Hall Leads Final Three in Event #62: $888 Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold'em 8-Handed; Play Resumes Thursday, July 5th
Day 3 of Event #62: $888 Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold'em 8-Handed has come to an end after the ten scheduled levels were played and the USA's Galen Hall will be leading the returning three players when play resumes on Thursday, July 5th.
Hall bagged up 30,100,000 with Niels Herregodts (24,750,000) and Eduards Kudrjavcevs (16,400,000) his two remaining challengers for the $888,888 first-place prize.
The Final Three
| Room | Table | Seat | Player Name | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brasilia | 1 | 1 | Galen Hall | United States | 30,100,000 |
| Brasilia | 1 | 2 | Niels Herregodts | Belgium | 24,750,000 |
| Brasilia | 1 | 3 | Eduards Kudrjavcevs | Latvia | 16,400,000 |
As mentioned, there will be a break in play to give the three remaining players the opportunity to play the final WSOP Main Event Day 1 flight on Wednesday, 4 July.
Action of the Day
The day started with the remaining 29 players all sizing each other out, and within the first two hours of play, only five players had departed from the field. As the blinds increased and the pressure mounted there was suddenly a flurry of exits as the field was quickly reduced to 16 players.
Among the players to fall before the final two tables were redrawn was 888poker ambassador Chris Moorman. The Brit, who will captain the UK side in the 888poker Main Event Team challenge, departed after he called a three-bet shove from fellow Englishman Paul Vas Nunes and saw the bad news — his ace-queen was behind to pocket queens. Moorman got no help from the board, and his deep run in the Crazy Eights ended in 23rd place for $27,661.
Vas Nunes himself departed shortly after when his pocket nines couldn't hold against the ace-king of Kudrjavcevs, and he had to settle for $27,661 in 17th place.
Ohio firefighter Michael Barlow played in honor of his friend who was due to come to Vegas for the WSOP but fell ill shortly before and sadly passed away. Barlow was able to make an impressive run and ultimately finished in 16th place for $34,577.
Arthur Conan (15th - $34,577), Dara Taherpour (14th - $43,539), Fabrice Casano (13th - $43,539), Smith Collins (12th - $55,222), Shai Zurr (11th - $55,222), and Hunter Frey (10th - $70,546), were all eliminated before the unofficial final table of nine was set.
Final Table Results So Far
| Position | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $888,888 | ||
| 2 | $476,888 | ||
| 3 | $355,888 | ||
| 4 | Andrey Zaichenko | Russia | $266,888 |
| 5 | Alexander Kuzmin | Russia | $201,888 |
| 6 | Jeremiah Miesen | United States | $153,888 |
| 7 | Martin Stausholm | Denmark | $117,888 |
| 8 | Philip Tom | United States | $90,888 |
When the players sat down at the final table, it didn't take long for them to settle into the action with two early eliminations coming in back-to-back hands. Alexandre Novaes narrowly missed out on the official final table after his ace-king lost to Alexander Kuzmin's ace-queen after the queen-of-hearts appeared on the flop to send the Brazilian player out in ninth for a $90,888 payday.
The first casualty of the official final table came the very next hand when Philip Tom's five-bet all in with ace-queen was called by Kudrjavcevs, with the latter holding ace-king to reduce to the table to seven.
Martin Stausholm (7th $117,888), Jeremiah Miesen (6th - $153,888) and Alexander Kuzmin (5th - $201,888) all fell in quick succession beofre Galen Hall eliminated Andrey Zaichenko in 4th place for $266,888 after the former turned a flush with jack-three suited against Zaichenko's two pair.
When the play resumes for the extra day at 2pm on July 5th, the three remaining players will battle it out for the $888,888 first place prize and the coveted gold bracelet.
PokerNews will be back to bring you all the action on Thursday so join us then.
that was checked through to the 
turn. Zaichenko bet 1,500,000. Hall raised to 4,200,000. Zaichenko moved all in and Hall made the call.
river completed the board and Hall's flush was good enough to eliminate Zaichenko in 4th place for $266,888.
and Hall won the pot sending Kuzmin to the rail in 5th place for a $201,888 payday.
was dealt. Stausholm checked. Herregodts moved all in for around 10,000,000. Stausholm called, putting at risk his last 850,000, and the cards were tabled.
turn and 
and Miesen took down the pot, sending Frey to the rail, in 10th place for $70,546.
