It started with almost 6500 people and over the course of nearly two weeks the field was whittled down little by little with each passing day and each passing hour. Now, all of the players that are left in the World Series of Poker can sit down at the same table. In other words, the 2009 Main Event has reached its final table, a group of nine people that are collectively known as the 2009 November Nine. This is because the final table will not reconvene until November, at which point they will play down to the final winner.

The current chip leader is Darvin Moon, who will enter the final table with nearly 59 million in his chip stack. Eric Buchman will have the second largest stack in the room at nearly 35 million, while Steven Begleiter will have the third largest at nearly 30 million.

Unfortunately for people that were hoping for as much professional representation as possible, Antonio Esfandiari was eliminated from play today and therefore will not be joining the final nine players this year. However, the person that many people consider to be the best poker player in the world will be at the table.

His name is Phil Ivey and it is a name that strikes fear into the heart of those that hear it. Unfortunately for Mr. Ivey however, he will have the third smallest stack at the table with less than 10 million in chips. Overcoming a 6 to 1 chip disadvantage is something that Phil Ivey might not be able to do, but it will certainly be glorious to see him try. If there is any pro that could do it, that pro would be Phil Ivey.

Phil will be joined at the final table by Jeff Shulman who currently has close to 20 million in chips. Shulman, while not being a professional poker player, is well known to the world as one of the biggest names in poker media. People cheering for established poker players to take home the title will certainly start to back Shulman in the event that Ivey gets knocked out of the tournament first.

That brings us to the end of our WSOP updates. Join us again in November when we take a closer look at what happens with the November Nine.