Ben Heath Leads Final Six in Hunt of $1.4 Million in WSOP's $50,000 High Roller
It was a short Day 3 for the players in Event #5: 50th Annual High Roller - $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em as the field of 12 was quickly whittled down to just six. Once again, Ben Heath will be leading the field when the players return to their seats with a stack of 7,630,000.
It's the second day in a row that Heath bagged the largest stack in the tournament and it didn't require much work for him to do so. The British poker pro stayed fairly quiet for much of the four hours of poker other than the first and last hand of the day. Heath is the only player among the final six that is without a WSOP gold bracelet but he has the opportunity to change that on the final day tomorrow.
He will be joined by Sam Soverel who made a late push by doubling through Elio Fox in one of the largest pots of the tournament thus far. Soverel isn't far behind the chipleader with 7,540,000 chips entering the final day. Andrew Lichtenberger also ran up a healthy stack to sit in third place with 5,615,000. Chance Kornuth (5,000,000), Nick Petrangelo (4,100,000), and Dmitry Yurasov (3,660,000) round out the remaining players.
Final Day Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Lichtenberger | United States | 5,615,000 | 47 |
| 2 | Nick Petrangelo | United States | 4,100,000 | 34 |
| 3 | Ben Heath | United Kingdom | 7,630,000 | 64 |
| 4 | Chance Kornuth | United States | 5,000,000 | 42 |
| 5 | Sam Soverel | United States | 7,540,000 | 63 |
| 6 | Dmitry Yurasov | Russia | 3,660,000 | 31 |
The day got started shortly after 2 p.m. with 12 players returning to the felt. Matthew Gonzales was short-lived as he entered the day with just three big blinds. He found a suited hand to go with in the early going but was dominated when Heath called him. Despite flopping a pair on the flop, Heath turned a pair and Gonzales was turned to the rail.
Sam Grafton didn't last much longer as he ripped his 24 big blind stack into the middle from the small blind but ran into the pocket aces of Petrangelo in the big blind. Grafton made a pair of queens on the turn but that wasn't enough to keep him alive as he bowed out in 11th place. The German high roller, Manig Loeser also came into the day as a short stack and after he lost a flip to Kornuth, the final table of nine players was set.
The final nine lasted for over an hour but it seemed as though everyone was waiting on one person, David Einhorn. He was the only player with under 20 big blinds and was waiting patiently to pick up a hand. He eventually moved all in for 12 big blinds on the button and was called by Heath called from the big blind. The two players were flipping with Einhorn needing to connect with his jack-ten. The board ran out six-high and Einhorn was forced to settle for ninth place.
Cary Katz entered the day in the middle of the pack but was unable to get anything going his way. The PokerGO owner finally got his chips in the middle with the best hand, holding pocket tens against the pocket sevens of Yurasov. Unfortunately, a seven on the turn would spell the end to Katz's run in eighth place.
Fox appeared to be in cruise control for the better part of the day but was on the wrong side of a cooler in the largest pot of the tournament. Fox flopped a set of fives but Soverel flopped a straight and all of the chips got in the middle on the turn. The river didn't pair the board and Fox became the new short stack. Just moments later, Fox three-bet shoved with pocket eights but Heath looked down at pocket kings in the big blind. There was no eight on the board for Fox to improve and that brought an end to Day 3.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | - | - | $1,484,085 |
| 2nd | - | - | $917,232 |
| 3rd | - | - | $640,924 |
| 4th | - | - | $458,138 |
| 5th | - | - | $335,181 |
| 6th | - | - | $251,128 |
| 7th | Elio Fox | United States | $192,794 |
| 8th | Cary Katz | United States | $151,755 |
| 9th | David Einhorn | United States | $122,551 |
The final six players will return tomorrow for the final day of competition that will begin at 12 p.m. They will be seated at the feature table and the PokerGO broadcast will begin at 1 p.m. until a winner is crowned. There will be 55:30 remaining in level 19 with the blinds at 50,000/100,000 and a 100,000 big blind ante. The PokerNews live reporting team will be here to bring you coverage of each hand throughout the day.
