There were few surprises in the early stages of Day 3, which was mostly a routine affair of the short stacks being gradually overwhelmed. However, there were a few disappointments in the early stages:
Alan Goehring began the day with a promising 3rd chip position, but finished 17th. Goehring, a retired Wall Street analyst, is a talented player who won last year’s WPT Championship after beating a tough final table that included Doyle Brunson, Ted Forrest, Phil Ivey and Kirill Gerasimov.
Rohit Chopra began the day in 5th chip position, but finished 18th.
And John Esposito began the day in 9th chip position, but finished 27th. Esposito lost his entire stack in two unlucky encounters with Daniel Negreanu. First, Esposito picked up pocket kings but ran into Negreanu’s pocket aces. Soon thereafter, Esposito picked up A-K and opened for a raise. Negreanu called with K-J. The flop came 3-K-9. Negreanu bet out and Esposito raised. Negreanu reraised Esposito all in, and Espo beat him into the pot. Esposito was a 6:1 favorite, but a jack hit the turn and finished him.
When the final ten players sat down together, the chip count was roughly as follows:
Arieh $1,400,000
Williams $1,000,000
Tsiprailidis $1,000,000
Ivey $500,000
Moran $500,000
Negreanu $500,000
Bibb $450,000
Perry $450,000
Markholt $350,000
Senthilkumar $350,000
After 45 minutes of restrained play, Bibb got trapped in a dangerous unraised pot. With the blinds at $8,000-$16,000 / $3,000, three players limped in and Bibb checked the big blind. The flop came Jd 6c 5c. Perry, first to act, bet out $50,000. Bibb raised to $150,000, and Williams reraised all in. Bibb pondered the situation and called apprehensively. Bibb had Js 6s, but Williams had 5s 5h. The board gave Bibb no help, and he exited in 10th place.
Shortly thereafter, Kumar picked up 8-8 in middle position, and opened the betting by moving all in for $285,000, a massive overbet. Moran called from the cutoff with pocket kings. Kumar got no help from the board and exited in 9th place.
With the blinds now at $10,000-$20,000 / $4,000, Perry opened for $70,000 and Negreanu called from the button. The flop came 2h 3c Qc. Perry bet out $120,000, Negreanu raised Perry all in, and Perry called. Negreanu held 10s Qs, Perry had 9h 9c. The board failed to help Perry, and he exited in 8th place.
Fourteen hands later, Williams opened for $65,000, Markholt moved all in for about $250,000, and Williams called. It was a standard race between pair and overcards: Williams with Ah Kc, Markholt with 10h 10c. The flop came 4d 9s Qd. The Jd came on the turn. The jack was a good card for Markholt, since it gave him a straight draw and reduced Williams’ outs. The Ad spiked on the river, eliminating Markholt and bringing Day 3 to a conclusion. It was the end of an impressive rally for Markholt, who began the day in 20th chip position, but managed an impressive climb up the money ladder to earn $75,500.
Day 3 was a difficult day for Phil Ivey. He began the day as the commanding chip leader and ended as a short stack. He actually had fewer chips at the end of the day than he had at the beginning. Negreanu and Tsiprailidis had a super day. They both began the day low on chips, but staged impressive comebacks and arrived confidently at the final table. Arieh and Williams used their leverage to consume other players and increase their stacks. And Moran, who began the day as one of the chip leaders, successfully protected his stack and endured to reach the final table.
Day 4 - Starting Chip Count
David Williams - $2,039,000
Josh Arieh - $1,390,000
Daniel Negreanu - $950,000
Chris Tsiprailidis - $784,000
Phil Ivey - $466,000
Brandon Moran - $449,000
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