Justin Liberto raised to 125,000 in the hijack, Phong Nguyen three-bet to 400,000 on the button, and Liberto folded.
Nguyen then opened to 125,000 in the cutoff, and Jonathan Moritz moved all in for 940,000 in the small blind. Nguyen took a minute before folding.
Patrick Martorella raised to 150,000 under the gun and Kyle Smith three-bet to 350,000 in the cutoff. Martorella then moved all in for 1,300,000.
"Okay, now we're even," Smith said as he quickly folded.
"Not quite," Martorella replied with a laugh.
Patrick Martorella raised to 150,000 on the button and Kyle Smith called in the big blind.
The flop came 8♦7♦5♠ and Martorella bet 210,000. Smith then raised to 575,000, and Martorella called.
Smith checked the 2♣ turn, and Martorella moved all in. Smith went deep into the tank as he considered the decision for his last 2,575,000.
"Will you show if I fold?" he asked Martorella.
"I'll show if you show," Martorella replied.
"We both might end up showing," Smith added. Several minutes went by before he eventually called.
Kyle Smith: J♦8♠ 
Patrick Martorella: 4♦3♦
Smith was ahead with top pair, while Martorella had straight and flush draws. "Please hold," Smith pleaded, and he got his wish on the 10♣ river.
"Let's go! That's a huge call with a bunch of short stacks around," Smith shouted out as he earned the massive double up.
Justin Liberto raised to 125,000 in the cutoff and Patrick Martorella called in the big blind.
The flop came 8♥4♣4♠ and Liberto bet 100,000. Martorella called, and the Q♦ fell on the turn.
Liberto then bet 165,000, and Martorella again called. Both players checked the J♥ river, and Martorella showed K♦4♦ for trips to win the pot.
Jonathan Moritz raised to 125,000 in the cutoff, Kyle Smith three-bet to 350,000 on the button, and Moritz folded.
Smith then raised to 125,000 in the hijack and Chris Kiani called on the button.
Both players checked the 7♥6♥5♦ flop. Smith then bet 100,000 on the 8♠ turn, and Kiani folded.
The six finalists have taken their seats and posed for a group photo, and action at the final table is underway.
There are 36 minutes remaining in the current level.
Level: 25
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 60,000
A champion will be crowned today when the final table of the Potomac Summer Poker Open $3,000 Main Event begins at 1 p.m. local time.
Six players return to the MGM National Harbor poker room to chase the $154,006 top prize and BetMGM trophy after outlasting a field of 280 players. Among them is Justin Liberto, who’s continuing a scorching summer that’s already seen him make three final tables at the WSOP, including winning his second career bracelet.
Liberto enters the final table in third place with 3,530,000 as he looks to add to his more than $8 million in live earnings. He and the rest of the field, however, are looking up at Patrick Martorella. The New York native is the chip leader with 3,805,000, and while he already has more than $530,000 in career earnings, the first-place prize would be the largest on his resume by far.
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Kiani | United States | 1,290,000 | 22 |
| 2 | Phong Nguyen | United States | 3,750,000 | 63 |
| 3 | Patrick Martorella | United States | 3,805,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Jonathan Moritz | United States | 1,610,000 | 27 |
| 5 | Kyle Smith | United States | 2,840,000 | 47 |
| 6 | Justin Liberto | United States | 3,530,000 | 59 |
Phong Nguyen is in second place with 3,750,000. He also has a WSOP final table from 2022 and is coming off a deep run in the WSOP Main Event last month. Kyle Smith (2,840,000) is in fourth place, while Jonathan Moritz (1,610,000) sits in fifth. Moritz earned his seat into this event in a BetMGM online qualifier and has already eclipsed his total career earnings combined with his run this week. Chris Kiani, who has no recorded live cashes, completes the final table lineup as the short stack with 1,290,000.
The action at the final table picks up with 36 minutes remaining in Level 25 with blinds of 30,000/60,000 and a 60,000 big blind ante. Levels will remain 60 minutes throughout the day. Each of the six finalists has already locked up $37,204 out of the $756,000 prize pool for making it this far.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $154,006 | ||
| 2 | $112,048 | ||
| 3 | $83,320 | ||
| 4 | $60,640 | ||
| 5 | $48,544 | ||
| 6 | $37,204 | ||
| 7 | Nicholas Verderamo | United States | $28,132 |
| 8 | Kevin Kwak | United States | $20,118 |
| 9 | Casey Hatmaker | United States | $14,902 |
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PokerNews will be following the action until the champion is crowned, so stay tuned for all the updates.
$3,000 NLH Main Event
Day 3 Started
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