Michael Allis raised to 15,000 from under the gun, Roger Rivers three-bet jammed for 140,000 in middle position, and Gregory Peterson cold four-bet to 265,000 in the cutoff prompting Allis to step aside.
Roger Rivers: 10♥10♦ 
Gregory Peterson: K♠J♣
Peterson pulled ahead on the J♠8♦8♥ flop, pairing his jack. Rivers picked up a gutshot on the Q♠ turn, but the 6♦ river was not the card he needed to stay alive.
The action was picked up when the flop showed 5♠Q♠10♠. Behrouz Keshtavar in the small blind decided to throw in 15,000 in chips. Rickey Petry in the big blind decided to go all in with his remaining stack of 96,000.
Keshtavar started to count his chips and decided to call.
Rickey Petry: 4♥4♣
Behrouz Keshtavar: A♠9♣
The dealer revealed the turn A♦ and the river K♥. Even though Petry was ahead on the flop, his cards did not hold up on the turn and river.
Action was caught on the A♦6♣5♦ flop where Louis Pito checked in middle position and John Watson moved all in for 64,000, which represented nearly a pot-sized bet. Pito took some time to think through his decision, eventually flicking in the call.
John Watson: J♠J♥
Louis Pito: K♥K♣
Pito's kings held as the board ran out 2♦, A♥, and Watson was sent packing.
The winner of this year's $50,000 WSOP Poker Players Championship will be a first-time champion, unless Brian Rast wins.
That isn't a prediction, it's a fact. Rast, a three-time winner, was a bet away from elimination in the prestigious mixed games event Tuesday on Day 3, which would have left zero former champions still standing. None of the other former champs reached the money.
Day 3, which began at 1 p.m. PT, started with 39 of the original 108 players remaining. Rast, who won this event in 2011, 2016, and 2023, had the smallest stack with 107,000 chips. For comparison, Kristopher Tong entered the session with the chip lead at 2,428,000. So, it certainly wasn't going to be easy for the Poker Hall of Famer to earn a fourth Poker Players Championship bracelet.
Thomas Swigart got it all in for 15,000 in the big blind against Lawrence Terkel in the small blind, who covered.
Thomas Swigart: A♠5♠
Lawrence Terkel: K♦9♠
Terkel pulled ahead on the 9♦7♣7♠ flop, pairing his nine. The turn landed the 7♦ and Swigart was all but out the door, but was saved on the A♣ river.
Curt Gustavsson made it 10,000 to go from early position with Linda Larson calling on the button. James Tercek squeezed to 30,000 from the small blind, and Gustavsson jammed for around 60,000. Larson folded and Tercek called.
Curt Gustavsson: J♥J♦
James Tercek: A♣K♠
It was a flip for Gustavsson's tournament life, and he fell far behind after Tercek made top pair on the 7♣A♠Q♥ flop.
There was no two-outer miracle for Gustavsson on the 5♠ turn or 4♠ river. Tercek dragged in the pot and Gustavsson was eliminated.
Darrell Ticehurst raised to 15,000 in late position, Czesy Rudnicki three-bet jammed in the hijack for 38,000, Isidro Macias moved all in behind for 50,000, and Richard Pierce called in the big blind having everyone covered. Ticehurst stepped aside.
Czesy Rudnicki: A♣K♠
Isidro Macias: K♣K♥
Richard Pierce: 9♠9♥
Macias' pair of kings held on the 4♦3♥10♣6♥2♦ runout, and the sizable pot was pushed his way.
The action was picked up when the dealer revealed the 4♥7♣8♣ flop.
Timothy Garner in the big blind, check-called the bet of 15,000 from Rob Hollink on the button. The turn showed 3♦.
Both players checked to the river 4♣. Garner decided to put 25,000 in front of him and Hollink took some time to think about it and opted to call for the showdown.
Both players turned over their cards. Unfortunately for Garner, the 10♥9♥ were not strong enough for the A♠6♠ of Holllink. He collected the pot.
William Bennett, who won his World Series of Poker bracelet in 1984, got his stack of about 50,000 into the middle from the button, and Behrouz Keshtavar took him for a spin from the big blind.
William Bennett: A♣10♣
Behrouz Keshtavar: A♠K♦
Bennett was unable to connect with anything on the 8♣4♦Q♥9♠3♦ runout, which meant Keshtavar's ace-king high was enough to win the pot and send Bennett to the rail.
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