El Yaacoubi Takes Top Spot on Day 3 of 2024 WSOPE Main Event as Bubble Bursts
Another stage of the race to the 2024 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event bracelet has come to a close at King's Resort in Rozvadov, with just 47 of the returning 185 players bagging and tagging stacks at the end of Day 3.
Leading the charge to the €1,300,000 first-place prize is Rachid El Yaacoubi, who wrapped up the day with 4,100,000 in chips after a stellar showing. El Yacoubi has more than $700,000 in live earnings, with a significant portion of that coming in Rozvadov. Four of his top five results have taken place at King's, with his career-best score of €100,000 coming from his victory in the 2021 IPS Main Event Speed.
The French poker player's rise to the top of the counts began with the elimination of Adrian State. He then got three-streets of value from Francesco Rinaldi with king-queen and went into the dinner break second in chips.
He began to separate himself from the pack after picking off WSOP Paradise Main Event winner Stanislav Zegal's ten-high bluff before hitting a three-outer on Armin Aghaie. He chipped down slightly but rebounded well to be the only player above four million and 100 big blinds.
Also in the top three are Andrea Ricci (2,980,000) and Alberti Sanaia (2,920,000), who amassed significant stacks.
A host of poker's top talent also remains in the mix, including Daniel Rezaei (2,915,000), Anson Tsang (2,450,000) and Vladas Tamasauskas (1,150,000), all of whom navigated the gruelling seven levels of play across a 14-hour session. Online legend Viktor Blom looked a lock to advance to Day 4 for much of the day but fell by the wayside in the penultimate hand of the night, losing with pocket threes to Big Slick.
Monika Zukowicz (610,000) is the last female player standing but will need to come from the bottom end of the pack to realise any hopes of making the final table.
2024 WSOPE Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rachid El Yaacoubi | France | 4,100,000 | 103 |
| 2 | Andrea Ricci | Italy | 2,980,000 | 75 |
| 3 | Alberti Sanaia | Georgia | 2,920,000 | 73 |
| 4 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | 2,915,000 | 73 |
| 5 | Marcello Manganiello | Italy | 2,690,000 | 67 |
| 6 | Michael Dick | Germany | 2,600,000 | 65 |
| 7 | Jorge Manzur Duarte | Canada | 2,550,000 | 64 |
| 8 | Andria Gogelidze | Georgia | 2,540,000 | 64 |
| 9 | Patrik Zidek | Czechia | 2,530,000 | 63 |
| 10 | Luka Bojovic | Serbia | 2,450,000 | 61 |
| 10 | Anson Tsang | Hong Kong | 2,450,000 | 61 |
Money Bubble Bursts on Day 3
When play began, everyone had their eyes set on surviving the bubble, with only the top 116 players earning a share of the €7,219,200 prize pool. Big names fell quickly once the cards were in the air.
2020 WSOP Online Main Event Champion Stoyan Madanzhiev was one of the early casualties, joined by Dario Sammartino, Maria Lampropulos, and Nick Palma.
High-roller powerhouse Alex Foxen also exited before the bubble after a set-over-set showdown with the aforementioned Ricci. Foxen flopped a set of sevens on an ace-high board, and the chips went in on the turn. However, the Italian had pocket aces, and there was no miracle river for Foxen, who was sent to the rail.
Following the departure of last year's Main Event third-place finisher, Michele Tocci, the tournament entered hand-for-hand play just five spots from the money. Dennis Dielmann, Felix Neubauer, Anh Do, and Marius Kudzmanas left empty-handed, setting up the stone bubble.
After several rounds of bubble play, it appeared Daniel Koloszar would be the last player to leave without a payday. However, he spiked a set of sevens on the flop to crack Said Madani's pocket nines. This left Michal Schuh in trouble, forced all-in from the big blind on the next hand.
Dmytro Stetsiura and Gaspare Sposato limped and checked their way to showdown. Stetsiura could only show ace-high, while Sposato revealed top pair with jacks. Schuh hadn't looked at his cards, flipping over the 2? for a pair and a flush draw, but his second card was the A?, confirming his status as the bubble boy. The remaining players were now in the money, securing a €20,900 min-cash.
It hasn't been all bad for Schuh this series though, as last week, he won his maiden bracelet and €171,350 after topping the monster field in Event #5: €550 NLHE Colossus.
Famous faces to fall after the bubble but before the end of play included 2024 WSOP final tablists Boris Angelov and Niklas Astedt.
Deeb Spins It Up From Less Than Two Big Blinds
Not long after the players were in the money, six-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb found himself on fumes, holding a stack of less than two big blinds. The Team Lucky member lived up to his stable's name and spun up his couple of chips into 25 big blinds in just four hands, which saw him double up twice and score a bust out.
He closed Day 3 with 2,315,000 chips, good for 59 big blinds and 12th in the chip leaderboard. PokerNews spoke to Deeb after his heater, which you can watch below.
Plan for Day 4
Everyone still in the field has secured at least €30,300, with the next pay jump (€34,700) coming when 39 players remain.
Day 4 kicks off at 12 p.m. local time on Tuesday, October 8. The plan is to play down to the final table, with the champion crowned the following day. Action will resume at Level 22 with blinds of 20,000/40,000 and a 40,000 big blind ante.
Remaining Payouts
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for all the latest updates from the 2024 WSOPE.