Eshaan Bhalla Leads Final 26 of $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship
While all eyes will be on the $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship to find out who will make the final nine, there will be plenty of action as well in the Horseshoe Event Center at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas with the conclusion of Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship No-Limit Hold'em.
After Day 3, 26 players managed to find a bag to reach the final day of the tournament. They are the last contenders from a field of 3,797 entries, and one of them will walk away tonight as a WSOP champion, earning a gold bracelet along with the top prize of $1,189,408.
Eshaan Bhalla wasn’t among the chip leaders when the three-table redraw took place about 20 minutes before the end of Day 3. In the final hands of the night, he won a massive pot to climb on top of the counts with 12,575,000 chips. Thanks to this hand, he stole the chip lead from Mikhail Zavoloka, who now sits in second place with 12,200,000, while Bahar Musa rounds out the top three with 11,580,000.
Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eshaan Bhalla | United States | 12,575,000 | 63 |
| 2 | Mikhail Zavoloka | Russian Federation | 12,200,000 | 61 |
| 3 | Bahar Musa | Bulgaria | 11,580,000 | 58 |
| 4 | Ian O'Hara | United States | 10,825,000 | 54 |
| 5 | George Tomescu | Romania | 10,550,000 | 53 |
| 6 | Jacopo Achille | Italy | 9,850,000 | 49 |
| 7 | Simon Wilson | Ireland | 9,525,000 | 48 |
| 8 | Yannick Jobin | Switzerland | 8,375,000 | 42 |
| 9 | Bogdan Munteanu | Romania | 6,300,000 | 32 |
| 10 | Francisco Benitez | Uruguay | 6,000,000 | 30 |
Ian O’Hara (10,825,000), George Tomescu (10,550,000), and Simon Wilson (9,525,000) all held the chip lead at some point during Day 3 and will be looking to reclaim it on Day 4. However, players like Bogdan Munteanu (6,300,000), Francisco Benitez (6,000,000), and Ankit Ahuja (5,250,000) will try to stop them in their chase for the bracelet.
Andrew Hulme (4,775,000), Inigo Naveiro (4,600,000) and Maximiliano Castagnini (2,800,000) are also still in contention, along with WSOP bracelet winner Xixiang Luo (2,550,000). With 1,250,000, Michel Molenaar is last in chips, but has already secured a minimum of $48,190.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,189,408 | 8 | $152,009 |
| 2 | $792,714 | 9 | $118,785 |
| 3 | $589,980 | 10-11 | $93,602 |
| 4 | $442,604 | 12-13 | $74,383 |
| 5 | $334,718 | 14-17 | $59,615 |
| 6 | $255,186 | 18-26 | $48,190 |
| 7 | $196,145 |
Play is set to resume at noon local time, featuring blinds of 100,000/200,000 and a 200,000 big blind ante. Levels will still be 60-minute long, and play with continue until a champion is crowned.
Stay tuned as PokerNews provides you updates until the winner of the $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship is known!