Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier Holds a Commanding Chip Lead as Day 3 Concludes
Day 3 of Event #6: High Roller for One Drop - $111,111 No-Limit Hold'em began with 23 players remaining from the starting field of 130 entries. After more than four levels of play, only nine players remain in hopes of capturing the first-place prize of $3,686,865 and a prestigious World Series of Poker bracelet.
Only 20 players made the money, and it was Dan Shak who was the unfortunate bubble boy. He committed his short stack with ace-jack against the jack-five held by Scott Seiver, but running straight cards delivered a devastating beat to Shak and sent the remaining players into the money. Among those who busted afterward were Big One for One Drop Champions Dan Colman and Antonio Esfandiari.
Unable to gain any traction before the money was reached, Colman steadily dropped down the leaderboard before committing his remaining 11 big blinds with pocket deuces. Chris Moore looked him up with ace-jack, and a jack on the flop sent the 2014 Big One for One Drop Champion to the rail in 16th place. Esfandiari made an ill-timed move with a jack-high flush draw and ran into Rainer Kempe's aces and ace-high flush draw, ending the 2012 Big One for One Drop Champion's tournament in 11th place.
Down to 10 players, 14-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth and Haralabos Voulgaris exchanged turns as the short stack. Ultimately, it was Hellmuth who bowed out in 10th place and bubbled the unofficial final table. Hellmuth committed his final five big blinds with ace-four, but 2014 Main Event Champion Martin Jacobson woke up with ace-king and ended Hellmuth's bid for a third One Drop final table.
Jacobson will begin the final table second in chips, but well out in front with the chip lead is Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier. Grospellier began the day as the chip leader and quickly extended his lead when the money was reached, eliminating Igor Kurganov, Charlie Carrel, and Seiver to reach the 17-million-chip mark. He dipped slightly below that mark by the time play ended, but commands a sizable chip lead for Monday's action.
Here is the table and seat assignments for the unofficial final table of nine players:
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dario Sammartino | Italy | 7,975,000 | 50 |
| 2 | Bertrand Grospellier | France | 16,825,000 | 105 |
| 3 | Rainer Kempe | Germany | 5,760,000 | 36 |
| 4 | Andrew Robl | United States | 6,670,000 | 41 |
| 5 | Doug Polk | United States | 6,090,000 | 38 |
| 6 | Haralabos Voulgaris | Canada | 2,865,000 | 18 |
| 7 | Michael Kamran | United States | 3,470,000 | 21 |
| 8 | Chris Moore | United States | 7,600,000 | 47 |
| 9 | Martin Jacobson | Sweden | 8,890,000 | 55 |
Play resumes at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, so be sure to keep it here as we provide hand-for-hand action as the quest to crown the newest One Drop Champion concludes.