Stefanski Leads the Final Table
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Day 3 of the 2012 DeepStacks Poker Tour Mohegan Sun National Championship is complete, and we are down to an official final table of six players. The chip leader is David Stefanski, who bagged 3.715 million chips, and right behind him is Artyem Perlov (2.65 million chips).
The day began with 36 players, but the bubble came very quickly. Among the notables who exited before the money were Chip Jett, Aaron Massey, and Jared Jaffee. Jett moved all in for around 115,000 from the small blind, and Adam Bitker looked him up in the big blind. Bitker held 
, and Jett tabled 
. The board ran out 
, and Jett was eliminated.
Massey busted in a massive pot against Peter Jankowski. Massey was all in and at risk holding 
on a flop of 
. Jankowski held 
, and although the turn () was a brick, the 
slammed on the river. Jankowski made a flush, and Massey hit the rail.
Jaffee was the next notable player to exit when he lost a flip against Nicholas Palma. Jaffe's 
was up against Palma's 
, and the board ran out 
, eliminating Jaffee.
Ken Silberstein burst the bubble soon after Jaffee exited. Palma raised to 19,000 from the small blind, Silberstein defended his big blind, and the dealer fanned 
. Palma led out for 15,000, Silberstein raised to 35,000, and Palma re-raised to 85,000. Silberstein called.
The turn was another three - the 
- and Palma checked. Silberstein moved all in for around 200,000, and Palma called.
Palma: 
Silberstein: 
Palma needed either the board to pair or to hit one of the three remaining queens in the deck, and low and behold the 
spiked on the river to bust Silberstein on the stone bubble.
Shortly after the bubble burst, there were a flurry of eliminations, including William Klevitz, Ted Spencer, Stephen McGuire, Just Schwartz, Charles Saleba, Timothy Reilly, Andrew Devito, Bryan Leskowitz, Justin Pechie, Art Pappas, and Carlo Sciannameo.
Right before dinner, with 14 players left, Jankowski and Patrick Chan played a massive pot. Chan opened to 27,000 on the button, Jankowski three-bet to 60,000 from the small blind, and Chan four-bet to 180,000. Jankowski moved all in for 629,000, and Chan called.
Chan:
Jankowski:
The flop fell 
, giving Chan two extra outs to make the best hand. He did not make aces, kings, or a straight however, as the turn and river bricked , respectively.
Jankowski chipped up to 1.284 million chips, while Chan was left with just 265,000. Chan found a double soon after with two kings, and continued to stay afloat from there.
After Jean Elie Joseph bowed out in 14th place, Fabio D'Agata bluffed his way out of the tournament in 13th place. Vinny Pahuja raised to 38,000 out of the small blind, and D'Agata defended the big blind. The flop fell 
, and Pahuja led for 40,000. D'Agata called.
The turn was the 
, and Pahuja led again - this time for 75,000. D'Agata clicked it back, min-raising to 150,000, and Pahuja re-raised to 300,000. D'Agata tanked for a bit, then moved all in for over 800,000.
"Call!" Pahuja blurted, flipping over 
for the stone nuts.
D'Agata sheepishly turned over for a lowly pair of eights, and an inconsequential 
fell on the river.
D'Agata hit the rail in 13th place, earning him $7,560, while suddenly Pahuja was the chip leader with over 1.9 million.
James Campbell, Matt Kuba, and Jeff Blake were the next players to be eliminated. In Blake's elimination hand, he opened to 53,000 from the hijack seat, Andrew Sherman-Ash defended his big blind, and the flop fell 
. Sherman-Ash checked, Blake moved all in for 235,000, and Sherman-Ash tank-called.
Blake:
Sherman-Ash:
The turn was the , giving Sherman-Ash a straight, and Blake could only survive if one of the two remaining eights in the deck fell on the river.
It was not to be as the completed the board, eliminating Blake in 10th place.
Nine-handed play took over two hours, and the chips were flying, but finally Joe Matos busted in 9th place. Matos, who at one point was crippled, then tripled, then doubled, found himself all in and at risk with 
. His opponent, Perlov, woke up with , and held as the board ran out 
.
During this time, Stefanski did some serious chipping up. In one hand, Stefanski raised out of the small blind, Bitker defended his big blind, and the flop came . Stefanski led for 56,000, and Bitker made the call.
The turn was the , and Stefanski fired a second bullet worth 113,000. Bitker called.
The river was the , and Stefanski slowed down, checking to Bitker, who fired 188,000. Stefanski went deep into the tank, and eventually made the call.
Bitker showed 
for ace-high, and Stefanski tabled for just a pair of sevens. Bitker dipped to 420,000 chips, while Stefanski jumped up to 3.08 million.
The next player to bust was Pahuja, who fell from the chip lead and grinded with a short stack for more than two hours. On his final hand, Pahuja was all in and at risk preflop holding 
. He was well behind the of Perlov, and the board ran out 
.
The official final table bubble boy was Jankowski. After four-bet jamming with and running into the of Palma, he was all in a few hands later with 
against Stefanski's . The flop was a doozy: 
. Jankowski looked like he was going to have over 1.4 million in chips, but the turned to give Stefanski a better two pair.
Only a queen or a nine would keep Jankowski alive.
The river was another king - the 
- and Jankowski was eliminated.
The remaining players celebrated, knowing that they will be at a televised final table tomorrow, but most of them still gave Jankowski a handshake, and wished him well.
The entire final table looks like this:
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Artyem Perlov | 2,650,000 |
| 2 | Nicholas Palma | 945,000 |
| 3 | Andrew Sherman-Ash | 605,000 |
| 4 | Patrick Chan | 970,000 |
| 5 | Adam Bitker | 1,310,000 |
| 6 | David Stefanski | 3,715,000 |
The final table is set to begin tomorrow at 2 p.m. EST. There, we will play until a champion is crowned. For now, good night from Mohegan Sun!