Diane Zimmerman Leads the Race to WPT Prime Championship Final Table

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Dec 13, 2024 4 min read

The massive field at the $1,100 WPT Prime Championship thinned dramatically after a whirlwind Day 2 at Wynn Las Vegas.

Over the course of 18 action-packed levels in the Encore Ballroom, chips flew back and forth as the initial 1,206 survivors dwindled to a pack of just 99 competitors by the time play concluded around 2 a.m. local time on Friday, December 13. The top of the leaderboard saw significant shifts as the race for the $1,162,350 grand prize hit its halfway mark after the final card of the night was dealt.

Leading the charge in one of the marquee tournaments of the 2024 World Poker Tour World Championships (WPTWC) is Dianne Zimmerman, a Sin City resident according to The Hendon Mob. Zimmerman, with $223,377 in live earnings, started Day 2 with a healthy 564,000 and grew her stack to 10,800,000 (86 big blinds) when play concluded.

The deep run marks Zimmerman's second WPT cash, with her first coming in last year's edition of the same tournament, where she finished in 1283rd for $1,700.

WPT Prime Championship Top 10 Chip Counts

Serock & Latest WPT Champ Smith Bag Big on Day 2

Zimmerman's the only player with an eight-figure chip count. Still, some notable names are not too far behind as the WPT Prime Championship prepares to play down to its final six players on Day 3 before crowning its champion on Saturday, December 14.

Fausto Valdez is well-positioned to make his second career WPTWC final table appearance after ending the night with an impressive 8,950,000 chips (72 big blinds). Valdez, who claimed sixth place in last year’s $1,600 Mystery Bounty for $113,136—his career-best score—has been riding a wave of strong form. The New Yorker recently added another six-figure payday to his résumé with a runner-up finish in a $380 buy-in event in Los Angeles this past October.

Rounding out the top three with 8,925,000 (71 big blinds) is Season 10 WPT Player of the Year Joe Serock. A seasoned grinder with millions in earnings both live and online, Serock remains a recognizable figure in the poker world. This summer, he made a memorable run to the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event, eliminating newly-inducted Women in Poker Hall of Famer Kristen Foxen ahead of the FT. Serock eventually finished in eighth place, earning $1,250,000.

The newest member of the WPT Champions Club, Dylan Smith, finds himself in the top ten with 7,275,000 (58 big blinds). Smith is coming off a career-best performance on December 4, when he captured the title at the 2024 WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship. The victory served as a redemption arc following a "disappointing" result in May’s WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, where he entered the final day as the chip leader but exited early in fifth place.

Alfie Poetra continues to be a player to watch after starting Day 2 with a top-ten stack. Maintaining steady momentum throughout the day, Poetra held his position among the leaders and bagged 6,325,000 (51 big blinds), securing the tenth spot heading into Day 3.

Reigning Champ Anderson Busts; WPT Prime Paris Champ Girard Still In

Another big development on Day 2 of the WPT Prime Championship was the exit of defending champion Calvin Anderson. Last year, the five-time bracelet winner topped the 10,512 entries and seized the $1,386,280 up top. Anderson started play with 505,000 (50 big blinds) but ultimately fell short in his quest for back-to-back victories.

The day also saw the exit of three WPT Prime champions. Fabian Gumz, Timothy Chung, and Yakiv Syzghanov, all winners of 2024 WPT Prime Main Events, entered Day 2 with below-average stacks and ultimately failed to progress beyond the second stage.

Despite these setbacks, one WPT Prime champion remains in contention. Hugues "Hugo" Girard, the WPT Prime Paris winner, still has a shot at becoming a two-time champion. However, with just 1,425,000 (11 big blinds), he’ll need a strong rally to keep his hopes alive.

WPT Prime Championship Remaining Payouts

*First-place amount includes the winner's $10,400 entry into next year's WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in 2025.
_{images courtesy of the World Poker Tour}

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

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