WSOP What To Watch For: All Eyes Back On Ivey and Hellmuth Goes for #12
Two events are onto Day 3 at the 2012 World Series of Poker and both are packed with big names. Event #17: $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em is down to the final 17 players with Phil Ivey and Shaun Deeb still in the mix. Also reaching its final day is Event #18: $2,500 Seven Card Razz, and Phil Hellmuth sits in third place on the chip leaderboard. These two events will be the focus of this edition of the PokerNews What To Watch For.
Event #17: $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em
Ivey Gets Right Back to Work
While some players like to enjoy a WSOP final table and a big cash in an event, Ivey's not one of them. Immediately upon busting in seventh place at the Event #15: $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better final table, Ivey darted off to get into action in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em. He didn't stop at the payout desk on the way and he didn't seem to care, Ivey was all business and the work day wasn't over yet.
On Day 2, the field worked its way into the money and when it ended, 17 players remained. Ivey is one of them and will enter Day 3 11th in chips with 180,000. Whether or not you hold a grudge against him for the entire Full Tilt Poker ordeal or the fact that he likes to keep to himself rather than open up to the fans, poker needs Ivey back in the winner's circle. On Sunday, he'll look to get there and lock up his ninth WSOP gold bracelet.
Deeb Deep Again in Quest for Gold
The knock to Deeb is that he has never really been able to translate his online prowess to the live realm. Still, he's extremely well respected and revered in the poker world as one of the best, but being able to finally win a gold bracelet would truly put a stop to all the naysayers.
Deeb's best WSOP finish was a fourth-place run last year in the $2,500 10-Game Six-Handed event. That's also his only WSOP final table and before Deeb can win the bracelet, he'll need to first make his second final table at the series. He's got the chips to really put him in contention with 396,000 and will enter Day 3 fifth in chips.
Event #18: $2,500 Seven Card Razz
Will This Be Number 12 for Hellmuth?
While in Event #15, Hellmuth grabbed the chip lead and it looked like he just might be able to nail down bracelet No. 12. Then, some things didn't go his way and the next thing you knew, Hellmuth was out before the final table even started.
Coming into Day 3 of Event #18 with 18 players left, Hellmuth has great position sitting third overall. He's just about one big bet away from the leader, Brandon Cantu, and will surely have all of his focus set on getting an unprecedented 12th piece of WSOP gold.
As always, you can find PokerNews' coverage of the 2012 WSOP on our Live Reporting Pages. We look forward to having you follow along and stay tuned for plenty more from our What To Watch For series.
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