On a flop, Nacho Barbero checked from the small blind and Alan Schein did the same from the big. Mikko Turtiainen then bet 38,000 from middle position, Barbero check-raised all in for 210,000, and Schein jammed over the top for 271,000. Turtiainen folded.
Schein:
Barbero:
Both players flopped a flush draw, but of course Barbero's was best. He was a heavy favorite in the hand, but then the dealer burned and turned the to give Schein the lead.
The river was no help to Barbero, and he made his way to the payout desk in 58th place.
Cliff Josephy was first to act and raised to 18,000. Paul Ephremsen, right next to him, three-bet to 40,000 with about 90,000 or so behind. Action folded back around to Josephy and he slid forward a stack of 25,000-chips to put Ephremsen all in. The Brit quickly called.
Paul Ephremsen:
Cliff Josephy:
The flop () and turn () were blanks and Ephremsen was on his way to double up, but the on the river hit Josephy and Ephremsen had to make his exit.
As Ephremsen was already on his way to the payout desk, John Dibella said "Just another day at the office for Cliff Josephy!"
Josephy replied; "I feel bad actually. I should be happy but I'm not."
Nick Mossa moved all-in preflop for around 105,000 and he was called by Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier.
Nick Mossa:
Jason Mercier:
The board of kept Mercier in front all the way and confirmed Mossa's exit. A couple of hands later, Mercier pushed an opponent off the pot and that was enough to bring him up to those seven figures.
Mike "Timex" McDonald raised to 18,000 under the gun and Damien Steel called two spots over. Sam Chartier came along from the big blind and three players took a flop of .
Chartier checked, McDonald bet 25,000, and both his opponents called to see the turn. Chartier checked again, and this time McDonald upped his bet to 75,000.
Steel called, Chartier folded, and the completed the board on the river. McDonald bet 236,000, leaving himself a single yellow T1,000 chip behind, and Steel thought long and hard before making the call.
McDonald showed the , but it was no good as Steel's missed flush draw with the paired on the river.
McDonald was all in the very next hand and lost his remaining chip to Pratyush Buddiga.
Cliff Josephy raised his button to 18,000 and was soon facing an all in by his neighbor Nadya Magnus. The 'The Big Game' player was all in for 168,000 from the small blind and the big blind gave up right away. Josephy asked for a count and eventually called.
Cliff Josephy:
Nadya Magnus:
The board ran out an uneventful and Magnus doubled.
A huge pot had developed before we arrived at the table hosting Nick Maimone and Pascal Lefrancois' battle for the chip lead. All afternoon, they have been getting involved with each in hand after hand in a struggle for supremacy here on Day 3 of the PokerStars Championship Bahamas. We may now have the momentum-shifting hand.
With the board already complete and showing , Lefrancois was checked to by Maimone and the Frenchman made a big bet of 250,000 into a pot worth 170,000. Maimone took his time coming to a decision.
"If you have me beat, I'm down to 600,000." he groaned. With the requisite chips to make the call in his hand the whole time, Maimone eyeballed Lefrancois for all he was worth, while the French pro sat motionless, his headphones in and his features immovable.
"Pascal, can you beat Ace-Jack?" asked Maimone. No reply. Not a flicker.
Eventually, Maimone put in the call, and Lefrancois showed . Maimone turned over his and took a huge pot, giving him the lead in the tournament.
France's Sylvain Loosli, who finished fourth in the 2013 WSOP Main Event, got his last 140,000 or so all in preflop and was at risk against Ronan Gorey.
Gorey:
Loosli:
Loosli was in trouble, but the flop delivered him two pair for the lead. A king, queen or ten would give Gorey the best hand, and while Loosli survived the turn, he could not get past the river as the spiked.
From early position, Pascal Lefrancois opened for 22,000. Aleksei Opalikhin three-bet to 51,000 from the cutoff and Barry Greenstein shoved for 215,000 from the button. Both blinds tanked for some time before they folded, Lefrancois followed suit immediately by tossing his cards into the muck. Opalikhin wasn't overly thrilled but did call.
Barry Greenstein:
Aleksei Opalikhin:
The board ran out and Greenstein was knocked down to 17,000.
A couple hands later, Greenstein was in the big blind for 10,000 with just 2,000 behind. Rasmus Glæselra raised to 22,000 and got some back as Greenstein was the only caller.
Barry Greenstein:
Rasmus Glæsel:
The board ran out and Greenstein headed for the payout desk.
Action folded around to Nick Maimone on the button and he raised to 27,000. Small blind Pascal Lefrancois three-bet to 70,000 and the big blind quickly folded his hand. Action was back on Maimone who four-bet to 175,000. Lefrancois shoved for about 650,000 and Maimone called.
Pascal Lefrancois:
Nick Maimone:
"Wow! Wow!" Rasmus Glæsel said.
"I didn't really wanna flip for so much, but when you three-bet to seventy..." Maimone said while figuring out how much Lafrancois roughly had.
It was the biggest pot of the tournament, the five community cards would decide who the chip leader of the tournament would be.
While Glæsel was still expressing his excitement about the size of the pot, the dealer got underway dealing the board: . It was five blanks for Lefrancois, and he exited the tournament while Maimone got busy stacking.
Day 3 of the PokerStars Championship Bahamas saw the final 125 players from a field of 738 return to action. It was an action-packed day with dozens of eliminations. After five 90-minute levels of play, just 32 players remain with Nick Maimone, who turns 30 tomorrow, and his stack of 1.75 million leading the way.
One year ago, Maimone took down the 2016 PCA $25,000 High Roller for $996,480, and now he’s looking to add the PokerStars Championship Bahamas Main Event title to his résumé, which currently boasts $1,880,865 in live earnings. Maimone’s only other six-figure scores include $633,022 for placing15th in the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event, and $112,972 for finishing runner-up to Jonathan Duhamel in the 2015 PCA Event #31: $5,300 No-Limit Hold’em.
Others still in contention for the $480,012 first-place prize, who’re guaranteed to take home at least $14,760, are Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier, who sits in second with 1.333 million, as well as 2012 PCA champ John Dibella, 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event third-place finisher Cliff Josephy, and 2013 WSOP Main Event champ Ryan Riess.
Those are some big names, but they don’t stop there. Others surviving the night were EPT11 Grand Final champ and 2013 WSOP Europe Main Event winner Adrian Mateos, PokerStars Team Pro Online and Twitch star Jaime Staples, and 2015 Global Poker Index Player of the Year Byron Kaverman.
Among those whose dreams were dashed on Day 3 were Will “The Thrill” Failla (118th – $7,260), 2010 PCA champ Harrison Gimbel (108th - $7,260), 2016 WSOP Main Event 12th-place finisher Mike Shin (93rd - $9,120), and former NFL player Richard Seymour (89th - $9,120).
Also falling was Daniel Colman, who earlier in the week finished third in the $100,000 Super High Roller for $759,660 and fourth in the $50,000 High Roller for $341,240. Colman’s demise came when he called off with pocket nines only to see Scott Stewart hold with pocket kings. Colman added another $11,560 to his bankroll for his 59th-place finish.
Others who bowed out before the end of the night were former EPT champs Arnaud Mattern (85th - $9,120), Mike “Timex” McDonald (52nd - $11,560) and Davidi Kitai (45th - $14,760), 2013 WSOP Main Event fourth-place finisher Sylvain Loosli (48th - $11,560), Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein (37th - $14,760), and WSOP bracelet winner Pascal Lefrancois (39th - $14,760), who lost the biggest pot of the tournament thus far when his ace-king failed to get there against Maimone’s pocket queens late in the evening.
Players will return to action at noon local time on Thursday with the plan of playing four 90-minute levels. Once again, PokerNews will be at the Atlantis Resort to bring you all the live updates straight from the tournament floor, so be sure to join us then. While you wait, check out this video of PokerStars Team Pro Online’s Kevin Martin opening up about poker, streaming, and more.