Oscar Peleg opened to 320,000 from under the gun with K♥J♥, then Jonathan Pastore in the cutoff three-bet to 900,000 with A♦4♦. Peleg called to find a flop of 7♣K♦3♠ where he check-called for 500,000.
On the 5♣ turn, Pastore fired a second barrel of 2,000,000. Peleg check-called once again.
The 8♣ completed the board and after Peleg checked, Pastore moved all-in for 5,100,000. Peleg went deep into the tank but eventually folded the best hand
Hugo Menant in the small blind jammed for 2,400,000 and Benjamin Hammann called from the big blind.
Hugo Menant: K♣8♣
Benjamin Hammann: J♠J♦
Menant found a flush draw with the 5♣9♥3♣ flop then hit a pair with the 8♥ turn, but it was still not enough to beat Hammann's jacks. However the 9♣ river completed Menant's flush so he doubled up.
Timothe Labassa raised to 240,000 from the hijack, Matthieu Lamagnere three-bet to 800,000 from the cutoff and Americ Stiller, in the small blind, cold four-bet jammed for 1,790,000. Labassa tanked for some time before moving all in and Lamagnere folded.
Americ Stiller: A♠K♦
Timothe Labassa: J♦J♣
Labassa was ahead until the 4♦6♥K♠ flop reversed their fates. The 10♠ turn changed nothing, however, the J♥ river materialised one of Labassa's two outs and Stiller was sent to the rail.
Last year's finalist Victor Hoogstoel found himself at risk from the small blind for a little bit more than 1,000,000 against Oscar Peleg in the hijack.
Victor Hoogstoel: A♠K♦
Oscar Peleg: 3♥3♦
The dealer fanned a board of 2♦4♥9♦8♦8♥ and Hoogstoel was eliminated.
Johnny Andreassen raised from the button and was called by Dylan Cechowski, in the big blind.
The 9♥4♥Q♥ flop saw Cechowski play in flow. Andreassen continued for 200,000 and Cechowski check-raised to 450,000. Andreassen clicked it back to 1,200,000 and Cechowski called.
The J♦ turn saw Cechowski play in flow. Andreassen moved all in and Cechowski snap-called.
Johnny Andreassen: 6♥5♥
Dylan Cechowski: A♥J♥
Both players had flopped a flush but Cechowski had Andreasse drawing dead. The K♥ river changed nothing and Andreasse was sent to the rail.
The Winamax Poker Open at the Banco Casino, here in Bratislava, continues today with Day 3 of the €500 Main Event. Of the 1,516 entries that were made, only 17 will be returning to the felt this morning as the tournament is played down to a winner.
Of the finalists, it is Benjamin Hammann who bagged the all-important chip lead and will be taking through a stack of 10,070,000 for the Day 3 restart this afternoon, at 12:30 p.m. Hammann is over two million chips clear of his closest opponent Dylan Cechowski who managed to amass 7,925,000.
Rounding out the podium positions is Matthieu Lamagnere with 7,200,000. Lamagnere final tabled the largest six-max event ever held when he came 6th in the 5,500 MAD Main Event at the 2024 Winamax SISMIX in Marrakech, and he will be sure to want to add a win to he’s already impressive poker resume.
2024 WPO Bratislava Main Event Day 3 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip count
Big blinds
1
Benjamin Hammann
France
10,070,000
101
2
Dylan Cechowski
France
7,925,000
79
3
Matthieu Lamagnere
France
7,200,000
72
4
Nicolas Plantin
France
6,960,000
70
5
Jonathan Pastore
France
6,385,000
64
6
Aliosha Staes
Belgium
4,730,000
47
7
Oscar Peleg
Sweden
4,390,000
44
8
Anton Markachev
Russian Federation
3,790,000
38
9
Clement Albert
France
3,680,000
37
10
Timothe Labassa
France
3,575,000
36
11
Valentin Imperatore
France
3,480,000
35
12
Americ Stiller
Germany
2,980,000
30
13
Victor Hoogstoel
France
2,820,000
28
14
Johnny Andreassen
Denmark
2,420,000
24
15
Hugo Menant
France
1,970,000
20
16
Alvaro Aparicio
Spain
1,885,000
19
17
Arthur Lacroix
France
1,730,000
17
The remaining finalists have all secured a minimum cash of €4,400, but attention firmly remains on the first-place prize of €90,000 that awaits the eventual winner.
Benjamin Hamman
The tournament will resume at 12:30 p.m. local time and will return to blinds of 50,000/100,000 with a 100,000 big blind ante. Play will continue through 40-minute levels until a winner is crowned. This final day will be streamed with a 30-minute delay.
In addition, there will be a closing party at Manifest Bohema which will broadcast the coverage of the Main Event, as well as a welcome entrance for the eventual winner.
PokerNews will have boots on the ground for the entirety of the day, so be sure to stick with the live updates as we crown a champion here in Slovakia.
