Event #3 of the Poker Masters Set to Begin
Welcome back to the ARIA Resort & Casino, and Day 3 the inaugural Poker Masters for Event #3: $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em.
Thursday saw the completion of the first event of the Poker Masters as Nick Schulman defeated Matt Hyman heads-up to claim the $918,000 first prize and outright lead in the race for the Poker Masters Purple Jacket™. Also on Thursday, Event #2 began, and with it saw a total of 50 players create a $2,500,000 prize pool. Unfortunately, it would be Erik Seidel earning the moniker of bubble boy before Dan Shak was eliminated in 8th for $100,000 to leave the final table of seven that would return today to battle it out for the $900,000 first prize.
Leading those seven players is German Christian Christner who made a late charge into the chip lead after doubling through Tom Marchese with second set to end the day with 1,416,000 in chips. Sitting behind Christner is fellow German Fedor Holz (1,138,000) and Marchese (1,011,000) while Phil Hellmuth (702,000) and Bryn Kenney (391,000) round out the bottom few stacks. For Steffen Sontheimer (848,000) and Adrian Mateos (745,000), they are making back-to-back final tables, and will need to win Event #2 to take the lead from Schulman in the race for the Poker Masters Purple Jacket™.
For final table updates of Event #2, click here.
Today is expected to attract the same group of players that took part in Event #1 and Event #2 along with some potential new blood who were unable to take a seat yesterday, along with some people that played the first event, but not the second. And with the registration and re-entry period open for the first 9 levels (approximately 7:00 p.m. PDT), it is expected that all the final table combatants will also be making an appearance. As was the case in Event #1 and Event #2, players will begin with 125,000 in starting chips and are allowed one re-entry. Levels will last 30 minutes with a 10-minute break after every three levels with plans to play down to the final table to the end of the day.
Inspired by the Aria High Rollers, the tournament rules are designed to speed up play and are specifically catered to the regular high-stakes players, including:
- Seven-handed tables
- A single ante posted by the big blind
- A 30-second shot clock, with three 60-second time extensions
- Players may re-enter once per event through level nine (with no re-entry in the final event)
- Headphones and sunglasses are not allowed
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be providing continuous live updates from the tournament floor once play begins at 2:00 p.m. (PDT). Our updates will coincide with the live stream, and will not include any spoilers for those watching along on PokerGO. So stay tuned right here to PokerNews.com for updates from Event #3, and all the events on the Poker Masters schedule.