The World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Hard Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open (SHRRPO) $3,500 Main Event had a competitive Day 3. A double knockout occurred and only 15 entrants advanced to Day 4 which played on Tuesday at noon.
Istvan Briski topped the leaderboard with 11,875,000 chips and was the only one with an over 10 million stack. Yet, he would use his 158 big blinds to compete for December’s WPT World Championship’s seat and the $752,500 top prize in the Main Event.
Sandy Sanchez was the second player with 9,575,000 chips. Rayan Chamas, Latt Bond and Alejandro Gonzalez-Olaechea were the third, fourth and fifth largest stacks.
The Double Knockout
Day 3 kicked off with 83 players out of the initial 1,447 entrants. It was fast paced for several hours before a double knockout took place in the day’s final hand thus reducing the field to 15 players. Alessio Isaia and Robert Kennedy got busted in the 16th position.
The former used ace-king of hearts to move all-in and face Olaechea’s ace-queen of diamonds. But, the board ran out with three more diamonds for Olaechea hence busting Isaia.
Kennedy used the king-queen of clubs to move all-in when he clashed with Briski’s king-queen of diamonds. Diamonds completed the board earning Briski a flush while busting Kennedy in the 16th position. Other players who cashed despite missing a seat at the final table included Justin Zaki, Joseph Reddick, Chad Eveslage and Dmitrii Perfilev.
The First Table’s Seat Draw
The following were the table’s chip counts;
- Gergely Kulcsar from Hungary-3,550,000 chips and 47 big blinds
- Rishi Makkar from Canada-2,450,000 chips and 33 big blinds
- Viktor Kovachev from Bulgaria-2,675,000 chips and 36 big blinds
- Alejandro Gonzalez Olaechea from spain-7,150,000 chips and 95 big blinds
- Luke Graham from the U.S.-825,000 chips and 11 big blinds
- Istvan Briski from Hungary-11,875,000 chips and 158 big blinds
- Lucian Silveira from Brazil-2,325,000 chips and 31 big blinds
The table started with an empty eighth seat and was Briski’s first time to score on the WPT. The Hendon Mob indicates that the player has $235,968 lifetime poker winnings.
Olaechea has cashed thrice in WPT and Gergely Kulscar followed him with 47 big blinds. It was the latter’s first deep run in the WPT.
The Second Table’s Seat Draw
Its participants had the following chip counts;
- Jason Sagle from Canada-3,025,000 chips and 40 big blinds
- Matt Bond from the U.S.-7,575,000 chips and 101 big blinds
- Darryll Fish from the U.S.-3,650,000 chips and 49 big blinds
- Fred Goldberg from the U.S.-3,750,000 chips and 50 big blinds
- Jack McDonald from the U.S.-2,300,000 chips and 31 big blinds
- Sandy Snachez from the U.S.-9,575,000 chips and 128 big blinds
- Niko Koop from Germany-3,475,000 chips and 46 big blinds
- Rayan Chamas from Lebanon-7,925,000 chips and 106 big blinds
Sanchez, the table’s leader, has cashed once in WPT during the 2023 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. Chamas and Bond followed him closely, each having more than 100 big blinds.
