The dust has settled on Day 3 of the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event and 25 players turned in for the night with dreams of a gold bracelet and prize money drifting - if not pounding - through their head. The goal of the tournament team was to reduce the playing field from 116 to 16 by the end of day 3 but the early morning hours appeared and a decision was finally made to stop at the end of Level 19 with 25 players in the hunt.
Two players from the U.K. - Max Silver and Chris Moorman - were both running back to back and until the chips were bagged and sealed, no one was sure who the chip leader was. Max Silver was at the top of the heap by an 11 chip difference!
Max Silver is well known in the European poker scene since winning the UIKPT in Dublin and then a side event at EPT London last September. But during the last 12 months Silver has been very quiet - not one cash in a single live event. His luck started to change as his favorite month hit and he took down 28th at the WPT Gran Prix de Paris, 4th place at UKIPT Dublin, and a few days ago he took down 4th in the WSOPE Event *4 €3,200 Shootout.
Just to make it interesting and add a little spice to top off the last few months, Silver finished with 1,780,000, and 11 chips ahead of his nearest competitor. Silver's confidence and stack started to grow after he busted his fellow countryman Mathew Frankland in a flush-over-flush hand.
Chris Moorman was well known in the poker world for his online poker player but has since shown the world that he can handle a live card room too. He finished in 7th place at the Aussie Millions Main Event before his summer started in Las Vegas. He cashed for over $1 Million at the World Series of poker. He cashed in a live event on European soil in the 2010 WSOPE, but this time he might take home all the glory.
Moorman may have hit the mother lode when he was seated with the two chip leaders at the time, Constant Rijkenberg and Melanie Weisner. Moorman and Rijkenberg got into a chip war, right at bubble time, when the flop brought the js4s4d5d9h. Moorman moved all-in for 229,000 after dancing through the betting of the flop, turn, river. When Rijkenberg called, Moorman showed pocket queens and Rijkenberg was left with the remnants of a chip stack that has gone to war and lost. Moorman moved to the feature table and along with being live-streamed, he went chip-streamed. Hoyt Corkins, Freddy Deeb, Carbone Damiano, and Melanie Weisner all fell to Moorman's run.
Barry Greenstein became the bubble boy - even his girlfriend predicted Barry's bubble position via a text message. Brian Roberts is the one that sent Barry home in 65th place, which means he now has a signed copy of Barry's Ace On The River!
Joining the bracelet hunt with Moorman on Day 4 are Shawn Buchanan (1,267,000), Patrik Antonius (696,000), Jake Cody (522,000), John Duthie (314,000), Erik Seidel (242,000), Tony G (226,000) and John Eames (210,000).
Players who did not survive Day 3, but made the money were Liv Boeree, Freddy Deeb, McLean Karr, Hoyt Corkins, Constant Rijkenberg, Barny Boatman and Victor Ramdin.
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