Sormunen, another in a long line of fearless pros from the Helsinki poker scene, fended off a star-studded field to bag up 1,578,000 and grab the advantage with just 32 players left.
There's no shortage of dangerous talent in that 32, though, as former EPT champ Chouity, euro-tourney crusher O'Dwyer and PokerStars pro Jorgensen all made it to the finish line with top 10 stacks.
Chouity, winner of the 2010 EPT Grand Final for over $2.2 million, piled up 1,143,000 chips to end Day 3 in third behind Sormunen and Niall Farrell (1,510,000).
O'Dwyer Gets Lucky, Jørgensen Goes Deep in Return to Poker
As mentioned both O'Dwyer and Jorgensen sit just outside the top 5 at 800,000 and 778,000 in chips respectively, good enough for 7th and 8th overall.
O'Dwyer had to get lucky late in the day to stay in, getting his stack in with AQ against Chris Moorman's AK but spiking a queen on the river to survive.
Impressively for Jørgensen, who hung tough at a table that included O'Dwyer, Jason Mercier and Chris Moorman, is this is his return to live poker after being shot during a home invasion in December.
Speaking with PokerListings Denmark's Thomas Hviid on Day 1a, it's something that was still on his mind as the tourney began:
“I felt I was not 100% focused on the tournament since I had some thoughts about how it is going at home, especially in the evening.
"It bothers me that my wife feels a bit insecure at home, which is normal.”
He's managed to keep his focus through Day 3 however and will certainly be angling for the final table when play picks up again.
The top 10 in chips after Day 3:
1. Pasi Sormunen 1,578,000 2. Niall Farrell 1,510,000 3. Nicolas Chouity 1,143,000 4. Christopher Frank 1,098,000 5. Mantas Visockis 983,000 6. Bassel Moussa 872,000 7. Steve O'Dwyer 800,000 8. Theo Jørgensen 778,000 9. Tamer Kamel 762,000 10. Daniel Erlandsson 707,000McDonald, Mercier, Obrestad Linger
The lineup outside the top 10 won't be any easier for Sormunen to hold off as it's stacked with talent.
Sitting 11th is Mike "Timex" McDonald, the youngest EPT champ ever, at 684,000.
Pros Ruben Visser (551,000), Max Greenwood (546,000), Russell Carson (372,000) and Steven "Zugwat" Silverman (319,000) remain as do the high-profile Jason Mercier (319,000), Chris Moorman (239,000) and Annette Obrestad (170,000).
Notables to make it to the money but fall just short of Day 4 included Viktor "Isildur1" Blom (44th - $12,500), Phillip Gruissem (52nd $11,000) and Liv Boeree (62nd - $11,000).
Tune in for live updates starting at noon on the PokerStars blog or watch the feature table live stream right here on PokerListings.
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