The World Series of Poker Main Event chews up thousands of dreams every summer, and for one night it looked like Blake was going to be the one who beat the odds. Heading into the late stages of Day 6, with the field whittled way down, Blake had built himself into a legitimate threat sitting 2nd in chips.
The chip count that had everyone buzzing: Blake in 2nd with 62 players left after Day 6.
That's not a small deal. The Main Event field is a bloodbath by design — thousands of entries get ground down day after day until only a handful of players are left holding real money and a shot at poker immortality. Sitting 2nd with 62 players remaining put Blake firmly in position to make a run at a final table, the kind of moment that defines a poker career.
But poker doesn't care about the story you're building. Something happened that flipped the whole thing upside down, and the reaction from the Barstool crew made clear this wasn't a normal bustout. Will Compton's message read less like a poker recap and more like a eulogy for a run everyone had gotten invested in.
Absolutely devastating I can only imagine what this man is going through after all of the work put into getting back Keep your head up, brother
"Absolutely devastating" and "all of the work put into getting back" is not the language you use for a standard cooler. It points to a run that had real stakes behind it, a road back that made the position Blake was in before it ended even harder to watch unravel. The exact hand, the how of it all, hasn't been laid out in detail — but the tone from the people who know Blake says everything you need to know about how brutal it was.
I just can’t believe that’s how that main event ended
"I just can't believe that's how that main event ended" isn't the reaction you give to a guy who got outdrawn on a routine all-in. It's the reaction to something that felt almost cruel in its timing, coming right as Blake had positioned himself among the top stacks left in the entire tournament. The Main Event has a brutal habit of doing that — building someone up over days of grinding just to knock them down in an instant.
For now, the story is the swing itself: a Barstool-affiliated grinder climbing to 2nd in chips with 62 left, only to watch it all evaporate before the finish line. The WSOP Main Event field keeps thinning toward a final table and a life-changing payday for whoever's left standing, but for Blake and everyone pulling for him back home, tonight is about the run that almost was.