Gioco Digitale WPT Venice Carnival Day 3: Alessio Isaia Leads Final 18
The €3,000 Gioco Digitale World Poker Tour Venice Carnival continued on Thursday as the remaining 47 players from a 144-player field returned to play down to the money. It took five levels of play, but eventually the final 18 were determined with Alessio Isaia, the last former WPT champ in the field, leading the way with 461,500.
However, two tough players aren’t far behind. The first is Sotirios Koutoupas, who recently took down the European Poker Tour Deauville after defeating Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov in heads-up play. Koutoupas finished second in chips with 431,500.
The other player is Sam Trickett, who signed with Everest Poker earlier this week. Trickett currently sits fifth in chips with 350,000.
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alessio Isaia | 461,500 |
| 2 | Sotirios Koutoupas | 431,500 |
| 3 | Michele Sigoli | 379,500 |
| 4 | Diego Zeiter | 377,500 |
| 5 | Sam Trickett | 350,000 |
| 6 | Sveva Libralesso | 316,000 |
| 7 | Steve Watts | 252,000 |
| 8 | Ivan Gabrieli | 244,500 |
| 9 | Jan Olav Sjavik | 243,500 |
| 10 | Mario Vojvoda | 227,500 |
According to the WPT Live Blog, action resumed in Level 11 (600/1,200/200) and it didn’t take long for the first elimination of the day. It happened on a J♦8♠4♦ flop when a raising war resulted in Christian Nuvola getting all in against Jan Olav Sjavik.
Sjavik: K♣K♠
Nuvola: J♣8♣
Nuvola got it in good with two pair, but the dealer then burned and turned the K♦ to give Sjavik a set. The 5♣ completed the board on the river and the Italian hit the rail.
In Level 12 (800/1,600/200), an under-the-gun player opened for 3,500 and Simon Hemsworth three-bet to 8,100. When action reached Eros Mossali in middle position, he put in a four-bet to 20,500 and the original raiser folded. Hemsworth made the call, the flop fell 10♣6♣5♦, and Mossali bet after Hemsworth had checked. Hemsworth woke up with an all-in check-raise and Mossali called.
Hemsworth: A♣K♣
Mossali: AxAx
Mossali was ahead with pocket rockets, but Hemsworth was drawing live to the flush. Unfortunately for him, neither the 9♦ turn nor K♠ river completed it and he was sent home empty handed.
Others who fell as the day wore on were David Taborsky, Kara Scott, Giacomo Fundaro, Alberto Fiorilla, Charles Chattha, Luca Moschitta, Timothy Finne, William Dorey, Marcello Montagner, Massimo Mosele, and Marko Mikovic.
Mikovic finished as the bubble boy in 19th place in Level 16 (2,000/4,000/500). In his final hand, Koutoupas opened for 8,000 and then called when Mikovic moved all in for 40,000. Mikovic was ahead with 7x7x, but he was racing against the AxKx of Koutoupas. A king on the flop was disaster for Mikovic, and he failed to reclaim the lead as both the turn and river blanked.
With that, action came to a halt for the night with 18 players, each guaranteed at least $6,947. Among those with their eyes set on the final table are Lasse Frost (190,000), Andrea Dato (127,500), Max Pescatori (127,000), Ferdinando Lo Cascio (120,500), Victor Nikolaevich Ilyukhin (118,000), Eros Mossali (110,500), and Maurizio Saieva (54,000).
The remaining 18 players will return at 14:30 local time on Thursday, and of course PokerNews will bring you a recap of the action upon completion of play.
*Photos and data courtesy of the WPT Live Blog.
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