The action was caught on a turn of 2♣2♦5♠2♥, where Davide Castellani checked from the big blind to Jakub Sterba in middle position. Sterba bet 200,000 into the pot of 300,000, which was called by Castellani.
Sterba sized up to 450,000 on the 10♣ river. Castellani mulled it over a bit but eventually tossed in a call. Sterba tabled Q♦10♦ for deuces full of tens and was awarded the pot when Castellani mucked his cards.
Yossi Maymon had gone all-in for 650,000 from middle position and was called by Alessandro Giordano in the cutoff.
Yossi Maymon: A♥K♦
Alessandro Giordano: 10♥10♣
The 6♣7♠10♠ flop provided Maymon with little hope as Giordano made a set. The J♣ provided a sweat, but Maymon's gutshot bricked on the 4♦ river, sending him home.
Presiyan Tsvetanov had opened under the gun when the action folded to Friedrich Raez in the small blind. Not having seen Tsvetanov's raise, he announced an all-in bet, covering the 950,000 chips of Tsvetanov.
Tsvetanov instantly called, and, after some initial confusion, both players showed down.
Presiyan Tsvetanov: A♣K♥
Friedrich Raez: Q♦J♣
Raez paired up on the 9♥J♦4♦ flop and was upgraded to a flush on the 10♦7♦ runout. Tsvetanov amicably said his goodbyes as a visibly relieved Raez was awarded the big pot.
Preflop, Harel Azulay and Daniele Casino had battled blind-on-blind when Casino's stack of 1,090,000 ended up in the middle.
Daniele Casino: Q♠Q♥
Harel Azulay: J♠J♣
"I know a jack is coming, the jack of hearts," Azulay claimed.
However, the jack of hearts nor the jack of diamonds showed itself on the 2♦A♠5♠5♣2♣ board. Casino doubled up to an above-average stack while Azulay was left with merely 11 big blinds.
Simone Avancini had raised to 80,000 from early position when Alexandre Duraes jammed in his 520,000 chips from the small blind. Avancini mulled it over a bit and then decided to call with the covering stack.
Alexandre Duraes: A♠K♦
Simone Avancini: 2♥2♦
Duraes received no help on the 10♥6♣8♥9♠5♠ board. Avancini's bottom pair held, and he raked in the pot as Duraes went looking for the exit.
Andrii Nikitin had raised to 80,000 preflop, which Fabrizio Galetta clicked to 150,000. Nikitin made the call, and a flop of 4♠2♠5♠ fanned.
Galetta continued for 100,000, being check-raised to 250,000 by Nikitin. Galetta then pushed all in for 850,000 and was snapped off by Nikitin.
Fabrizio Galetta: A♠K♦
Andrii Nikitin: Q♠7♠
Nikitin had flopped a flush after the good price he got preflop. Galetta could still win the pot if a fourth spade hit the board, but the deck had the 3♥ turn and 9♣ river in store instead.
Darius Neagoe had committed his stack of 1,055,000 from the button and was called by Gaspare Sposato in the big blind.
Darius Neagoe: A♦Q♥
Gaspare Sposato: A♣J♣
The 10♦A♥K♣ flop meant the players switched outs. The 8♠ turn changed nothing, but Neagoe hit Broadway on the J♥ river to secure his double-up to 40 big blinds.
Friedrich Raez raised to 120,000 in the cutoff and called when small blind Francesco Legnaro made it 375,000 to go.
The pair checked through the 7♥10♦A♣ flop before the 7♦ appeared on the turn. Legnaro made a delayed continuation-bet of 250,000, which Raez raised to 640,000.
"No," Legnaro declared determinedly as he folded his K♠K♣ face up. Raez smiled as he showed 3♠3♣ for a bluff and crossed the five-million mark once more.
Day 3 of the PokerStars Open Campione (PSO) €1,100 Main Event is in the books. The day started with 189 players returning to Casino di Campione out of the 2,423 total entries, and after 13 hours of play, only 26 contenders for the €363,000 top prize remained.
Leading them is Spanish player Manel Montalban, who ended Day 3 with a stack of 5,875,000. Montalban is shrouded in mystery as his only recorded cash stems from 2013, a 73rd place at the Estrellas Main Event during EPT Barcelona, but, with much of the €2,326,080 prize pool still to be divided, he is looking to make a splash with his return to the live poker scene at PSO Campione.
The similarly unknown Salvatore Russo spent most of the day at the top of the leaderboard after hitting a flush draw in an all-in and ended second in chips with 5,620,000. Andreas Putz completes the podium with 5,110,000, while Friedrich Raezbluffed his way to 5,070,000 for fourth place.
Friedrich Raez
End of Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Day 4 Big Blinds
1
Manel Montalban
Spain
5,875,000
98
2
Salvatore Russo
Italy
5,620,000
94
3
Andreas Putz
Austria
5,110,000
85
4
Friedrich Raez
Switzerland
5,070,000
85
5
Jakub Sterba
Czechia
4,925,000
82
6
Giorgio Soceanu
Italy
4,645,000
77
7
Mykhailo Demydenko
Ukraine
4,410,000
74
8
Andrii Nikitin
Ukraine
3,875,000
65
9
Christian Andronico
France
3,615,000
60
10
Gaspare Sposato
Italy
3,390,000
57
Day 1 chipleader Darius Neagoe is still in contention with a stack of 1,705,000 after doubling late. Other notable names in the bottom half of the field are Romanian regular Adrian State (2,135,000) and UK grinders Christopher Day (1,650,000) and Stephen Barnes (1,550,000). Petre Ionescu also made it to Day 2 with 2,720,000, having held the chiplead before losing it to Montalban after a flush-over-flush situation.
Day 3 Action
The eliminations flowed steadily throughout the early levels of the day. Italian grinder Alessandro Pichierri started the day as one of the short stacks and fell in 166th for €2,720. Antoine Labat (150th) and Gabi Livshitz (148th) received the same amount, while Ivan Banic made the pay jump to €3,130 with his 143th place.
Benjamin Bruneteaux was the last PokerStars Ambassador in the field. After an uneventful day, he jammed his final 11 big blinds on the feature table, losing a flip to be eliminated in 123rd. As a small consolation, the €3,130 he received marked his new best live score.
Benjamin Bruneteaux
Yossi Maymon started the day as the overwhelming chipleader but lost pot after pot. Eventually, he got his remaining 20 big blinds in preflop and lost a flip to bust in 55th for €5,490. Last American standing Terrance Reid bowed out in 36th for €6,330, while Harel Azulay (28th - €7,280) and Besnik Lalinovci (27th - €8,600) were the final eliminations of the night.
The remaining 26 players have locked up the same €8,600 as Lalinovci, but with the final table in sight, all eyes will be on the six-figure prizes reserved for the top four spots.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize
Place
Prize
1
€363,000
10-11
€25,650
2
€225,200
12-13
€21,380
3
€160,880
16-17
€14,860
4
€123,760
18-20
€12,370
5
€95,190
21-23
€10,320
6
€73,210
24-26
€8,600
7
€56,330
8
€43,340
9
€33,320
Day 4 will reccomence tomorrow, March 16, at 12:30 p.m. local time. The blinds will be at 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. The levels will remain 75 minutes long until the final seven are reached, at which point they will last 10 minutes per player still in the tournament. If a deal is agreed at any point, the clock will be set to 30 minutes per level, regardless of how many players are left.
Day 4 is the final day of the PSO Campione Main Event, so play will not stop until a winner has been declared. Check back in with PokerNews tomorrow, as you do not want to miss the thrilling finale of the first-ever PokerStars Open.
