button in SafariValentin Vornicu Vies for Victory as Day 3 Chip Leader in the Monster Stack
When play began for Day 3 in Event #18: $1,500 Monster Stack No-Limit Hold’em, there were 660 hopefuls looking at the prize pool that was generated before their very eyes just as play began. The huge $15,841,057 total was generated by 11,933 total entrants across four separate Day 1 and Day 2 flights, of which just 80 remain following the conclusion of the third day at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas.
The Day 4 lineup is a solid one, with Valentin Vornicu earning the chip leader title after bagging up for a monumental stack of 27,500,000 chips. This total converts to over 100 big blinds when Day 3 begins, good for over three times the average stacks left in play.
Andrew Moreno (22,500,000) isn't too far behind, but not too close either, with Matthew Miller (19,300,000) completing the podium. Each of these three are no stranger to poker tournament glory, but a first bracelet continues to elude them.
Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valentin Vornicu | United States | 27,525,000 | 138 |
| 2 | Andrew Moreno | United States | 22,530,000 | 113 |
| 3 | Matthew Miller | United States | 19,345,000 | 97 |
| 4 | Yaser Al-Keliddar | United States | 17,860,000 | 89 |
| 5 | Jonas Lauck | Germany | 17,670,000 | 88 |
| 6 | Yegor Moroz | United States | 15,390,000 | 77 |
| 7 | Marc Fiorentino | United States | 14,150,000 | 71 |
| 8 | Richard Alsup | United States | 13,420,000 | 67 |
| 9 | Aaron Massey | United States | 13,350,000 | 67 |
| 10 | Martin Zamani | United States | 13,350,000 | 67 |
Those returning for Day 4 of Event 18 at the 2026 World Series of Poker have guaranteed themselves a hefty $19,000 pay day, but that total shies in comparison to the whopping $1,302,125 up top.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Payout | Place | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,302,125 | 12-13 | $93,000 |
| 2 | $900,000 | 14-17 | $75,000 |
| 3 | $700,000 | 18-26 | $61,000 |
| 4 | $520,000 | 27-35 | $50,000 |
| 5 | $400,000 | 36-44 | $40,000 |
| 6 | $305,000 | 45-53 | $33,000 |
| 7 | $240,000 | 54-62 | $27,200 |
| 8 | $190,000 | 63-71 | $22,500 |
| 9 | $150,000 | 72-80 | $19,000 |
| 10-11 | $120,000 |
A large number of big names came and went, with multiple WSOPE Main Event Champions coming up short in their attempt to navigate their way through one of the busiest tournaments of the summer.
Bulgarian Stoyan Madanzhiev didn’t manage to break the top 400, with Hall of Famer John Juanda finishing slightly higher in 273rd. A master of navigating large fields, two time Main Event Final Tablist Kenny Hallaert fell in 380th, whereas his tablemate in last year’s edition, John Wasnock fared slightly better, bagging for 7,800,000.
The large majority of Day 1 chip leaders were also unfortunately eliminated during Day 3, including Zhijian Zhang of Day 1a, Robert Renaud of Day 1b, and Day 1c’s representative Sandro Carucci, who were all unable to bag up for a fourth day.
Day 2’s top players had more success, with only Jason Funke from 2b unable to bag up. Ralph Perry (6,300,000), Vincent Albert (9,300,000) and She Wong (8,200,000) chip led flights 2a, 2c and 2d, respectively, and all managed to put their stacks to good use. They will be hoping to continue doing so as they all return for Day 4.
There were also plenty of $25k Fantasy players who started the day and managed to gain some points for their teams. Aram Zobian, Justin Zaki, and Terrance Reid all headed home relatively early on, with Michael Gathy and Jason Daly managing to make a deeper run, and Martin Kabrhel letting the room know his disappointment upon only just missing out on the top 100.
Play is set to resume at 11:00 a.m. local time in the Gold section of Paris Ballroom, with blinds restarting at the 120,000/240,000 level. Action will continue through the final table until just five players remain with chips, at which point bags will be put out for Day 5.
Stay tuned as PokerNews offers full live coverage of the rest of this event, as well as many more across the rest of the WSOP.