The finalists for the US leg of the 2020 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event met again on December 28 at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to play down to a winner, but only eight of them were able to compete at the live final table as one player had been disqualified for testing positive for COVID-19.
Upeshka De Silva was not allowed to participate in the domestic final table after his latest COVID-19 test yielded a positive result. The three-time WSOP bracelet winner was reportedly disqualified just hours prior to the start of the final action.
News of the disqualification was initially made public following a tweet by poker pro and content creator Joey Ingram.
US Final Table Results
As per WSOP rules, De Silva will automatically take the last position (9th place) and receive the minimum final table payout. The WSOP has yet to make an official statement regarding his disqualification, but the official final results of the live battle say it all.
Joseph Herbert emerged as the winner for $1,553,256, with Ron Jenkins finishing as runner-up for $1,002,340. Michael Cannon and Ryan Hagerty finished 3rd and 4th for $529,258 and $387,130 respectively, while Tony Yuan took the 5th spot with $286,963 in winnings.
Harrison Doblin walked away with $215,222 for finishing 6th, with Shawn Stroke taking home $163,786 for finishing 7th. Gershon Distenfeld, who earlier promised to donate all of his WSOP Main Event winnings to charity, finished 8th for $125,885. De Silva was listed in 9th place for $98,813.
De Silva, who was eyeing a fourth gold bracelet, explained in a series of tweets that he tested positive for COVID-19 on December 20 despite going on quarantine since December 10. The Colombo, Sri Lanka native immediately informed WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel regarding his situation, but he chose to keep it private as he felt “very scared” about sharing it publicly.
De Silva tested negative on December 26, but mandatory tests carried out on the finalists on December 27 showed he still had the virus. Because of this, he was automatically dropped from the live final table.
It can be remembered that the international leg of the 2020 WSOP Main Event also disqualified another finalist, though for a different reason.
Chinese player Peiyuan Sun chose not to participate in the live final table at King’s Resort in Czech Republic due to ongoing travel restrictions, leading to his disqualification. He automatically became the 9th-place finisher, winning the minimum final table payout worth $75,360.
Special Heads-Up Finale Postponed
The final table of the US portion of the event is now over, which means the WSOP is getting closer to crowning the official 2020 Main Event champion, but another issue has come up – international winner Damian Salas has reportedly been blocked from entering the United States.
Salas is set to face Herbert in a special heads-up finale at the Rio in Las Vegas on December 30, but with the latest developments, the final battle will now be moved to a later date, most probably January 2, 2021.