Many of the remaining 1,517 players in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event will be having a rough night’s sleep as they return from Day 3 knowing that they’re just 10 places away from the money. The short stacks will be having sleepless nights, worrying about how long they can survive before the bubble bursts, whereas the big stacks will be plotting various ways to take advantage of the precarious situation that most stacks find themselves in.
No matter their stack situation, they can take comfort in the fact that they’ve outlasted some of the biggest names in poker, including Tom Dwan, Phil Hellmuth, and Ethan “Rampage” Yau.
Dwan Can’t Crack Aces
We all know Tom has a reputation for playing a lot of hands, but this time it got him into some serious trouble as he ran into Atchison’s aces on Day 3 of the Main Event. Tom raised from an early position with K5 with around 80bb, and Atchison put in a small 3bet with AA. Tom made the call and they saw a flop of JT3, giving Tom the second nut flush draw.
Atchison put out a sizable bet of 55K into a 60K pot, backing Tom into a corner. Likely assuming that Atchison had a monster and he could get paid if he hit, Tom made the call. The turn was an interesting one - the 5, giving Tom a pair to go with his flush draw and bringing a second flush draw.
This time Atchison bet 110K into a 170K pot, and with around 230K behind, Tom was put in a quagmire of a situation. Tom had too strong of a hand to fold, given that he had so many outs. However, knowing that Atchison likely had a strong hand was obviously weighing on Tom’s mind. Eventually, Tom decided to shove and was quickly snapped off by Atchison.
The river gave Tom a two-pair hand- but not the two-pair he needed, as the T sent Tom to the rail.
Phil Hellmuth Is Coolered Out Of The Main
On Day 2d, Phil Hellmuth was seated at a table with Nichols Rigby - the man famous for playing the “dirty diaper” (otherwise known as 32o). However, each player had a legitimate hand when they called the raise of Robert Jones; Rigby having the AT and Phil having the T9. However, they were both behind the KK of the initial raiser.
The flop came AT9, giving Rigby the top two and Hellmuth the bottom two. Jones c-bet 2,500 with his KK, Rigby raised it up to 8,000, and Hellmuth cold called the raise. Jones got out of the way, and the turn came the 2, bringing a second flush draw. Rigby overbet the pot, betting 36K into 28K, putting Hellmuth in a tough spot.
While he’s known for making huge laydowns, Hellmuth couldn’t get away from this one and shipped his remaining 60K into the middle. Rigby snapped him off, and the 5 sealed Hellmuth’s fate.
No Back-To-Back Winner
It was confirmed on Day 2 that there would be no back-to-back winner of the Main Event, as Espen Jorstad was eliminated from the tournament. While we don’t know too many details about his bust-out hand, we do know that his flopped set of sixes was no good against the flopped straight of Julian Aguirre. Unfortunately for the reigning champ, the board didn’t pair on the turn or river, and he was sent to the rail.
Trips No Good For Rampage
Another notable name in the poker world that will be absent from the rest of this Main Event is Ethan “Rampage” Yau. An unfortunate runout saw his trips run into the full house of Salah Nimer.
Nimer raised from an early position with 44, and Rampage called from the big blind with a deuce and an unknown card. The flop came 732, and Ethan checked/called a bet from Salah. The turn came a 4, giving Salah a set. Ethan checked again, Salah bet, and Ethan check-raised with his bottom pair. Salah made the call, and the river was another 2, giving Ethan trips and Salah a full house.
Ethan bet 45K on the river, and Salah quickly moved him all in. After a bit of sighing, Ethan made the call, saw the bad news, and flashed his 2 to the table before leaving the table.
Other Notables
There have been plenty of big-name eliminations across Days 2 and 3. Other notable players no longer in the Main Event include Viktor Blom, who ran his QQ into the AA of Patryk Slusarek to bust out. Phil Ivey busted just before the dinner break on Day 2, and we’ve also said goodbye to former Main Event champ Qui Nguyen, Dan Smith, Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg, Dara O’Kearney, and Alejandro Lococo.
Who will be the biggest name to make a deep run at this year’s WSOP Main Event? Could any of our featured players have avoided their bust out? Let us know on social media and stay tuned for all the latest WSOP news and events.
