Anthony Marsico Leads Largest Main Event Field in History as Players Combine on Day 3
After six days of play, including four starting flights and two day 2s, the largest World Series of Poker Main Event field is finally ready to combine. The record breaking 10,112 entrants have now been whittled down to 3,617 players, all of whom will be playing simultaneously for the first time since the start of the tournament.
Currently leading the way is Anthony Marsico, who managed to bag an impressive 797,000 after Day 2abc. He is followed closely by fellow Day 2abc survivor Christopher Vincent on 772,000 while Day 2d chipleader and third place finisher in the 2019 Main Event Alex Livingston rounds out the top three on 750,500.
Start of Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Marsico | United States | 797,000 | 319 |
| 2 | Christopher Vincent | United States | 772,000 | 309 |
| 3 | Alex Livingston | Canada | 750,500 | 300 |
| 4 | Manuel Machado | Portugal | 680,500 | 272 |
| 5 | Tyler Hatchel | United States | 679,000 | 272 |
| 6 | Jangkyu Lee | South Korea | 665,500 | 266 |
| 7 | Karo Nuri | Switzerland | 646,500 | 259 |
| 8 | Donovan Dean | United States | 634,500 | 254 |
| 9 | Diogo Veiga | Portugal | 615,500 | 246 |
| 10 | Damarjai Davenport | United States | 615,000 | 246 |
Plenty of big names remain in the hunt for the mammoth $10,000,000 top prize including five time bracelet winner Adam Friedman (581,000), 2022 GPI Player of the Year Stephen Song (577,000) and 2021 Main Event last woman standing Dragana Mackelprang (503,000). They all return with healthy stacks comfortably above the tournament average.
Others have their work cut for them as they return for the third day with somewhat fewer big blinds to work with. Four time bracelet winner Farzad Bonyadi returns to his seat with a less-than-starting-stack of 48,000, while Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra also will be looking to spin up on Day 2 as he resumes play with 58,500. Still, the old poker adage of "a chip and a chair" is as relevant in this event as any other with one only needing to look to the 1982 Main Event champion Jack Straus for inspiration.
Play resumes at 12 p.m. local time in Level 11 at blinds of 1,000/2,500 with a 2,500 big blind ante and will continue for five two-hour levels. As on the previous days, there will be a 20-minute break after ever level with a 75-minute dinner break following Level 13.
The PokerNews live reporting will be on hand to provide updates throughout the day so be sure to follow along as action continues in the historic Event #81: $10,000 Main Event World Championship at the 2024 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.