The PokerStars Stadium Series comes to a close today, as only the final table of the three Grand Final tournaments remain to be played. The $5,200 Grand Final - High comes back today with the final nine players vying for their share of the $5,000,000 prize pool.
Two players enter the final table with commanding chip stacks. France's Maxime 'Daghemuneguu' Chilaud comes in as the final table chip leader, with a 169-big blind chip stack. That stack represents more than a third of the chips in play as the tournament resumes today.
The other massive final table chip count is owned by Russian player 'serggorelyi7', who comes in with 120 big blinds. Chilaud and 'serggorelyi7' hold nearly 60 percent of the total chips in play between the two, with the other seven final table contenders looking up.
Whichever player wins the tournament will come away with the $821,989 first-place prize.
Other final table competitors
Russia's representation includes five total players at the final table. In addition to 'serggorelyi7', other Russian players in the hunt include 'LeslieGroves' (44 big blinds), 'Goallinfishara' (38 big blinds), 'MarinkaHT (29 big blinds), and Sergei 'Futti18' Koliakov (24 big blinds).
Other final table players are Brazilian Fernando 'fviana' Viana (25 big blinds), Serbia's Vlada 'Vlada2108' Stojanovic (22 big blinds), and Belarusian 'isscreamo' (14 big blinds).
Big payout jumps await for the final nine as the tournament plays to its conclusion today. The ninth-place finisher takes home $67,992, with the top seven finishers all coming away with six-figure paydays.
Third place takes down $429,336, while the runner-up finisher cashes for $594,062.
Third and final day of the Grand Final High
The $5,200 Grand Final - High plays as a three-day event, with the highest overall prize pool of any Stadium Series tournament. The original field of 971 entries yielded 119 places paid, with a minimum cash of $11,778.
The tournament used a freezeout format, which meant the 971 entries all represented unique players. Day 1 of the Grand Final - High saw that field trim down to the payout structure, with the 119 money finishers advancing to Day 2.
Final tablist 'Goallinfishara' ended Day 1 with the overall chip lead, with Chilaud also wrapping up the day in the top ten in the chip counts.
Day 2 began with the entire field already in the money. Notable players finishing in the cash included Mike 'SirWatts' Watson (79th - $14,664), Joao 'IneedMassari' Simao (71st - $14,664), Mike 'gorodski' Gorodinsky (41st - $22,729), Talal 'raidalot' Shakerci (32nd - $22,729), Rui 'RuiNF' Ferreira (15th - $43,864) and Jerry 'Perrymejsen' Odeen (10th - $54,611).
Odeen and Carlos 'cyphellus' Chang (11th - $54,611) were the last two players to fall on Day 2, with 'serggorelyi7' scoring a double knockout to oust the two opponents on the final hand of the day.
Stadium Series wraps up
The 106-event schedule for the PokerStars Series comes to an end after today's play. The trio of Grand Finals tournaments (High, Medium, and Low) all wrap up today, each offering six-figure prizes to the eventual winner.
The Stadium Series awarded more than $55 million across the 106-tournament schedule. The Stadium Series Afterparty comes next on the schedule, with nearly $2 million more in guarantees on the line as the series continues through the first two weeks of August.
