SO FAR, A TWO-HORSE RACE
More than seven hours into play at the championship final table, it's become a two-horse race, with Jorryt Van Hoof (pictured) and William Tonking lapping the field and dashing for the finish line.
 
As much as any two players could dominate what remains of an six-player field, the top two chip leaders now have nearly two thirds of the total chips in play.  Other than Felix Stephensen's brief hold on the chip lead about two hours into the action, the two chip giants have pretty much dominated play at the final table.
 
Indeed, just about everything has gone favorably for Van Hoof and Tonking.  The Dutch player Van Hoof has doubled his chip count from the start, which exceeded 70 million for a time.  He was the first player to cross the 60- and 70-million threshold.  Tonking, the American player from New Jersey currently rest close behind, with 62 million.  The closest player to the two big stacks is Billy Pappas, with just over 20 million.  He doubled up twice and could be a force where he to repeat such good fortune.
 
There's lots of poker still to be played.  As we've seen in year's past, early results don't guarantee much of anything, except for what should be a riveting showdown as we play down to the final two players this evening.