Yaniv Berman Leads $10,000 Stud Championship; Martin, Yu, and Obst in the Hunt
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Welcome back to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino and the 2018 World Series of Poker for Day 3 of Event #38: $10,000 Seven Card Championship!
Two days ago, 83 players took a seat in the first stud championship event of the schedule, and now just a final table of eight is left standing. Yaniv Birman is leading those final eight players onto the ESPN Main Stage today after bagging the chip lead with 958,000. Right on his heels is two-time WSOP bracelet winner Jesse Martin (916,000) who held the chip lead for the majority of Day 2.
Although there is a big gap between Birman, Martin, and the remainder of the final table, the other six players are all extremely talented. Another two-time WSOP bracelet winner and Day 1 chip leader in Ben Yu sits third overall with 559,000 in chips, while Matt Grapenthien (507,000), Lee Salem (473,000), and Joseph Capello (360,000) round out the next few stops.
On the short stacks are Lars Gronning (168,000), and James Obst (216,000). Obst is regarded as one of the best mixed game players in the world, and even with a short stack is still a major threat to every player at the final table.
| Seat | Player | Country | Chips | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jesse Martin | United States | 916,000 | 31 |
| 2 | Lee Salem | United States | 473,000 | 16 |
| 3 | Matt Grapenthien | United States | 507,000 | 17 |
| 4 | Joseph Cappello | United States | 360,000 | 12 |
| 5 | Ben Yu | United States | 559,000 | 19 |
| 6 | James Obst | Australia | 216,000 | 7 |
| 7 | Lars Gronning | United States | 168,000 | 6 |
| 8 | Yaniv Birman | United States | 958,000 | 32 |
The final eight players will all be seeking the coveted WSOP bracelet and $236,238 first prize awaiting whoever can be the last man standing, while players are already guaranteed a $23,443 payday after Michael McKenna (14th), Nicholas Seiken (13th), Perry Friedman (11th), Todd Brunson (10th), and Al Barbieri (9th) have all registered in-the-money results.
Play is set to resume at 2:00 p.m. (PDT) with the PokerNews Live Reporting Team providing continuous live updates until an Event #38 Champion is crowned. As players will be on the ESPN Main Stage, PokerGO will be streaming the entire final table from 3:00 p.m. (PDT), so make sure to watch the action on PokerGO, and follow it live on PokerNews.com so as to catch all the Event #38 action.
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on fifth street while Martin could only draw a 
. There was no improvement for Martin on sixth street where he caught a 
and Gronning a 
meaning Martin was drawing dead to eliminate his opponent.
to complete his broadway, and Martin a 
as Gronning tripled up.
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and Joseph Cappello just called. Lars Gronning completed. It folded to Grapenthien, who released his hand, and Cappello threw a 1,000 chip in to put Gronning all in. Gronning called and was all in.
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on seventh street, meaning Gronning had live cards, with any ace, king, five or three meaning he stayed alive.
to improve him to two pair, but it wasn't enough and he became the first elimination of the day.
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and Yu could hit a jack, queen, king or spade on seventh street to eliminate Salem.
to pair, but it wasn't enough and Salem doubled up.
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and Cappello the 
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, and Grapenthien tapped the table and then flicked his cards to the muck.
