-ranks again with 25 players left.

Moneymaker streamed his way to the final table of the $12.5M Venom

Big slick gives big boost to Moneymaker

Then he got into a huge hand. DamianLillard three-bet Moneymaker, who put all of his chips in the middle with . It turned out to be the most classic of races, with DamianLillard holding queens. The flop was cleanish for DamianLillard, but it put two hearts down, giving Moneymaker plenty of outs. The on the turn was one of them, and DamianLillard couldn’t find the queen to cripple Moneymaker. That left the ACR Poker pro on a stack of 121,247,346 and in third place again with 22 players left.

Moneymaker then ran into quad aces to lose a big chunk of those chips. He had and bet the flop. AK_Dont_Play called to see the turn and called another bet from Moneymaker to see the final ace drop on the river. “Well, this is interesting,” said Moneymaker as he called a 13.75BB bet. “Does he ever not have an ace here?” asked Moneymaker before saying “whatever” and flicking in the call. “That’s not the best river call,” Moneymaker said. “I’ve lost with kings and queens now, and they say it’s rigged,” quipped Moneymaker.

Moneymaker went on a rebuild and ended up taking the remaining 17 players through the next money jump. You can watch the hand below and see what it means for the ACR Pro as he says, “I really don’t want to call a shove here, but I will.”

Moneymaker won another decent pot with Kings under the gun. He picked up two callers, including one from ready2dance that left him with a very shoveable 15BB stack. Everyone checked the flop, with Moneymaker saying, “I’m probably going to make a mistake here.” It turned out great. On the turn, ready2dance proved he was indeed ready to dance and shoved with . Moneymaker held on.

Then it came down to a big race, with Moneymaker shipping with tens from the big blind and picking up a call for just under half his stack from Pandinho with . The was clean, and Moneymaker was chipped up again. That notched another money jump with just 11 players left.

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Ugly final table bubble – Matakis, Vang make the cut

With 10 left and on the final table bubble, Moneymaker proved he can fold ‘em too. He three-bet with jacks only to see Doblou ship for two-thirds of Moneymaker’s stack. Moneymaker decided to lay them down. “Pretty big spot there,” Moneymaker said.

That was it for Moneymaker, who watched Pippolnzaghi bust horribly in tenth. “Oh, we’ve got an all-in here. AQ versus aces. A queen would be sick here. A queen on the flop… Oh! A queen on the river, that’s nasty, that’s so nasty. We’ve made the final table!” As the final nine assembled, with Moneymaker in sixth with 58 big blinds, he said, “I’m not a big fan of my position here on the final table.” Getting there is a victory in itself.

Moneymaker isn't the only big name who's made the final nine. 2023 WSOP Player of the Year, Ian Matakis (RiverRiot72), is sitting just behind him in seventh with a stack of 109,539,561 (a very playable 46 big blinds). And Kou Vang (AK_Dont_Play) is above them both in second place. Matakis and Vang have already been chatting on X.

$12.5M Venom payouts

All nine players have now locked up $148,600. A win would see Moneymaker bank $1.8 million, a cash that would rank third on his all-time live and online list after the $2.5 million Main Event win in 2023 and his $2,030,000 cash in a Triton Super High Roller last year.