The surprise, however, was which one went up and which one went out as current EPT Player of the Year leader Ole Schemion hit the rail while PokerStars qualifier Malte Moennig took the chip lead.
The 27-year-old Moennig from Cologne, who won his €10,000 seat in an FPP qualifier, now sits on top of the remaining 41-player field with 1,150,00 chips heading into Day 4.
The electric Schemion, one of the pre-day favorites to make a deep run, will have to try his luck again in the €25k High Roller tomorrow.
Clements, Silverman, Williams, Boeken Alive
A few big names will join Moennig in action in the main draw with an eye on the €1.2m first-place prize. Notably in the top 10 is American Scott "BigRisKKy" Clements, a multiple WSOP bracelet winner, who bagged up 797,000 to sit sixth overall.
High-roller reg Steven "Zugwat" Silverman will start strong for Day 4 with a solid 605,000 as will former Sunday Million winner Nick Petrangelo (840,000).
PokerStars pros David Williams (253,000) and Ville Wahlbeck (289,000) also stayed alive, as did Dutch pro Noah Boeken (200,000).
Check for a full recap of all the action and the complete chip counts on the PokerStars blog. Watch a replay of the day's feature-table action right here on PokerListings.
The current top 10 in chips:
1. Malte Moennig 1,150,000 2. Sebastian Von Toperczer 996,000 3. Eros Nastasi 995,000 4. Mayu Roca 946,000 5. Nicholas Petrangelo 840,000 6. Scott Clements 797,000 7. Matias Ruzzi 746,000 8. Kenny Hicks 738,000 9. Miroslav Alilovic 700,000 10. Hendrik Latz 680,000Johannes' Wild Ride
Care for a taste of the wild life of a major poker tournament player? Try this anecdote from the tableside of German pro Johannes Strassmann.
After losing all his chips but 1,000 with JJ against the KK of Matias Ruzzi, Strassmann had just one ante left. On the next hand he rivered two pair with K8 against the T9 of Simon Deadman to stay alive.
Thirty minutes later Strassmann was back up to 100,000 in chips ... only to lose them all in a 3-way all-in with 99 against AK and AT. The board: 3-8-5-2-4.
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