Poland’s Marcin Chmielewski is having a pretty solid week. Over the weekend, he finished 21st in the France Poker Series High Roller Event (not a huge cash by any means, but still something) and now he is leading the charge to the final table in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final. With just 74 players remaining after Day 3, Chmielweski is the chip leader, boasting a stack of 1.314 million chips. Two other players have over a million: Natan Chauskin (1.107 million) and Roman Korenev (1.091 million).
One of the more frustrating portions of a live poker tournament can be when the event gets close to the money. At that point, the tournament gets into “hand-for-hand” mode, meaning that all tables must finish their current hand before the next one can be dealt. This helps prevent short-stacked players from simply stalling until the money is reached. Of course, this also bogs down the entire tournaments, as many tables end up waiting several minutes while one table finishes up.
With around 200 players returning for Day 3 and the tournament paying to 159 spots, that hand-for-hand play was inevitable on Tuesday. It took several hours from the start of the day to when the money bubble burst, but, as usual, after it happened, players started getting eliminated left and right. The “bubble boy” yesterday wasn’t a boy at all, but rather a woman named Jinfeng Huo. Aaron Gustavson, who won the Season 6 EPT London Main Event, raised pre-flop and Huo called from the big blind. On the all-heart flop of K-7-2, Huo moved all-in for 100,000 and Gustavson called, showing 6-4 of hearts for a flush. Huo held K-2, giving her two pair and a few outs to make a full house. The 7 on the turn gave her a couple more outs, more chances at a boat, but the river was a brick, giving Gustavson the hand and sending Huo to the rail in 160th place, one spot from the money.
If it makes her feel any better, and it won’t, she is a hero to everybody else who remained in the tournament.
Day 4 of the EPT Grand Final Main Event is already underway, an unfortunate bit of timing for this writer, who is many time zones behind. But no matter. Five more 90-minute levels are in the works today as the final table draws nearer.
2016 European Poker Tour Grand Final Main Event – Day 3 Chip Leaders
1. Marcin Chmielewski – 1,314,000
2. Natan Chauskin – 1,107,000
3. Roman Korenev – 1,091,000
4. Evangelos Terzoudis – 985,000
5. Mohamed Aissani – 926,000
6. Dario Sammartino – 902,000
7. Thiago Nishijima – 840,000
8. Erwann Pecheux – 818,000
9. Adrien Allain – 810,000
10. Fatima Moreira de Melo – 807,000
