Welcome back to Day 3 of the $25,000 PokerStars Players Championship located at the Atlantis Resort in the beautiful Bahamas. Players have jockeyed for position over the course of the first couple of days and now it becomes crunch time as the money bubble is in sight of those remaining.
It was a fast-paced Day 2 that saw the 1,000 plus field dwindle down to just 207 players who will be returning on Day 3 looking to reach the money. With 181 players getting paid, the bubble is expected to burst within the first couple of levels today. For some, a min-cash of just over $25,000 will be a huge payday, especially for those Platinum Pass winners. As for others, they will certainly have their sights set on the $5.1 million first-place prize, enough to make anyone jump for glory.
Heading into the middle day of the tournament, Farid Jattin from Columbia holds the chip lead, on the verge of cracking the seven-figure mark with 921,000 chips. He doesn't have a lot of breathing room though, as big names like Mustapha Kanit (888,000), Griffin Benger (885,000), and Julien Martini (832,000) are not far behind.
It was a rough second day for the PokerStars Team Pros with many of them dropping by the wayside. Of those that are still left with a shot at winning the title include Leo Fernandez (207,000), Benjamin Spragg (113,000), and Celina Lin (12,000). Some other notables to keep an eye include Talal Shakerchi (691,000), Patrick Tardif (633,000), Kristen Bicknell (631,000), and Christoph Vogelsang (483,000).
The action is scheduled to fire up again at 12 noon with an expected eight levels on tap, subject to change based on the pace of play. The blinds will begin at 4,000/8,000 with a big blind ante of 8,000 and will still be 60 minutes in length. A 20-minute break will occur after every two levels and there will likely be a dinner break at some point as well.
The livestream will kick off at the start of the day and can be found on Twitch, or by clicking on the 'Livestream' tab. The hole cards will be shown on a 30-minute delay. As well, you can always tune in here to follow the PokerNews live reporting team for all of the up-to-date action throughout the event.
With the clock stopped and hand-for-hand play underway four spots off the money, the first hand brought two all in and call. The first one to run included PokerStars Team Pro Leo Fernandez, who shoved from middle position for around 55,000. Bart Lybaert called in the big blind and their table was the first to run out the hand.
Leo Fernandez:
Bart Lybaert:
The board came and Lybaert spiked a queen on the river to deal the final blow.
If this isn't the BIGGEST and BEST moment from the $25K #PSPC, I don't know what is.
— PokerNews (@PokerNews)
Yesterday, on Day 2 of the PSPC, the hand above played out between French player Thi Xoa Nguyen and American Athanasios Polychronopoulos.
Wondering what the players involved were thinking? Check out our article on PokerNews.com with comments from both Thi Xoa Nguyen and American Athanasios Polychronopoulos.
Paul Leckey was all in from middle position for about 235,000 and was at risk against neighbor Tianle Wang. Leckey put in all his money on a four-bet shove. After action was complete at all the other tables, they showed their cards.
Paul Leckey:
Tianle Wang:
Despite loud calls for a king from the British rail, the board ran and Leckey was eliminated on the bubble.
In the aftermath of the hand, however, it was announced that Leckey did earn an EPT Monte Carlo package for his efforts.
One of the best comedians of all-time, Norm Macdonald, is the headliner at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Comedy Night. He sits down with [Removed:139] to chat about poker, comedy, and more! PCA Comedy Night is at the Atlantis Theatre tonight at 10pm. Doors open at 9:30pm.
Before the bubble, Bill Perkins had doubled through Max Greenwood and the duo clashed once more to create the following showdown:
Bill Perkins:
Max Greenwood:
The board came to give Greenwood the nutflush and Perkins snapped a quick picture of the hands and board for his Twitter competition before leaving the table with a "thanks guys" and a smile on the face.
More than 15 years ago, an accountant from Tennessee won the $10K WSOP Main Event for $2.5 million after qualifying through an $86 satellite, thus fueling the fire for the ultimate poker dream. “Rags to riches” as they say, the Chris Moneymaker story is familiar to even the most casual of poker fans, and in their Platinum Pass giveaway, PokerStars wanted to recreate the Moneymaker magic.
There were dozens of ways to qualify for one of the 320 $30,000 Platinum Passes that included a buy-in to the $25K PSPC, but 13 players would get in by winning an $86 buy-in tournament in the Moneymaker PSPC Tour. Sound familiar?
The Moneymaker PSPC Tour kicked off in early August at Stones Gambling Hall, making its way to various stops across the United States, even passing through the internet realm in the state of New Jersey. Of those lucky 13, the dream was still alive for three as the tournament got into the money on Day 3. We caught up with two of the $86 qualifiers around the money bubble.
Cliff Ellefson
The very first Platinum Pass winner, Cliff Ellefson (pictured above), beat out a field of more than 800 entries at Stones to play in a tournament where a min-cash is more than five times his previous biggest tournament cash.
“It would be a dream come true to final table, to win the tournament," Ellefson told PokerNews. "Cashing in and of itself is a dream come true.”
Now in the money, freerolling with $25K locked up, Ellefson is focused on paying attention and playing his game.
Unlike some pass winners who are treating this experience more as a vacation than focusing on grinding out the tournament, Ellefson came solely to play.
“I came here alone and I wanted to treat it as a serious opportunity that I wanted to do my best at and not have any regrets looking back. I definitely don’t want any distractions here.”
“I’ve learned a lot and I’m following my instincts, not playing scared.”
A couple months before the event, Ellefson began to pour all of his extra time into growing his game, putting in hours on the RaiseYourEdge training site and playing more tournaments.
Here in the Bahamas, Ellefson is staying dialed in, going to the gym and meditating in the mornings to get him ready each day.
“I have a certain faith that things are going to work out for the best, and that gives me more of a relaxed feeling going into it.”
He’s soaking in the experience at the tables, playing alongside some of the best in the world.
“I’m so thankful for just all the little things that I’m experiencing, like when I win a pot, or just learning things or meeting people that I’ve watched online.”
Not putting too much pressure on himself, Ellefson is relying on faith to get him through.
“I’m a big believer in if I can be relaxed and just believe with 100 percent faith that God is going to bring me the victory that he wants for me, then I just kind of let go every time I’m all in.”
On Day 2, Ellefson found himself all in and in need of some help, holding ace-queen versus ace-king. Holding the queen of spades, he made a flush to win the hand when three spades flopped and another came on the turn.
Now in the money looking to ladder up as much as he can, Ellefson is trying to play his best in a field chock-full of top-level players.
“I’ve learned a lot and I’m following my instincts, not playing scared.”
Anthony Maio
One of the many top-level pros still in the field is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, one might say. Online poker pro Anthony Maio may be carrying a Platinum Pass, but his opponents will be unwise to underestimate him. The successful New Jersey online player also has nearly $900,000 in live cashes to his credit, and he won his way to the PSPC by winning the $86 online Moneymaker event.
“I would never have played this or came here, so I’m very thankful to have the opportunity. It’s been fun,” Maio told us.
Recently married, his wife and step-daughter are playing with dolphins today while Maio grinds in the Convention Center of the Atlantis.
“The only time I travel for poker is things like this, for bigger mains, and I tend to be really focused and do well. It’s exciting.”
For the online pro accustomed to playing usually 10-25 tables at a time, the PSPC structure is extremely slow.
“If I’m ever playing live, I’m always multi-tabling on my phone. Even in the WSOP Main, for the first two days, I’m multi-tabling. This is the first tournament where I haven’t multi-tabled live in a very long time.”
In preparation for the slow live grind, Maio put in some rare appearances at the cash tables.
“I went to Borgata to play some live cash, which I never do, just to get me familiar with uncomfortable spots because I’m always behind a screen and I never play cash, especially live cash. I figured that’s the most uncomfortable I could be and I figured it would give me good preparation for this.”
"I defend a lot and I limp-call and I don’t really fold."
As far as adjusting his approach from his usual online mulit-table grind, Maio is sticking to his guns, and likely catching his opponents off-guard.
“I’ve been playing small-ball cautious, using my aggressive limp strategy and not really folding much. I defend a lot and I limp-call and I don’t really fold, so I’m just having a good time, and that’s been my strategy.”
As with many online pros who don't hit the live circuit much, Maio is content flying under the radar in this one.
“Most people don’t know who I am – it’s good. I try to look like as big of a fish as I can for the most part… And I’m a Platinum Pass winner so that works out too… So I get underestimated early on which is nice.”
The third Moneymaker Tour winner to make it into the money was Ori Kossonogi, who won the $86 event held at Gardens Casino in Los Angeles. Kossonogi (139th place) and Maio (130th place) were unfortunate to bust out recently, but they did lock up an ROI of 40,600% cashing for $35,000. For Ellefson, the $86 to $5.1 million dream lives on.
Ariel Ceslestino called a raise in the cutoff and two further players joined the mix including Alexandre de Zutter in the small blind. On the four-way flop of , it was Celestino that bet 42,000 and de Zutter was the only caller.
The appeared on the turn and de Zutter check-shoved for around 450,000 when facing a bet of 122,000 by Celestino, a snap-call followed.
Alexandre de Zutter:
Ariel Celestino:
The on the river was a blank and de Zutter shook hands with all opponents before heading to the payout desk.
Bad news for Bill Perkins when he busted the PokerStars Players Championship turns into great news for one lucky fan who guessed his bustout hand correctly!
Watch the video to find out who will be playing in the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event, courtesy of Bill Perkins!!
Upeshka De Silva opened to 45,000 from early position and was called by three players before the action was on Martins Adeniya in the big blind. Adeniya had a perfect opportunity for a squeeze play and he bumped it up to 325,000. De Silva nodded in approval before moving all in for just less than the raise. The remaining players all folded and the cards were on their backs.
Martins Adeniya:
Upeshka De Silva:
Adeniya woke up with a monster in the big blind and the two players were flipping. The flop came to give Adeniya the lead with a pair of aces. The and run out was no help to De Silva as he was eliminated.