EPT Deauville Day 3: Shahaf Hadaya Leads The Way
Day 3 of the PokerStars.fr European Poker Tour Deauville main event has been written into the history books after five 90-minute levels were completed inside the Casino Barriere. At the start of play there were 154 players in the field, but by the time the curtain came down on the day’s proceedings just 51 remained. The title of overnight chip leader went to Shahaf Hadaya who ended the day with 1,237,000 chips.
With the top 120 places being paid in this event there were 34 players who exited the tournament today without receiving any prize money. Some of those who fell before the money bubble burst included Ana Marquez, Steve O’Dwyer, Dermot Blain and Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso.
The bubble burst as the players headed out for refreshments at the very end of Level 16, Said Basri being the unfortunate soul to finish in 121st place. Basri’s final hand saw Christophe Lesage open to 8,000 preflop, David Susigan and Basri tossed in his last 10,500 into the pot. Yury Gulyy called and both Lesage and Susigan called the under-raise. The active players checked down the 
board, Susigan’s 
being the hand responsible for sending Basri to the rail.
Basri’s demise meant everyone else had locked up a payday of at least €8,000. Marion Nedellec was the first player to head to the cash desk, Team PokerStars Pro Sandra Naujoks was not too far behind her, while Naujoks' fellow Team Pro Matthias De Meulder managed to climb the pay ladder slightly – his 75th place finish was worth €9,700.
Our overnight chip leader will sleep easy tonight knowing he is on course for his largest career cash. Hadaya, an Israeli national, has a handful of live tournament cashes, the largest topping the scales at $30,920. Currently, he is guaranteed to leave Deauville with at least €13,500 ($18,250) for his efforts, but if he manages to navigate his way through tomorrow’s Day 4 then he will secure a €23,000 ($31,100). There is of course the not-so-small matter of a €770,000 ($1,041,325) prize awaiting our eventual champion.
Starting Day 4 within touching distance of Hadaya are the likes of Matthieu Herve (1,050,000 chips), British duo Sam Grafton (985,000) and James Mitchell (983,000) and our sole Australia representative James Bills (877,000). Other players to look out for on Friday include Jeffrey Hakim (714,000), Mathew Frankland (606,000), Gordon Huntly (387,000), Jason Koon (386,000), Kristijonas Andrulis (365,000) and our last two remaining former EPT champions Salvatore Bonavena (321,000) and Lucien Cohen (209,000).
Day 4 kicks off at 12:00CET on Friday and PokerNews will be on the tournament floor bringing you all the action as it happens. Until then, it is good night from Deauville!
EPT Deauville End-of-Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Position | Name | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shahaf Hadaya | 1,237,000 |
| 2 | Matthieu Herve | 1,050,000 |
| 3 | Sam Grafton | 985,000 |
| 4 | James Mitchell | 983,000 |
| 5 | Aurelien Guiglini | 942,000 |
| 6 | James Bills | 877,000 |
| 7 | Hugo Pingray | 768,000 |
| 8 | Jeffrey Hakim | 714,000 |
| 9 | Cyril Andre | 669,000 |
| 10 | [Removed:4] | 643,000 |
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flop, Boucher holding 
. There was a chink of light at the end of a particularly dark tunnel when the 
came on the turn but the 
river gave the pot to the Russian.
and the big blind called with 
, with Rudelitz snap-calling de Meulder's final bet. The Belgian pro had a pair of aces, but Rudelitz showed a winner with 
against Nicolas Faure's 
.
and 
river missed Faure's pair and flush draw and the latter banged the table incredibly hard with his fist.
when the board came 
.
and was called by Pascal Leyo with 
board.
