2013 World Series of Poker Day 3: Pope Leads Talent-Laden Final Table in Event #2
There were no bracelet winners on Day 3 of the 2013 World Series of Poker, but the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino was still jam-packed with poker tournaments on Friday. While Event #2: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Eight Handed was playing down to a final table, the first re-entry event of the 2013 WSOP was combining the two Day 1 starting flights and approaching the money bubble. Two more events also kicked off on Friday: Event #4: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em (Six Handed) and Event #5: $2,500 Omaha/Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better.
Event #2: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Eight Handed
On Friday, 28 of the original 481 players returned for Day 3 of Event #2. The plan was to play down to a final table before calling a day, and it didn't take long thanks to an impressive performance by Trevor Pope. Pope bagged an astounding 3,420,000 chips (more than four times the average stack and more than five times his nearest competitor), and will be looking for his first career World Series of Poker bracelet on Saturday.
The field was loaded with top talents when the action resumed on Friday, but many hit the rail early. David “Doc” Sands, David Diaz, Ben Yu, Keith Lehr, Peter Gould, Ben Hamnett, and Joe Serock all fell short of the final table. Serock lost consecutive hands with ace-queen against ace-ten, and busted right before the two-table redraw.
Griffin Benger then exited in 16th place, followed by Chris DeMaci, Brian Rast, Markus Gonsalves, and Ismael Bojang. Bojang found himself all in and at risk with ace-king against the pocket aces of Pope. Pope's hand held up, increasing his stack to 1.7 million chips, while Bojang hit the rail.
A short while later, Day 1 chip leader Tom Marchese lost a race for his tournament life just shy of the final table. Jamie Armstrong moved all-in with pocket eights and Marchese called all in with ace-king of diamonds. The board ran out 7♥7♦Q♥9♥3♣, and Marchese was sent packing in 10th place for $37,391.
The remaining nine players moved to the "unofficial" nine-handed final table. Pope had a sizable lead when play resumed and his stack took another huge jump when he eliminated start-of-day chip leader Rafal Michalowski in ninth place. Shortly after Michalowski doubled through Armstrong, he six-bet shoved for over 700,000 chips with queens, and Pope once again had aces. The high pair held, and Michalowski exited just short of the official final table.
Here’s a look at the entire final table:
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Vamplew | 629,000 |
| 2 | Jamie Armstrong | 451,000 |
| 3 | Dan Kelly | 625,000 |
| 4 | Brandon Meyers | 595,000 |
| 5 | Darryll Fish | 432,000 |
| 6 | David Peters | 435,000 |
| 7 | Trevor Pope | 3,420,000 |
| 8 | Jared Hamby | 629,000 |
The eight remaining players will return Saturday at 2 p.m. local time to play down to a winner. The final table will be streamed on a half hour delay with hole cards at WSOP.com, and we will of course be bringing you all of the updates at the PokerNews Live Reporting page.
Event 3: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry
Day 2 of Event #3 began with 543 of the original 3,164 players and Thiago Nishijima leading the way. After 10 levels of action on Friday, the field was trimmed down to 38, with plans to play down to a winner on Saturday.
Seth Berger bagged the biggest stack (994,000) when play came to a close on Friday. His closest competitor is Ryan Olisar, whotook fourth in this event last year. Sitting third in chips is Charles Sylvestre, who spent much of the day in the lead before begging 787,000 chips in chips.
Top 10 Chip Counts After Day 2
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seth Berger | 994,000 |
| 2 | Ryan Olisar | 815,000 |
| 3 | Charles Sylvestre | 787,000 |
| 4 | Ping Liu | 475,000 |
| 5 | Vladimir Geshkenbein | 400,000 |
| 6 | James Matteucci | 383,000 |
| 7 | Nam Le | 361,000 |
| 8 | Travis Wiedower | 354,000 |
| 9 | Jia Liu | 351,000 |
| 10 | Garrick Lau | 346,000 |
Olisar spent most of the day up and down, hovering around the chip average, but he finally found a spot to chip up late in the day. Olisar was involved in a three-way preflop all-in with A♥A♠ against K♦Q♠ and Q♦Q♠, and the board ran out a harmless J♣8♥3♦2♦8♠, vaulting Olisar into the chip lead at the time.
Among the notables still in contention for the bracelet are Nam Le (361,000), Dermot Blain (234,000), Scott Seiver (163,000), Jonathan Tamayo (109,000), and Aaron Steury (81,000).
Action will resume at 1:00 p.m. PST on Saturday. Be sure to follow the PokerNews Live Reporting Page for up-to-the-minute coverage.
Event #4: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em (Six Handed)
Event #4 kicked off Friday afternoon with 1,069 entrants creating a prize pool of $1,443,150. After 10 levels of play it was Greg Hobson who held onto the biggest stack in the room with 160,500 in chips. Directly on Hobson's heels is 2009 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada, who will return with 127,000. Day 2 will begin with 117 players, just eight places away from the money.
Top 10 Chip Counts After Day 1
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greg Hobson | 160,500 |
| 2 | Joe Cada | 127,000 |
| 3 | Keven Stammen | 112,800 |
| 4 | Lee Gaines | 103,000 |
| 5 | Stewart Newman | 101,500 |
| 6 | Evan Michelson | 100,700 |
| 7 | Sean Stevens | 99,100 |
| 8 | Jesse Yaginuma | 96,100 |
| 9 | Gnatenko Oleksander | 91,000 |
| 10 | Matthew Silva | 90,700 |
Hobson added a big chunk of chips late in the day when he four-bet a hand preflop holding 10♦10♣. His opponent called the four-bet and the flop brought 7♦9♥7♥. Hobson's opponent instantly shipped all in and Hobson called. His opponent meekly showed K♥4♠ and Hobson was able to hold.
Some of the others returning for Day 2 include Bryan Piccioli (85,000), Rex Clinkscales (52,700), 2010 WSOP Main Event champion Jonathan Duhamel (45,200), Ting Ho (44,400), Shannon Shorr (43,900), Calvin Anderson (42,400), Yevgeniy Timoshenko (39,700), and Rob Salaburu ( 23,400).
Play will resume in the Amazon Room at 1 p.m. PST on Saturday. The field is just nine eliminations from the money so the bubble will approach rapidly. Be sure to tune in to the PokerNews Live Reporting page on Saturday as they play through the bubble and beyond!
Event 5: $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better
Saturday evening marked the start of the first mixed games event of the 2013 World Series of Poker. Event 5: $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better kicked off in the Amazon Room with 374 players, and after eight levels of play only 162 remained. Leading the way entering Day 2 will be Matthew Ashton with 57,800 in chips. He's followed closely by 2012 WSOP bracelet winner Allyn Jaffrey Shulman (51,500)
Top 10 Chip Counts After Day 1
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Ashton | 57,800 |
| 2 | Allyn Jaffrey Shulman | 51,500 |
| 3 | Mike Gorodinsky | 47,100 |
| 4 | Andrew Kelsall | 39,900 |
| 5 | Eli Elezra | 38,700 |
| 6 | Zimnan Ziyard | 37,100 |
| 7 | Lawrence Fujii | 36,300 |
| 8 | Men Nguyen | 35,200 |
| 9 | Andrew Brown | 34,100 |
| 10 | Artem Litvinov | 33,700 |
Several bracelet winners turned up to get their fill of split-pot games, but David Bach, Jason Mercier, Vanessa Selbst, Scotty Nguyen, and Phil Ivey were among the Day 1 casualties. Defending champion Oleskii Kovalchuk busted in one of the last hands of the night after registering late in the day.
There are still several notables moving on to Day 2, including Eli Elezra (38,700), Mike Matusow (29,200), Cyndy Violette (21,200), Todd Brunson (20,900), Robert Mizrachi (20,700), and Justin “Boosted J” Smith (18,900).
Action will resume at 2 p.m. PST on Saturday. Keep it locked in to the PokerNews Live Reporting page for full coverage as the players attempt to make the money and reach a final table.
On Tap
On Saturday, Event #2: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Eight Handed will play down to champion as Trevor Pope looks to continue his domination inside the Amazon Room. Event #3: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em will resume with 38 still alive, which could make for a long final day. Players in Event #4: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em (Six Handed) and Event #5: $2,500 Omaha/Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better will return for Day 2 of their respective events. The big story on Saturday is the start of Event #6: $1,500 "Millionaire Maker" No-Limit Hold'em, a re-entry event which will pay out at least $1 million to the eventual winner.
Video of the Day
Steve Dannenman is one of the most colorful characters we've ever seen at the World Series of Poker. On Friday, Kristy Arnett caught up with the 2005 WSOP Main Event runner-up for the latest edition of Calling The Clock.
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