Frank, Lovgren, and Peters Headline Final 161 of the MPP Main Event as the Bubble Looms
The race to the money is on when Day 3 of the $5,300 Luxon Pay Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event begins at noon local time.
Just 161 players out of a starting field of 1,032 will return inside the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel, but only 155 will finish in the money. Six players will leave North Cyprus empty-handed.
Christopher Frank is in no danger of being one of them. The German pro with more than $2,500,000 in career live winnings surged toward the end of the night yesterday and enters Day 3 in the top five with 1,710,000. Sergey Bobrik is the chip leader with 2,366,000, followed by Andrey Litvinov (2,173,000), Dawid Smolka (2,050,000), and Ran Ilani (1,920,000).
Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergey Bobrik | Russia | 2,366,000 | 148 |
| 2 | Andrey Litvinov | Russia | 2,173,000 | 136 |
| 3 | Dawid Smolka | Poland | 2,050,000 | 128 |
| 4 | Ran Ilani | Israel | 1,920,000 | 120 |
| 5 | Christopher Frank | Germany | 1,710,000 | 107 |
| 6 | Justus Held | Austria | 1,610,000 | 101 |
| 7 | Viktor Kudinov | Russia | 1,540,000 | 96 |
| 8 | Juan Jose Membreno Orellana | Panama | 1,497,000 | 94 |
| 9 | Zolbayar Batbold | Mongolia | 1,472,000 | 92 |
| 10 | Siarhei Chudapal | Belarus | 1,380,000 | 86 |
Also near the top of the leaderboard are Sofia Lovgren (1,250,000) and David Peters (913,000). Further down the counts are Niall Farrell (613,000), Phillip Nagy (559,000), Tony G (305,000), Bruno Fitoussi (261,000), Faraz Jaka (192,000), and Paul Phua (161,000).
Action will pick up on Level 19, with blinds of 8,000/16,000 and a 16,000 big blind ante. There will be a 20-minute break after every two levels, and a 60-minute dinner break following Level 24. The plan for today is to play 10 hour-long levels.
The money bubble is near and the final table awaits for the surviving 161 players. PokerNews will be on hand throughout the day as the field inches its way towards crowning a champion at this seaside resort in the eastern Mediterranean.