Excitement is building around the Rio as Tom Dwan is a mere eight eliminations away from his first WSOP bracelet. That being said, quite a formidable field of very strong players are also in contention to take down one of the biggest events of the year.

Fabrice Soulier is a French professional poker player with over $2,000,000 in tournament winnings. Soulier has 17 WSOP cashes to his name, 18 counting today's cash. In 2009 Soulier finished 7th place in the WSOP $1,500 H.O.R.S.E Event as well as an impressive 49th place in the Main Event.

From Lincoln, California, Jacobo Fernandez has over $1,700,000 in tournament poker cashes and also stands in contention for the bracelet today. Although Fernandez does not own a bracelet, he has come close several times, most notably in 2008 when he came in 4th place in a $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Event and 3rd place in a $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event.

Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia is Shawn Buchanan. Buchanan took down the World Poker Tour Mandalay Bay Poker Championship in 2007 and holds over $3,300,000 in tournament cashes to his name. He has had an impressive 2011 WSOP thus far, with three deep cashes including 20th place in $2,500 8 Game and 22nd place in $ 2,500 10 Game/Six Handed.

Michael Binger is most notably known for his 3rd place finish in the 2006 WSOP Main Event. Since then he's been able to garner an impressive $6,500,000 in tournament winnings and take down the 2008 WSOP Circuit Event - Lake Tahoe. Although he holds a Circuit Event championship he is yet to capture a gold bracelet, and is in a good standing to do so today.

Max Pescatori is an Italian professional poker player who holds two WSOP bracelets to his name. He has over $3,000,000 in tournament winnings and an impressive 25 cashes at the WSOP. This event marks Pescatori's fourth cash in 2011.

Matthew Ashton has cashed for over $50,000 in tournament poker winnings and this marks his first WSOP cash. Most notably he took down a €1,000 8-Game Event in 2010.

Andrey Zaichenko has eight WSOP cashes and over $700,000 in lifetime tournament winnings. His most recent cash occurred when he came in 5th during this year's $ 2,500 Limit Hold'em - Six Handed Event. If Zaichenko is able to win today, he will take home his first WSOP bracelet.

Finally, Daniel Ospina from Phoenix, Arizona is also in contention for the bracelet today. His live tournament winnings are over $78,000 and he has an FTOPS jersey to his name. He most recently cashed at the 2011 WSOP, coming in 44th in $1,500 Limit Hold'em Event.