Obst, Alaei and Ivey Top Three Heading Into Day 3 of Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship
After six more grueling 100-minute levels of mixed gameplay, the final 32 players of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, lead by James Obst, return to the event center gold section at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas at 1 p.m. to chase the money bubble and better position themselves into taking down the $1,324,747 first place prize, the coveted gold bracelet, the legendary Chip Reese Memorial Trophy, and poker immortality.
Obst bagged the chip lead heading into Day 3, ending the day with 2,972,000, but not far behind is veteran mix game pro Daniel Alaei, who bagged 2,064,000 and ten-time bracelet winner and poker legend Phil Ivey, who finished with 1,655,000, to round out the top three.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
| 1 | James Obst | Australia | 2,972,000 |
| 2 | Daniel Alaei | United States | 2,064,000 |
| 3 | Phil Ivey | United States | 1,655,000 |
| 4 | Talal Shakerchi | United Kingdom | 1,598,000 |
| 5 | Johannes Becker | Germany | 1,387,000 |
| 6 | Josh Arieh | United States | 1,365,000 |
| 7 | Brian Rast | United States | 1,306,000 |
| 8 | Lyle Berman | United States | 1,268,000 |
| 9 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | Poland | 1,196,000 |
| 10 | Nacho Barbero | Argentina | 1,158,000 |
However, they will have their work cut out for them, as the rest of the top ten reads like a who's who of mix game players. Including the likes of recent bracelet winner Josh Arieh, fresh off a $10k Limit Hold’Em win last week, former two-time winner of this event Brian Rast, and last year’s fifth-place finisher, Germany’s Johannes Becker.
Rounding out the bottom ten, but never to be counted out, are the likes of five-time bracelet winner and mix game specialist Scott Seiver, recent $10k 2-7 Tripple Draw winner Benny Glaser, and this year’s $10k No-Limit Hold’Em Secret Bounty winner Chris Klodnicki.
A total of 99 players entered this event, creating a prize pool of $4,727,250, with 15 getting paid at least $85,255. The remaining 32 players will play six more 100-minute levels today, with a 15-minute break after each level and a 60-minute dinner break after Level 15 (approx. 6:30 p.m.).
As always, keep it tuned right here to PokerNews for up-to-the-minute live coverage of this championship event.