While more than 4,000 players have already been knocked out of the WSOP Main Event, the remaining 2,359 who made it through to the official Day 3 continue their battle today for the championship bracelet and $8 million first-place prize.
It’s a minefield marked with seven former WSOP Champs, three former Players of the Year, a handful of 2021 Player of the Year contenders, Circuit event winners, and tournament grinders all looking for a huge score.
Day 3 chip leaders
These are the players at the top of the leaderboard heading into the start of Day 3.
- Conrad DeArmas: 744,000
- Shahid Rameez: 731,700
- David Mock: 679,700
- Adam Walton: 673,100
- Keyu Qu: 664,900
- Damien Steel: 649,000
- Cameron Mitchell: 642,000
- Farhad Jamasi: 635,000
- Raul Martinez: 628,100
- Daniel Lowery: 625,600
Lowery has the most hardware out of the top 10. While he has no WSOP bracelets, he doesn’t have enough fingers to wear all of his WSOP Circuit rings at once. His latest ring needs to go on a thumb.
Seven WSOP Main Event champs still in contention
Playing in the Main Event can be a nerve-wracking experience under ideal conditions, so just imagine what it must be like to look across the table and see one of these familiar faces looking back at you.
30. Chris Moneymaker (2003) – 531,600
42. Qui Nguyen (2016) – 479,100
322. Martin Jacobson (2014)- 288,100
2070. Jerry Yang (2007) – 57,500
2131. Scott Blumstein (2017) – 50,800
2133. Joe Hachem (2005) – 50,800
2316. Phil Hellmuth (1989) – 25,400
It’s going to be fun to see how Moneymaker and Nguyen use their top-50 stacks to try and win a second Main Event bracelet. But with 180 big blinds, count on Jacobson to go deep.
Three former Players of the Year still alive
Former Main Event winners aren’t the only competitors who can strike fear in the hearts of their tablemates, as these former POY winners all know — and are counting on.
865. Ben Lamb (2011) – 180,600
970. Robert Campbell (2019) – 168,100
1006: Erick Lindgren (2008) 163,100
None of the players listed above are contenders to win POY this year, with only two cashes between them.
Current POY contenders
The winner of the Main Event will get 1,664 points toward the WSOP Player of the Year, with the final nine finishers earning at least 416 points each.
Josh Arieh is the current leader with 3,110.91 points, and is still alive in the Main Event with 177,800 chips. A deep run by any of the four others currently in the top-10 of POY standings could challenge Arieh’s lead, as the race is that tight.
264. Anthony Zinno (2,731.32 pts) 309,400
273. Ben Yu (1,643.33 pts) 304,800
367. Cole Ferraro (2,032.64 pts) 272,000
889. Josh Arieh (3,110.91 pts) 177,800
2316. Phil Hellmuth (2,598.59 pts) 25,400
There are plenty of old favorites and serious contenders still in the hunt, including our CardsChat News field reporter Chris Wallace.
Other notable names making a run
In a field this large, it’s no surprise that big names and famous faces can be found at almost every table in the Rio. Some players to look out for on Day 3 include:
20. Nick Petrangelo: 580,000
21. Matt Glantz: 580,000
37. David Williams: 499,100
67: Victor Ramdin: 473,400
95. Matt Affleck: 404,100
157. Jason Koon: 361,200
101. Blair Hinkle: 396,200
259. Robert Mizrachi: 311,300
264. Anthony Zinno: 309,400
290. Ted Forrest: 298,100
293. Stephen Chidwick: 296,200
305. JJ Liu: 292,200
315. Liv Boeree: 289,500
322. Martin Jacobson: 288,100
367. Cole Ferraro: 272,000
409. Chris Moorman: 259,700
449. Danny Wong: 251,300
462. Barry Greenstein: 248,300
513. Justin Bonomo: 236,200
549. Lara Eisenberg: 229,300
646. Jared Jaffee: 213,600
674. David Pham: 208,800
686. Pete Chen: 206,500
698. Brian Yoon: 204,600
739. Mario Ho: 199,000
795. Billy Baxter: 190,300
824. Barny Boatman: 186,200
825. Chris Wallace: 186,100
865. Ben Lamb: 180,600
889. Josh Arieh: 177,800
901. Bertrand Grospellier: 176,500
934. Matt Berkey: 172,600
944. Micheal Mizrachi: 171,200
945. Nate Silver: 171,000
970. Robert Campbell: 168,100
1006. Erick Lindgren: 163,100
1062. David Baker: 157,100
1084. Mike Wattel: 154,900
1291. Barbara Enright: 133,400
1350. Steve Zolotow: 127,100
1421. JC Tran: 121,100
1446. Eric Mizrachi: 119,100
1519. Mark Newhouse: 111,700
1606. Kathy Liebert: 103,700
1897. Eli Elezra: 74,700
2056. Allen Kessler: 59,000
2070. Jerry Yang, 57,500
2316. Phil Hellmuth: 25,400
Play continues today and will go on until a winner is crowned on Day 9. The final nine will be determined either late Monday night or early in the morning on Tuesday. They will then play down to the final four on Tuesday, with the winner celebrating like a champion on Wednesday, Nov. 17.
