WSOP Main Event Down to Final Nine

The World Series of Poker Main Event has been cut down to the final table of nine players, and in a big surprise the globally popular tournament has been dominated by Americans.

Six American players, two Canadians and an Italian made the final stage of WSOP, which will be delayed until the grand finale beginning in Las Vegas on November 6, with a $9.8 million top prize up for grabs.

Some 7,000 players from 92 different nations participated in the $10,000 buy-in no-limit event, but such was the dominance of the Americans and their Canadian neighbours that only Italian Filippo Candio prevented an all-North American extravaganza in the final table.

Twenty-two year-old Canadian Jonathan Duhamel heads into the final stage as the chip leader, with around 66 million of the 210 million chips in his possession.

But he will have to compete with some bigger names, including seventh-placed American Michael Mizrachi, one of four brothers to have won money in the Main Event, a tournament record.

Also in the running are: John Dolan, US, second; Joseph Cheong, US, third; John Racener, US, fourth; Matthew Jarvis, Canada, fifth; Soi Nguyen, US, eighth; and Jason Senti, US, ninth.