Matt Berkey Flying High with the Lead Into Day 3 of the Super High Roller Bowl
Welcome back for Day 3 of the 2016 Super High Roller Bowl from ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Just 16 players remain from the original starting field of 49, all having put up a $300,000 buy-in and competing for a $15 million prize pool.
Heading into this event, the name Matt Berkey might not have been on your radar. While he's a player who has had plenty of success in poker, both in tournaments and cash games, Berkey certainly flies under the radar of most poker fans. But, that looks like it's all going to change here.
Berkey finished out Day 2 with a commanding chip lead of well over double his closest competitor. Berkey's 2.816 million in chips and more than 1.5 million clear of Erik Seidel's 1.299 million. Rounding out the podium of the top three stacks was Dan Shak with 1.243 million.
It was towards the end of Day 2 on Monday that Berkey really took over, calling down a three-barrel bluff from Tom Marchese with top pair, top kicker.
Others still in the mix for Day 3 were Jason Mercier (1.208 million), Phil Hellmuth (936,000), Fedor Holz (751,000), and Phil Galfond (436,000). The shortest stack returning was Marchese with 321,000.
Here's how the players will stack up heading into Day 3:
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Dan Shak | US | 1,243,000 |
| 1 | 2 | Dan Perper | US | 344,000 |
| 1 | 3 | Phil Galfond | US | 436,000 |
| 1 | 4 | --empty-- | -- | -- |
| 1 | 5 | Ben Lamb | US | 415,000 |
| 1 | 6 | Fedor Holz | Germany | 751,000 |
| 1 | 7 | --empty-- | -- | -- |
| 2 | 1 | Bryn Kenney | US | 1,097,000 |
| 2 | 2 | Jason Mercier | US | 1,208,000 |
| 2 | 3 | Tom Marchese | US | 321,000 |
| 2 | 4 | --empty-- | -- | -- |
| 2 | 5 | Matt Berkey | US | 2,816,000 |
| 2 | 6 | Rainer Kemper | Germany | 740,000 |
| 2 | 7 | --empty-- | -- | -- |
| 3 | 1 | Dan Smith | US | 1,152,000 |
| 3 | 2 | Phil Hellmuth | US | 936,000 |
| 3 | 3 | Phil Laak | US | 509,000 |
| 3 | 4 | Andrew Robl | US | 1,075,000 |
| 3 | 5 | Erik Seidel | US | 1,299,000 |
| 3 | 6 | Bill Perkins | US | 367,000 |
| 3 | 7 | --empty-- | -- | -- |
The cards will be in the air at 1 p.m. PT with PokerNews' coverage operating on a one-hour delay to coincide with the television production. The goal will be to reach a final table of eight, where the top seven spots will be paid, or play seven more levels, whichever comes first.
Top prize is set at $5 million and a min-cash is worth $600,000, so buckle up because this is an event you won't want to turn away from.