Xuan Tan Tops Day 3 Field in PokerStars Championship Macau Main Event
Day 3 of this six-day PokerStars Championship Macau Main Event has come to a close with Xuan Tan leading the surviving 37-player strong field with 1,380,000 chips.
There’s still a long way to go to find the winner of the HK$3,130,00 first-place prize.
Some of the other players to finish with top stacks tonight included Yan Li (1,000,200), Dong Guo (880,000), David Peters (875,000), and Thibaut Blondel (870,000).
| Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| Xuan Tan | China | 1,380,000 |
| Yan Li | China | 1,002,000 |
| Dong Guo | Canada | 880,000 |
| David Peters | United States | 875,000 |
| Thibaut Blondel | France | 870,000 |
| Artem Metalidi | Ukraine | 765,000 |
| Daniel Laidlaw | Australia | 441,000 |
| Winfred Yu | China | 378,000 |
| Elliot Smith | Canada | 258,000 |
| Pakinai Lisawad | Thailand | 151,000 |
Play resumed at noon in the PokerStars LIVE Macau poker room at City of Dreams with 151 players reclaiming their chip stacks and seats. A couple of hours later, the money bubble burst as Xiao Luo opened to 9,000 and Daniel McAulay bumped up the price to 28,000, setting the scene for what followed.
When Luo called, the dealer delivered a flop of 10♥K♦4♠ and Luo checked. McAulay bet 25,000 and Luo called again. The turn was the 5♠ and Luo checked. McAulay pushed all in and Luo called. McAulay had A♠A♦ while Luo held K♠Q♠ and needed to hit a card to survive.
However, the river was the 5♠ and Luo met his tournament demise in 104th place, securing a prize for all remaining 103 players.
Pakinai Lisawad started the day with the chip lead and was the only one to bag more than 300,000 chips the night before. He will be back for another day as he finished Day 3 with 151,000 chips.
Albert Paik claimed the chip lead early in the day when he called off Ryan Yu’s bluff on a 3♣8♠J♥7♣7♠ board. As soon as Paik called, Yu mucked his hand, knowing he was beat. Paik picked up the huge pot without even having to show his hand and took the chip lead. Paik carried those chips to 66th place where he was eliminated for HK$79,300.
One of the most impressive hands of the day was witnessed when Fabrice Soulier bet 89,000 into a pot of about 200,000 with J♣2♦9♠3♣J♦ on the table. Soulier had to call the clock on his tanking opponent, Zinan Xu.
After about 30 seconds, Xu found the courage to call. Soulier turned over A♣10♣ and Xu slapped down A♥2♥ for bottom pair and the winning hand.
There were a lot of talented players who were eliminated from play today as the field narrows. Some of the notable players to collect a payout included Michel Abecassis (100th - HK$62,500), Manig Loeser (87th - HK$62,500), and Bryan Huang (57th - HK$79,300).
Play will resume at noon on Friday with the 37 surviving players returning to play down to the final 16 when play will pause again. The PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the tournament floor reporting all of the action, so check back for all of your updates.
