Day 3 of the 2014 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was the first day of the tournament in which all remaining players were competing at the same time, the first without a letter suffix. 1,871 players began the day with their eyes still set on the prize, but only 746 will return Friday to continue the long grind to poker immortality. It is a tight race at the top of the leaderboard with Andrew Liporace barely edging out Mehrdad Yousefzadeh 1,128,000 chips to 1,124,000.
It is actually a pretty tight race throughout the top ten. After the two players with over a million chips, Raul Mestre and Jesse Wilke have 988,500 and 975,500, respectively, followed by another four players with over 900,000 and one close to 900,000. There is still quite a ways to go before the big money, but the jockeying for the top spot should be entertaining.
Of course, all eyes were squarely trained on one man yesterday: Phil Ivey. The “G.O.A.T.” (Greatest of All Time) as one player put it yesterday, began Day 3 as the chip leader with 505,000 chips. Just the thought of Ivey making the final table has made poker fans feel all tingly. He’s still doing fine, but his stack did not move much from the previous day, growing to just 522,500. That is certainly better than shrinking, though, and Ivey is still in 74th place – top ten percent isn’t too bad at all.
It looked like this might be the year of the former champion, as several players who had won the Main Event in the past were having success. But Day 3 was a killer for past champs, as Johnny Chan, Chris Moneymaker, Ryan Riess, and Robert Varkonyi all got knocked out. Huck Seed, who has 249,000 chips, is the only past Main Event champion to remain in the tournament.
Other notable names who hit the rail Thursday include Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Marvin Rettenmeier, Mark Seif, and Matt Matros. Actor/comedian Kevin Pollak and NBA star Paul Pierce also fell by the wayside.
It wasn’t all bad for the “name” players, though. Some of the top survivors include Dan Smith (817,000 chips), Ali Eslami (770,000), Kenny Tran (728,500), Isaac Baron (585,000), Brian Townsend (543,500), Mark Newhouse (423,500), Leif Force (414,000), and Matt Waxman (405,000).
The field is small enough now that everyone fits into the Amazon Room at the Rio. Nobody is guaranteed a payday yet, though, as the money doesn’t start until 693rd place. It should take too long to get there, but typically the last few eliminations before the bubble come very slowly at the Main Event, as not only do the short stacks get careful, but it is also hand-for-hand time in the tournament. It is not unheard of for the last few eliminations on the bubble to take an hour or two. Once the bubble is burst, though, eliminations will happen at breakneck pace.
2014 World Series of Poker Main Event – Day 3 Chip Leaders
1. Andrew Liporace – 1,128,000
2. Mehrdad Yousefzadeh – 1,124,000
3. Raul Mestre – 988,500
4. Jesse Wilke – 975,500
5. Scott Blackman – 935,000
6. Andoni Larrabe – 923,000
7. Stephen Graner – 911,000
8. Matthew Sedgeman – 905,000
9. Magnus Karlsson – 891,500
10. David Tuthill – 850,500