Heads up was pretty quick. Eric Wasylenko had a huge lead after sending Rob Limpert home in 3rd place, so Cam Stewart had a mountain to climb to take it down.
It wasn’t to be, as he jammed suited king-deuce, but Wasy had him dominated with ace-deuce and took it down for the win. While Wasy took the trophy in this one, Stewart was already the leader of the Player of the Series race after his win in Event #2, and the extra points from 2nd in this one will give him a big lead over the field.
It’s heads up now, after Rob Limpert ended his run in 3rd place. He jammed his small blind with queen-deuce, but Eric Wasylenko woke up with ace-six and called it off for the win. The hand gave Wasy a massive chip lead with well over 4 million of the 6 million in play.
Eric Wasylenko shoved his button, and Ross Wilson called off with less from the big blind. It was a race between fours for Wasy and ace-queen of spades for Wilson, but the fours held on a board of 9♥5♦8♥10♣2♣ to send Wilson out for $9,955.
The final four players are on a break now, with Eric Wasylenko still in the lead. He chipped up a bit right before the break in a hand where Wasy raised to 120k under the gun, and Cam Stewart and Rob Limpert called from the blinds.
It checked around on the 5♣3♥4♣ flop, and after a check from Stewart on the 10♠ turn, Limpert fired 200k. Both players called to the A♥ river, and they all checked it to showdown.
Stewart showed sixes, but they were no good against king-ten for Wasy. Limpert mucked his hand without showing.
The action was on the turn with the board reading 9♠4♥6♦3♠ and Cam Stewart bet 210k. Rob Limpert called to the K♠ river.
Stewart bet 350k on the river, but Limpert put the rest of his stack in after a few seconds of thought. Stewart mucked his hand after studying the board, and Limpert didn’t show the winning hand.
Cam Stewart raised to 120k from the button, and both Rob Limpert and Eric Wasylenko called from the blinds. They all checked the 10♥A♥8♠ flop, but Limpert fired 150k on the 10♣ turn and took it down.
Wasy still looks to be the leader with a bit more than 2 million, but Stewart is nipping at his heels with just shy of 2 million.
Eric Wasylenko limped the small blind, and Ross Wilson checked his option in the big. They both checked the 5♠4♣5♦ flop, and Wasy led for 50k on the K♠ turn.
Wilson called, and Wasy checked the 7♥ river before mucking to a near-pot bet of 200k from Wilson.
Rob Limpert opened the middle to 100k, and it folded to Cam Stewart in the big blind. He is relatively short, and counted out his stack, contemplating his move.
He put in the call to see a flop of 10♥9♥8♣, and then he shoved his remaining stack for 235k. Limpert hit the tank, and commented that he could have snapped it off if Stewart had shoved preflop. He eventually mucked his pocket sixes, flashing them to the table, while Stewart showed a jack for the open-ended straight draw, though he said sixes were good at that point.
I missed the action, but Kris Steinbach was the 7th-place finisher tonight. He sent his chips across to Rob Limpert before heading to the cage for $4,775.
The 8♠6♦Q♣ flop was already out, and Roymond Kim, on the button, was facing a bet of 120k from Ross Wilson, who was under the gun.
Kim put in the call, and they checked it down through the [invalid notations]5hKd[/[cn] turn and flop. Kim rolled over pocket tens, but Wilson’s jacks were a pip better for the win.
In the final hand before the break, Eric Wasylenko sent Chris Symesko to the rail for 8th place. That chipped Wasy up even more to a huge lead seven ways, with almost 3x the next biggest stack.
Eric Wasylenko raised to 60k from the hijack, and Kris Steibach called from the big blind. Steiner check-called for 40k on the K♦5♥8♦ flop, and they both checked the J♣ turn.
After a check from Steiner on the A♥ river, Wasy bombed it for close to apot bet of 240k. Steiner tanked for a bit before giving up his hand. The hand put Wasy up to about 2 million.
In the first hand at the final table, Fred Werezak ended his day in 9th place. I was just getting to the table for the final table photos as Werezak was heading to the cage for his cash.
Jan Rofuli had just 30k behind going into the hand, and he put it in from the small blind after limps from Ross Wilson and Rob Limpert. Big stack Eric Wasylenko didn’t want to check to a flop, however, making it 150k to go. That got Wilson and Limpert out of the way, and he was in great shape with ace-jack off against nine-deuce for Rofuli.
Rofuli spiked a nine on the turn to take the lead, but the proverbial “ace on the river” materialized in reality for Wasy, sending Rofuli out in 10th and setting the final table. Stay tuned for final table faces shortly.
They are down to 10 remaining now after Roy Lakusta couldn’t get there with king-ten against ace-nine for Rob Limpert. Eric Wasylenko still looks to be the chip leader, with about 1.5 million in play now, while Limpert is still on about the same stack he was at the last update, around 800k.
Kris Steinbach opened to 55k from the cutoff, and Roymond Kim called from the small blind. Big blind Preston Stevenson had a long think about it, but ultimately decided to fold.
Kim check-called for 45k on the 10♣2♦J♦ flop, and they both checked the 7♠ turn. Kim slid out 50k on the Q♥ river, and after a few seconds, Steiner mucked his hand to send the pot to Kim.
It was blind on blind when Ross Wilson limped in from the small, and Roy Lakusta made it 65k to go. Wilson thought for a few seconds before shoving his covering stack of almost 700k, sending Lakusta into the tank for a bit before he muked his hand to send the dead money across to Wilson.
Tablemat Eric Wasylenko, seated to Wilson’s right, is now the chip leader with about 1.3 million, while Rob Limpert is playing about 800k.
Jody Fayant, who had taken a few years away from the live poker scene until this year, is back and hasn’t lost a step. He was no doubt hoping to go deeper in today’s game, but he managed a Day 2 score of $2,035 for 12th place today. He was one of the players battling for the Player of the Series race back in May, and it looks like he might be in the running again this time as well.
Ross Wilson raised to 40k, and Jan Rofuli called from the big blind. Rofuli check-called for 35k on the 3♣10♥K♣ flop, and they both checked the 4♦ turn.
Rofuli checked again on the A♥ river, and Wilson tanked for about 30 seconds before checking behind, saying, “I don’t think you call me with worse.” He showed ace-ten of clubs, and Rofuli mucked his hand.
Ross Wilson is leading the way on the dinner break following Lebel 20. He has more than 900k, but Fred Werezak isn’t that far behind with just over 800k. Preston Stevenson, Rob Limpert, and Kris Steinbach round out the top five. See below for a look at all 15 players, seats, and stacks.
Mike Graff opened early to 35k, and Roy Lakusta was the only caller from the big blind. They both checked the 10♦3♣7♠, but when the turn came 9♣ Lakusta fired 40k to take it down.
About 10 minutes remain until the next break, and I’ll do a full count while they are away from the tables.
The Day 2 field is down to 16 remaining now, with just over 5 minutes to play in Level 19. There is one more level following this one before the next break, and I’ll grab a full round of counts for all remaining players at that break in about 45 minutes.
The field is down to 18 in Day 2, after Alan Zhu bubbled the final two tables. Zhu was part of a 4-way chop in Event #4 the other night, so this marks his second cash of the series so far. Below is a look at the remaining 18 players and how they are seated, though for the moment, I don’t have a good idea of what the chip counts are.
The Day 2 field is down to 19 with about 20 minutes to play in Level 18. As always for Day 2 play, I’ll post recent cashes in each post, while the full list of all cashers today is under the Payouts tab.
After two starting flights, the final money field for Event #3 is now set. There were 221 entries across both days, for prizes of almost $126k, and 28 players will be returning for the Sunday action to play for all of it.
The player to beat going into the final day is Preston Stevenson. He crushed 1b for a stack of almost 900k, more than 350k above the 1a leader, Chris Symesko, with 506.5k. Kris Steinbach (1a), Ross Wilson (1a), and Rob Limpert (1b) round out the top five counts, with full Day 2 stacks below.
I won’t be able to post the seat assignments tonight, as they weren’t ready Saturday night. They’ll be available when players come for Day 2 on Sunday – the tournament staff will direct players to their seats.
The final day action kicks off at 1 PM, and they’ll play to a winner. There’s almost $29k up top for the winner, with the min-cash set at $1,095. Blinds will stay at 40 minutes until they get heads up, when they will drop to 20 minutes.
I’ll be late to the floor for this one, as Saturday was a late night, but I’ll get all the results updated as soon as I get in.
The bags are in for Day 1b, and Preston Stevenson bagged biggest today, and will also be the leader for Day 2 on Sunday. He bagged almost 900k, more than 600k ahead of second-place Rob Limpert. See below for all the 1b stacks, and stay tuned for a Day 2 starting post later. However, note that I won’t have the seat assignments for Day 2 as they won’t be generated until Sunday morning.
The bags are now out after Colten Yamagishi bubbled the bags tonight. I’ll grab the Day 1b stacks shortly, but I may not update them until Event #5 is complete.
1b is now on the bubble to the bags with 16 players left. They’ve been playing hand-for-hand since partway through level 16, and the clock is now paused with 26:20 remaining in Level 17 and two minutes coming off the clock for each hand played until the next elimination brings out the bags.
They are two off the bags now in 1b, after two eliminations at the same table. Dale Chalifoux was the bubble to two tables in 19th, and while they were getting ready to break the table, it played one more hand, and Maddie Sharma ended her night in 18th. They are now setting up the final 17 on two tables, and they’ll go hand-for-hand after the next elimination.
The 1b field is down to 20 with about 15 minutes remaining in Level 15. That puts them five off the bags, so it looks like 1b will go into Level 16 at least.
Day 1b is down to 25 players left, with a bit more than 30 minutes to play in Level 14. That puts them 10 eliminations away from the end of the night when they hit 15 players.
Josh Clark is the leader to start Level 13, with 270k. Jody Fayant, Rob Limpert, and Colten Yamagishi also have 200k or more. See below for a full look at the final 27 stacks, 12 off the bags.
The prizes are in, and the 1b field is confirmed at 118 entries, for 221 combined. That means the Day 2 players will be playing for a bit more than $125k on Sunday, and the winner can expect to pocket almost $30k. Full prizes for Day 2 are under the Payouts tab, with the final table payouts below.
With about 5 minutes to play in Level 12, the field is down to 30 remaining in Day 1b, putting them 15 eliminations off the bags. To this point, 1b seems to be moving pretty quickly, but I expect the pace to slow as they approach the bags.
Place
Prize
1
$28,870
2
$19,905
3
$12,940
4
$9,955
5
$7,665
6
$6,070
7
$4,775
8
$3,780
9
$3,085
See the Payouts tab for a full list of the 28 paid spots for Day 2
Day 1b is down to the final five tables with 45 players left. Just under 30 minutes remain in Level 11, with another break following Level 12. They still need to lose 30 more players before the bags come out for 1b, so it’s looking like today’s flight will go at least as late as Day 1a, which ended with 4 minutes remaining in Level 16.
Entries are now closed for Event #3, and the final flight looks to have ended with 118 entries. Assuming that holds after they count all the money, it will mean 15 bags later tonight and a combined prize pool of more than $125k for Day 2.
I hope to get a look at the Day 2 prizes before the end of the night, and if I do, I’ll post them, but I’ll post them first thing tomorrow as Day 2 begins.
The 1b players are on dinner, with entries set to close for Event #3 when they return for Level 10 in a bit less than 30 minutes. The field is 112 entries for 1b as they head out for dinner, so hitting 120 might be a challenge, though I’d expect a couple more entries before dinner ends to get it to 115 at least.
About an hour remains in entries for 1b, with about 30 minutes to play in Level 9. They’ll take a 30-minute dinner break following this level, with entries closing when they return to the felt for Level 10 at about 8 PM.
The 1b field is now at 109 entries for combined prizes of almost $121k.
Just under 90 minutes remain in entries, with the dinner break to follow Level 9. Entries will close at the end of dinner, which is about 85 minutes away now.
The field for 1b is at 108, for a combined total of 211 and prizes of $120,270. There’s still every chance this flight will hit 120 entries, with only 12 more required in the next 85 minutes.
Level 7 is about to begin with players returning from the second break. I had a look around during the break, and it looks like four players are on 100k or more right now.
There are 99 entries on the board for 1b so far, and 2.5 hours still left to enter. The prizes are currently more than $115k, and I’d expect enough entries before 8 to make that at least $120k+.
The combined prize pool just pushed over $110k with 92 entries on the board for 1a. That puts today’s flight 8 away from 100 entries, and 12 away from capping the 1a number of 103.
With more than 20 minutes remaining in Level 6, and three more levels of entry following the break after this level, it looks like a sure bet for 1b to beat 1a well before the entries close at 8 PM. I’ll have a look around at the break in about 20 minutes to get some big stacks.
With Level 6 about to begin, there are now 3.5 hours remaining in entries for Event #3. The combined field is now 9 entries shy of 200, and just three entries shy of $110k in prizes.
The second break of the day follows Level 6, and there are three more levels of open entry after the break before the desk shuts down for good on Event #3.
The combined prizes are now over $100k with 79 entries on the board for Day 1b so far. Just over 25 minutes remain in entries for this final flight to Event #3, meaning there are just under 4 hours remaining to enter this event.
It’s looking very good for today’s field to easily cap 100 entries – with the current numbers and pace, I’m predicting something like 120 entries for 1b, and a combined total of more than 220 entries for prizes of more than $125k.
Just over 10 minutes remain in Level 4, and the 1b field is up to 69 entries for a combined total of 172 across both starting days so far. There are still more than four hours left in entries for 1b, so that number is still looking good to crack 100 entries again today. DJ Sharma and the winner of last night’s PLO Deepstack Hyper, Denis Mujcin, are among the newer faces I spotted in the crowd.
1b has just hit 50 entries before the first break of the day. Level 3 still has more than 25 minutes remaining, and the combined field is now at 153 entries for total prizes nearing $90k.
With the current pace, a final field of well over 200 looks reasonable, with prizes of $110k or more. With a field of 100 for 1b, the final prizes would be more than $115k, and there’s every chance today’s flight will blow past 100 entries. Eric Wasylenko, Keith Stick, Jan Rofuli, Colten Yamagishi, Sebastian Crema, Bruce Drake, Jimmy Lee, Pav Braich, Cam Stewart, Ramaz Haymour, Jordan Banfield, Fred Werezak, and Yeping Shen are among the players in their seats.
About 5 minutes remain in Level 2, and the 1b field is now nearing 50 entries for a combined total of 145 across both starting days. That puts the combined prizes at almost $85k, with about $24 of that coming from 1b so far.
1b players will be eyeing the big stack of Chris Symesko from 1a, who bagged more than half a million in the opening flight, while Kris Steinbach bagged just shy of that milestone. Among the players looking to meet or beat those numbers today are Rob Lothian, Shawn Taghavi, Rob Limpert, Tom T, Nicholas Peterson, Hari Aujla, Brett Doty, and Dale “Soupy” Campbell.
There are already 13 players waiting for Day 2 from the opening flight, but the field has its final shot at a bag in Event #3 on Saturday. The action gets going at 1 PM, and players start with 30k in chips.
Blinds are 40 minutes long, and they’ll play 9 levels with entries open. Including breaks, that will put the end of entries at about 8 PM. After that, they’ll play down to 12.5% of the field before they finish for the night.
Day 1a saw 103 entries for prizes of almost $60k. Chris Symesko bagged the biggest stack with more than 500k, but Kris Steinbach is close behind with just under 500k. Full Day 1a stacks can be found on the final Day 1a post, but the top five stacks are below.
The opening flight to Event #3 is complete, with the expected 13 bags at the end of the night. Chris Symesko had the biggest one with a bit more than 500k, with Kris Steinbach close behind at just under 500k.
Day 1a is complete with 4 minutes remaining in Level 16. Jody Fayant was the bubble tonight, and it looks like Chris Symesko is still the leader as they bag up the chips, though I’ll confirm that later once the bags are in.
It may be an hour or two before the stacks get updated for 1a, as Event #4 is still five-handed at the final table, so I’ll focus on that before updating 1a counts.
Day 1a is now on the bubble to the bags with 14 players left. Donald Hart was the soft bubble in 15th place, and they’ll bag up for the day after the next elimination.
I’m following the PLO Deepstack Hyper final table now, but once 1a bags, I’ll post the qualifying stacks later this evening. Chris Symesko is the leader with about 565k, while Kris Steinbach is second with just under 500k.
Day 1a is on a break following Level 15, and they are two off the bags now with 15 left. Below is a look at the remaining players, but I don’t have a good handle on the chips at the moment, since Event #4 is in the money and I’m watching that one closer.
In the final hand of Level 13, Johnny Dalphond raised the cutoff to 8k, and Oleksandr Lobur called from the small blind. Lobr check-folded on the flop of J♦10♥3♣ after Dalphond bet 7k. Dalphond showed a ten as he collected the pot.
On the next table, in the first hand of Level 14, Jimmy Lee opened to 8k, and got calls from Garry Sandhu and Sarvesh Pershad in the blinds. The flop was A♦A♥J♥, and after two checks, Lee fired 5.5k.
Sandhu called while Pershad folded. Both remaining players checked the A♠ turn, but Sandhu led for 15k on the K♦ river. Lee called, and while Sandhu had flopped a jack with queen-jack, Lee rivered the king with king-nine to grab the bigger boat.
Meanwhile, Jordan Banfield and Cam Stewart, who is currently leading the Player of the Series race and won it in the last series, busted to bring them 6 off the bags.
Garry Sandhu limped in from the middle, and Suru Patel called from the cutoff before Jody Fayant repopped the button to 25k. The blinds folded, and Sandhu hit the tank for a minute or two before sliding out a reraise to 106k. Fayant took his time considering the spot before folding.
Meanwhile, Trevor Simpson & Brendan Harder busted recently to bring the game to 21 remaining, 8 off the bags, with about 15 minutes to play in Level 13.
The 1a field is down to 23 remaining now after recent exits from short stacks Thurston Kesteris and Eric Wasylenko. That puts them 10 off the end of the night with more than 30 minutes to play in Level 13.
The 1a players are just coming back from their break following Level 12, with the field now 12 off the bags. Chris Symesko is the clear leader as the only player over 300k, but Donald Hart, Kris Steinbach, and Ravdeep Brar are all playing more than 200k. Below are all the stacks for the final 25 as counted at the break.
Below is a look at the final 31 players remaining in Day 1a. They will play down to 13 players, so they still have 18 eliminations to go before the bags come out tonight. DJ Sharma just recently busted from Table 13, but he jumped right into the PLO Deepstack Hyper with a max-late registration.
Hassan Issa was in the hijack and shoved his final 21.5k. It folded to Oleksandr Lobur in the big blind, and after asking for a count, he tossed in the call.
Lobur was on pocket sevens, but racing against ace-eight for Issa. DJ Sharma, who is at the table and folded the button in this hand, called for the eight to keep Issa alive, and the turn delivered on a board of 9♥9♣Q♦8♣3♥. Issa doubled to almost 50k, but Lobur is still looking fine with a decent stack of whites in front of him.
Day 1a of Event #3 is down to 36 players with just under 30 minutes to play in Level 11. There’s another break following Level 12, and they need to play through another 23 players before the end of Day 1a.
At this point, it’s looking like today’s action will play into Level 15 at least, but there’s still lots of poker to play before the bags.
Entries are now closed for Day 1a of Event #3, and the final unofficial number is 103. That means there is $58,710 in prizes from Day 1a, with 13 bags expected at the end of the night, assuming the numbers hold at 103.
They’ll keep playing tonight until they get to the 13 bags, no matter how long it takes.
DJ “Sharma Time” Sharma is among the players still alive after late entry, but he just had to ship some chips across the table when his kings were cracked by ace-jack when two jacks hit the flop to trip up the Sharma-Time run.
Less than 30 minutes remain in the entries for Day 1a, and the field is two entries shy of 100 for prizes of more than $55k. Entries are still open through the dinner break. Players can surrender their stack during dinner to rebuy if they choose.
The field is now 2 entries away from $55k in prizes, with one level left in the entry period. Players can still buy in or rebuy (if they forfeit their stack) during the dinner break following Level 9, with the 1a field set when they return for Level 10 at about 8 PM.
Cam Stewart, DJ Sharma, Holly Berry, Gary Sandhu, and Hassan Issa are among the players active in Level 9.
Level 8 has just begun, and the field is now over 90 entries for prizes of almost $55k. There are still more than 90 minutes left to enter today’s flight, so a field-size capping 100 looks like a lock at this point.
The 1a players will be back in action in about 2 minutes, and it looks like Eric Wasylenko is the current leader. He’s playing about 115km while a couple of other players are in the 100k club. See below for the five biggest stacks I saw at the break, but bear in mind that there are a lot of stacks out there and I may have missed a big one.
Just over 5 minutes remain in Level 3, with the first break of Day 1a scheduled to follow this level. The field is up to 46 entries, with 43 live players, for prizes of just over $26k now.
Day 1a is up to 38 entries now as Level 3 begins. That puts the prizes at almost $22k and climbing, with more than 5 hours left to enter today’s flight.
Eric Wasylenko, Trevor Simpson, Benny Sarnelli, Brett Worton, Ali Khani, Ross Wilson, Jan Rofuli, and Jody Fayant are among the players I spotted in their seats recently.
Level 1 is about half complete now, with 21 entries on the board. That puts the prizes at nearly $12k already, with plenty of time left to bring the 1a field into three digits.
Action is underway for Event #3, with the opening level of Day 1a now playing. There are 15 entries on the board to start the day, but I expect that number to grow close to 100 at least before entries close around 8 PM tonight.
Fred Werezak, Jeff Clarke, Nicholas Peterson, and Trent Hopper are among the players in their seats earl for this one.
The first multi-day event of PPT #3 kicks off on Friday at 1 PM. Players sit down with 30k in chips to play 40-minute levels. Entries are open for 9 levels during Day 1 play, which should mean entries close at about 8 PM.
Day 1 plays down to 12.5% of the field, no matter how long that takes. That means that all players returning for Day 2 are guaranteed money, but players should note that they MUST put chips in a bag to get paid. If a double-bust happens on the end-of-day bubble, none of the players busting Day 1 will get paid, even if they are technically in the top 12.5% of the day.
Darcy Stone, Winner of E3
In the May series, Darcy Stone was the winner of this game. He made it through 161 entries to take the biggest share of more than $90k in prizes after he chopped the money at the end with Danh Huynh. So far, with the first day in the books, this series looks to be doing a lot better numbers-wise than May, so there’s every chance this edition of Event #3 could cap 200 players after both Day 1s are complete.
The opening flight to Event #3 is complete, with the expected 13 bags at the end of the night. Chris Symesko had the biggest one with a bit more than 500k, with Kris Steinbach close behind at just under 500k.
Day 1a is complete with 4 minutes remaining in Level 16. Jody Fayant was the bubble tonight, and it looks like Chris Symesko is still the leader as they bag up the chips, though I’ll confirm that later once the bags are in.
It may be an hour or two before the stacks get updated for 1a, as Event #4 is still five-handed at the final table, so I’ll focus on that before updating 1a counts.
Day 1a is now on the bubble to the bags with 14 players left. Donald Hart was the soft bubble in 15th place, and they’ll bag up for the day after the next elimination.
I’m following the PLO Deepstack Hyper final table now, but once 1a bags, I’ll post the qualifying stacks later this evening. Chris Symesko is the leader with about 565k, while Kris Steinbach is second with just under 500k.
Day 1a is on a break following Level 15, and they are two off the bags now with 15 left. Below is a look at the remaining players, but I don’t have a good handle on the chips at the moment, since Event #4 is in the money and I’m watching that one closer.
In the final hand of Level 13, Johnny Dalphond raised the cutoff to 8k, and Oleksandr Lobur called from the small blind. Lobr check-folded on the flop of J♦10♥3♣ after Dalphond bet 7k. Dalphond showed a ten as he collected the pot.
On the next table, in the first hand of Level 14, Jimmy Lee opened to 8k, and got calls from Garry Sandhu and Sarvesh Pershad in the blinds. The flop was A♦A♥J♥, and after two checks, Lee fired 5.5k.
Sandhu called while Pershad folded. Both remaining players checked the A♠ turn, but Sandhu led for 15k on the K♦ river. Lee called, and while Sandhu had flopped a jack with queen-jack, Lee rivered the king with king-nine to grab the bigger boat.
Meanwhile, Jordan Banfield and Cam Stewart, who is currently leading the Player of the Series race and won it in the last series, busted to bring them 6 off the bags.
Garry Sandhu limped in from the middle, and Suru Patel called from the cutoff before Jody Fayant repopped the button to 25k. The blinds folded, and Sandhu hit the tank for a minute or two before sliding out a reraise to 106k. Fayant took his time considering the spot before folding.
Meanwhile, Trevor Simpson & Brendan Harder busted recently to bring the game to 21 remaining, 8 off the bags, with about 15 minutes to play in Level 13.
The 1a field is down to 23 remaining now after recent exits from short stacks Thurston Kesteris and Eric Wasylenko. That puts them 10 off the end of the night with more than 30 minutes to play in Level 13.
The 1a players are just coming back from their break following Level 12, with the field now 12 off the bags. Chris Symesko is the clear leader as the only player over 300k, but Donald Hart, Kris Steinbach, and Ravdeep Brar are all playing more than 200k. Below are all the stacks for the final 25 as counted at the break.
Below is a look at the final 31 players remaining in Day 1a. They will play down to 13 players, so they still have 18 eliminations to go before the bags come out tonight. DJ Sharma just recently busted from Table 13, but he jumped right into the PLO Deepstack Hyper with a max-late registration.
Hassan Issa was in the hijack and shoved his final 21.5k. It folded to Oleksandr Lobur in the big blind, and after asking for a count, he tossed in the call.
Lobur was on pocket sevens, but racing against ace-eight for Issa. DJ Sharma, who is at the table and folded the button in this hand, called for the eight to keep Issa alive, and the turn delivered on a board of 9♥9♣Q♦8♣3♥. Issa doubled to almost 50k, but Lobur is still looking fine with a decent stack of whites in front of him.
Day 1a of Event #3 is down to 36 players with just under 30 minutes to play in Level 11. There’s another break following Level 12, and they need to play through another 23 players before the end of Day 1a.
At this point, it’s looking like today’s action will play into Level 15 at least, but there’s still lots of poker to play before the bags.
Entries are now closed for Day 1a of Event #3, and the final unofficial number is 103. That means there is $58,710 in prizes from Day 1a, with 13 bags expected at the end of the night, assuming the numbers hold at 103.
They’ll keep playing tonight until they get to the 13 bags, no matter how long it takes.
DJ “Sharma Time” Sharma is among the players still alive after late entry, but he just had to ship some chips across the table when his kings were cracked by ace-jack when two jacks hit the flop to trip up the Sharma-Time run.
Less than 30 minutes remain in the entries for Day 1a, and the field is two entries shy of 100 for prizes of more than $55k. Entries are still open through the dinner break. Players can surrender their stack during dinner to rebuy if they choose.
The field is now 2 entries away from $55k in prizes, with one level left in the entry period. Players can still buy in or rebuy (if they forfeit their stack) during the dinner break following Level 9, with the 1a field set when they return for Level 10 at about 8 PM.
Cam Stewart, DJ Sharma, Holly Berry, Gary Sandhu, and Hassan Issa are among the players active in Level 9.
Level 8 has just begun, and the field is now over 90 entries for prizes of almost $55k. There are still more than 90 minutes left to enter today’s flight, so a field-size capping 100 looks like a lock at this point.
The 1a players will be back in action in about 2 minutes, and it looks like Eric Wasylenko is the current leader. He’s playing about 115km while a couple of other players are in the 100k club. See below for the five biggest stacks I saw at the break, but bear in mind that there are a lot of stacks out there and I may have missed a big one.
Just over 5 minutes remain in Level 3, with the first break of Day 1a scheduled to follow this level. The field is up to 46 entries, with 43 live players, for prizes of just over $26k now.
Day 1a is up to 38 entries now as Level 3 begins. That puts the prizes at almost $22k and climbing, with more than 5 hours left to enter today’s flight.
Eric Wasylenko, Trevor Simpson, Benny Sarnelli, Brett Worton, Ali Khani, Ross Wilson, Jan Rofuli, and Jody Fayant are among the players I spotted in their seats recently.
Level 1 is about half complete now, with 21 entries on the board. That puts the prizes at nearly $12k already, with plenty of time left to bring the 1a field into three digits.
Action is underway for Event #3, with the opening level of Day 1a now playing. There are 15 entries on the board to start the day, but I expect that number to grow close to 100 at least before entries close around 8 PM tonight.
Fred Werezak, Jeff Clarke, Nicholas Peterson, and Trent Hopper are among the players in their seats earl for this one.
The first multi-day event of PPT #3 kicks off on Friday at 1 PM. Players sit down with 30k in chips to play 40-minute levels. Entries are open for 9 levels during Day 1 play, which should mean entries close at about 8 PM.
Day 1 plays down to 12.5% of the field, no matter how long that takes. That means that all players returning for Day 2 are guaranteed money, but players should note that they MUST put chips in a bag to get paid. If a double-bust happens on the end-of-day bubble, none of the players busting Day 1 will get paid, even if they are technically in the top 12.5% of the day.
Darcy Stone, Winner of E3
In the May series, Darcy Stone was the winner of this game. He made it through 161 entries to take the biggest share of more than $90k in prizes after he chopped the money at the end with Danh Huynh. So far, with the first day in the books, this series looks to be doing a lot better numbers-wise than May, so there’s every chance this edition of Event #3 could cap 200 players after both Day 1s are complete.
The bags are in for Day 1b, and Preston Stevenson bagged biggest today, and will also be the leader for Day 2 on Sunday. He bagged almost 900k, more than 600k ahead of second-place Rob Limpert. See below for all the 1b stacks, and stay tuned for a Day 2 starting post later. However, note that I won’t have the seat assignments for Day 2 as they won’t be generated until Sunday morning.
The bags are now out after Colten Yamagishi bubbled the bags tonight. I’ll grab the Day 1b stacks shortly, but I may not update them until Event #5 is complete.
1b is now on the bubble to the bags with 16 players left. They’ve been playing hand-for-hand since partway through level 16, and the clock is now paused with 26:20 remaining in Level 17 and two minutes coming off the clock for each hand played until the next elimination brings out the bags.
They are two off the bags now in 1b, after two eliminations at the same table. Dale Chalifoux was the bubble to two tables in 19th, and while they were getting ready to break the table, it played one more hand, and Maddie Sharma ended her night in 18th. They are now setting up the final 17 on two tables, and they’ll go hand-for-hand after the next elimination.
The 1b field is down to 20 with about 15 minutes remaining in Level 15. That puts them five off the bags, so it looks like 1b will go into Level 16 at least.
Day 1b is down to 25 players left, with a bit more than 30 minutes to play in Level 14. That puts them 10 eliminations away from the end of the night when they hit 15 players.
Josh Clark is the leader to start Level 13, with 270k. Jody Fayant, Rob Limpert, and Colten Yamagishi also have 200k or more. See below for a full look at the final 27 stacks, 12 off the bags.
The prizes are in, and the 1b field is confirmed at 118 entries, for 221 combined. That means the Day 2 players will be playing for a bit more than $125k on Sunday, and the winner can expect to pocket almost $30k. Full prizes for Day 2 are under the Payouts tab, with the final table payouts below.
With about 5 minutes to play in Level 12, the field is down to 30 remaining in Day 1b, putting them 15 eliminations off the bags. To this point, 1b seems to be moving pretty quickly, but I expect the pace to slow as they approach the bags.
Place
Prize
1
$28,870
2
$19,905
3
$12,940
4
$9,955
5
$7,665
6
$6,070
7
$4,775
8
$3,780
9
$3,085
See the Payouts tab for a full list of the 28 paid spots for Day 2
Day 1b is down to the final five tables with 45 players left. Just under 30 minutes remain in Level 11, with another break following Level 12. They still need to lose 30 more players before the bags come out for 1b, so it’s looking like today’s flight will go at least as late as Day 1a, which ended with 4 minutes remaining in Level 16.
Entries are now closed for Event #3, and the final flight looks to have ended with 118 entries. Assuming that holds after they count all the money, it will mean 15 bags later tonight and a combined prize pool of more than $125k for Day 2.
I hope to get a look at the Day 2 prizes before the end of the night, and if I do, I’ll post them, but I’ll post them first thing tomorrow as Day 2 begins.
The 1b players are on dinner, with entries set to close for Event #3 when they return for Level 10 in a bit less than 30 minutes. The field is 112 entries for 1b as they head out for dinner, so hitting 120 might be a challenge, though I’d expect a couple more entries before dinner ends to get it to 115 at least.
About an hour remains in entries for 1b, with about 30 minutes to play in Level 9. They’ll take a 30-minute dinner break following this level, with entries closing when they return to the felt for Level 10 at about 8 PM.
The 1b field is now at 109 entries for combined prizes of almost $121k.
Just under 90 minutes remain in entries, with the dinner break to follow Level 9. Entries will close at the end of dinner, which is about 85 minutes away now.
The field for 1b is at 108, for a combined total of 211 and prizes of $120,270. There’s still every chance this flight will hit 120 entries, with only 12 more required in the next 85 minutes.
Level 7 is about to begin with players returning from the second break. I had a look around during the break, and it looks like four players are on 100k or more right now.
There are 99 entries on the board for 1b so far, and 2.5 hours still left to enter. The prizes are currently more than $115k, and I’d expect enough entries before 8 to make that at least $120k+.
The combined prize pool just pushed over $110k with 92 entries on the board for 1a. That puts today’s flight 8 away from 100 entries, and 12 away from capping the 1a number of 103.
With more than 20 minutes remaining in Level 6, and three more levels of entry following the break after this level, it looks like a sure bet for 1b to beat 1a well before the entries close at 8 PM. I’ll have a look around at the break in about 20 minutes to get some big stacks.
With Level 6 about to begin, there are now 3.5 hours remaining in entries for Event #3. The combined field is now 9 entries shy of 200, and just three entries shy of $110k in prizes.
The second break of the day follows Level 6, and there are three more levels of open entry after the break before the desk shuts down for good on Event #3.
The combined prizes are now over $100k with 79 entries on the board for Day 1b so far. Just over 25 minutes remain in entries for this final flight to Event #3, meaning there are just under 4 hours remaining to enter this event.
It’s looking very good for today’s field to easily cap 100 entries – with the current numbers and pace, I’m predicting something like 120 entries for 1b, and a combined total of more than 220 entries for prizes of more than $125k.
Just over 10 minutes remain in Level 4, and the 1b field is up to 69 entries for a combined total of 172 across both starting days so far. There are still more than four hours left in entries for 1b, so that number is still looking good to crack 100 entries again today. DJ Sharma and the winner of last night’s PLO Deepstack Hyper, Denis Mujcin, are among the newer faces I spotted in the crowd.
1b has just hit 50 entries before the first break of the day. Level 3 still has more than 25 minutes remaining, and the combined field is now at 153 entries for total prizes nearing $90k.
With the current pace, a final field of well over 200 looks reasonable, with prizes of $110k or more. With a field of 100 for 1b, the final prizes would be more than $115k, and there’s every chance today’s flight will blow past 100 entries. Eric Wasylenko, Keith Stick, Jan Rofuli, Colten Yamagishi, Sebastian Crema, Bruce Drake, Jimmy Lee, Pav Braich, Cam Stewart, Ramaz Haymour, Jordan Banfield, Fred Werezak, and Yeping Shen are among the players in their seats.
About 5 minutes remain in Level 2, and the 1b field is now nearing 50 entries for a combined total of 145 across both starting days. That puts the combined prizes at almost $85k, with about $24 of that coming from 1b so far.
1b players will be eyeing the big stack of Chris Symesko from 1a, who bagged more than half a million in the opening flight, while Kris Steinbach bagged just shy of that milestone. Among the players looking to meet or beat those numbers today are Rob Lothian, Shawn Taghavi, Rob Limpert, Tom T, Nicholas Peterson, Hari Aujla, Brett Doty, and Dale “Soupy” Campbell.
There are already 13 players waiting for Day 2 from the opening flight, but the field has its final shot at a bag in Event #3 on Saturday. The action gets going at 1 PM, and players start with 30k in chips.
Blinds are 40 minutes long, and they’ll play 9 levels with entries open. Including breaks, that will put the end of entries at about 8 PM. After that, they’ll play down to 12.5% of the field before they finish for the night.
Day 1a saw 103 entries for prizes of almost $60k. Chris Symesko bagged the biggest stack with more than 500k, but Kris Steinbach is close behind with just under 500k. Full Day 1a stacks can be found on the final Day 1a post, but the top five stacks are below.
Heads up was pretty quick. Eric Wasylenko had a huge lead after sending Rob Limpert home in 3rd place, so Cam Stewart had a mountain to climb to take it down.
It wasn’t to be, as he jammed suited king-deuce, but Wasy had him dominated with ace-deuce and took it down for the win. While Wasy took the trophy in this one, Stewart was already the leader of the Player of the Series race after his win in Event #2, and the extra points from 2nd in this one will give him a big lead over the field.
It’s heads up now, after Rob Limpert ended his run in 3rd place. He jammed his small blind with queen-deuce, but Eric Wasylenko woke up with ace-six and called it off for the win. The hand gave Wasy a massive chip lead with well over 4 million of the 6 million in play.
Eric Wasylenko shoved his button, and Ross Wilson called off with less from the big blind. It was a race between fours for Wasy and ace-queen of spades for Wilson, but the fours held on a board of 9♥5♦8♥10♣2♣ to send Wilson out for $9,955.
The final four players are on a break now, with Eric Wasylenko still in the lead. He chipped up a bit right before the break in a hand where Wasy raised to 120k under the gun, and Cam Stewart and Rob Limpert called from the blinds.
It checked around on the 5♣3♥4♣ flop, and after a check from Stewart on the 10♠ turn, Limpert fired 200k. Both players called to the A♥ river, and they all checked it to showdown.
Stewart showed sixes, but they were no good against king-ten for Wasy. Limpert mucked his hand without showing.
The action was on the turn with the board reading 9♠4♥6♦3♠ and Cam Stewart bet 210k. Rob Limpert called to the K♠ river.
Stewart bet 350k on the river, but Limpert put the rest of his stack in after a few seconds of thought. Stewart mucked his hand after studying the board, and Limpert didn’t show the winning hand.
Cam Stewart raised to 120k from the button, and both Rob Limpert and Eric Wasylenko called from the blinds. They all checked the 10♥A♥8♠ flop, but Limpert fired 150k on the 10♣ turn and took it down.
Wasy still looks to be the leader with a bit more than 2 million, but Stewart is nipping at his heels with just shy of 2 million.
Eric Wasylenko limped the small blind, and Ross Wilson checked his option in the big. They both checked the 5♠4♣5♦ flop, and Wasy led for 50k on the K♠ turn.
Wilson called, and Wasy checked the 7♥ river before mucking to a near-pot bet of 200k from Wilson.
Rob Limpert opened the middle to 100k, and it folded to Cam Stewart in the big blind. He is relatively short, and counted out his stack, contemplating his move.
He put in the call to see a flop of 10♥9♥8♣, and then he shoved his remaining stack for 235k. Limpert hit the tank, and commented that he could have snapped it off if Stewart had shoved preflop. He eventually mucked his pocket sixes, flashing them to the table, while Stewart showed a jack for the open-ended straight draw, though he said sixes were good at that point.
I missed the action, but Kris Steinbach was the 7th-place finisher tonight. He sent his chips across to Rob Limpert before heading to the cage for $4,775.
The 8♠6♦Q♣ flop was already out, and Roymond Kim, on the button, was facing a bet of 120k from Ross Wilson, who was under the gun.
Kim put in the call, and they checked it down through the [invalid notations]5hKd[/[cn] turn and flop. Kim rolled over pocket tens, but Wilson’s jacks were a pip better for the win.
In the final hand before the break, Eric Wasylenko sent Chris Symesko to the rail for 8th place. That chipped Wasy up even more to a huge lead seven ways, with almost 3x the next biggest stack.
Eric Wasylenko raised to 60k from the hijack, and Kris Steibach called from the big blind. Steiner check-called for 40k on the K♦5♥8♦ flop, and they both checked the J♣ turn.
After a check from Steiner on the A♥ river, Wasy bombed it for close to apot bet of 240k. Steiner tanked for a bit before giving up his hand. The hand put Wasy up to about 2 million.
In the first hand at the final table, Fred Werezak ended his day in 9th place. I was just getting to the table for the final table photos as Werezak was heading to the cage for his cash.
Jan Rofuli had just 30k behind going into the hand, and he put it in from the small blind after limps from Ross Wilson and Rob Limpert. Big stack Eric Wasylenko didn’t want to check to a flop, however, making it 150k to go. That got Wilson and Limpert out of the way, and he was in great shape with ace-jack off against nine-deuce for Rofuli.
Rofuli spiked a nine on the turn to take the lead, but the proverbial “ace on the river” materialized in reality for Wasy, sending Rofuli out in 10th and setting the final table. Stay tuned for final table faces shortly.
They are down to 10 remaining now after Roy Lakusta couldn’t get there with king-ten against ace-nine for Rob Limpert. Eric Wasylenko still looks to be the chip leader, with about 1.5 million in play now, while Limpert is still on about the same stack he was at the last update, around 800k.
Kris Steinbach opened to 55k from the cutoff, and Roymond Kim called from the small blind. Big blind Preston Stevenson had a long think about it, but ultimately decided to fold.
Kim check-called for 45k on the 10♣2♦J♦ flop, and they both checked the 7♠ turn. Kim slid out 50k on the Q♥ river, and after a few seconds, Steiner mucked his hand to send the pot to Kim.
It was blind on blind when Ross Wilson limped in from the small, and Roy Lakusta made it 65k to go. Wilson thought for a few seconds before shoving his covering stack of almost 700k, sending Lakusta into the tank for a bit before he muked his hand to send the dead money across to Wilson.
Tablemat Eric Wasylenko, seated to Wilson’s right, is now the chip leader with about 1.3 million, while Rob Limpert is playing about 800k.
Jody Fayant, who had taken a few years away from the live poker scene until this year, is back and hasn’t lost a step. He was no doubt hoping to go deeper in today’s game, but he managed a Day 2 score of $2,035 for 12th place today. He was one of the players battling for the Player of the Series race back in May, and it looks like he might be in the running again this time as well.
Ross Wilson raised to 40k, and Jan Rofuli called from the big blind. Rofuli check-called for 35k on the 3♣10♥K♣ flop, and they both checked the 4♦ turn.
Rofuli checked again on the A♥ river, and Wilson tanked for about 30 seconds before checking behind, saying, “I don’t think you call me with worse.” He showed ace-ten of clubs, and Rofuli mucked his hand.
Ross Wilson is leading the way on the dinner break following Lebel 20. He has more than 900k, but Fred Werezak isn’t that far behind with just over 800k. Preston Stevenson, Rob Limpert, and Kris Steinbach round out the top five. See below for a look at all 15 players, seats, and stacks.
Mike Graff opened early to 35k, and Roy Lakusta was the only caller from the big blind. They both checked the 10♦3♣7♠, but when the turn came 9♣ Lakusta fired 40k to take it down.
About 10 minutes remain until the next break, and I’ll do a full count while they are away from the tables.
The Day 2 field is down to 16 remaining now, with just over 5 minutes to play in Level 19. There is one more level following this one before the next break, and I’ll grab a full round of counts for all remaining players at that break in about 45 minutes.
The field is down to 18 in Day 2, after Alan Zhu bubbled the final two tables. Zhu was part of a 4-way chop in Event #4 the other night, so this marks his second cash of the series so far. Below is a look at the remaining 18 players and how they are seated, though for the moment, I don’t have a good idea of what the chip counts are.
The Day 2 field is down to 19 with about 20 minutes to play in Level 18. As always for Day 2 play, I’ll post recent cashes in each post, while the full list of all cashers today is under the Payouts tab.
After two starting flights, the final money field for Event #3 is now set. There were 221 entries across both days, for prizes of almost $126k, and 28 players will be returning for the Sunday action to play for all of it.
The player to beat going into the final day is Preston Stevenson. He crushed 1b for a stack of almost 900k, more than 350k above the 1a leader, Chris Symesko, with 506.5k. Kris Steinbach (1a), Ross Wilson (1a), and Rob Limpert (1b) round out the top five counts, with full Day 2 stacks below.
I won’t be able to post the seat assignments tonight, as they weren’t ready Saturday night. They’ll be available when players come for Day 2 on Sunday – the tournament staff will direct players to their seats.
The final day action kicks off at 1 PM, and they’ll play to a winner. There’s almost $29k up top for the winner, with the min-cash set at $1,095. Blinds will stay at 40 minutes until they get heads up, when they will drop to 20 minutes.
I’ll be late to the floor for this one, as Saturday was a late night, but I’ll get all the results updated as soon as I get in.
Martin Au
Mike Graff
Roymond Kim
