Ryan Hughes maintained his leading position in the record-shattering WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic $10,400 Main Event after an eventful Day 3 of the tournament. Hughes accumulated 1.212 million in chips on Wednesday and will return for Day 4 play as the only survivor beyond the one-million mark.
A total of 277 players were seating at the Bellagio poker tables when cards were thrown in the air at noon on Wednesday. The field was whittled down to 75 survivors throughout the day, only several eliminations away from the bubble. The top 72 places are to get paid in this year’s edition of the emblematic WPT event.
Hughes did not let go of his leadership position for the whole part of Day 3. The player won big pots, won smaller pots, won pots of all sizes to boost his chip stack. He kept his consistency and composure for a second consecutive day. As reported yesterday, Hughes finished as the chip leader on Day 2, as well, heading the 277 hopefuls from that day.
Aside from the chip leader, notable players like Justin Bonomo, Mike Matusow, Aaron Massey will also be among those to return to the Bellagio today. It is also interesting to note that three former WPT Five Diamond Main Event champions also made it through Day 3, those being Dan Smith, Antonio Esfandiari, and Joe Hachem.
Esfandiari, in particular, could easily be called a Five Diamond veteran. He cashed in five consecutive Main Events between 2008 and 2012, winning the one held in 2010 for a first-place prize of $870,124 and making final-table appearances in the next two years.
On the other hand, players like Gordon Vayo, Mike Leah, and Lisa Hamilton were among those to fail securing place among the Day 4 survivors.
Play is set to resume today at noon Las Vegas time at the Bellagio. The remaining players are scheduled to play seven 90-minute events. The bubble will most certainly burst today.
Gathering a record field of 791 entries, the Five Diamond Main Event this year features more than $7.7 million in prize money. And players are contending for a first-place prize of $1,938,118 and the accolades that accompany the notable accomplishment of winning one of the emblematic tournaments to annually take place as part of WPT’s Main Tour.
