button in SafariYanting Jiang Celebrates Birthday by Leading the Final 16 in $3,000 Mid‑Stakes Championship
Day 3 of Event #89: $3,000 Mid Stakes Championship has concluded after a full day of action at the the 2026 World Series of Poker, running at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. The day began with 167 players, but after 10 hours of play, just 16 players remain from the massive 3,668 entry field.
As the night drew in, it was Yangting Jiang who separated herself from the rest of the pack. She steadily battled her way through the field after returning in 116th place at the start of play to bag for the final day for 30,925,000, almost double the next chip-leading stack.
Jiang’s climb began halfway through the day after she found a rivered value spot against Punnat Punsri. She continued her momentum by eliminating bracelet winner Michal Schuh and later rivered a flush to leave Marius Gierse on fumes , which ultimately led to his elimination in 18th place .
When PokerNews congratulated Jiang on bagging the chip lead at the end of the night, she smiled and said, “Thank you, It’s my birthday,” and implied some of the triumphant moments of the day may have something to do with some birthday luck.
Jiang will return well ahead of the pack, but next line is Chahn Jung (16,500,000), who surged late after eliminating Kyle Dishongh. Peter Yang also spent much of the day near the top of the counts, applying pressure and collecting pots without showdown, including a shove into William Smith, before his stack rocketed after eliminating Eric Tsai during Level 29.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yanting Jiang | United States | 30,925,000 | 124 |
| 2 | Chahn Jung | United States | 16,500,000 | 66 |
| 3 | Peter Yang | United States | 16,075,000 | 64 |
| 4 | Maurice Hawkins | United States | 12,700,000 | 51 |
| 5 | Punnat Punsri | Thailand | 11,400,000 | 46 |
| 6 | Roberto Romanello | United Kingdom | 11,300,000 | 45 |
| 7 | Mark Newhouse | United States | 7,900,000 | 32 |
| 8 | Luis Yepez | Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | 7,150,000 | 29 |
| 9 | Darius Samual | United Kingdom | 6,350,000 | 25 |
| 10 | Michael Rocco | United States | 6,000,000 | 24 |
There was a quick pace throughout the whole day as several stars fell early, with Dylan Linde, Ryan Leng, and John Juanda all hitting the rail in the opening levels. Bracelet winners were also in the mix early, and the “battle of the bracelets” saw the start of the day chip leader Mitchell Hynam get his stack in against Darius Samuels’ ace-king with pocket sixes. Four-time bracelet winner Upeshka De Silva also saw his run end after getting ace-jack in against Michael Rocco’s pocket nines and failing to improve.
Matteo Ferrara had an up and down day, losing a significant pot with pocket sevens, but scooping some back after picking up aces and eliminating Ilan Boujenah. However, his run ultimately ended just before the dinner break when he was rivered by a better full house .
One of the standout stories of the day was the rise of Michael Rocco, who built steadily from the start. He made some good calls and found himself on the right side of multiple flips, including eliminating John Pannucci. He climbed into the chip lead after Ferrara’s elimination and later scooped even more after calling off a shove from He Zhou. Rocco’s resurgence comes after stepping away from poker to focus on farming, a story he shared earlier this summer. He ended the night taking a small tumble in chips and sits in the middle of the pack, returning to Day 4 with 6,000,000 to play with.
Eric Tsai and Punnat Punsri (11,400,000) clashed repeatedly throughout the day, with Tsai winning the first battle without showdown before securing a full double up . Punsri made it through the day and is the only $25K Fantasy pick left in the running. Fellow draft player Justin Saliba had a good run but but was eliminated in the first hand back from the final break of the day when his ace king was cracked by Yoon Choi’s suited ace ten on a club heavy runout .
After a flurry of late eliminations, Wooram Cho narrowly missed the final two tables. He got his last two million chips in with queen-jack against Luis Yepez’s pocket jacks and failed to improve, finishing in 17th place for $47,045.
The remaining players have locked up a guaranteed $58,298, with $1,159,182 awaiting the winner.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,159,182 | 9 | $116,485 |
| 2 | $772,580 | 10 | $91,740 |
| 3 | $576,099 | 11 | $91,740 |
| 4 | $432,875 | 12 | $72,835 |
| 5 | $327,767 | 13 | $72,835 |
| 6 | $250,110 | 14 | $58,298 |
| 7 | $192,347 | 15 | $58,298 |
| 8 | $149,093 | 16 | $58,298 |
| 10 -11 | $91,740 | 99-152 | $9,985 |
| 12-13 | $72,835 | 153-167 | $8,779 |
| 14-17 | $58,298 |
With all the players bagged and tagged, the final day will see action resume on Monday, July 13 at 12 p.m. noon, beginning at Level 31 with 100,000/250,000 blinds and a 250,000 big blind ante. The field will play down to a winner, with 60-minute levels and 15-minute breaks every two levels. A dinner break will be determined based on the pace of play.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we return tomorrow to capture every key moment, every elimination, and every dramatic twist until a champion is crowned in the $3,000 Mid Stakes Championship No Limit Hold’em Event.