Main Event Day 3 - Moving Day
REMAINING PLAYERS:
23
PLACES PAID:
12
FINAL TABLE:
8
AVERAGE STARTING STACK:
211,000 (53 BBs)
STARTING LEVEL:
2,000-4,000/ 500 ante
How would 3 of the youngest players in the League (Mike McDonald, Isaac Baron, and Mike Watson) match up against veterans like Erik Seidel and David Steicke?
Would Seidel, the Event 1 runner-up, make the final table to get a chance at the elusive Epic title? Would Event 1 Champion Chino Rheem, who also made it to Moving Day, stand in his way?
Would Isaac Baron, Matt Glantz, and Adam Levy – along with Erik – finish in the money again, and would they make the final table this time? Would Levy avoid the ignominy of another finish on the bubble?
Would Sean Getzwiller and Jaime Kaplan become the first players to parlay a Pro/Am seat into a final table appearance?
|
PLACE |
NAME |
CHIP COUNT |
|
1 |
Fabrice Soulier |
453,500 |
|
2 |
David Steicke |
436,000 |
|
3 |
Erik Seidel |
353,500 |
|
4 |
Nam Le |
306,000 |
|
5 |
Matt Marafioti |
302,000 |
|
6 |
Dutch Boyd |
262,000 |
|
7 |
Adam Levy |
253,500 |
|
8 |
Chris Moore |
250,000 |
|
9 |
Jaime Kaplan |
245,000 |
|
10 |
Isaac Baron |
217,500 |
|
11 |
Tim West |
214,000 |
|
12 |
Dan O'Brien |
201,000 |
|
13 |
Matt Glantz |
198,500 |
|
14 |
Mike Watson |
175,000 |
|
15 |
Christian Harder |
163,000 |
|
16 |
Michael McDonald |
159,000 |
|
17 |
Jonathan Little |
138,500 |
|
18 |
David "Chino" Rheem |
136,000 |
|
19 |
Sean Getzwiller |
131,500 |
|
20 |
Allen Bari |
93,500 |
|
21 |
Marco Johnson |
93,000 |
|
22 |
Amit Makhija |
39,500 |
|
23 |
David "Bakes" Baker |
38,500 |
|
NAME |
CHIP COUNT |
TABLE |
SEAT |
|
Dutch Boyd |
262,000 |
1 |
1 |
|
Christian Harder |
163,000 |
1 |
2 |
|
Matt Glantz |
198,500 |
1 |
3 |
|
Chris Moore |
250,000 |
1 |
4 |
|
Fabrice Soulier |
453,500 |
1 |
5 |
|
Nam Le |
306,000 |
1 |
6 |
|
Jaime Kaplan |
245,000 |
1 |
7 |
|
Dan O'Brien |
201,000 |
1 |
8 |
|
David Steicke |
436,000 |
2 |
1 |
|
Amit Makhija |
39,500 |
2 |
2 |
|
Sean Getzwiller |
131,500 |
2 |
3 |
|
Marco Johnson |
93,000 |
2 |
4 |
|
Tim West |
214,000 |
2 |
5 |
|
Matt Marafioti |
302,000 |
2 |
6 |
|
Erik Seidel |
353,500 |
2 |
7 |
|
Mike Watson |
175,000 |
2 |
8 |
|
Michael McDonald |
159,000 |
3 |
1 |
|
Isaac Baron |
217,500 |
3 |
2 |
|
Adam Levy |
253,500 |
3 |
3 |
|
David "Chino" Rheem |
136,000 |
3 |
5 |
|
David "Bakes" Baker |
38,500 |
3 |
6 |
|
Jonathan Little |
138,500 |
3 |
7 |
|
Allen Bari |
93,500 |
3 |
8 |
Day 3 update with Dutch Boyd
Day 3 update with Allen Bari
Day 3 update with Adam Levy
Day 3 wrap-up withNam Le
Day 3 update with Allen Bari
Day 3 update with Adam Levy
Day 3 wrap-up withNam Le
Written by Tim Fiorvanti
It took eleven and a half hours for 23 players to get whittled down to eight on Day 3, and in the process a very interesting final table developed. There were almost exactly five levels of play on Thursday, or five levels and 12 seconds to be exact. They came back with 18:17 left in Level 11, and ended the day with 18:05 remaining in Level 16, and in between the ups and downs of those 23 players told a story of both heartbreak and triumph.
Australian David Paul Steicke leads the way, but a very familiar face is breathing down his neck, as Erik Seidel continues to display his otherworldly talent in big buy-in events, making his second consecutive Epic Poker League final table in an effort to top his second-place finish in the Inaugural Epic Poker League Event. While these two are the only players over the 1 million chip mark, Isaac Baron is very much in the lead pack as well. Those three are well ahead of the other five players, who are all bunched together.
Steicke isn’t the only one bringing an international flavor to the 8-Max Event as Fabrice Soulier looks to add an Epic Poker League title to his already impressive resume. Dutch Boyd continues his career resurgence, having captured a WSOP bracelet in 2010 after a lengthy drought, and he looks to continue his upswing into poker’s elite. Nam Le is another player who has gone quite a time without a signature win, and after winning his way in through the Pro/Am looks to book one of his largest career wins by taking home the nearly $800,000 first place prize.
The other qualifier remaining from the most recent Pro/Am Event is Sean Getzwiller, and he has made good on an extraordinary opportunity. By making this final table, Getzwiller, who is not currently a card-holder, earns a temporary card through Event 3 of the Epic Poker League and if he wins he will gain an exemption for the rest of the season.
The shortest stack going into the final table is by no means the least experienced, even though he is still just 21-years-old. Mike McDonald, better known by his online handle “Timex” won millions of dollars online and won EPT Dortmund for over $1.3 million when he was only 18, but this would be by far his biggest score in the United States.
In order to get to that point, however, quite a few players had to fall by the wayside. David “Bakes” Baker was the first to go, followed by one of two non-league members to make it to Day 3, Pro/Am qualifier Jaime Kaplan. Former chip leader Dan O’Brien simply couldn’t put it together on Day 3 and he went out in 21st. It was at this point that the run of Inaugural Epic Poker League Champion Chino Rheem came to an end.
Marco Johnson was eliminated in 19th and Matt Marafioti went out 18th, leaving the field just one player away from combining to two tables. Steicke got that job done and then some in a single hand, putting Christian Harder and Chris Moore all-in, holding pocket queens against Harder’s pocket threes and Moore’s ace-king. The door card was a 3, but the flop also had a king and a queen, connecting with all three players but putting Steicke way ahead. The turn and river weren’t enough to catch either player up and Steicke began his run towards the top of the counts as just 16 remained.
There were still three eliminations to go before the money bubble would burst, leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of those who made it that far and would have nothing to show for their troubles. Early on in this process, the shorter stacks were king, winning the first four all-in confrontations to double-up. Allen Bari went on a run during this time from one of the shorter stacks in the field to almost 600,000. Jonathan Little was one of those to send a lot of chips Bari’s way, running AJ into Bari’s AQ to no avail, going out in 15th.
After doubling up McDonald, Mike Watson hung around on a short stack for quite a while before finally succumbing in 14th, bringing play down to the true money bubble. On what turned out to be one of the most crucial hands on the bubble, Allen Bari fired four barrels at Boyd trying to get him to fold. Boyd’s flopped set of kings kept him in at every stage of the hand, however, and it got Boyd enough chips to survive the day while putting Bari back down at the bottom of the counts.
Soulier was all-in with AQ against Levy’s AK, but dodged the $46,000+ bubble when the board double paired and chopped the pot. Bari’s final heartbreak came as he got his remaining chips in with pocket jacks against Baron’s pocket aces, and when the board provided no help he was out the door before his chips were even pushed to Baron.
When players returned from dinner, there were just four eliminations left before the final table was set and play would end for the day. Matt Glantz went out in 12th place and collected his second consecutive cash. Tim West was looking good to double-up with ace-high, but a king on the river gave Baron a pair of kings and sent West out in 11th.
McDonald grabbed the chip lead by flopping a set of queens and extracting maximum value from Seidel, but it wouldn’t be the last time the two would clash. Amit Makhija would go out 10th, calling off his chips with ace-high against Steicke’s top-pair. Steicke would be the first to climb over one million, but Seidel would get all the chips he lost to McDonald and then some, winning the first million chip pot of the tournament and putting himself in the lead for good.
He and McDonald each flopped two-pair and turned a full house, but it was Seidel’s aces-full of tens that had the edge over McDonald’s eights-full of tens, getting all-in on the river. It was at that point that the final hand of the night took place on the other table, as Adam Levy’s king-jack went up against Le’s pocket eights. Levy was looking to avoid bubbling his second consecutive Epic Poker League final table, having finished seventh in the 6-Max Event in August. It was heartbreak again for Levy, though, as an eight on the flop spelled his doom and set the final eight that will come back Friday and play out to a winner.
Play will resume at 3 pm PT, so make sure to check back for hand-for-hand updates as we crown the second ever Epic Poker League champion. Here’s how they stand going into Day 4.
David Paul Steicke - 1,059,000
Erik Seidel - 1,031,000
Isaac Baron - 876,000
Fabrice Soulier - 537,000
Dutch Boyd - 393,000
Nam Le - 362,000
Mike McDonald - 357,000
Sean Getzwiller - 235,000
It took eleven and a half hours for 23 players to get whittled down to eight on Day 3, and in the process a very interesting final table developed. There were almost exactly five levels of play on Thursday, or five levels and 12 seconds to be exact. They came back with 18:17 left in Level 11, and ended the day with 18:05 remaining in Level 16, and in between the ups and downs of those 23 players told a story of both heartbreak and triumph.
Australian David Paul Steicke leads the way, but a very familiar face is breathing down his neck, as Erik Seidel continues to display his otherworldly talent in big buy-in events, making his second consecutive Epic Poker League final table in an effort to top his second-place finish in the Inaugural Epic Poker League Event. While these two are the only players over the 1 million chip mark, Isaac Baron is very much in the lead pack as well. Those three are well ahead of the other five players, who are all bunched together.
Steicke isn’t the only one bringing an international flavor to the 8-Max Event as Fabrice Soulier looks to add an Epic Poker League title to his already impressive resume. Dutch Boyd continues his career resurgence, having captured a WSOP bracelet in 2010 after a lengthy drought, and he looks to continue his upswing into poker’s elite. Nam Le is another player who has gone quite a time without a signature win, and after winning his way in through the Pro/Am looks to book one of his largest career wins by taking home the nearly $800,000 first place prize.
The other qualifier remaining from the most recent Pro/Am Event is Sean Getzwiller, and he has made good on an extraordinary opportunity. By making this final table, Getzwiller, who is not currently a card-holder, earns a temporary card through Event 3 of the Epic Poker League and if he wins he will gain an exemption for the rest of the season.
The shortest stack going into the final table is by no means the least experienced, even though he is still just 21-years-old. Mike McDonald, better known by his online handle “Timex” won millions of dollars online and won EPT Dortmund for over $1.3 million when he was only 18, but this would be by far his biggest score in the United States.
In order to get to that point, however, quite a few players had to fall by the wayside. David “Bakes” Baker was the first to go, followed by one of two non-league members to make it to Day 3, Pro/Am qualifier Jaime Kaplan. Former chip leader Dan O’Brien simply couldn’t put it together on Day 3 and he went out in 21st. It was at this point that the run of Inaugural Epic Poker League Champion Chino Rheem came to an end.
Marco Johnson was eliminated in 19th and Matt Marafioti went out 18th, leaving the field just one player away from combining to two tables. Steicke got that job done and then some in a single hand, putting Christian Harder and Chris Moore all-in, holding pocket queens against Harder’s pocket threes and Moore’s ace-king. The door card was a 3, but the flop also had a king and a queen, connecting with all three players but putting Steicke way ahead. The turn and river weren’t enough to catch either player up and Steicke began his run towards the top of the counts as just 16 remained.
There were still three eliminations to go before the money bubble would burst, leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of those who made it that far and would have nothing to show for their troubles. Early on in this process, the shorter stacks were king, winning the first four all-in confrontations to double-up. Allen Bari went on a run during this time from one of the shorter stacks in the field to almost 600,000. Jonathan Little was one of those to send a lot of chips Bari’s way, running AJ into Bari’s AQ to no avail, going out in 15th.
After doubling up McDonald, Mike Watson hung around on a short stack for quite a while before finally succumbing in 14th, bringing play down to the true money bubble. On what turned out to be one of the most crucial hands on the bubble, Allen Bari fired four barrels at Boyd trying to get him to fold. Boyd’s flopped set of kings kept him in at every stage of the hand, however, and it got Boyd enough chips to survive the day while putting Bari back down at the bottom of the counts.
Soulier was all-in with AQ against Levy’s AK, but dodged the $46,000+ bubble when the board double paired and chopped the pot. Bari’s final heartbreak came as he got his remaining chips in with pocket jacks against Baron’s pocket aces, and when the board provided no help he was out the door before his chips were even pushed to Baron.
When players returned from dinner, there were just four eliminations left before the final table was set and play would end for the day. Matt Glantz went out in 12th place and collected his second consecutive cash. Tim West was looking good to double-up with ace-high, but a king on the river gave Baron a pair of kings and sent West out in 11th.
McDonald grabbed the chip lead by flopping a set of queens and extracting maximum value from Seidel, but it wouldn’t be the last time the two would clash. Amit Makhija would go out 10th, calling off his chips with ace-high against Steicke’s top-pair. Steicke would be the first to climb over one million, but Seidel would get all the chips he lost to McDonald and then some, winning the first million chip pot of the tournament and putting himself in the lead for good.
He and McDonald each flopped two-pair and turned a full house, but it was Seidel’s aces-full of tens that had the edge over McDonald’s eights-full of tens, getting all-in on the river. It was at that point that the final hand of the night took place on the other table, as Adam Levy’s king-jack went up against Le’s pocket eights. Levy was looking to avoid bubbling his second consecutive Epic Poker League final table, having finished seventh in the 6-Max Event in August. It was heartbreak again for Levy, though, as an eight on the flop spelled his doom and set the final eight that will come back Friday and play out to a winner.
Play will resume at 3 pm PT, so make sure to check back for hand-for-hand updates as we crown the second ever Epic Poker League champion. Here’s how they stand going into Day 4.
David Paul Steicke - 1,059,000
Erik Seidel - 1,031,000
Isaac Baron - 876,000
Fabrice Soulier - 537,000
Dutch Boyd - 393,000
Nam Le - 362,000
Mike McDonald - 357,000
Sean Getzwiller - 235,000
