After eclipsing the 1,000,000 chip mark on the very last hand of Day 2, Aleksandr Denisov will look to make it three days in a row at the top of the chip counts. After bagging the overwhelming chip lead on Day 1a, and holding it at the end of play last night Denisov is in pole position for a deep run here at Casino Sochi.
With the money bubble bursting 17 minutes from the end of play last night, players are returning today safe in the knowledge that they have locked up a min-cash worth ₽364,000 (~$5,600).
However, there are several players looking enviously at Denisov's stack including nearest rivals Mikhail Aleksandrov (942,000), Vadim Baranov (865,000) and Dmitry Yurasov (658,000).
Day 1b chip leader Viktor Ustimov (505,000) is still in the field, along with Anatoliy Zyrin (294,000), Matous Houzvicek (276,000), Dorian Pavon (180,000), Keisuke Hikosaka (155,000) and of course defending champion Arseniy Karmatskiy (108,000).
The schedule says to play five 90-minute levels, but that is subject to change. Stay tuned toPokerNews for continued live updates
Timur Khamidullin raised to 12,000 from under the gun and Dzmitry Sushchanka three-bet all in for 25,000 from the next position. It folded all the way around to Sergey Frizyak in the big blind who four-bet to 62,000. Khamidullin five-bet all in and Frizyak snap-called.
Timur Khamidullin:
Dzmitry Sushchanka:
Sergey Frizyak:
It was a set-up hand with Frizyak poised to double up and send Sushchanka to the rail. The board ran out and Frizyak chipped up substantially.
Sergey Chantsev opened to 17,000 from under the gun and Sergey Frizyak three-bet to 40,000 from the next position. It folded to Viktor Rizhih in the big blind who four-bet to 135,000. Chantsev folded and Frizyak five-bet all in
Rizhih snap-called with but was up against the of Frizyak.
The flop came . The turn was the and the river the and Rizhih was eliminated.
Aleksandr Sheshukov came into Day 3 fourth in chips, but after both Aleksandr Denisov dropped off the pace, he's picked it up and is now well into seven-figure stack territory. However he's still yet to catch Viktor Ustimov who, having taken chips off Denisov at the start of the day, has improved further.
Ustimov has a good record here in Sochi, finishing 42nd in the EPT Sochi Main Event last year and enjoying success at other festivals here.
Meanwhile, Sheshukov finished 34th in the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event last April, and will be looking to improve on that mark with just 50 players remaining in the Main Event here at Casino Sochi.
Aleksandr Sheshukov opened to 25,000 and was called by Vyacheslav Mizun. Andrey Gurev then three-bet all in for 147,000. Sheshukov folded and Mizun called.
Vyacheslav Mizun:
Andrey Gurev:
The pocket pair of Mizun held on the runout and Gurev was eliminated. Compared to other tables this one seems to have a lot more stacks above average which now stands at 725,000.
Aleksey Istomin opened to 32,000 and was called by Serafim Kovalevsky. Timur Khamidullin then raised all in for 320,000. Istomin used a time extension before calling all in for just under 300,000. Kovalevsky folded.
Aleksey Istomin:
Timur Khamidullin:
There was no help for Khamidullin on the board and he was left with just over one big blind.
After six levels of play, a late surge from Danil Bukharin was enough for him to secure the overall chip lead after Day 3 of the EPT Sochi Main Event.
Returning from the final break of the day fifth in chips, he navigated the redraw and a tricky stint on the feature table and will now take a stack of 2,340,000 into Day 4.
Close behind is Dmitry Yurasov (1,885,000) who was responsible for the last elimination of the day when his pocket eights cracked the pocket tens of Garri Tevosov to leave just 23 players remaining.
Other big stacks heading into the penultimate day's play here at Casino Sochi include Vyacheslav Mizun (1,800,000), Ivan Ruban (1,570,000) and Vanush Mnatsakanyan (1,440,000). Mnatasakanyan's recovery from one of the shorter stacks with 40 players left to fifth in chips was aided by the elimination of Anatoly Zuev and Murun Ganzorig and a double up through Serafim Kovalevsky.
Early players to bust from Day 3 included Tatyana Barausova, Igor Grytsak, Matous Houzvicek, Yuriy Guliy and defending champion Arseniy Karmatskiy.
The pace of eliminations became increasingly sporadic and more erratic as the day went on as players eyed the shrinking field and increasing pay jumps. For comparison, while 30 players were sent to the rail during the first four levels, just 20 followed in the final three levels of the day as 23 players advanced to Day 4.
Up under the lights of the feature table, start-of-day chip leader Aleksandr Denisov was having a hard time of it against Viktor Ustimov, with Denisov falling as low as 200,000 chips midway through the day. He soon recovered but will have to make do with a stack of 305,000 heading into tomorrow, almost 200,000 less than the figure he bagged after Day 1a!
As Denisov faltered and Ustimov flourished, other players started spying the seven-figure stack mark. These include Dmitry Yurasov, Serafim Kovalevsky and Mikhail Aleksandrov, all of whom have made it through to Day 4.
With 23 left, it appears that a long day is in store tomorrow as the tournament plays down to a final six players. You can catch all the action right here on PokerNews.com