Fresh from two final tables in the past week and a heartbreaking second-place finish in the $10k Pot Limit Hold’em, Ivey is the chip leader with 27 players left in Event 24, $5k Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8-or-Better.
Event 23, $3k No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed, is also down to its final 18 with Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier just off the lead and looking for another bracelet of his own.
Ivey Leads With 27 Remaining in $5k Omaha Hi-Lo
A near-miss at his 9th bracelet still fresh in his memory, Phil Ivey did what he does best again yesterday: crush poker tables.
Hovering near the middle of the pack as the 184-player field whittled itself down, Ivey made his move as the field got smaller and relentlessly stacked pots as the day closed.
By the end, Ivey bagged up 446,500 to hold a solid chip lead heading into the final day over Dan “djk123” Kelly in second with 297,000.
The remaining field of 27 is stacked with tough outs, however, as Mike Matusow, Brian Hastings, Bart Hanson, Scotty Nguyen and Joe Cassidy are all in the top 10.
Noted online pro Steven “stevie444” Chidwick also lingers just behind the lead pack and Ray Davis is hanging on as a short stack.
Busting just short of the final 27 today were James Dempsey, Shannon Shorr, John Juanda and Andy Bloch.
Action picks up at 2 pm today from the Rio in Las Vegas with play scheduled to go down to a winner.
A respectable $294,777 awaits the winner but Ivey undoubtedly has his eyes set on his ninth bracelet.
We'll be following Ivey exclusively all day in our live coverage section as he chases down the championship.
The top 10 and chip counts:
1. Phil Ivey 446,5002. Dan Kelly 297,0003. Mike Matusow 290,0004. Meng La 276,5005. Brendan Taylor 270,5006. Brian Hastings 251,0007. Bart Hanson 231,5008. Scotty Nguyen 212,5009. Joe Cassidy 166,50010. Michael Wattel 143,500Elky, Deeb, Lichtenberger Still Fighting in Event 23, $3k NL Six-Max
Over 140 players returned for Day 2 of Event 23, $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Max, but just 18 players survived topped by Brit Artem Metalidi.
Returning for Day 3 with 1.5 million in chips gives Metalidi a big edge on the rest of the field but a talented group of big names is still in contention.
PokerStars pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier will start the day in sixth with 487,000 in chips and plenty of experience making deep runs from just off the lead.
Poker veteran Freddy Deeb sits just back of Grospellier in seventh with 425,000 and pro Taylor Paur is right with him with 424,000.
Fellow PokerStars pro Eugene Katchalov also hung on to make Day 3 but he’ll be the true short stack with 84,000 in chips.
Online grinder Joe “MarleyGroup” Urgo, Simon Charette, former November Niner Scott Montgomery and pro Andrew Lichtenberger are also still in contention.
Play resumes at 1 pm today at the Rio in Las Vegas and will go down to a winner, who will receive $567,624.
The top 10 and chip counts:
1. Artem Metalidi 1,523,0002. Luis Rodriguez Cruz 1,005,0003. Foster Hays 679,0004. Joseph Urgo 572,0005. Damien Lhommeau 511,0006. Bertrand Grospellier 487,0007. Freddy Deeb 425,0008. Taylor Paur 424,0009. Simon Charette 405,00010. Michael Wattel 143,500Mueller, Seiver, Bonomo Survive Shootout Tables
Round one of Event 25, the $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout, also played under at the Rio in Las Vegas yesterday with a small group of notables winning their table and moving on.
Greg Mueller, Justin Bonomo and Scott Seiver all advanced into the second round and assured themselves of a min-cash, as did Tom Koral, recent bracelet winner Matt Matros, JJ Liu, Brock Parker, Victor Ramdin and Mike Leah.
The 50 remaining players will now play 10 five-handed tables today to determine the final ten.
With just 366 entries, top prize is a relatively modest $116,118 and second place pays only $71,704, but the bracelet counts just the same.
Event 26, $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, also kicked off its Day 1 yesterday with 589 entries and Joseph Ressler grabbing the chip lead at the end of the day.
Notables still alive include Matt Perrins, Josh Arieh, Scott Clements, Guillaume Darcourt, Sam Stein and Tristan Clemencon.
Day 2 action picks up today at the Rio at 2 pm.
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