Yannick Cardot had gotten his 1,375,000 chips in from the big blind and was at risk against Albert Nguyen in middle position.
Yannick Cardot:
Albert Nguyen:
The vaulted Cardot ahead and Nguyen started to move his stack forward, until the hit the felt on the turn to put Nguyen right back in front. The meaningless completed the board as the players exchanged "gg"s, and Cardot made his exit in 18th place for $34,903.
Eshaan Bhalla moved all in from the hijack for 1,100,000, Jampa Dothar called on the button, and Arsenii Karmatckii moved in his 1,175,000 chips. Dothar called for the 75,000 more.
Eshaan Bhalla:
Arsenii Karmatckii:
Jampa Dothar:
Bhalla was calling for a deuce for a potential triple-up, but the board ran out to keep Karmatckii's jacks in front for him to nearly triple, while Bhalla was eliminated in 19th place for $34,903.
Picking up the action on the turn, Todd Peterson in the small blind was involved in a hand with Mohammad Siddiqui in the big blind and Daniel Smiljkovic in middle position. With the board reading Peterson moved all in for 950,000. Siddiqui made the call with the bigger stack while Smiljkovic folded.
Todd Peterson:
Mohammad Siddiqui:
Peterson was in bad shape, needing a queen, jack or nine to find its way onto the river. It did not happen, with the completing the board and sending Peterson out in 20th place, a result good for $34,903.
Ankush Mandavia opened to 120,000 in the cutoff, Jacky Wang flatted on the button, and James Romero raised to 600,000 in the small blind. Mandavia folded, Wang got his approximately 2,500,000 chips in, and Romero quickly put the chips in to put Wang at risk.
Jacky Wang:
James Romero:
Wang ran jacks into aces in a seemingly unavoidable cooler, and the flop changed nothing. The turn gave Wang a flush draw, but the completed the board to keep Romero's rockets in front, eliminating Wang in 21st place for $30,483.
With roughly 500,000 in the pot on a board, Mohammad Siddiqui bet 300,000 in the hijack, Daniel Smiljkovic called in the small blind, and Michael Rossitto moved all in for 1,440,000 in the big blind. Siddiqui called and Smiljkovic folded.
Michael Rossitto:
Mohammad Siddiqui:
Rossitto ran right into Siddiqui's superior flush and got up from his seat before the meaningless completed the board, eliminating Rossitto in 22nd place for $30,483.
Picking up the action on the turn, Mike Allen in early position was involved in a hand with Stephan Nussrallah out of the big blind. With the board reading Nussrallah moved all in and, after a moments hesitation, Allen called off for his tournament life.
Mike Allen:
Stephan Nussrallah:
Though it was not entirely clear what order the board had been dealt, it is likely that Nussrallah had flopped a two pair that had been counterfeited on the turn, giving Allen the better two pair. As a result, heading to the river Allen was in a good spot to get the double. The rolled off the deck, however, improving Nussrallah to a full house and sending Allen home in brutal fashion.
Sami Shurbaji was short-stacked to start the day with only a couple of big blinds and had gotten his stack in earlier in this hand from the hijack. On a completed board of , Daniel Smiljkovic bet in the big blind, Lorenzo Lavis jammed on the button, and Smiljkovic called.
Shurbaji showed , but it was no good against Smiljkovic's , and even more so against Lavis' boat. Shurbaji made his way to the payout desk, while Lavis secured the double.
Stephan Nussrallah limped from under the gun and action folded around to James Romero in the small blind, who also limped. The dealer then thought Yuki Kashihara checked his option out of the big blind and pulled the chips into the middle. Kashihara objected and the chips were pushed back out of the pot, at which point Kashihara announced all in for 1,295,000. Nussrallah gave his decision some thought before making the call with the covering stack and attempted to turn over his cards before the table as a whole pointed out that there was still live action with Romero. Romero folded and Kashihara was officially at risk.
Yuki Kashihara:
Stephan Nussrallah:
Though at risk, Kashihara was in a good spot to get the double up. He fell behind, however, on the flop but did pick up an open ender. That draw came in immediately on the turn and the river completed the board to send the pot Kashihara's way, getting him off to a dream start early on Day 3.
The 2022 Wynn Summer Classic $3,500 NLH Championship will culminate at Wynn Las Vegas as the final day begins at 12 noon local time.
There were 1,428 total entries across three flights to create a $4,605,300 prize pool in the prestigious tournament. Now, only 24 players remain with one ultimate goal, yet only one player will win the $696,011 first-place prize and glamorous Wynn trophy.
Ankush Mandavia will be heading into the day as the chip leader with 93 big blinds. Andrew Moreno, winner of the inaugural Wynn Millions Main Event, has a top-ten stack and an opportunity to claim another premier Wynn trophy. James Romero, Mohammad Siddiqui, and Jacky Wang are a few other players with top-ten stacks when play resumes.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Ankush Mandavia
United States
5,580,000
93
2
Eshaan Bhalla
United States
4,400,000
73
3
Diego Sanchez
Mexico
4,225,000
70
4
Daniel Smiljkovic
Germany
4,195,000
70
5
Nicolas Noguera
France
4,155,000
69
6
Jacky Wang
United States
3,965,000
66
7
Jinho Hong
South Korea
3,695,000
62
8
Andrew Moreno
United States
3,590,000
60
9
Mohammad Siddiqui
United States
3,120,000
52
10
James Romero
United States
3,100,000
52
German player Daniel Smiljkovic bagged the Day 1b chip lead, and continues to hold a healthy stack with just over 69 big blinds. Mexico’s Diego Sanchez bagged the second-biggest stack of Day 1b, while United Kingdom’s Mike Allen bagged the third-biggest stack of Day 1b, and both players are also returning to the felt for the third and final day.
Canada’s Albert Nguyen will be looking to possibly improve upon his career-high cash from November 2021, a runner-up finish in a similar championship event during the Wynn Fall Classic.
Four French players are also still in the mix, with Ivan Deyra, Yannick Cardot, Lorenzo Lavis, and Nicolas Noguera all having a shot at the trophy.
When action resumes, players will begin Level 26 with blinds at 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. Levels will be 60 minutes each, and play is scheduled to continue until one player holds all of the chips.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team provides coverage of the 2022 Wynn Summer Classic $3,500 NLH Championship until a champion is crowned.