Argentina vs. Czech Republic: Down to Ivan Luca and Artur Rudziankov for the Bracelet
Event #30: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em originally began with 2,150 runners – which created a $1,935,900 prize pool – but now just two remain in Argentina's Ivan Luca and the Czech Republic's Artur Rudziankov.
When an impromptu Day 4 begins on Wednesday, Luca, who hopes to become the first Argentinean to ever win a WSOP gold bracelet (Rudziankov would become the second Czech to win after Tomas Junek), will begin heads-up play with 7.78 million in chips to Rudziankov's 2.985 million. Whoever wins will take home $353,391 while the runner-up will have to settle for $219,976.
Day 3 began with 21 players, but the eliminations came fast and furious. Among those to fall short of the final table were Jordan Young (19th - $10,434), Antonio Esfandiari (18th - $12,893), Jason Koon (17th - $12,893), Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (11th - $20,423), and Chris Moorman (10th - $20,423).
Here's a look at those who managed to make the final table but ended up falling before the end of the night:
Final Table Results Thus Far
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBD | - | $353,391 |
| 2 | TBD | - | $219,976 |
| 3 | Travis Case | Los Angeles, CA | $152,907 |
| 4 | Pierre Horaud | Pointe-A-Pitre, France | $110,123 |
| 5 | Bruce Angeski | Sacramento, CA | $80,485 |
| 6 | David Chase | Alameda, CA | $59,538 |
| 7 | Viliyan Petleshkov | Bulgaria | $44,622 |
| 8 | Kai Yang | Plano, TX | $33,868 |
| 9 | Omri Sabach | Tel Aviv, Israel | $26,008 |
The final two players will return at 1 p.m. local time Wednesday to play to a winner.