Phil Ivey Leads the Day 4 Field in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship
What a day for Phil Ivey in Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship. For the second straight night, Ivey bagged and tagged as the tournament chip leader, ending the day at 4,775,000 and keeping his hopes for his 11th WSOP bracelet very much alive. Ivey stayed at or near the chip lead for the entire day and has cashed in this event for the second year in a row, and the fourth time in his career.
The field in this event always represents the best of the best in poker, and this year’s remaining 12 players are no exception. Right on Ivey’s heels are bracelet winners Josh Arieh (4,029,000) and Bryce Yockey (2,386,000), who has clinched his fifth cash of the 2019 WSOP already.
Day 3 went down to the wire, as 13 players remained when play ended at Level 18, the last scheduled level of the night. Tournament officials decided to play until the money bubble broke and only the 12 money finishers remained.
This created a fascinating dynamic in the final hands of the night, as short stacks Timofey Kuznetsov, Daniel Cates, Andrew Brown and Chris Klodnicki all tried to outlast each other with the min cash of $72,078 on the line. All of these players spent most of Level 18 at five big blinds or less, with Kuznetsov busting out with about 20 minutes remaining in the day.
Hand-for-hand play commenced after that, and it was Klodnicki finally busting out in 13th place on the third hand of the extra level, sending the remaining dozen players into the money. Those 12 players have a combined 22 bracelets among them, including four-time champion and 2018 WSOP Player of the Year Shaun Deeb, who looks to be building momentum in this year's race, closing in on the heights of the leaderboard.
Deeb sat to Ivey’s direct left for most of the day, giving spectators in attendance a chance to see two of the best players in the world go head-to-head. Deeb went on a surge in the last level of the day to end up at 2,450,000 and he’s in contention for his fifth career bracelet.
Play will resume with the continuation of Level 19 on Thursday 27th June, with the restart scheduled for 2 p.m. and 1 hour 34 minutes remaining in the level.
Notable eliminations on Day 3 included former Poker Players Championship winners John Hennigan (2014), and Matthew Ashton (2013). Other big names to hit the rail included Jason Mercier, Robert Mizrachi, Phil Galfond, Brian Hastings, David “ODB” Baker, John Monnette and Adam Friedman.
Considered among many to be the most coveted championship of the WSOP, the final two days of the 2019 edition of the Players Championship will surely not disappoint, with a loaded field of poker’s greatest battling it out in the 8-game mix. Thursday’s plan is to play down to six players, then bring those six back for the final table on Friday.
Follow along with the PokerNews live reporting team through the final two days of Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship and find out who wins the prestigious event.
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Bryce Yockey | United States | 2,386,000 | 47.72 | 23.86 |
| 1 | 2 | Andrew Brown | United States | 210,000 | 4.2 | 2.1 |
| 1 | 3 | Josh Arieh | United States | 4,029,000 | 80.58 | 40.29 |
| 1 | 4 | Chris Vitch | United States | 623,000 | 12.46 | 6.23 |
| 1 | 5 | David Oppenheim | United States | 2,108,000 | 42.16 | 21.08 |
| 1 | 6 | Dario Sammartino | Italy | 1,721,000 | 34.42 | 17.21 |
| 2 | 1 | Dan Cates | United States | 319,000 | 6.38 | 3.19 |
| 2 | 2 | Phil Ivey | United States | 4,775,000 | 95.5 | 47.75 |
| 2 | 3 | Phillip Hui | United States | 1,540,000 | 30.8 | 15.4 |
| 2 | 4 | John Esposito | United States | 1,200,000 | 24 | 12 |
| 2 | 5 | Talal Shakerchi | United Kingdom | 785,000 | 15.7 | 7.85 |
| 2 | 6 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 2,450,000 | 49 | 24.5 |