Olivier Rebello made it 12,000 to go on the button with the 7♥7♣ and Benjamin Spragg defended the big blind holding the A♠7♠. The A♦K♣7♦ flop gave Spragg top and bottom pair, which he checked. Rebello bet 8,000 for the PokerStars ambassador to call.
They headed to the 9♥ turn on which Spragg checked again. Rebello now bet 26,000 into 49,000 and earned a call from Spragg, who needed an ace on the river.
Instead, it was the 6♠ river and Spragg checked with 66,000 behind. Rebello moved all-in and Spragg instantly called to see the bad news, then leave the main feature table.
With the pay jump secured, Viacheslav Buldygin three-bet jammed for 56,000 in the big blind and was called by button raiser Tom Middleton.
Viacheslav Buldygin: A♠3♥
Tom Middleton: K♦10♣
The J♦4♠2♥ flop gave Buldygin an additional wheel draw while Middleton found a straight draw of his own on the Q♥ turn. It was then Middleton who spiked the 10♠ river to improve and send Buldygin to the rail in 181st place.
Heads-up on a flop of Q♠2♣J♠, Timothy Rutherford bet 23,000 from the button before Eero Rantala raised to 52,000 in middle position. Rutherford called to see the 8♥ turn.
Rantala then moved all in and Rutherford called for 136,000. Rantala showed A♦Q♣ for top pair, but Rutherford had K♠K♣. The river was the 10♦ and Rutherford doubled up while Rantala, who began the day in the top five on the leaderboard, dropped down to around 80,000.
Stefan Jedlicka moved all in for 78,000 on the button and Tarmo Tammel called in the big blind.
Stefan Jedlicka: 9♥9♣
Tarmo Tammel: K♠K♥
Tammel pulled even further in front as the 4♣K♣8♣ flop gave him top set. "Clubs," Jedlicka pleaded, and he got his wish on the 6♣ turn to make a flush.
The river, though, was the 6♥ and Tammel improved to a full house to send Jedlicka to the rail.
Peter Jorgne raised to 10,000 in middle position and Barny Boatman called in the hijack. Eero Rantala three-bet to 35,000 on the button and Jorgne four-bet to 135,000. Boatman got out of the way, but Rantala moved all in and Jorgne called for 324,000.
Peter Jorgne: A♠K♣
Eero Rantala: Q♠Q♣
Cameras swarmed around the table as last year's runner-up needed to win this classic flip to stay alive. The flop came J♦3♦K♦ and he spiked a king to take the lead. The 6♦ turn was safe, while the A♣ river improved Jorgne to two pair and he doubled up.
Over on the live stream table, Mehdi Merai was all-in before the flop for 111,000 and so was the severe short Nicola D'Anselmo, who had dropped to just 8,000.
Nicola D'Anselmo: A♠Q♠
Mehdi Merai: J♥J♦
Tom Middleton: A♦K♥
The 3♥3♦3♠ flop kept Merai ahead with now jacks full of treys. Middleton improved with the K♠ turn and the 8♦ river ensured a double knockout.
Lewis Spencer raised to 10,000 under the gun, Simon Wiciak moved all in for 110,000 in the small blind, and Spencer called.
Simon Wiciak: K♦Q♦
Lewis Spencer: 9♣9♠
Wiciak was racing for his tournament life as the flop came 10♣8♣6♣. The 9♦ turn gave Spencer a set and Wiciak a straight draw, but Wiciak missed the 4♥ river and the newest Team PokerStars Pro and reigning EPT Barcelona champion was sent to the rail.
A year ago, Peter Jorgne came agonizingly close to capturing a PokerStars European Poker Tour title when he finished runner-up to Razvan Belea here in Paris. But life is about second chances, and Jorgne has one when Day 3 of the EPT Paris Main Event begins at noon local time.
Jorgne is one of 222 players out of a record-setting field of 1,747 returning to play today inside Le Palais des Congres as he enters Day 3 with 353,000. He’s not the only one looking for a repeat performance, however. Padraig O’Neill won the last EPT title in Prague in December and comes into the day with an above-average stack of 290,000.
The entire field is looking up at chip leader Eliot Hudon (955,000). Alexios Zervos (788,000), Matthias Lipp (714,000), David Kaufmann (700,000), and Eero Rantala (685,000) round out the top five. Other top stacks include Dimitar Danchev (415,000), Alex Keating (391,000), Sam Greenwood (379,000), Max Neugebauer (377,000), and Anton Wigg (343,000).
Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Eliot Hudon
Canada
955,000
191
2
Alexios Zervos
Greece
788,000
158
3
Matthias Lipp
Austria
714,000
143
4
David Kaufmann
Germany
700,000
140
5
Eero Rantala
Finland
685,000
137
6
Farid Jattin
Colombia
660,000
132
7
Clement Michaud
France
606,000
121
8
Daniel Custodio
Portugal
587,000
117
9
Alessandro Minasi
Italy
574,000
115
10
Eric Sfez
France
551,000
110
Timothy Adams
Further down the leaderboard are Timothy Adams (279,000) and Benny Glaser (266,000). Team PokerStars Pro Benjamin Spragg is on a short stack of 138,000, as is fellow team pro and EPT Barcelona champion Simon Wiciak (119,000).
Play resumes with 60 minutes left on Level 16 with blinds of 2,500-5,000 and a 5,000 big blind ante. There will then be a further five levels played today. Levels are 90 minutes long, and there will be a 65-minute dinner break following Level 19 which should come around 6:10 p.m.
The bubble has burst. Now the race to the final table and €1,287,800 top prize is on. Stay tuned as PokerNews provides live updates throughout the day as the field continues to whittle down here in Paris.
