Last Minute Cooler Keeps Alfie Poetra on Top in Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship
Table Of Contents
The final 16 players are set in the World Poker Tour Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship, with Alfie Poetra maintaining his lead after another action-packed day at Bay 101 Casino in San Jose, California.
Poetra ended Day 3 with 4,770,000 (95 big blinds) after delivering a final-hand cooler to Derek Wang to win the biggest pot of the tournament so far. His kings held against queens to cement his place atop the counts.
Chance Kornuth (4,085,000 - 82 big blinds), who began the day third in chips, bagged the third-biggest stack once again, while Kharlin Sued (4,100,000 - 82 big blinds) climbed into second after a late double-up when his queens held against 2015 Bay 101 champion Taylor Paur (300,000 - 6 big blinds).
Paur was left with just six big blinds and will begin Day 4 at the bottom of the leaderboard, joined in the danger zone by Nicholas Palma (470,000 - 9 big blinds), the only other player with fewer than ten big blinds.
Fans of Nick Rigby will note that the "Dirty Diaper" maestro couldn't maintain his start-of-day second-biggest stack and bowed out in 20th place for $28,500.
Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship Info:
- Buy-in: $5,300
- Entries: 672
- Players Remaining: 16
- Prize Pool: $3,225,600
- Top Prize: $480,700
All payouts can be found here.
Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship Chip Counts
Who's Still in the Mix?
Kornuth and Paur are two of the three members of the WPT Champions Club still in contention. Kornuth captured his maiden WPT title at Choctaw in 2022, while Justin Young — the third remaining champion — is chasing his first WPT crown in nearly a decade.
Young, who took down the 2016 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, has also carved out a strong presence in the poker content space. He co-hosts the Table 1 Podcast alongside Julian "Art" Parmann, a show that's quickly gaining traction for its laid-back conversations with some of poker's biggest names.
Recent guests have included 2025 WSOP Main Event champion Michael Mizrachi, PokerGO founder Cary Katz, and old-school legend Steve Zolotow, among others.
Victoria Livschitz, the last woman standing, is also in the midst of another deep run in a large-field event, joined by established pros Danny Wong, Michael Berk, and Ben Underwood.
Meanwhile, Yuefan Wang and Aobo Li remain the relative unknowns of the group but are both enjoying breakout performances. According to The Hendon Mob, Wang has already secured the biggest score of his career. He entered the event with $67,635 in live earnings and a previous best cash of $10,909, but whatever happens on Day 4, he'll cross the $100,000 career milestone.
Li, who had $21,416 in total live earnings from five 2025 cashes, has also surpassed his previous marks. Before Bay 101, his largest buy-in cashed was an $1,100 event, but his $5,300 buy-in shot take has already more than doubled his total poker earnings.
Final Six to be Set After Day 4
The Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship resumes on Tuesday, October 28, at 12 p.m. PDT. Day 4 begins at Level 24 with blinds of 25,000/50,000 and a 50,000 big blind ante.
Play will continue until just six players remain, advancing to the televised WPT Final Table in December, which will be filmed in Las Vegas.
Each remaining player has already locked up $33,500, with the next elimination earning a pay jump to $38,000. Those who reach the televised final table will be guaranteed at least $101,000, while the eventual champion will claim $480,700 and a $10,400 seat to the season-ending WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas.
You can follow the live updates on WPT.com.
Remaining Payouts
*Includes a $10,400 seat to the season-ending WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas.
Remaining Schedule
While registration for marquee events like the $5,300 Championship has closed, there's still plenty of action left on the calendar for those looking to join the fun.
The remaining open tournaments feature a mix of No-Limit Hold 'em and Omaha formats, with buy-ins ranging from $600 to $2,200
| Date | Time | Event | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue Oct 28 | 9:15 AM | 8 Handed No Limit | $2,200 |
| Tue Oct 28 | 12:00 PM | Shooting Star Championship Day 4 | — |
| Wed Oct 29 | 9:15 AM | Limit Hold 'em | $1,100 |
| Wed Oct 29 | 11:15 AM | 8 Handed No Limit Day 2 | — |
| Wed Oct 29 | 1:15 PM | No Limit Lightning Stack | — |
| Thu Oct 30 | 9:15 AM | Pot Limit Omaha | $1,100 |
| Fri Oct 31 | 9:15 AM | Mystery Board Bounty Day 1A | $1,100 |
| Sat Nov 1 | 9:15 AM | Mystery Board Bounty Day 1B | $1,100 |
| Sun Nov 2 | 9:15 AM | Shooting Star Closer NL | $600 |
| Sun Nov 2 | 11:15 AM | Mystery Board Bounty Day 2 | — |
All imagery courtesy of the World Poker Tour/Spenser Sembrat
