Poker fans are prepared for some level of spectacle when it comes to the World Series of Poker Main Event final table – coordinated T-shirts, chants, and large collections of friends and family coming together to support a player as they enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
But when loud chants and boisterous celebrations started to ring throughout the ballroom at Horseshoe Las Vegas on Day 6 of the 2024 WSOP Main Event, days away from the final table and millions of dollars directly on the line, it took a lot of people by surprise. If you’ve been watching the PokerGO broadcasts at home, you’ve probably heard the commotion from the outer tables on multiple occasions.
At the center of that attention has been 35-year-old Yegor Moroz, and his rail of friends and supporters have grown in size and volume since that point in the tournament. Now onto Day 8 with just 16 players remaining, Moroz is one day away from getting all of those people around the WSOP Main Event final table.
“I mean, it’s been unreal. This is the best group of friends that I could ever ask for,” said Moroz. “All these people have been showing up, supporting and loving unconditionally. And then being there for all the moments and even in spots where they couldn’t even really see what was going on. But they were there.
The group is a conglomeration of different phases of Moroz’s life. There are friends from his time attending the University of Florida, where he first learned to play poker. Others come from South Florida, poker players and others who share Moroz’s love of music and attending festivals. There are also friends Moroz has made since moving to Las Vegas.
At the center of this group, the person who has been on the sidelines of this particular group the longest is Darryll Fish. The WPT Champions Club member is known for being quite reserved when he’s at the table, but he’s been the unofficial representative for the group when the cameras and sideline reporter Jeff Platt have come calling over the last few days.
“I can totally respect the idea of keeping your composure and stoicism and all that sort of thing,” said Fish. “But I think there’s a lot to be said for really basking in the emotions of a once-in-a-lifetime experience like this type of run. He loves to dance, loves to have a good time, just all around a jolly guy who appreciates life – and we love him a lot.”
For Fish, who’s enjoyed a lot of major successes in his poker career, watching a friend who has had $189,785 in career lifetime tournament earnings lock up a result that will multiply that total at least a few times over and potentially a lot more has been surreal and a purely joyful moment.
“It’s super fun to live this experience vicariously through a friend, especially someone who’s not just a poker friend, but like a true brother,” said Fish. “Some people here have small pieces of him, I have 0%. Most of us are rooting for him out of the kindness and care of our hearts, which is I think is kind of rare in poker these days. We all dream of going deep in the Main. We don’t necessarily get to have that experience ourselves. We have a lot of our best friends here and we’re having a really good time. He’s enjoying the moment and we’re staying right there with him.”
Only a few players have had a sideline support system anywhere near as potent as Moroz’s, and one of them belonged to another good friend, Jesse Capps. For most of Day 6, they played at the same table, facing each other in Seat 6 and Seat 9. Capps played into Day 7 of the 2024 WSOP Main Event and experienced a few highlights on featured tables, before ultimately going out in 51st place. Capps promptly joined Moroz’s rail at that point and has been cheering him on ever since.
“We’ve gone to festivals together, we hang out, we go on hikes together. He’s one he’s one of my closest friends,” said Capps. “Going deep with him was so cool, because we were we were sweating each other from the beginning. And then on Day 6, we make it to the same table. The last hand, he gets a player all in and his whole rail tries to rush to the table and security stops them, so I’m shouting out the action. When he wins, he runs to the rail, and then so do I. I was rooting for him, and honestly, probably harder than I was rooting for myself.”
“When does that ever happen? When do friends get to sit together Day 6 or Day 7 of the Main Event?” said Moroz. “It’s just incredible, and when we weren’t in pots together, it’s cool to just share the space and and kind of feel through it, because there’s everyone on the rail, they have their own experience. But being at the same table, you can feel like what they’re going through and almost feel the hands as they happen.”
Moroz has spent considerable time on Day 7 and Day 8 at the primary featured table, giving the audience at home a more direct sense of what that rail has been like up close. In the biggest hand he’s played thus far in the tournament, Moroz flopped a set of jacks against pocket aces and the celebrations included beer getting splashed around and people climbing on one another’s shoulders.
A deeper look at that rail reveals some big-time pros, including Fish, Adam ‘Roothlus’ Levy, and a bevy of other heavy hitters, largely based out of South Florida. And as much as having good vibes and outward energy and emotional support has helped Moroz thus far, having never been in such a spot before.
“He plays cash games pretty regularly, he’s played tournaments for a long time and played online a lot back in the day with us,” said Fish. “He loves the game and is surrounded by a lot of people with quite a bit of experience in the game, so he’s got a really good support system and he has been thinking through situations really well and mostly playing really good ball out there.”
For Moroz, it’s been about trying to strike the balance between staying in the zone and not hearing too many voices in his head when he’s trying to stay calm under pressure.
“They’ve been really amazing, being conscious of not trying to change anything up or put ideas in my head or whatever,” said Moroz. “Obviously there’s a lot of really talented people here, and they’re gonna let me just kind of play my game and then give me feedback when when I come and offer hands, which is exactly what I need. It’s been perfect. Be heard, received, get that feedback and go back to my space.”
Moroz and his friends have brought an energy into the room, and whether it’s been in response to that chanting and support or the natural progression of the tournament, a few other players and their rails have stepped up their game for Day 7 and Day 8.
For Moroz, acknowledging his friends after big hands and on breaks has served to keep him grounded and happy, preventing him from getting overwhelmed by the stakes at hand. And if they manage to get into the heads of his opponents at all, that’s just a cherry on top.
“I feel like the rest of the room can feel them, and that’s amazing. That’s what kept my spirits up,” said Moroz. “I feel like it was drawing in all that good energy. It’s good to feel having people rooting for you.”