Puchkov Leads Final 14 in $3,000 H.O.R.S.E., Defending Champ Hastings Sits in 3rd
Konstantin Puchkov emerged as the chip leader after two days of limit action in Event #89: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E.
The starting field of 301 players has dwindled to a final 14 players who will come back on Tuesday, July 16, at 2 p.m. for the last day of the 2019 World Series of Poker. One of them will leave the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino with a WSOP bracelet and the $206,173 first-place prize.
Puchkov didn't start with an impressive stack today, but he was able to vault into the chip lead by the time for the redraw to the last three tables. He eliminated Justin Liberto and chopped a huge three-way pot with Paul Tedeschi (822,000) to reinforce his stack, finishing with 938,000.
Puchkov is a seasoned veteran not only at WSOP but also on the European circuit. His first reported cashes date back to 2004 and he has been decorated once here at the series, winning his bracelet in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. back in 2010.
The final two tables feature some well-versed players, including defending champion Brian Hastings. The four-time WSOP champ guarded one of the bigger stacks throughout the day and he will come back to 620,000 chips when play resumes.
Jim Collopy (528,000) and Andrey Zaichenko (505,000) round out the top five while Day 1 chip leader Harold Klein (487,000) sits in sixth place.
The bottom half of the rankings feature Tom Koral who is fresh off winning his second career bracelet, having taken down the $1,500 NLH Double Stack earlier this week.
Paul Volpe, one of the most prolific mixed game players in the world, is second to last in chips with fewer than five bets. Only Cole Jackson will have a tougher position when the play restarts.
The remaining players will return at 2 p.m. for the final portion of the 2019 WSOP grind. The limits will be 15,000/30,000 and PokerNews will be again on the ground to provide live updates from the home stretch.