Antoine Saout opened for 35,000 in middle position. In the small blind, Pascal Lefrancois moved all in for 175,000. Abel Aspas cold-called from the big blind. Saout thought for a while, but he let it go to let the other two fight for the pot.
Pascal Lefrancois:
Abel Aspas:
Lefrancois saw a window card he didn't want to see when the hit the board. The turn and river finished the job and Lefrancois was eliminated.
Natan Chauskin opened to 30,000 from under the gun and Abel Aspas three-bet to 85,000 on the button. Javier Gomez Zapatero four-bet to 200,000 from the small blind which got Chauskin to fold but Aspas called.
The flop came and Gomez Zapatero led out with a bet of 110,000. Aspas called and the landed on the turn. Both players checked this time and the peeled off on the river.
Gomez Zapatero announced all in, putting Aspas to the test for his remaining 880,000. Aspas went into the tank as he ran his fingers through his hair. Four time banks later, Aspas finally called as his clock was winding down. Gomez Zapatero turned over for a set of kings while Aspas showed his .
Benjamin Lebor opened to 30,000 from under the gun. In the hijack, Jaesung Lee three-bet to 85,000. Action folded to Simon Lofberg in the small blind who put in the four-bet to 220,000.
Back on Lebor, the original opener, he used a time bank as he thought about the spot. After about 45 seconds, he moved all in for 1,256,000, sending Lee into agony. Lee did eventually make the call, and Lofberg folded.
Benjamin Lebor:
Jaesung Lee:
Lebor was in the dream spot, seeing a four-bet in front of his aces and being able to get all the chips in preflop. The board ran out a clean for Lebor's aces and he took a huge chunk from Lee.
Timothy Adams had and he opened to 30,000 from early position and the action folded around to Ondrej Drozd with in the cutoff who three-bet to 75,000. With the action folding back around to Adam he four-bet all in for 240,000 and Drozd called putting Adams at risk.
The board ran out and Adams improved to quads, doubling him up in the process.
Arjel Daci raised to 45,000 from under the gun and Jun Obara three-bet to 150,000 on the button. Daci just called and the dealer fanned the flop of . Daci checked to Obara who bet 80,000 and Daci check-raised to 200,000 which Obara called.
The turn was the and Daci instantly pushed out a bet of 525,000. Obara still called and the completed the board. Daci slid out a bet of 300,000 this time, leaving himself with just 150,000 behind. Obara moved all in and Daci eventually called it off. Obara showed for trip eights while Daci was left to think what could have been with his .
Timothy Adams opened to 40,000 in the cutoff. Action folded to Pierre De Almeida in the small blind who three-bet to 150,000. Back on Adams, he four-bet all in to 375,000. De Almeida didn't like it, but he decided to call for the price.
Timothy Adams:
Pierre De Almeida:
Adams was poised to double if he could hold, and he did so on the runout to get the max.
"I would have folded if you had 500,000," said De Almeida.
Oddvar Brendo had and opened to 40,000 from the cutoff, Rui Milhomens picked up and three-bet to 120,000 from the button and Brendo called.
On a flop of , Brendo started with a check and Milhomens continued his aggression betting 80,000 and Brendo reacted by check-raising to 175,000. Milhomens used a time bank card before moving all in for 1,030,000 putting Brendo to a decision for his tournament life.
Brendo went deep into the tank before folding his hand avoiding the cooler in the process.
Another day of play in the PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague €5,300 EPT Main Event concluded after six levels of action and PokerStars AmbassadorParker Talbot is among the leaders with a bag of 2,145,000 chips as he marches into Day 4.
The tournament drew a total of 1,267 entries for a total prize pool of €6,144,950, from which the winner will take home the top prize of €1,054,500. All returning players are guaranteed at least €23,000.
Talbot is one of the remaining 30 players who are still in contention to hoist the prestigious EPT trophy, but he will have his work cut out for him on Day 4. Among those returning to challenge for the title are number-one ranked online player Simon Mattsson, high-stakes powerhouse Timothy Adams, two-time World Series of Poker Main Event Final Tablist Antoine Saout and Day 3 chip leader Luigi D'Alterio.
€5,300 EPT Main Event Top 10 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Luigi D'Alterio
Italy
3,560,000
142
2
Javier Gomez Zapatero
Spain
3,415,000
137
3
Jun Obara
Japan
2,785,000
111
4
Ondrej Drozd
Czech Republic
2,380,000
95
5
Benjamin Lebor
United Kingdom
2,220,000
89
6
Parker Talbot
Canada
2,145,000
86
7
Arie Kliper
Israel
1,860,000
74
8
Antoine Saout
France
1,570,000
63
9
Rui Milhomens
Portugal
1,475,000
59
10
Petar Kalev
Bulgaria
1,465,000
59
Another player to keep your eyes on in this tournament is online superstar Conor Beresford, who has over $17,000,000 in online cashes to his name. He has already beaten his finish from EPT London (31st) in October and will be looking to go much deeper here in Prague.
Plenty of Big Names Fall During Day 3
The field of 117 players that came back for Day 3 reduced steadily with a host of household names unable to traverse their way through the day's play.
PokerStars AmbassadorRamon Colillas made back-to-back EPT Day 3’s but he was eliminated midway through the day by Frenchman Antoine Labat. Labat's own run was cut short by Beresford's pocket aces on the feature table, while Pascal Lefrancois bowed out when his pocket sixes couldn’t hold versus the ace-king of Abel Aspas.
Other big names that fell during Day 3 include Gaelle Baumann, Mike Watson and Marcin Horecki.
Day 4 will commence on Friday, December 16 at 12 p.m. local time. The top prize of €1,054,500 awaits the winner of the final EPT Main Event of the 2022 schedule. Play will resume at level 23 with the blinds at 10,000/25,000 with a 25,000 big blind ante on a 90-minute clock.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize (EUR)
Place
Prize (EUR)
1
€1,054,500
10-11
€74,950
2
€658,750
12-13
€62,450
3
€470,500
14-15
€52,050
4
€361,950
16-17
€43,400
5
€278,450
18-20
€36,150
6
€214,150
21-23
€30,400
7
€164,750
24-27
€26,400
8
€126,700
28-30
€23,000
9
€97,450
Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team on Friday and throughout the weekend for coverage of the Main Event and the closing weekend of EPT Prague.