The most important tournament on the World Poker Tour (WPT), and thus the tour itself, is nearing its end. Day 3 of the 2013 WPT World Championship concluded Monday night as the field narrowed from 67 to just 24. It looked like it would be a fairly quick day as the eliminations sped along early on, but as is frequently the case, play began to seriously slow as the money bubble approached. That money bubble will burst Tuesday when the 16th place finisher is eliminated, as just 15 players will get paid.
Leading the charge to the final table after Day 3 is Amir Babakhani, who with 1.220 million chips is one of just three players with over a million (the others are Brandon Steven with 1.091 million and Matt Hyman with 1.042 million). Despite having just four live tournament cashes on his resume (thank you, TheHendonMob.com), Babakhani has an interesting history. All four cashes have come this calendar year, all are top ten finishes and he is already a member of the WPT Champions Club. Earlier this month, the Toronto resident won the WPT Canadian Spring Championship, taking down the $430,986 prize. In February, he had a fourth and eighth place finish in two preliminary events at the WPT L.A. Poker Classic, while he came in third in a preliminary event at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown.
Should Babakhani hold onto the top spot and end up winning the tournament, he will also win the World Poker Tour Player of the Year (POY) race for Season XI. That is the only way he can take that title, though, just as it is the only way Jonathan Roy, who currently sits in sixth place, can win it. If neither of those men wins the WPT World Championship, Matt Salsberg, who was eliminated yesterday, will be the WPT POY.
The plan for Tuesday’s Day 4 is to play five more levels before calling it a night. Play will pick up at noon Vegas time as the remaining 24 players look to make a profit and, better yet, progress towards the final table.
2013 World Poker Tour World Championship – Day 3 Chip Counts
1. Amir Babakhani – 1,220,000
2. Brandon Steven – 1,091,000
3. Matt Hyman – 1,042,000
4. Hyon Kim – 891,000
5. Alex Phahurat – 878,000
6. Jonathan Roy – 824,000
7. Andy Frankenberger – 811,000
8. Steven Silverman – 749,000
9. Jeffrey Ishbia – 705,000
10. Dan Shak – 698,000
11. Rocco Palumbo – 666,000
12. Byron Kaverman – 656,000
13. Jason Mercier – 583,000
14. Emil Olsson – 573,000
15. Andrew Mackenzie – 483,000
16. Sam Goldman – 470,000
17. Erick Lindgren – 467,000
18. David Peters – 369,000
19. Jake Cody – 365,000
20. Daniel Negreanu – 329,000
21. Chino Rheem – 270,000
22. Richard Harroch – 193,000
23. Andrew Lichtenberger – 137,000
24. Zach Hyman – 130,000
