The final table of the 2017 World Series of Poker Main Event began Thursday night in Las Vegas with Scott Blumstein sitting on the biggest stack. After 5.5 hours of play, two players were sent to the rail early but Blumstein? He remained on top throughout the night and ended with 49.4% of the chips in play with seven players left.

John Hesp, the 64-year-old Brit that had endeared himself to poker fans and players alike, was in fine form early on and managed to end the night in the middle of the pack after cooler against Blumstein.

Ben Lamb Busts Early

Ben Lamb began the final table with just 18,050,000 and was looking for an early hand to double up with. On the fourth hand of the night, Jack Sinclair raised to 1,600,000 from the button and Ben Lamb moved all in from the big blind. Sinclair called and showed , which put ahead of Lamb’s . The board ran out to eliminate Lamb in ninth place for a $1,000,000 payout.

Scott Blumstein Doubles Up Dan Ott

It took almost two hours for the next key hand to come up. Dan Ott made it 2,200,000 from the button and Hesp and Blumstein defended their blinds. Both checked to Ott after the flop and he bet 3,500,000. Hesp folded but Blumstein moved all in and Ott called off his last 14,525,000 and tabled for top pair, top kicker while Blumstein showed for an inside straight draw and overcard. The turn kept Ott ahead and the river gave him an unnecessary two pair and doubled him up to 36,850,000 while Blumstein dropped to 82,825,000.

Scott Blumstein Takes Massive Pot from John Hesp

The day started with Blumstein and Hesp as the top two stacks and though they swapped positions with Hesp on top, the two clashed in the biggest pot of the tournament just 47 hands in. Blumstein made it 2,200,000 from UTG and Hesp defended from the big blind. The flop came and both players checked. The turn was the and Hesp check-raised to 7,000,000 after Blumstein bet 3,000,000. Blumstein announced a re-raise, putting a total of 17,000,000 in the middle. Hesp announced he was all in and Blumstein called. Hesp showed for top two pair but Blumstein showed for top set. The river was the allowing the dealer to officially push the 156,050,000 chip pot to Blumstein. Hesp was left with just 24,225,000.

Jack Sinclair Eliminated in Eighth

Left with just 15,600,000, Sinclair moved all in from middle position before Bryan Piccioli also announced he was all in. Ott took a minute to think over his options before folding. Sinclair showed while Piccioli did the Beth Shak “aces” signal to his rail and tabled .The flop gave Sinclair half of what he needed but the turn and river were both bricks, sending the Englishman home in eighth place.

“Didn’t make any mistakes, I think. The cards were not in my favor,” said Sinclair. “Got a double up, which earned me $200K, so that was good.”

Early End to Action

The original plan was to play until just six players remained, but with the five shortest stacks all playing to ladder up, action was halted after 5.5 hours with seven remaining. The final table resumes Friday at 5:30 PM PT with action airing on ESPN beginning at 6 PM PT.

Chip Counts

1. Scott Blumstein – 178,300,000
2. Benjamin Pollak – 77,525,000
3. Bryan Piccioli – 35,750,000
4. John Hesp – 22,475,000
5. Dan Ott – 16,350,000
6. Damian Salas – 15,625,000
7. Antoine Saout – 14,550,000