Day 3 of World Poker Tour (WPT) Legends of Poker is underway and three WPT champions are still in the hunt. They are joined by a field of 33 on Day 3 for the penultimate session at Parkwest Bicycle Casino.
The total field of 642 runners generated a prize pool of $3,113,700 over three opening flights, and the event easily surpassed the $2.5 million guarantee.
Joshua Pollock ran it up to the chip lead on Day 2, and he was the only player to bag more than 2 million. He’s followed on the leaderboard by David Lambard, who eliminated Jonathan Jackson late in the evening to jump near the front of the pack. Also among the leaders is Michael Dyer, the Day 1b chip leader. Dyer went into Day 2 with a large chip advantage and he kept pace throughout the day to finish near the top.
Nick Phoenix and Paul Nguyen round out the top five chip counts as Day 3 gets underway. Phoenix vaulted late in the evening with the double knockout of Jesus Bertoli and Steve Buckner.
WPT Legends of Poker Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 3 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Pollock | United States | 2,170,000 | 87 |
| 2 | David Lambard | United States | 1,995,000 | 80 |
| 3 | Michael Dyer | United States | 1,940,000 | 78 |
| 4 | Nick Phoenix | United States | 1,590,000 | 64 |
| 5 | Paul Nguyen | United States | 1,500,000 | 60 |
| 6 | Lei Lei | United States | 1,400,000 | 56 |
| 7 | Chahn Jung | United States | 1,400,000 | 56 |
| 8 | Grant Wang | United States | 1,290,000 | 52 |
| 9 | Allan Le | United States | 1,180,000 | 47 |
| 10 | Ray Qartomy | United States | 1,150,000 | 46 |
Three WPT Champions Remain
Jordan Cristos is no stranger to success in this event as the winner of WPT Legends of Poker in 2013, when he outlasted a field of 716 to take down the $3,700 tournament for $613,355. Cristos has the opportunity to become the first two-time winner at WPT Legends of Poker, and the win would take him over $4 million in lifetime earnings.
Nam Le and Matthew Wantman join Cristos as the three WPT champions that return for Day 3. Le won the Bay 101 Shooting Star event back in Season 4, while Wantman claimed victory at the WPT Aria Summer Championship in 2019.
Saya Ono, Xuan Liu, and Quene Gabriel also sat down for Day 3 as the three remaining females in the tournament. Ono bagged 515,000 and Liu survived with 805,000, while Gabriel finished with just over 1.1 million at the end of Day 2.
Notable players that cashed but did not survive Day 2 include 2019 Legends of Poker final table qualifier Jared Griener (79th, $9,350), 2019 WSOP Main Event final table qualifier Joshua Remitio (74th, $9,450), Shawn Daniels (41st, $13,500), and Dorian Rios (37th, $15,400).
WPT Champions that cashed but did not make Day 3 were David Williams (76th, $9,450), Brandon Cantu (66th, $10,100), J.C. Tran (36th, $15,400), and Ryan Tosoc (35th, $15,400).
Remaining Payouts
Returning players are all guaranteed at least $15,400, while the top prize is $575,350 and a $10,400 ticket into the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December. Action will continue today until the field reaches its six-handed final table. The final table will resume tomorrow at 1 p.m. local time and the livestreamed broadcast will be featured on the WPT Twitch.
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $573,350* | 15-16 | $29,600 |
| 2 | $380,000 | 17-20 | $24,600 |
| 3 | $280,000 | 21-24 | $20,800 |
| 4 | $207,000 | 25-32 | $17,700 |
| 5 | $156,000 | 33 | $15,400 |
| 6 | $119,000 | ||
| 7 | $91,000 | ||
| 8 | $71,000 | ||
| 9-10 | $56,000 | ||
| 11-12 | $44,500 | ||
| 13-14 | $36,000 |
* – Includes $10,400 entry into the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December
Be sure to keep it with PokerNews throughout the week for more coverage of WPT Legends of Poker at Parkwest Bicycle Casino.
Feature photo courtesy of Joe Giron/WPT
Live Reporting Executive
Las Vegas-based PokerNews Live Reporting Executive, originally from Chicago, IL