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can't you just use the ICM calculator for FT ev values?
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I can't find one that can handle 5 players. Do you know of one?
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This page has a few implementations, along with some background on the ICM. I think it'd be a better place to start than the chip-count chop, particularly since the blinds still weren't huge in this tournament.
edit - also note that ICM gives $30K a much lower EV than the chip-count split. He had around 3/8ths of the chips in play when the deal was made, so ICM gives him first around 37% of the time. That's around $49K in EV, so even if he finished 2nd the other 63% ICM is only giving him $99K, or $2K more than the chip-count chop (note that this chip-count figure includes his share of the reserved $10K).