Rizzo Leads The Closer With 52 Left at the Horseshoe

The Closer is down to 52 at the Horseshoe: Leonardo Mendonca Rizzo, a Brazilian with two lifetime final tables and $209K in career earnings, leads WSOP Event #93 ($1,500 The Closer No-Limit Hold'em) with 5.3 million chips.

Anzhela Vasilenko of Ukraine sits second with 4.665 million. Victor Fryda of France holds 3.5 million, and Sebastien Grax — also French, with $759K in lifetime cashes — has 1.6 million.

Leonardo Mendonca Rizzo, a Brazilian with two lifetime final tables and $209K in career earnings, leads with 5.3 million chips.

Earlier in the Day

When the field crossed 80 remaining, Alexander Yen topped the counts at 4.275 million. Yen has $2M in career earnings and five lifetime final tables. Ian Steinman — a one-time bracelet winner with eight Circuit rings and $2.17M in lifetime cashes — sat close behind at 2.22 million. Two-time bracelet winner Evan Sandberg held 1.975 million with 14 career final tables and $1.43M in earnings.

None of those three appeared in the top-five stacks when the field reached 52, suggesting eliminations or significant chip losses as play deepened.

What's Next

The field will play down to a winner. Rizzo, whose entire career earnings trail the first-place payout of most WSOP bracelet events, is grinding toward a score that would more than double his lifetime total. Ricardo Cermeno-Sandoval of Canada — one WSOPC ring, $249K in career cashes — rounds out the named contenders at 1.2 million chips.