Day 3 of Event #52: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em starts up at 12 noon local time in the Brasilia room where today yet another World Series of Poker champion will be crowned.
Among the remaining 23 competitors is five-time WSOP champion Jason Mercier who looks to snag his sixth bracelet. He comes into the day with 457,000, good for 38 big blinds. Andy Frankenberger bagged up 525,000 and 43 big blinds to work with as he seeks bracelet number three.
Leading the field to start today is Samuel Phillips with a healthy 1,289,000 (107 BB), closely followed by Canadian James Florence (1,284,000) and Brandon Ageloff (1,200,000). In addition to these top stacks, the field is stacked with fierce competitors including Mohsin Charania (1,045,000), Mathieu Selides (399,000), Phil Collins (258,000), Rainer Kempe (240,000) and Cary Katz (145,000).
Day 3 will begin halfway through Level 21 with blinds at 6,000/12,000 with a 2,000 ante. As usual, there will be a 15-minute break every two levels with a scheduled 60-minute dinner break after the sixth level of the day. This event will play down to a winner, with first place pocketing $364,438 and the coveted gold WSOP bracelet.
Final Table Payouts
Place
Prize (USD)
1
$364,438
2
$225,181
3
$161,844
4
$117,611
5
$86,424
6
$64,226
7
$48,276
8
$36,708
9
$28,239
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Look just below for the Day 3 seating assignments and chip counts.
Rainer Kempe moved all in for 141,000 from the cutoff, and James Florence snap-called from the big blind.
Kempe was at risk with while Florence held .
The flop came and Kempe pulled ahead with a pair of kings. the turn was the and Florence needed a ten or an ace to knock out Kempe. The river was the and Kempe was able to hold on for a double-up, making a small dent in Florence's big stack.
Yanki Koppel raised to 37,000 from under the gun and the action was folded to Jason Mercier in the small blind who shoved all in for 197,000. Koppel quickly called and rolled over . Mercier showed and would need some help to stay alive.
The board ran out and Mercier was unable to connect, getting eliminated in 17th place.
Phil Collins was officially blinded out for his remaining chips and finished in 16th place. His hand was killed after Rainer Kempe raised all in for 44,000. Mikhail Rudoy reraised to 100,000 and everyone else folded.
Rainer Kempe:
Mikhail Rudoy:
The flop came and Rudoy took a stranglehold on the hand. The turn brought the , giving Kempe a flush draw, but the river was the . Kempe was eliminated in 15th place.
With about 250,000 in the pot already on a board reading , Griffin Malatino was in the cutoff and managed to get his remaining 465,000 chips in the middle. Samuel Phillips was in the small blind and was the one to give him action.
Malatino was at risk but ahead with , up against Phillips' for a pair and a straight draw.
The turn was the and Phillips picked up more outs with a flush draw. The river was the and Phillips completed his flush to eliminate a stunned Malatino.
"You know you can never have too many outs with seven-four on a six-four-three board. It's like having ace-king of diamonds against queens and you flop a royal flush draw," laughed Mohsin Charania.
Alexander Elias moved all in on the button for his last 162,000 and Mohsin Charania called from the small blind. Samuel Phillips was in the big blind and tanked for a minute before calling also.
The flop came and Charania checked. Phillips bet 200,000 and before folding Charania said, "I was hoping you'd rip it in pre." Phillips tabled . "That would've sucked," continued Charania. A player asked if he had ace-king and he confirmed he did. "I was hoping you'd make my dreams come true and just rip it in pre."
Elias was at risk and tabled . "Damn. I was thinking that was such a good flop for me," he said. He still had outs to make a straight, but the turn was the and the river was the , sending him home in 13th place.
Milan Simko raised to 45,000 from under the gun, and Samuel Phillips three-bet to 120,000 from the small blind. Simko counted his chips out and moved all in for 445,000. Phillips called.
Simko was at risk and well ahead with , up against Philips' .
With the board reading , the pot had around 200,000 in the middle already. Ian Steinman was in the small blind and bet 230,000, enough to cover the stack of his opponent, Jack Allen, in the big blind.
Allen didn't instantly call, but when he did, he showed for a full house. However, Steinman showed for a bigger full house, and Allen became the 11th-place finisher.
Scott Horvath was all in before the flop and was called by the overwhelming chip leader, Samuel Phillips.
Horvath was at risk and ahead with , while Phillips held .
The flop came , and it was looking fairly safe for Horvath to double up. The turn was the , though, and Phillips pulled ahead with two pair. The river was the , and Horvath was eliminated just short of the unofficial final table.
![[user323482]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
while Florence held 
. 
and Kempe pulled ahead with a pair of kings. the turn was the 
and Florence needed a ten or an ace to knock out Kempe. The river was the 
and Kempe was able to hold on for a double-up, making a small dent in Florence's big stack.
. Mercier showed 
and would need some help to stay alive.
and Mercier was unable to connect, getting eliminated in 17th place.
and Rudoy took a stranglehold on the hand. The turn brought the 
, Griffin Malatino was in the cutoff and managed to get his remaining 465,000 chips in the middle. Samuel Phillips was in the small blind and was the one to give him action.
for a pair and a straight draw. 
and Phillips completed his flush to eliminate a stunned Malatino.
and Charania checked. Phillips bet 200,000 and before folding Charania said, "I was hoping you'd rip it in pre." Phillips tabled 
. "Damn. I was thinking that was such a good flop for me," he said. He still had outs to make a straight, but the turn was the 
for a full house. However, Steinman showed 
, though, and Phillips pulled ahead with two pair. The river was the