Ben Yu and Mike Matusow got involved in a war that ended up with Yu being eliminated in ninth place, while Matusow raked in his chips during a hand of stud hi-lo. We missed the action, but Yu will collect $24,546 for his efforts and his ninth-place finish in the tournament.
Shawn Buchanan was all in from the cutoff for about 30,000 or so before the draws against Viacheslav Zhukov on the button.
Both players drew one card to start, both drew one on the second draw, Buchanan stood pat on the third draw, and Zhukov drew one again.
Buchanan tabled for a 9-8-5-2 badugi and 9-8 low, while Zhukov showed before squeezing his final card, which turned out to be the , giving him a slightly better badugi and low, ending Buchanan's tournament in 10th place.
Players at Mike Matusow and Chris Klodnicki's table are trying to determine a ranking order for the best players left in the tournament. They are currently debating who the third-best player would be.
"It has to be Schuyler," Matusow said. "This guy wins every f*#$ing pot. That's how I rank 'em. Whoever wins the most pots."
"Let's ask Shaun," said Ben Yu, referring to Shaun Deeb who was standing on the rail. "Who do you think the third-best player left in the tournament is Shuan?"
"I can't even decided who the best is!" Deeb said. Deeb then glanced over the field. "I guess I have to go with Mikey."
Matusow shook his head.
"These guys play tournaments," Matusow said. "There's no way. "
"I'd pick you," someone on the rail said, pointing at Ben Yu.
Viacheslav Zhukov raised from under the gun and Shawn Buchanan called from the big blind.
Buchanan drew one, Zhukov drew two, Buchanan bet, and Zhukov called. Buchanan stood pat on the second draw, Zhukov drew one and Buchanan checked. Zhukov bet, Buchanan check-called, and both stood pat on the final draw. Buchanan check-called a bet from Zhukov.
Zhukov tabled , Buchanan mucked, and Zhukov scooped the pot.
Ben Yu opened with a raise. Schuyler Thornton called. On the first draw, Yu took two while Thornton took one. Yu bet and Thornton called.
On the second draw, Yu took one while Thornton took two again. Yu bet and Thornton called.
On the third draw, Yu took one and Thornton also took one. Yu moved all in for less than a bet and Thornton looked at his cards, then kicked them into the muck.
John Racener raised to 17,500 from the cutoff and Dennis Eichhorn called from the big blind.
The flop came down and Eichhorn check-called 22,000 from Racener to see the turn. Eichhorn check-called another 64,000 from Racener, landing the river which both players checked.
Eichhorn tabled for a pair of tens, Racener mucked, and Eichhorn won the pot.
Welcome to Day 3 coverage of Event #17: $10,000 Dealers Choice 6-Handed Championship.
The starting field of 102 players is down to just 10 hopefuls, each looking to capture the first-place prize of $273,962 and a World Series of Poker gold bracelet.
As expected, the remaining field is stacked with some of poker's best. Considered by many to be among the top players in the game without a bracelet, John Racener is the chip leader entering Day 3. With 10 WSOP final table appearances over the years, Racener has come close time and again to capturing that elusive first bracelet. He's in pole position to accomplish that feat today, but it will be far from an easy task.
Second in chips is Chris Klodnicki, another player that many feel is among the best without a bracelet. Four-time bracelet winner Mike Matusow is also still in hunt, as are bracelet winners Viacheslav Zhukov and Ben Yu.
This marks the fourth cash of the 2017 WSOP for James Obst, and rounding out this tough field are Eric Crain, Shawn Buchanan, Dennis Eichhorn, and Schuyler Thornton.
Here is the Day 3 table and seat draw:
Room
Table
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Brasilia
700
1
James Obst
Australia
260,000
Brasilia
700
2
Mike Matusow
United States
295,000
Brasilia
700
3
Ben Yu
United States
163,000
Brasilia
700
5
Schuyler Thornton
United States
366,500
Brasilia
700
6
Chris Klodnicki
United States
856,000
Brasilia
704
1
Viacheslav Zhukov
Russian Federation
700,500
Brasilia
704
2
Dennis Eichhorn
United States
782,500
Brasilia
704
3
Eric Crain
United States
358,000
Brasilia
704
5
John Racener
United States
1,124,000
Brasilia
704
6
Shawn Buchanan
Canada
185,500
Play begins at 2 p.m., and the tournament is scheduled to play down to a winner. Be sure to keep it here for live updates on the action as the quest to crown the newest bracelet winner continues.