Day 3 of the PokerStars Open Manchester Main Event has now concluded. After almost ten full levels, the field of 49 players who returned is down to just six who are in contention for the lion's share of the £1,000,000 prize pool. The winner set to take home £174,400 and a prestigious PS trophy.
UK pro Christopher Brammer, who has over $2.7 million in recorded live tournament earnings and a WSOP bracelet to his name, bagged in first place with 8,725,000 chips after knocking out several of his peers, including the start of Day 2 chip leader Ravi Sheth.
It's snug at the top, though, as 2023 UKIPT Blackpool winner Tuan Le trails by just a few big blinds after finishing the day with 8,250,000. Between them, Brammer and Le have almost two-thirds of all the chips in play. Still, all it takes is a double up or two and it's anyone's game.
Trailing Le in the chip counts is Hasmukh Khodiyara, who ended Day 3 with 3,950,000, less than half of Le’s stack. The UK player has posted some solid results in the past.
Fourth place Mohamed Kerkeni could be a dark horse in the competition. The french player who is now based in Manchester has several five-figure live scores, but he's more of an online player and used to be a Supernova Elite on PokerStars, implying that he's put in insane amounts of online volume.
Adam Andersson of Sweden bagged in fifth after qualifying for the event in an online satellite for $109, which he late regged for with 30-seconds to spare. Andersson has already locked up a career-best score on the PS Open final table.
Finally, fan favourite Sinead Davenport sits in sixth place with a short stack of 1,275,000. The UK pro will need to find an immediate double up if she is to bring herself back into contention for the top spots.
End of Day 3 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christopher Brammer | United Kingdom | 8,725,000 | 58 |
| 2 | Tuan Le | United Kingdom | 8,250,000 | 55 |
| 3 | Hasmukh Khodiyara | United Kingdom | 3,950,000 | 26 |
| 4 | Mohamed Kerkeni | France | 3,050,000 | 20 |
| 5 | Adam Andersson | Sweden | 2,400,000 | 16 |
| 6 | Sinead Davenport | United Kingdom | 1,275,000 | 9 |
PokerStars Ambassador Kenny Hallaert was among the Day 3 players. He started the day strong before losing most of his stack. After being reduced to just a few big blinds, Hallaert then successfully span it up before eventually losing a flip and busting to Michel Molenaar in 24th place.
Jack Hardcastle fell victim to his own aggression, busting earlier than expected after barrelling three streets and getting called down by queens.
Molenaar had a great run himself, starting off with a short stack and chipping up before bluffing off his stack to Brammer and finishing in 11th place before Hamza Nasir busted out in 10th to set the final table.
John Adderley, Sheth and Iulian-Petrut Petrache all hit the rail on the final table, finishing in ninth, eighth and seventh, respectively, to close out Day 3.
The Final Day of the PokerStars Open Main Event will commence at 12:30 p.m. local time with blinds at 75,000/150,000/150,000. A new PokerStars open champion is soon to be crowned! Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates straight from the tournament floor.
