button in SafariPei Li in the Hunt for Second WSOP Bracelet Heading into Final Day of $1,700 U.S. Circuit Championship
Day 3 of Event #16: $1,700 U.S. Circuit Championship at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas gets underway at 12 p.m. local time.
A massive 2,148 entrants ponied up the $1,700 buy-in, to be part of the newest event for the 2026 World Series of Poker, generating a monstrous total prize pool of $3,231,666 and a whopping first-place payday of $439,605 to take home along with the coveted WSOP gold bracelet.
A total of 32 players advanced from Day 2 and will return for Day 3, having already locked up a guaranteed payout of $12,660.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antonio Vargas | United States | 8,435,000 | 105 |
| 2 | Robert Kuhn | United States | 8,070,000 | 100 |
| 3 | Malcolm Franchi | France | 5,000,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Donovan Dicken | United States | 4,795,000 | 60 |
| 5 | Balakrishna Patur | United States | 4,320,000 | 54 |
| 6 | Manjunath Mulinti | United States | 4,310,000 | 54 |
| 7 | Martin Perez | United States | 3,865,000 | 48 |
| 8 | Pei Li | China | 3,845,000 | 48 |
| 9 | Kartik Ved | India | 3,825,000 | 48 |
| 10 | Liubomyr Melnyk | United States | 3,510,000 | 44 |
All players will be chasing Antonio Vargas, who enters Day 3 with 8,435,000 and the overall lead. Robert Kuhn is second with 8,070,000 and Malcolm Franchi rounds out the podium, starting Day 3 in third place with 5,000,000.
Each of the top three chip leaders holds a plethora of titles to their names, but all are hunting for their first WSOP gold bracelet.
Vargas has over $1,200,000 in recorded lifetime earnings, Kuhn is closing in on the $1,000,000 threshold, and Franchi is nearing the $2,000,000 mark (as per The Hendon Mob). With the wealth of deep experience among the top three, Day 3 is sure to be a thrilling day of top-level poker.
Further down the chip counts are bracelet holders Pei Li (3,845,000) and Kartik Ved (3,825,000), who are both sitting on healthy stacks in the top ten, to make a run at the final table and add to their bracelet tally.
Peter Cross (1,910,000) is sitting just outside the top ten, but with over $2,000,000 in lifetime earnings (as detailed by The Hendon Mob), he will be one to keep an eye on if he picks up chips early in the day.
In a similar spot to Cross is Chih Fan (1,651,000), who is another with close to $2,000,000 in lifetime earnings and can never be ruled out of being in the mix when it comes to the business end of an event.
Shawn Daniels, although coming into Day 3 as a shorter stack, is another to keep an eye on and is looking to bag his second WSOP bracelet.
Day 3 is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. at Level 26, and the blinds will be 40,000/80,000 with an 80,000 big blind ante. Levels will be 60 minutes in duration.
The players will play down to a winner with a 15-minute break every two levels, with a dinner break to be decided as play progresses.
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As always, PokerNews will be on the floor providing live updates, chip counts, and all the key moments from the final day of the event at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.