It's time to crown another bracelet winner as Day 3 of Event #21: $1,500 8-Game Mix 6-Handed is set to kick off at 2 p.m. with just 10 players in contention for a piece of gold jewelry and a $145,557 first-place prize.
Although Day 2 saw the late elimination of fan favorite Daniel Negreanu, there are still some very notable players left in this small field. For one, there's French high-stakes online cash player Alex Luneau, who has won nearly $5 million in tracked hands in his online nosebleed career. Luneau has already made a bit of noise here at the 2017 WSOP, showing off his mixed game prowess with a 15th-place finish in the $1,500 Dealer's Choice.
Chris Vitch, another noted mixed game player who took down his first bracelet in 2016 in $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball, is also among the final 10. He already booked a 10th-place finish last week in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship.
Everyone, though, is trying to catch Gregory Jamison, who finished atop the counts with 714,500. Second-place Ron Ware has 511,000, so it's a tightly bunched group overall as limits for limit games head to 12,000/24,000, while blinds will be 3,000/6,000 for big-bet games.
Stay tuned to PokerNews throughout the day to see who is crowned 8-game champ at this year's WSOP.
Georgii Belianin was cut down to 18,000 after losing a big hand against Sachin Bhargava. Belianin moved all in with his remaining shrapnel, and Alex Luneau isolated.
Georgii Belianin:
Alex Luneau:
The board didn't bring any high card whatsoever, leaving Luneau's ace-high ahead. Belianin became today's first casualty, departing in 10th place for a $10,144 payday.
Alexandre Luneau doubled twice but his rise back to contention was halted right after that. Luneau lost a big pot to Sachin Bhargava when he completed and then called Bhargava's raise. Luneau called on the fourth street and raised on the fifth before betting on the sixth. The seventh street was checked through but Luneau couldn't beat Bhargava's aces up.
Alex Luneau: / /
Sachin Bhargava: / /
Luneau was short again and he lost all of his remaining chips in the very next hand when he raised after Chris Vitch had completed.
"Alright, let's get it in again," said Vitch and Luneau obliged.
Alex Luneau: / /
Chris Vitch: / /
Vitch received back some of earlier lost chips, raking in Luneau's remaining 47,500. Luneau left the table with the ninth-place prize, earning $10,144 for his efforts.
While one French player left the table, another arrived as Fabrice Soulier came from the other side of the feature table set up at Brasilia Room so the play would carry on with four players on each table.
Christopher Sensoli completed last to act with , and Ryan Himes defended with . It was Himes catching small cards throughout though, and he took the lead on fourth street and bet every street.
Sensoli: //
Himes: //
Himes bet the end, and Sensoli looked pained.
"How many times can I have a flush draw and a massive low draw and miss?"
He said he was trying to decide whether to call 30,000 of his remaining 31,000 with ace-high. In the end, he decided to fold.
Moments later, he got his remaining chips in against Ron Ware. Ware's board ran out for nines up, and Sensoli was drawing dead on the end with just ace-high, making a useless pair of kings on his final card.
Gregory Jamison was seriously short on chips and found one double with against the of Sachin Bhargava, but he could not find another. He shoved all in from the cutoff for 52,000, and Fabrice Soulier looked him up from the button.
Soulier:
Jamison:
The board ran out , giving Jamison a pair and the lead on the flop before the ace sent him packing on the turn.
Ryan Himes lost a huge pot in razz that left him with only 25,000. He would lose them two hands later when he was in the big blind in a hand of pot-limit Omaha.
Razz
What led to Himes' elimination was a clash against Ron Ware. Himes completed with a and Chris Vitch and Ron Ware came along .
Himes was the active player in the hand, betting fourth and fifth street. Vitch stepped down already on the fourth but Ware called on both occasions. The sixth street went check-check. Ware finally placed in a bet on the seventh street, which Himes didn't particularly like but he matched it anyway.
Ryan Himes: /
Ron Ware: /
Ware turned over as his hole cards, showing six-perfect.
Pot-Limit Omaha
After the aforementioned razz hand, Himes had only two big blinds left and he had to post one. Mike Ross opened the button to 30,000 and Himes called off for the rest of his chips.
Ryan Himes:
Mike Ross:
The board sent Himes to the sidelines in sixth place worth $19,077.
Ron Ware just moved to the chip lead, breaking the one-million-chip mark after winning a massive three-way pot against Fabrice Soulier and Chris Vitch.
They all remained in the contest through to the seventh street, with the pot being raised already on the third street.
Ware fired on the fourth, earning two calls. Soulier paired his sixes on the fifth street and he led to the pot. Both of his rivals called. The sixth street double-paired Soulier's board as he spiked another seven. However, the sixth street was the only one that was checked all around.
Soulier then check-raised the seventh street, after Ron Ware had called Chris Vitch's bet. Vitch had three low cards on the board but he apparently didn't make his low as he eventually tank-folded. Ware snap-called.
Chris Vitch: /
Fabrice Soulier: /
Ron Ware: /
Soulier announced, "Two pair," pointing at his board. Ware, in return, showed as his hole cards for a higher two pairs to scoop the big pot and vault over a million in chips.
Chris Vitch's 8-Game run has come to a close. The Day 1 chip leader lost his tournament life when he open-shoved his remaining 350,000 from the small blind, and Ron Ware called in the big blind to put him at risk.
Vitch:
Ware:
Vitch was in bad shape, hoping for a queen to crack Ware's jacks, but he wouldn't get one. The board was all but dramatic, sending Vitch to the rail in fifth place. The WSOP bracelet winner collected $27,142 for his efforts.
Ware is now navigating more than two million chips, nearly 60 percent of all the goods in play.
Down to his last 145,000 chips (six big blinds), Fabrice Soulier moved all in from the button. Mike Ross called from the big blind, and when the cards were face-up, he shouted to his railbirds, "I'm ahead!"
Soulier:
Ross:
Ross had a better starting hand, but his advantage wasn't as decisive as he'd have liked. The board came , securing Soulier a double-up.
However, Ross got his revenge in the very next hand. He limped from the small blind and then called Soulier's shove. Ross was slightly ahead again.
Soulier:
Ross:
Shouts from both rails followed, but the loudest voice in the room belonged to Ross. He saw the ace hit the flop and screamed, "Ace!" in celebration. The flop couldn't get much worse for Soulier, as he now needed runner-runner to survive.
It wasn't meant to be this time, with the on the turn sealing the win for Ross. The river was only a formality as Soulier already knew he was getting the $58,968 third-place prize.
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for nines up, and Sensoli was drawing dead on the end with just ace-high, making a useless pair of kings on his final card.
of Sachin Bhargava, but he could not find another. He shoved all in from the cutoff for 52,000, and Fabrice Soulier looked him up from the button.
, giving Jamison a pair and the lead on the flop before the ace sent him packing on the turn.
and Chris Vitch 
and Ron Ware came along 
sent Himes to the sidelines in sixth place worth $19,077.
flop couldn't get much worse for Soulier, as he now needed runner-runner to survive. 