button in SafariJustin Liberto Holds Commanding Chip Lead after Day 3 of the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo
Day 3 of Event #33: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better is in the books after nearly eight levels of play. From a starting field of 390 hopefuls, 25 would return for today's action, and only five remain in contention for the WSOP bracelet and the first-place prize of $767,395.
Leading the pack into the final day is Justin Liberto, who accumulated nearly sixty percent of the chips in play as he chases his second split-pot Omaha bracelet of the summer. He finished the day with 13,590,000, far ahead of his nearest competitor, Nathan Gamble (3,540,000), who has also enjoyed success in split-pot Omaha.
End of Day 3 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Liberto | United States | 13,590,000 | 113 |
| 2 | Nathan Gamble | United States | 3,540,000 | 30 |
| 3 | Nino Pansier | Netherlands | 3,300,000 | 28 |
| 4 | Matthew Beinner | United States | 1,770,000 | 15 |
| 5 | Martin Zamani | United States | 1,195,000 | 10 |
Liberto and Gamble are joined by Dutch Omaha specialist Nino Pansier (3,300,000), rising young star Matthew Beinner (1,770,000), and the eclectic Martin Zamani (1,195,000).
Day 3 Action
The eliminations started early, with eight players falling in the first frame of play. Among those include Joao Vieira (22nd - $29,019), Dylan Weisman (21st - $29,019), and David Coleman (18th - $29,019).
A pivotal hand would soon take place between Ryan Hughes and Nino Pansier, with both players holding big stacks. Pansier had ace-ace-deuce against the nut flush draw, gutter, and nut-low draw of Hughes. The aces held for the scoop, and Pansier took over the chip lead with two tables left.
More big names began to fall, with Matt Vengrin (15th - $35,171), Nick Guagenti (13th - $35,171), and Jason Mercier (12th - $35,171) all failing to make another final table.
Final Table Action
Martin Zamani came into the final table with the chip lead and Liberto was close behind.
A few hands into final table play, Yuhong Liu was the first casualty after trips on the board counterfeited his pair, which would then lead to an extended eight-handed affair.
Almost two and a half hours of play would ensue before another elimination, with Liberto winning pot after pot to extend his lead.
Eventually, a double elimination brought the tournament to its final six. Matthew Schreiber, Jarod Minghini, and Liberto got almost all their chips into the middle preflop, with the rest coming on the flop in a pot worth four million chips. Schreiber and Minghini both flopped the nut low draw, while Liberto had bottom pair. Liberto locked up the high with trips on the turn, and the low bricked on the river as Liberto collected a massive pot.
Not long after, Marco Johnson was eliminated in sixth. He got his final ten big blinds into the middle with ace-ten-deuce-deuce, but he fell to the ace-king-six-five of Pansier, meaning that the remaining five players got to bag up their chips for the final day.
Final Table Results and Remaining Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $767,395 | ||
| 2 | $511,580 | ||
| 3 | $351,037 | ||
| 4 | $245,467 | ||
| 5 | $174,981 | ||
| 6 | Marco Johnson | United States | $127,208 |
| 7 | Jarod Minghini | United States | $94,347 |
| 8 | Matthew Schreiber | United States | $71,419 |
The event resumes tomorrow at 3:15 p.m. in the Paris Gold Section. Play resumes with 17:03 remaining in Level 28 with blinds of 60,000/120,000. Action will continue in 60-minute levels until a winner is crowned.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the updates as we play down to a winner in Event #33; $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better.