WPT bestbet Jacksonville Day 3: Jaffee Leads Final Six With a Third of the Chips in Play
Season XII of the World Poker Tour continued on Monday with the third and penultimate day of the WPT bestbet Jacksonville Fall Poker Scramble. Leading the six-handed final table is Jared Jaffee, who bagged 3.65 million chips — more than double his closest competitor, Margo Costa, who finished Day 3 with 1.72 million chips.
Jaffee has just over $1.1 million in career live tournament earnings and $811,768 in online tournament earnings, according to PocketFives. With a win, Jaffee would book the largest score ($252,749) of his career — in 2010 he finished runner-up in the Wynn Classic, pocketing $246,477.
Fourth in chips at the final table is Lousiana’s Corrie Wunstel. In May, Wunstel finished 10th in the World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans Main Event for $17,351, and in the summer he finished 65th in the WSOP Main Event, earning $102,102.
| Seat | Player | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randall Price | 940,000 | 23 |
| 2 | Jared Jaffee | 3,650,000 | 91 |
| 3 | Blake Purvis | 1,400,000 | 35 |
| 4 | Margo Costa | 1,720,000 | 43 |
| 5 | Michael Horchoff | 1,525,000 | 38 |
| 6 | Corrie Wunstel | 1,495,000 | 37 |
According to the WPT live updates team, Day 3 began with 26 players from the original 358 entries, and every player was guaranteed at least $8,363. Among the notables in the hunt were Ryan Eriquezzo, Matt Glantz, Stephen Bokor, David Diaz, Jake Bazeley, and Jeff Madsen.
Bokor was eliminated in 24th when he three-bet all in for 14 big blinds with the A♣10♣. Blake Purvis, the original raiser, called with the 4♥4♣. The flop fell K♣Q♦4♣, giving Bokor straight and flush draws, but the turn and river bricked with the 7♠ and 7♦, respectively.
The field was reduced to 18 when Cong Pham, Tom Sheets, and Bill Swaringen exited in places 21st-19th. Pham was crippled when he ran into a full house from Matthew Oswalt, and later exited with the 10♣9♥ against Oswalt’s Q♣9♦. Sheets moved in with two pair against Alexander Ziskin’s flush draw, and Ziskin hit a heart on the river. And Swaringen hit the rail when his A♥A♦ was cracked by Andrew Whitaker’s K♠K♥ in a 25-big blind pot.
Bazeley was the next player to bust when he called an all-in bet with the A♦9♣ on a flop of A♣Q♠8♥. Oswalt showed the J♠10♠ for a double-belly-buster straight draw, but turned a pair of tens when the 10♥ hit the felt. The 9♦ on the river improved his hand to a straight, and Bazeley was off to the cage to collect $12,093.
Madsen was eliminated in 15th place, earning $14,127. The 2004 WSOP Player of the Year open-shoved for roughly 10 big blinds with the A♦Q♦, and he was snapped off by Purvis, who showed the A♣A♥. The aces held up, and Madsen hit the rail.
Glantz survived two more spots, but exited in 12th place, just before the final table was formed. The action folded to Wunstel in the small blind during Level 23: 10,000/20,000/3,000, and he moved all in for effectively 300,000 or so. Glantz called with the A♠2♣, putting himself at risk, and Wunstel showed the 3♦3♥. The red threes held up as the flop, turn, and river came 10♦9♣6♥7♠K♣.
Ziskin’s 11th-place elimination led to the formation of a 10-handed final table, and the first two players to exit were Thad McNulty ($17,292) and Diaz ($23,734). McNulty three-bet all in for about eight big blinds with the J♥10♥, and Jaffee, the original raiser, called with the K♣Q♣. Jaffee’s hand held up, pushing his stack to 1.7 million, and McNulty was out on 10th.
Diaz three-bet shoved for around 13 big blinds with the A♥10♠, and Price, the original raiser, called with the A♠K♠. The dominant hand held up, sending Diaz to the cage.
Jaffee started to chip up during eight-handed play, crossing 2 million chips, but he didn’t take a big lead until he eliminated Eriquezzo in eighth place. During Level 25: 15,000/30,000/5,000, Eriquezzo raised to 60,000 from early position, Jaffee three-bet to 160,000 on his direct left, and the action folded back to Eriquezzo. He moved all in for about 835,000, Jaffee called, and the hands were tabled:
Eriquezzo: 7♣7♦
Jaffee: A♠Q♠
The A♣9♣2♣ flop gave Jaffee a pair of aces, but Eriquezzo held the only club. The turn (2♦) and river (4♦) were both big red bricks, and Eriquezzo was eliminated, earning $31,646.
Play ended for the evening when Oswalt was bounced in seventh place. Oswalt moved all in for around 11 big blinds over an open from Costa, and Costa called with the A♦10♣. Oswalt was well behind with the dominated Q♦10♦, and the better hand held up.
The remaining six players will return on Tuesday at 2 p.m. EST to battle for the $252,749 first-place prize, a seat in the WPT World Championship, and a spot on the WPT Champions Cup. Stay tuned to PokerNews for a full recap upon the completion of play.
Data and photo courtesy of WorldPokerTour.com
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