Welcome to Day 4 of the PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC), which kicks off inside the wonderful Baha Mar Resort at 12 p.m. ET.
From the original field of 1,014, just 52 players are returning for the penultimate day of the PSPC, and in pole position is Petar Kalev. The Bulgarian raced into the chip lead late on in Day 3 when it looked like he would be one of the last casualties of the day. He wrapped up the session with 3,360,000 and is the only player above the 3 million mark.
His four-bet jam with ace-three suited was called by Fedor Holz, who had ace-king. Kalev would go onto river a flush to collect the pot when it looked like he would be the one heading to the rail.
Had Holz won the pot, he would have been sitting on a stack of 4,500,000. To put it into perspective, MSPT Hall of Famer Blake Bohn finished second in chips with 2,800,000, so the German would've had a fair bit of distance between himself and the rest of the pack.
Rounding out the top three chip stacks is high stakes cash game player Dylan Destefano. Just three big blinds seperate him and Bohn and he will be looking for more of the same today.
Just one PokerStars ambassador also remains in contention, and that player is Sam Grafton. He bagged and tagged a stack of 1,590,000 and is on the periphary of the top ten chip counts.
Top 10 Chip Stacks Heading into Day 4
| RANK | NAME | COUNTRY | CHIP COUNT | DAY 4 BIG BLINDS |
|---|
| 1 | Petar Kalev | Bulgaria | 3,360,000 | 84 |
| 2 | Blake Bohn | United States | 2,800,000 | 70 |
| 3 | Dylan Destefano | United States | 2,665,000 | 67 |
| 4 | Dominik Nitsche | Germany | 2,360,000 | 59 |
| 5 | Tom Parsons | United Kingdom | 2,265,000 | 57 |
| 6 | Marcello Del Grosso | Canada | 2,200,000 | 55 |
| 7 | Matthew Hunt | United Kingdom | 2,075,000 | 52 |
| 8 | Thomas Eychenne | France | 1,955,000 | 49 |
| 9 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | 1,775,000 | 44 |
| 10 | Tommy Nguyen | Canada | 1,670,000 | 42 |
Remaining PSPC Platinum Pass Winners
Hundreds of players were able to participate in this prestigious event thanks to getting their hands on a coveted Platinum Pass. However, just 16 of those have survived to this stage of the event.
Many of you who follow the poker tournament circuits would have heard of Dominik Nitsche before, and he makes up one of the 16 who are in The Bahamas thanks to a Platinum Pass. He ended up with 2,360,000 which is currently good for fourth-place.
Another Platinum Pass holder who sits in the upper echelons of the field is Tom "PredPoker" Parsons (2,265,000). He pulled off an impressive spin up on Day 3 after it looked like he may have been one of the players to bubble. By the end of the day though, he was just one of the seven players to bag more than two million and will be having dreams of capturing the $4,053,200 first-place prize.
| RANK | PLAYER | CHIP COUNT | DAY 4 BIG BLINDS | RANK | PLAYER | CHIP COUNT | DAY 4 BIG BLINDS |
|---|
| 4 | Dominik Nitsche | 2,360,000 | 59 | 26 | Fabio Bonatto | 1,050,000 | 26 |
| 5 | Tom Parsons | 2,265,000 | 57 | 28 | Max Menzel | 1,015,000 | 25 |
| 12 | Sam Grafton | 1,590,000 | 40 | 34 | Luis Garcia Moreno | 830,000 | 21 |
| 17 | Renato Minicuci | 1,345,000 | 34 | 36 | Esteban Maquillon | 730,000 | 18 |
| 19 | Jerome Moreau | 1,205,000 | 30 | 40 | Niclas Thumm | 645,000 | 16 |
| 22 | Omar Del Pino | 1,180,000 | 30 | 49 | Sergio Carro Marin | 380,000 | 10 |
| 24 | Hugo Rodilla | 1,130,000 | 28 | 50 | Mehdi Violleau | 320,000 | 8 |
| 25 | Jonathan Jaffe | 1,110,000 | 28 | 51 | Dimitrios Barmpathanasis | 260,000 | 7 |
Remaining Payouts
The PSPC generated an almighty prize pool of $24,843,000 and those who are left have locked themselves a payday of at least $70,700. But of course, each player will be doing all they can to make Day 5, where the top six players guarantee themselves a seven-figure payout.
The next pay jump occurs when 39 players remain, which sees the payout increase to $81,400. The payouts hit the six-figure threshold when the tournament reaches its final 27 players.
| PLACE | PAYOUT (USD) | PLACE | PAYOUT (USD) | PLACE | PAYOUT (USD) |
|---|
| 1 | $4,053,200 | 10-11 | $300,100 | 40-52 | $70,700 |
| 2 | $2,542,300 | 12-13 | $238,700 | | |
| 3 | $1,911,200 | 14-15 | $198,800 | | |
| 4 | $1,551,300 | 16-17 | $165,600 | | |
| 5 | $1,251,500 | 18-20 | $142,100 | | |
| 6 | $1,001,200 | 21-23 | $123,600 | | |
| 7 | $801,000 | 24-27 | $107,500 | | |
| 8 | $621,300 | 28-31 | $93,500 | | |
| 9 | $449,700 | 32-39 | $81,400 | | |
Day 4 will kick off at noon local time on Level 23 with blinds of 20,000/40,000 and a 40,000 big blind ante. The day is expected to play until just six players remain, but of course, this is subject to change based on the pace of play. All levels remain 60 minutes in length, with a scheduled 20-minute break after every two levels.
Be sure to tune in here to follow the PokerNews live reporting team for up-to-date action throughout the event as we get closer to crowning a new PSPC champion in The Bahamas.
Tags:
Daniel DvoressDimitrios BarmpathanasisDominik NitscheDylan DestefanoEsteban MaquillonFabio BonattoFedor HolzHugo RodillaJerome MoreauJonathan JaffeLuis Garcia MorenoMarcello Del GrossoMatthew HuntMax MenzelMehdi ViolleauNiclas ThummOmar Del PinoPetar KalevRenato MinicuciSam GraftonSergio Carro MarinThomas EychenneTom ParsonsTommy Nguyen
and Pizzari continued for 400,000. Eychenne check-raised to 1,000,000 and Pizzari three-bet all in. Eychenne called for his final 1,400,000. 
runout to mark his elimination in seventh place for a career-best $801,000.
