WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Final Table Is Set

WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star reaches the final six

The 2026 World Poker Tour Bay 101 Shooting Star main event has reached its decisive stage. From a field of 584 entries in the $5,300 no-limit hold’em tournament, only six players remain in contention for the title and the biggest payday.

The event kicked off on Oct. 23 at Bay 101 in San Jose, California, and rolled through three starting flights before the field was narrowed for the televised final table. Play was halted on Oct. 26 after a dramatic finish produced the final six ahead of a six-week pause.

That break is part of the unique rhythm of this WPT stop. Instead of immediately playing down to a winner, the final table will resume on Dec. 15 in Las Vegas, giving the remaining contenders time to reset while the pressure of a televised showdown continues to build.

Quoc Mai bags the lead after a huge three-way all-in

Quoc Mai will return with the biggest stack by a wide margin. He finished the night with 10,165,000 chips, good for 254 big blinds when the cards are back in the air.

For the San Francisco resident, the score is already a career best. His previous top cash was just $4,660, earned with a 51st-place finish in a RunGood Poker Series event at Thunder Valley Casino Resort earlier this summer. Bay 101 has now turned him into a genuine headline story.

Mai’s massive closing pot came in a three-way all-in. His K♠K♦ held against Jeremy Menard’s A♥Q♠ and Joe Nguyen’s 3♥3♣. The board ran out 9♥2♥2♦4♥9♠, and the pocket kings stayed best to send both opponents out on the bubble of the televised final table.

Back-to-back eliminations reshape the final table

The hand that set up the final-table bubble came right after another major showdown. Chahn Jung held K♠K♣ and stayed ahead through a board of 10♥7♣5♣2♠5♠ against Adam Hendrix’s A♠J♥ and Aaron Massey’s 3♥3♣.

That pot knocked Massey out in 10th for $41,500 and sent Hendrix home in 9th for $48,500. The table then moved quickly toward the six-handed finale with back-to-back double eliminations, a sequence that dramatically changed the texture of the endgame.

Jung bagged 9,075,000 chips, or 227 big blinds. With nearly $2 million in recorded career earnings already on his résumé, he now has a real chance to add another major result when play resumes in December.

Chip counts, contenders, and what remains at stake

Only one other player enters the restart with a stack above 100 big blinds: Ziao Guo, who will begin with 4,085,000 chips and 102 BB. Even before the final table restarts, Guo has locked up at least $94,000, which is already a new personal-best payday.

Shawn Daniels is the most accomplished player still alive. He has more than $3.9 million in lifetime cashes, plus a WSOP bracelet and the 2025 WPT Rolling Thunder main event title. He sits fourth in chips with 3,000,000, or 75 big blinds.

• Eric Zheng — 2,065,000 (52 BB)
• William Davis — 700,000 (18 BB)

That distribution matters because live final tables often swing on one double-up. A player who starts short can quickly move from survival mode to contention, while a medium stack can become vulnerable to ICM pressure if the action speeds up.

Prize pool, deep runs, and the value of the event

The strong turnout created a $2,613,200 prize pool, with the top 73 finishers making the money. The list of deep runners included Phil Hellmuth (48th), Tyler Patterson (45th), Soheb Porbandarwala (41st), Faraz Jaka (38th), Michael Wang (28th), Matthew Salsberg (19th), and Joe McKeehen (15th).

That level of depth matters for the WPT ecosystem because it shows how strong live-field events still attract elite names and ambitious regulars alike. For players looking to build volume in comparable environments, studying poker rooms and planning the right travel schedule can be just as important as table selection.

• 1st: $470,500
• 2nd: $305,000
• 3rd: $226,000
• 4th: $168,000
• 5th: $126,000
• 6th: $94,000

Expert analysis: why this final table matters

This final table is a strong snapshot of modern tournament poker. A huge chip leader is in place, but the event is far from locked up. Deep-stack live poker rewards patience, positional awareness, and the ability to apply pressure at the right time rather than forcing action too early.

Mai’s lead gives him leverage, but it also creates a target. The players behind him can use ICM-aware strategies, especially when pay jumps become more valuable. Jung and Guo have enough chips to maneuver without panic, while Daniels’ experience could be a major edge if the table turns into a grind.

There is also a clear lesson for aspiring players: live success is often built long before the final table. Preparation, bankroll management, and access to the right poker school material can make a huge difference when the stage gets bigger and the decisions get more expensive.

If you are planning a serious tournament schedule, it also pays to track promotions & bonuses and structure your online play around events that support live buy-ins. The path to a WPT final table often starts with disciplined volume and smart game selection.

What happens next in Las Vegas

The final six will return on Dec. 15 in Las Vegas to play down to a champion. The winner will not only take home $470,500, but also have their name engraved on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup and secure a $10,400 seat in the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas.

For the players, the long break can be both a blessing and a challenge. It offers time to study opponents and prepare for ICM spots, but it also means the pressure has weeks to build. Either way, the Bay 101 final table is set up for a high-stakes finish.

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