Gierse Leads; Song Still Singing as $15k TLPT Main Event Enters Finale
The stage is set for what promises to be an arduous battle for the title at Landing Casino in Jeju Shinhwa World Resort as 15 players remain in The Lord Poker Tour $15,000 Main Event. Today, they will compete for the $750,000 top prize, which represents the lion's share of the $3,000,000 prize pool.
A frenzied Day 2 saw the field swell to 191 total entries (thanks to a late registration extension) and by the time the last card was dealt, Germany’s Marius Gierse found himself with a bag worth a commanding 7,545,000 after a late-night surge put him well ahead of the pack. Sitting a distance second is fellow German pro Martin Sedlak, who ended with 4,755,000.
Day 3 Seat Draw and Chip Counts
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | Quan Zhou | China | 2,140,000 | 27 |
| 2 | 2 | Stephen Song | United States | 3,330,000 | 42 |
| 2 | 3 | Martin Sedlak | Germany | 4,755,000 | 59 |
| 2 | 4 | Patrik Demus | Hungary | 2,250,000 | 28 |
| 2 | 5 | Junbo Qu | China | 1,370,000 | 17 |
| 2 | 6 | James Mendoza | Philippines | 4,085,000 | 51 |
| 2 | 7 | Ivan Zhang | China | 3,550,000 | 44 |
| 2 | 8 | Huawei Lin | China | 4,265,000 | 53 |
| 3 | 1 | Martin Nielsen | Faroe Islands | 3,505,000 | 44 |
| 3 | 3 | Haitao Lei | China | 985,000 | 12 |
| 3 | 4 | Gary Thompson | Ireland | 1,460,000 | 18 |
| 3 | 5 | Marius Gierse | Germany | 7,545,000 | 94 |
| 3 | 6 | Mauricio Salazar Sanchez | Colombia | 1,920,000 | 24 |
| 3 | 7 | Bin Leng | China | 1,915,000 | 24 |
| 3 | 8 | Jiaming Zhao | China | 4,685,000 | 59 |
Also in the hunt is poker crusher Stephen Song with a healthy stack worth 3,300,000. Song, who boasts over $9 million in live-tournaments earnings, will be looking to best a seventh-place finish in the $500 Circuit Main just a couple days ago and add to what is already an epic poker résumé.
Each of the remaining players is guaranteed at least $38,000, but it’s the trophy and three-quarters of a million that everyone has their eyes on.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize ($USD) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $ 750,000 |
| 2 | $ 450,000 |
| 3 | $ 320,000 |
| 4 | $ 220,000 |
| 5 | $ 170,000 |
| 6 | $ 130,000 |
| 7 | $ 100,000 |
| 8 | $ 76,000 |
| 9-10 | $ 62,000 |
| 11-12 | $ 52,000 |
| 13-14 | $ 44,000 |
| 15 | $ 38,000 |
Cards will be in the air at 1 p.m. local time, but PokerNews will report on a delay to match the stream, which can be found on the TLPT YouTube page. Play will resume with a few minutes left on Level 22, which features 40,000/80,000 blinds with an 80,000 big-blind ante. Levels henceforth will last 50 minutes each.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team brings you wire-to-wire coverage of Day 3 action leading right up until the inaugural $15k Main Event Champion is crowned!