James Chen was seen collecting the rest of Majid Yahyaei's chips which brought the field down to just 25 players.
The board and cards had already been turned over but Chen's stack now sits at around 2,700,000.
Bruno Volkmann shoved for 95,000 from the button and Fahredin Mustafov called out of the small blind.
Bruno Volkmann: 9♠8♠ 
Fahredin Mustafov: 8♣8♥
Volkmann didn't pair his nine but found a way to win the hand as the 7♥J♣K♣J♦K♠ board meant his nine played, which earned him a much-needed double-up.
Picking up the action on the flop, Alexandre Reard in the cutoff was involved in a hand with Toby Joyce in the small blind.
With the board reading J♠4♥A♥ and around 425,000 already in the pot, Joyce bet 110,000. Reard opted to flat to see a turn.
The turn came 2♥, prompting Joyce to slow down, checking to Reard, who bet 100,000. Joyce made the call.
Both players checked to showdown following the 4♠ river with Reard emerging best holding A♠10♠ to take down a sizable pot in his quest for back to back titles.
Daniel Smiljovic raised from the hijack to 50,000 and Chris Dowling three-bet the cutoff to 135,000. Once the action got back to Smiljkovic, he called.
The flop came J♥10♥8♦ which went check-check to the 9♠ turn. Smiljkovic bet 150,000, and Dowling called.
On the A♠ river, Smiljkovic shoved and Dowling snap-called.
Smiljkovic tabled K♥Q♦ for the nut straight, and Dowling showed A♣Q♠ for a lower straight. Once the stacks were counted down, it was realized that Smiljkovic had slightly more, so Dowling was eliminated.
Toby Joyce shoved from under the gun for 350,000 and Andrew Moreno called from the next seat.
Toby Joyce: A♥5♥
Andrew Moreno: A♠K♥
Joyce paired his five on the 5♠10♠J♥9♣6♠ runout which earned him a double-up, and left Moreno short-stacked.
In the very next hand, Moreno shoved from under the gun with his short stack and Joyce called from the big blind. Moreno couldn't find a way to win the hand which meant he was eliminated in the early moments of the day.
Picking up the action on the river, James Chen in the small blind was involved in a hand with Aram Zobian in the big blind.
With the board reading 3♠9♣10♥4♣7♣ and around 225,000 in the pot, Chen bet 160,000. Zobian responded by moving all in for 630,000, which sent Chen into the tank. After around a minute, he decided to lay down his hand to give Zobian a boost to his stack early in the day.
Adrian Mateos raised from the cutoff to 50,000 and got called by Aleks Dimitrov in the small blind & Viktor Blom from the big blind.
The action was checked to the river on the 3♠8♦7♠9♣3♦ board where Dimitrov led out for 55,000. Blom folded, but Mateos called.
Dimitrov showed Q♦9♦ for a pair of nines, and Mateos mucked.
Cards are in the air for Day 3 of the $10,000 6-Handed event.
Level: 21
Blinds: 10,000/25,000
Ante: 25,000
The third and final day of Event #94: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Championship will take place today at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas with some big names still in the mix.
A total of 502 entries were confirmed after late registration closed on Day 2, which generated a prize pool of $3,887,400. A top prize of $924,922 awaits the winner and surely all of the remaining 28 players will have their eyes firmly locked on that target.
Bulgaria's Fahredin Mustafov leads the pack with a stack of 3,300,000, and was the only player to surpass the three-million-chip milestone. Spain's Adrian Mateos sits closely behind in second with 2,860,000, then Taiwan's James Chen rounds out the top three counts in third with 1,895,000.
| Place | Name | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fahredin Mustafov | Bulgaria | 3,300,000 | 132 |
| 2 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | 2,860,000 | 114 |
| 3 | James Chen | Taiwan | 1,895,000 | 76 |
| 4 | Aleks Dimitrov | Bulgaria | 1,560,000 | 62 |
| 5 | Alejandro Lococo | Argentina | 1,290,000 | 52 |
| 6 | Rodrigo Daher | Brazil | 1,265,000 | 51 |
| 7 | Michael Rocco | United States | 1,215,000 | 49 |
| 8 | Toshikazu Ishii | Japan | 1,200,000 | 48 |
| 9 | Viktor Blom | Sweden | 1,160,000 | 46 |
| 10 | Felipe Boianovsky | Brazil | 1,100,000 | 44 |
For those with $25 Fantasy Draft sweats, the aforementioned Mateos and Chen are still in, along with Aram Zobian (770,000).
The defending champion, Alexandre Reard, is still in the mix with a stack of 1,605,000 and has a chance to go back-to-back in the same event. Reard won the event in 2023 for $1,057,663 and was on the final table with Eric Baldwin (535,000), who comes into the day as one of the shorter stacks.
All of the remaining players have guaranteed themselves a payday of at least $31,716, but with each pay jump being worth increasingly more, there may be some intense laddering as the tournament heads into its business end.
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $924,922 | 7 | $104,465 |
| 2 | $610,013 | 8-9 | $78,455 |
| 3 | $410,657 | 10-11 | $60,315 |
| 4 | $282,302 | 12-17 | $47,493 |
| 5 | $198,261 | 18-23 | $38,326 |
| 6 | $142,316 | 24-28 | $31,716 |
Play will kick off at 1 p.m. in the Horseshoe Event Center with blinds at Level 21, 10,000/25,000 with a 25,000 big blind ante. The average stack is around 1,075,000, which will be 43 big blinds once the players get started.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for the latest updated from the baize as the $10,000 6-Handed event reaches its conclusion.
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