Day 3 of Event #6: High Roller for One Drop - $111,111 No-Limit Hold'em began with 23 players remaining from the starting field of 130 entries. After more than four levels of play, only nine players remain in hopes of capturing the first-place prize of $3,686,865 and a prestigious World Series of Poker bracelet.
Only 20 players made the money, and it was Dan Shak who was the unfortunate bubble boy. He committed his short stack with ace-jack against the jack-five held by Scott Seiver, but running straight cards delivered a devastating beat to Shak and sent the remaining players into the money. Among those who busted afterward were Big One for One Drop Champions Dan Colman and Antonio Esfandiari.
Unable to gain any traction before the money was reached, Colman steadily dropped down the leaderboard before committing his remaining 11 big blinds with pocket deuces. Chris Moore looked him up with ace-jack, and a jack on the flop sent the 2014 Big One for One Drop Champion to the rail in 16th place. Esfandiari made an ill-timed move with a jack-high flush draw and ran into Rainer Kempe's aces and ace-high flush draw, ending the 2012 Big One for One Drop Champion's tournament in 11th place.
Down to 10 players, 14-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth and Haralabos Voulgaris exchanged turns as the short stack. Ultimately, it was Hellmuth who bowed out in 10th place and bubbled the unofficial final table. Hellmuth committed his final five big blinds with ace-four, but 2014 Main Event Champion Martin Jacobson woke up with ace-king and ended Hellmuth's bid for a third One Drop final table.
Jacobson will begin the final table second in chips, but well out in front with the chip lead is Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier. Grospellier began the day as the chip leader and quickly extended his lead when the money was reached, eliminating Igor Kurganov, Charlie Carrel, and Seiver to reach the 17-million-chip mark. He dipped slightly below that mark by the time play ended, but commands a sizable chip lead for Monday's action.
Here is the table and seat assignments for the unofficial final table of nine players:
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Dario Sammartino
Italy
7,975,000
50
2
Bertrand Grospellier
France
16,825,000
105
3
Rainer Kempe
Germany
5,760,000
36
4
Andrew Robl
United States
6,670,000
41
5
Doug Polk
United States
6,090,000
38
6
Haralabos Voulgaris
Canada
2,865,000
18
7
Michael Kamran
United States
3,470,000
21
8
Chris Moore
United States
7,600,000
47
9
Martin Jacobson
Sweden
8,890,000
55
Play resumes at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, so be sure to keep it here as we provide hand-for-hand action as the quest to crown the newest One Drop Champion concludes.
At a five-handed table, Dario Sammartino was first to act and raised to 360,000. His neighbor, 14-time bracelet winner and two-time One Drop final tablist Phil Hellmuth, shoved for 785,000. Martin Jacobson, on the button, min-raised to 1,210,000. Both blinds folded, and so did Sammartino.
Phil Hellmuth:
Martin Jacobson:
"Nice hand," Hellmuth said gracefully.
The board ran out , and Hellmuth said, "Good game!"
After finishing fourth for $2,645,333 in 2012 and sixth in 2015 for $696,821, it's now a 10th-place finish for the "Poker Brat". It earns him $312,006 this time.
The nine remaining players are bagging and tagging for the night and will return to the felt tomorrow, all guaranteed $312,006 as they'll battle for the $3,686,865 first-place prize.
Antonio Esfandiari raised to 400,000 from the button, Chris Moore three-bet to 1,050,000 from the small blind, and Esfandiari tanked for about two minutes before he folded.
The following hand, Esfandiari opened to 375,000 from the cutoff, and Rainer Kempe three-bet to 950,000 from the big blind. Esfandiari called, and the flop came down .
Kempe bet 450,000, Esfandiari raised to 1,700,000, Kempe reraised all in, and Esfandiari called all in for about 3,500,000.
Kempe:
Esfandiari:
The turn was the , giving Esfandiari a few outs to chop. However, the river was the , and Esfandiari was eliminated in 11th place.
Byron Kaverman was first to act and shoved for 1.5 million total. On the button, Michael Kamran asked for a count and shoved over the top. Small blind Dario Sammartino and big blind Phil Hellmuth were both quick to fold.
Byron Kaverman:
Michael Kamran:
The board ran out an uneventful , and Kaverman said his goodbyes.
After his 12th-place finish in 2015, Kaverman matches it in 12th place once again. Two years ago, he took home $332,593; he'll receive $257,072 this time.
Antonio Esfandiari raised all in from the hijack for 1,705,000, and Doug Polk called from the small blind. Esfandiari showed and was racing with Polk's .
"Let's win a flip, boys!" yelled Esfandiari.
The board ran out , giving Esfandiari a king-high flush to double through Polk.
"We're back in business, boys!" shouted Esfandiari while dancing.
Dan Colman moved all in for 1,090,000 from the cutoff. As the decision folded around to Chris Moore in the big blind, he asked for a count, then called.
Moore:
Colman:
Colman had the lead with the pocket pair until the board ran out . Moore spiked a jack on the flop to take down the pot, sending the 2014 One Drop champion to the rail in 16th place.
The action folded around to Simon Lam in the small blind who moved all in for 1,120,000. Byron Kaverman was in the big blind and went into the tank for over a minute. He eventually called having Lam barely covered by 35,000.
Kaverman:
Lam:
The board ran out , improving Kaverman to a full house and sending Lam home in 17th place for $166,666.
The remaining 16 players will now redraw for the final two tables.
![[user139916]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, and Hellmuth said, "Good game!"
.
, giving Esfandiari a few outs to chop. However, the river was the 
, and Esfandiari was eliminated in 11th place.
, and Kaverman said his goodbyes. 
, giving Kempe a pair of threes to eliminate Behbehani in 13th place.
and was racing with Polk's 
.
.
. Moore spiked a jack on the flop to take down the pot, sending the 2014 One Drop champion to the rail in 16th place.
, improving Kaverman to a full house and sending Lam home in 17th place for $166,666. 