Phil Ivey & John Hennigan Ahead as Final 38 Begin Day 3 of the Poker Players Championship
Welcome back to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino and the 2019 World Series of Poker for Day 3 of Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship!
Tuesday saw the total registration for the tournament climb to 74 players, as ten new players joined the 64 entrants from Day 1, including the last-minute participation of Tom Dwan, who would later bust in the final level. Of that group, only Brian Hastings, Chris Klodnicki, Tomer Daniel, and Illya Trincher were able to find a bag, while Marco Johnson, Jake Abdallah, Cary Katz, Bryn Kenney, and Daniel Alaei all were eliminated before the end of the night.
Michael Mizrachi won't be adding a fourth Poker Player's Championship bracelet to his tally, as he succumbed to Prahlad Friedman in a round of Pot-Limit Omaha. Likewise, former champions David Bach, Elior Sion and two-time winner Brian Rast were all eliminated, and a total of thirty-five players fell in Day 2 action, including Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen, Nick Schulman, Stephen Chidwick, Eli Elezra, Scott Seiver and Justin Bonomo, who had gone into play second-in-chips.
Ten-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Ivey comes into Day 3 with the chip lead, his 1,254,000 stack barely edging out 2014 Poker Player's Championship bracelet winner John Hennigan and his 1,209,000 chips. The rest of the top five includes heavy hitters Chris Vitch (1,103,000), David Oppenheim (1,062,000), and Josh Arieh (939,000). 2013 Poker Player's Championship bracelet winner Matthew Ashton sits just outside the top five with 911,000, while Isaac Haxton (802,000), Dan "Jungleman" Cates (751,000), Shaun Deeb (704,000), Adam Friedman (643,000), Robert Mizrachi (417,000), Jason Mercier (412,000), and Phil Galfond (178,000), are among some of the 38 players who will be in action during Wednesday's Day 3.
| Room | Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | 402 | 1 | Timofey Kuznetsov | Russia | 762,000 |
| Amazon | 402 | 3 | Robert Mackie | United States | 900,000 |
| Amazon | 402 | 4 | Dario Sammartino | Italy | 296,000 |
| Amazon | 402 | 5 | Roy Thung | United States | 406,000 |
| Amazon | 402 | 6 | John Monnette | United States | 257,000 |
| Amazon | 403 | 1 | Tomer Daniel | United States | 157,000 |
| Amazon | 403 | 2 | Illya Trincher | United States | 170,000 |
| Amazon | 403 | 3 | Prahlad Friedman | United States | 390,000 |
| Amazon | 403 | 4 | Mike Glick | United States | 512,000 |
| Amazon | 403 | 5 | Eric Wasserson | United States | 87,000 |
| Amazon | 406 | 1 | Jesse Martin | United States | 204,000 |
| Amazon | 406 | 2 | Luke Schwartz | United Kingdom | 744,000 |
| Amazon | 406 | 3 | Andrew Brown | United States | 539,000 |
| Amazon | 406 | 4 | Josh Arieh | United States | 939,000 |
| Amazon | 406 | 5 | Bryce Yockey | United States | 715,000 |
| Amazon | 406 | 6 | Jared Bleznick | United States | 829,000 |
| Amazon | 407 | 1 | Daniel Cates | United States | 751,000 |
| Amazon | 407 | 2 | Phillip Hui | United States | 490,000 |
| Amazon | 407 | 4 | Chris Vitch | United States | 1,103,000 |
| Amazon | 407 | 5 | Phil Galfond | United States | 178,000 |
| Amazon | 407 | 6 | Isaac Haxton | United States | 802,000 |
| Amazon | 409 | 1 | Brian Hastings | United States | 121,000 |
| Amazon | 409 | 2 | Phil Ivey | United States | 1,253,500 |
| Amazon | 409 | 3 | Adam Friedman | United States | 643,000 |
| Amazon | 409 | 5 | Robert Mizrachi | United States | 417,000 |
| Amazon | 409 | 6 | Matthew Wood | Canada | 731,000 |
| Amazon | 410 | 1 | Talal Shakerchi | United Kingdom | 293,000 |
| Amazon | 410 | 2 | John Esposito | United States | 420,000 |
| Amazon | 410 | 3 | Mikael Thuritz | United States | 247,000 |
| Amazon | 410 | 4 | David "ODB" Baker | United States | 497,000 |
| Amazon | 410 | 5 | Jason Mercier | United States | 412,000 |
| Amazon | 410 | 6 | Chris Klodnicki | United States | 615,000 |
| Amazon | 411 | 1 | David Benyamine | United States | 937,000 |
| Amazon | 411 | 2 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 704,000 |
| Amazon | 411 | 3 | Lyle Berman | United States | 437,000 |
| Amazon | 411 | 4 | Matthew Ashton | United Kingdom | 911,000 |
| Amazon | 411 | 5 | David Oppenheim | United States | 1,062,000 |
| Amazon | 411 | 6 | John Hennigan | United States | 1,209,000 |
Day 3 action will kick off at 2 p.m. local time on Wednesday, June 26th. The PokerNews Live Reporting team will be here all day long to catch the updates from one of the world's most prestigious tournaments, along with all the other World Series of Poker events happening here at the Rio today. Be sure to stay tuned as we get one step closer towards crowning this year's Poker Players Championship winner!
and Friedman mucked.
flop, and Phil Galfond bet from the small blind when the 
fell on the turn. Isaac Haxton raised in the big blind, and Chris Vitch folded on the button. Galfond called.
river, and Haxton turned over 
for a wheel and a seven-high straight. Galfond mucked.
/ 
didn't improve his tens-up any further. Friedman turned over the 
runout for the double.
flop and 
river.
brought it in, Adam Friedman completed with the 
/ 
left Martin drawing dead before he could even turn his 
flop, and Mercier raised. Baker called.
turn, and Mercier bet his last 40,000. Baker grimaced but eventually made the call, leaving himself just 20,000 behind.
river completed Sammartino's straight, and Mizrachi knocked his chips over in disgust, apologizing afterward, before leaving the tournament.
for a full house, and Mercier showed his 