Behind Rheem is Erick Lindgren with 2,518,000, Jonathan Roy (1,987,000) and May Hyman (1,940,000) form the chase pack with almost two million. Rounding out the table are Brandon Steven (1,235,000), David Peters (858,000), Rocco Palumbo (680,000) andDaniel Negreanu (545,000).

Jeffrey Ishbia (15th), Steven Silverman (14th), Byron Kaverman (13th), Emil Olsson (12th), Dan Shak (11th), Sam Goldman (10th) and Amir Babakhani (9th) made the money but did not make it to the end of the day.

Rheem had a big chip stack to play with all day and secured his lead with the final elmination of the day. Hyman opened for 50,000, Rheem raised to 125,000 and Babakhani moved all in for 470,000. Hyman folded, Rheem called with pocket kings and Babakhani turned up pocket sevens. The board ran A 8 3 J 4, Hymen never improved and Rheem crossed the 200 big blind mark.

Sam Goldman bowed out in tenth place to reduce the field to a final table. He open-shoved in middle position, Babakhani called with K Q and Goldman turned up A Q. The board ran 9 5 4 K 4 and Goldman was sent to the payout desk.

Shak was poised for another deep run but he was derailed after doubling up Lindgren. A rivered flush left Shak with five big blinds and he got them all in on the next hand with A 7. Goldman called with K T, paired his king on the flop to win the hand and Shak’s elimination combined the field to one table.

Only the top 15 players earned a cash in the event, meaning nine players went home with empty pockets – Andy Frankenberger, Jake Cody, AP Phahurat, Jason Mercier and Andrew Lichtenberger were among the victims.

Hyon Kim was the bubble boy of the tournament and was eliminated after he opened, Shak shoved and Kim called with pocket tens. Shak held pocket queens, the board ran K 9 5 5 2and Kim’s elimination guaranteed the rest of the field almost $50,000.

Rheem ran hot all day and helped trim the field closer to the money bubble when he knocked out Cody. Rheem opened for 25,000, Cody moved in for 264,000 and Rheem called with pocket nines. Cody tabled J T and the board gave each player piece when it ran T 9 6 K J. But Rheem’s set ended the Englishman’s day.

Phahurat shoved preflop from the big blind after waking up with pocket jacks and Peters called from the small blind with A 9. The board ran A A 5 2 5 and Peters’ full house sent Phahurat to the rail.

Lichtenberger was the first player eliminated on the day when he shoved with A Q, Rheem called with A 5. Rheem hit a pair of fives and won the hand. Mercier was the next player eliminated when he found pocket aces. Matt Hyman out flopped him for two pair and sent Mercier to the rail.

 Day 4 WPT $25,000 World Championship Final Table Chip Counts

1. Chino Rheem – 4,839,000
2. Erick Lindgren – 2,518,000
3. Jonathan Roy – 1,987,000
4. Matt Hyman – 1,940,000
5. Brandon Steven – 1,235,000
6. David Peters – 858,000
7. Rocco Palumbo – 680,000
8. Daniel Negreanu – 545,000

Coming up behind Linster are Dan Shak (617,300) andAntonio Esfandiari (536,100). Chino Rheem (396,600), Will Failla (386,000), Alex Phahurat (314,500), Phil Hellmuth (307,000), Yevgeniy Timoshenko (237,100), Andrew Lichtenberger (232,100) and Brian Rast(228,700) are moving on tomorrow with a substantial stack.

Other players still in the running but with an uphill challenge are Ben Lamb (218,900), Andy Frankenberger (186,400), Marvin Rettenmaier (178,100), David “Doc” Sands (176,600), Matt Giannetti (148,200), Matt Salsberg (130,800), Erick Lindgren (124,100) and Daniel Negreanu (124,000).

The field doesn’t get softer at the with Jason Mercier, Dan O’Brien, Scotty Nguyen, Paul Klann and Jonathan Aguiar on the short stacks.

Of course, it wasn’t a great day for everyone; Mohsin Charania, Galen Hall, Joe Serock, Phil Ivey, Nick Schulman, Barry Shulman, Brock Parker, Giacomo Fundaro and Guillaume Darcourt were all eliminated during the day’s play.

Registration closed halfway through the day and the prize pool information was calculated. The prize pool reached $3,540,400 and the top 15 players will make the money. The top eight spots are guaranteed six figures with the winner walking away with $1,150,297.

Linster’s hot streak in recent WPT events hasn’t come to an end and he eliminated the 2012 WSOP Seniors champ Allyn Jaffrey Shulman. Linster called Shulman with pocket fives and Shulman held [Ax] [Kx]. Linster’s fives held and Shulman was eliminated as the only female player to play in the event.

The last few hands of the evening were eventful and saw Linster nab the chip lead, Esfandiari double and Waxman eliminated by Shak.

First, Linster opened for 5,000, Sands raises to 12,400 on the button and Linster called. The flop fell 9 6 3, Linster checked, Sands bet 14,000 and Linster made ti 30,500. Sands called, the turn came 8 and both players put in 50,000. The A came on the river, Linster bet 75,000. Sands called and Linster tabled A 5. Sands mucked and Linster locked up more than a 100,000 chip lead.

Esfandiari moved all in over Ryan D’Angelo preflop and all the chips went in the middle. Esfandiari had pocket nines and D’Angelo held A Q. The board ran 9 5 4 T J and Esfandiari joined the chip leaders.

Waxman was eliminated on a board where he held two pair and Shak had the ace-high straight. Shak stacked enough to land in second place on the leader board.

Phahurat picked up a hefty pot and eliminated Farzad Bonyadi after shoving on a T T 7 flop. Phahurat tabled pocket kings to best Bonyadi’s pocket jacks. A king on the turn added an exclamation point to the hand and Phahurat was among the top stacks in the room following the hand.

Hellmuth stayed active, played well and had great timing thirty minutes after taking his seat. He picked up pocket queens and got Bill Klein to move all in with pocket jacks. Hellmuth couldn’t call fast enough and after the board ran A 7 2 6 A Klein was sent to the rail.

Ivey was the 146th player to enter the tournament. Details on his elimination were unavailable, but Ivey played less than a level before being eliminated.

Fundaro was eliminated early in the day when he got his A T all in against Giannetti’s Q J. The flop paired Giannetti’s queen and a jack on the turn sealed Fundaro’s elimination.

 Day 2 WPT $25,000 World Championship Top Ten Chip Counts

1.  Mike Linster – 744,000
2. Dan Shak – 617,300
3. Antonio Esfandiari – 536,100
4. Steven Silverman – 513,20
5. Amir Babakhani – 491,000
6. Jake Cody – 453,500
7. Richard Harrock – 399,600
8. Chino Rheem – 396,500
9. Rocco Palumbo – 395,200
10. Will Failla – 386,000

The largest change is that the National Championship will take place at Caesars Palace in Atlantic City just days after the New Orleans stop wraps up - traditionally  the final stop of the tour. The WSOP is hoping to offer a “last shot” online tournament pending licensing and regulatory approval.

Also, two new stops on the tour include two events in Ohio – one early in the season in Cincinnati and the other in March in Cleveland. Last season the tour expanded to Vancouver at the River Rock Casino and this year will see a second Canadian stop – this time in Montreal in mid-November.

“The WSOP Circuit continues to pick up momentum,” said Ty Stewart, WSOP Executive Director. “We’re proud to have become North America’s largest poker tour, and believe we have the most complete offering out there. With big fields, good value, and exciting stops, the action doesn’t stop all year.”

The format of a dozen ring events in as many days will continue this year; along with non-ring events offered as well. The same points system that qualifies at-large players for the National Championship will remain the same. Though the WSOP plans to award six additional seats through WSOP.com online promotions, thus reducing the number of at-large bids to 50.

The new season will return to 19 venues that it visited last year; the most popular stops included Horseshoe Hammond, Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Harrah’s Tunica, Harrah’s New Orleans and The Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles.

 2013/2014 Word Series of Poker Circuit Schedule

• Foxwoods Resort Casino – August 8-19, 2013
• IP Casino Resort & Spa, Biloxi – September 5-16, 2013
• Horseshoe Cincinnati – September 19-30, 2013
• Horseshoe Southern Indiana – October 3-14, 2013
• Horseshoe Hammond, Chicago – October 17-28, 2013
• Harvey’s Lake Tahoe – October 24-November 4, 2013
• River Rock, Vancouver – October 28-November 8, 2013
• Horseshoe Bossier City, Louisiana – November 7-18, 2013
• Casino Montreal – November 13-24, 2013
• Harrah’s Atlantic City – November 29-December 9, 2013
• Harrah’s Rincon, San Diego – December 5-16, 2013
• Choctaw Durant, Oklahoma – January 9-20, 2014
• Harrah’s Tunica – January 23-February 3, 2014
• Palm Beach Kennel Club, Florida – February 6-17, 2014
• Caesars Palace, Las Vegas – February 20-March 3, 2014
• The Bicycle Casino, Los Angeles – March 6-17, 2014
• Horseshoe Cleveland – March 20-March 31, 2014
• Harrah’s Cherokee, North Carolina – April 3-14, 2014
• Horseshoe Council Bluffs, Iowa – April 10-21, 2014
• Harrah’s Philadelphia – April 17-28, 2014
• The Lodge Casino at Black Hawk, Colorado – April 24-May 5, 2014
• Harrah’s New Orleans – May 8-May 19, 2014
• Caesars Atlantic City – WSOP National Championship – Dates TBD

The final seven players started the day with Mercier holding a significant chip lead over the field with 4.16 million. A three-way chase pack of Vladimir Troyanovsky (2.15 million), Sorel Mizzi (2.14 million) and Altergott (2.1 million) were close behind. Timothy Adams returned with 830,000, Scott Seiverheld 625,000 and Mike Watson was the shortest stack with 480,000.

The first elimination occurred about 45 minutes into play when Altergott opened for 100,000 in late position, Watson shoved from the button for 665,000 and Mizzi called from the big blind with pocket aces. Altergott folded and Watson tabled K Q. The board ran 6 6 5 9 3 and Watson was the first to hit the rail.

The table played five-handed for an hour and a half before Seiver would run into Mercier. Seiver open-shoved for 895,000 with pocket nines and Mercier insta-called and tabled A Q. The board ran K 5 5 T 8 and the runner-runner flush would eliminate Seiver in sixth place.

Just fifteen minutes later Troyanovsky opened from under the gun, Mizzi raised enough to set the Russian all in from the big blind and Troyanovsky called with K Q. Mizzi tabled A J and watched the board run his way when it ran T 8 4 6 7. Troyanovsky was eliminated in fifth place.

The pace didn’t slow after Altergott opened in early position and Adams shoved from the button. Altergott called with A 8 and Adams had to fade an ace with pocket nines. The board ran 7 74 A 4 and the ace on the turn ended Adams’ deep run in fourth place.

Three-handed play lasted for around an hour before Altergott opened on the button, Mizzi moved his stack in from the small blind and Altergott snap-called with pocket jacks. Mizzi turned up KQ and whiffed on the 8 4 4 3 J board. Mizzi was eliminated and Altergott brought 7.35 million into heads up play to Mercier’s 5.15 million.

After about thirty minutes of heads up play Altergott took a stranglehold on the event when they each put in a million chips preflop to see a J 8 7 flope. Mercier check-called 700,000 to see the 4 turn. Mercier checked again, Altergott bet 1.2 million, Mercier shoved all in and Altergott called with pocket queens. Mercier was behind with K 7 and stayed behind when the river came 2. Mercier was left with just three big blinds and got the rest of his stack in two hands later.

Mercier was all in with T 6 and Altergott tabled J 9. The board ran K 6 5 7 8 and Mercier was eliminated and Altergott’s first live tournament cash was a big one.

 EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo €100,000 Super High Roller Payouts

1. Max Altergott – €1,746,400
2. Jason Mercier – €1,115,700
3. Sorel Mizzi – €679,100
4. Timothy Adams – €485,100
5. Vladimir Troyanovsky – €339,500
6. Scott Seiver – €266,900
7. Mike Watson – €218,300

That’s all in the past now, though, as O’Dwyer beat out one of the most talented final tables in recent memory on his way to winning the EPT Grand Final Main Event and €1,224,000 ($1,588,997). He came back from a deficit heads-up againstAndrew Pantling, who at times in this tournament was virtually unstoppable, on his way to victory.

It all came to an end in dramatic fashion, which should make for very good TV. O’Dwyer raised to 240,000 and Pantling called to bring a J 8 8 flop. Pantling checked his flush draw, O’Dwyer bet 300,000 and Pantling called, bringing the 4. Pantling checked his newly-made flush, O’Dwyer bet 600,000 and Pantling check-raised to 1.425 million. O’Dwyer thought it over for quite some time, but couldn’t get away from trips and raised Pantling enough to put him all-in. Pantling instantly called, putting his last 3.6 million in the pot with a chance to take back the chiplead.

The river wouldn’t cooperate, though, with the 8 giving O’Dwyer the win with four-of-a-kind. Pantling, who shot down any talk of a deal three-handed or heads-up, was quick to congratulate O’Dwyer on his victory despite the brutal nature of the final hand.

The final table began with an air of excitement, with familiar faces in almost every seat. Grant Levy, one of the best Australian players in the world with over $1.8 million in lifetime earnings along with APPT and ANZPT titles, was somehow the least recognizable player at the table. Levy also entered as the shortest stack, and was the first to fall at Pantling’s hand at this final table. After three-betting preflop with A K, Levy went all-in on a J 7 3 only to get a quick call from Pantling, as he’d flopped quite a bit with J T. The A on the turn gave Pantling the flush, knocking Levy out in eighth place.

Jason Mercier was the second-shortest stack at the start of the day, but he got a much-needed double through Daniel Negreanu when his T 9 flopped trips to beat A K. After losing much of it back, though Mercier made another stand. Johnny Lodden opened to 80,000 and Mercier three-bet all-in for 650,000. Pantling called, Lodden folded and Mercier was at risk, well behind with QT against A Q. The board wouldn’t provide any help to Mercier as he went out in seventh.

Negreanu made his biggest push towards the lead at the expense of Jake Cody and Noah Schwartz, eliminating both of them on the same hand. Negreanu opened to 115,000, Schwartz three-bet all-in for 630,000 and Cody four-bet all-in over the top for 860,000. That bet was snap-called as Negreanu had A A against Cody’s J J and Schwartz’s K T, and when it ran out Q8 7 8 T Negreanu had simultaneously eliminated two dangerous players and increased his stack to 3.5 million, pulling him closer to O’Dwyer and Pantling. Cody had more chips and was awarded fifth place, but he (along with Mercier) failed to break the nine year drought without a two-time EPT winner, pushing that unlikelihood into the 10th year of the tour.

Things changed quickly for Negreanu, though, and in two hands he went from a strong stack to the rail. Both came at the hands of Lodden, and the first one was particularly brutal as Negreanu’s Q Q were cracked by Lodden’s 9 9 as the 9 fell on the turn. Negreanu would soon be all-in with 4 4 against Lodden’s A Q, staying ahead on the K T 2 flop and 9turn. The J river gave Lodden the nut straight, though, and Negreanu would have to settle for fourth. Negreanu’s has already won over $1.5 million in 2013, along with his fifth career WSOP bracelet.

Pantling opened up a big lead, with Lodden in second and O’Dwyer in third. That all changed when a raising war led to an unusual coinflip for O’Dwyer’s tournament life. Lodden opened to 120,000, O’Dwyer three-bet to 375,000 and Lodden four-bet to 880,000. O’Dwyer five-bet all-in for just under 2.5 million, and after getting a count Lodden elected to call with Q T. He had two live overs against O’Dwyer’s 6 6, but the A J 6 7 9 runout kept O’Dwyer ahead as they essentially switched stacks.

O’Dwyer would get the rest in short order. After he opened to 150,000 on the button, Lodden three-bet to 400,000 and O’Dwyer called. The flop was T 7 4, Lodden bet 350,000 and O’Dwyer called. The turn was the 3, Lodden went all-in for 1.45 million and O’Dwyer called with A T, which had Lodden’s A J in bad shape. The river was the K and Lodden, who was among the chipleaders throughout the tournament, was left to settle for third place.

Pantling started with the chiplead but O’Dwyer would keep chipping away until he took a slight lead going into the dinner break. They eventually played heads-up for about a full level, with an hour-long dinner break thrown in, but they wouldn’t play long once they got back.

In what was the biggest pot of the tournament at the time, O’Dwyer opened to 240,000, Pantling three-bet to 800,000 and O’Dwyer called. The A 8 3 flop brought a bet of 975,000 from Pantling and a call from O’Dwyer, bringing a Q on the turn. Pantling bet again, this time for 1,575,000, which O’Dwyer also called. The A on the river made Pantling slow down, and O’Dwyer checked behind, showing A T for trips which was good against Pantling’s 6 3.

A seemingly made-for-TV hand would bring the tournament to a close, an ending that could have been delayed for some time considering the sizes of the stacks. Pantling got his money in good, but O’Dwyer hit his card at the right moment and made quads to seal his first major title.

This was the last Main Event of Season 9 of the EPT, though there is still a €100,000 Super High Roller that will begin on Monday. Season 10 will begin in late August in Barcelona.

Here are the final table payouts for the 2013 PokerStars and Monte Carlo Casino EPT Grand Final Main Event.

1. Steve O’Dwyer – €1,224,000
2. Andrew Pantling – €842,000
3. Johnny Lodden – €467,000
4. Daniel Negreanu – €321,000
5. Jake Cody – €251,000
6. Noah Schwartz – €189,000
7. Jason Mercier – €137,000
8. Grant Levy – €103,000

Sbrissa accumulated 224,800 by the end of Day 1B, putting him ahead of Dan Smith and all of the other Day 1A survivors, putting the Brazilan on top going into Day 2. Noah Schwartz cleared 200,000 chips as well, putting him close to the top as well.

Calvin Anderson and Oleksii Kovalchuk each eclipsed Smith’s stack on Day 1B, with Victor Ramdin and Igor Kurganov well over 100,000 too. Davidi Kitai, Daniel Negreanu, Alec Torelli, Alex Kravchenko, Noah Boeken, Steve O’Dwyer and Chad Brown each managed to end play Tuesday with an above average stack. Defending EPT Grand Final Main Event champion Mohsin Charania made a late run to bag 51,000, which is right about average.

A lot of talented players found themselves on the rail before the end of Day 1B, with Phil Ivey, David Williams, Bertrand Grospellier, Adam Levy, Aaron Lim, Dominik Nitsche, Scott Seiver, Sam Trickett, Viktor Blom Chris Moneymaker, Gus Hansen, Eugene Katchalov and Michael Mizrachi representing just a few of the many casualties.

A total of 423 players registered, pushing the total field to 531. It’s down from 665 players in 2012, but after just 108 players registered on Day 1A it was quite a recover on Day 1B. 215 players made it through Day 1B, meaning 268 players still have a chance to win the final EPT title of Season 9. The total prizepool has not yet been released, but it will likely be announced early on Day 2.

Play will resume at 12 pm local time in Monte Carlo (6 am ET) with six 75-minute levels on the schedule. Here’s the top ten chip counts going into Day 2 of the 2013 PokerStars Monte Carlo Casino Grand Final Main Event.

1. Victor Sbrissa – 224,800
2. Noah Schwartz – 204,600
3. Calvin Anderson – 198,100
4. Oleksii Kovalchuk – 148,600
5. Andrew Lichtenberger – 137,800
6. Danilo Donnini – 137,800
7. Dan Smith – 136,500
8. Pablo Fernandez – 135,900
9. Victor Ramdin – 134,400
10. Marcin Horecki – 134,100

Behind Driscoll are Jonathan Roy (218,400) and Jake Toole (208,900). The gap widens with Ben Hammet fourth in chips with 148,800 for a 60,000 chip deficit. Ravi Raghavan(136,100), Ronnie Bardah (115,200), Matthew Jarvis (112,300) and Paul Klann (110,000) have six-figure stacks to bring into Day 2.

Ebony Kenney (89,500), Trishelle Cannatella (81,500), Hiren Patel (51,000), Jeff Madsen (39,900), Daniel Buzgon (29,200) and Darryll Fish (29,100) will also advance to Day 2 with shorter stacks.

Casualties from  the final flight that hit rail include Mike Sexton, Matt Marafioti, Surinder Sunar, Tony Dunst, Phil Laak, Matt Giannetti, Bruce Buffer, Andy Frankenberger, Andy Philachack and Gavin Smith. Sexton, Dunst and Laak are a few of the players that took advantage of the re-entry format and juiced up the prize pool but were unable to advance.

Laak was eliminated in the final minutes of the day when he got his stack all in preflop with two other opponents – Matt Salsberg and Mattieu Paquette. Salsberg was gambling with 5 3 as he was trying to improve on his 73,000 stack he built on Day 1a, Paquette had the best hand with AK and Laak was hoping to survive with A 5. The board ran T 7 2 3 8, Laak was eliminated and Salsberg took the pot but it wasn’t enough to trump his Day 1a stack.

Buzgon advanced to Day 2 after busting the Day 1b flight. He collected some chips in a convincing fashion when he called an unknown players preflop all in with A 9. His opponent was ahead with pocket fives but the flop quickly erased that lead when it fell 9 9 9. Buzgon’s flopped quads brought him to 88,000 but he hit some trouble while finishing the day and will have a below average stack for Day 2.

Buffer, the voice of the UFC, was eliminated when got involved in a hand with former November Niner Matt Jarvis. Buffer three-bet a Jarvis opening raise, Jarvis called and the flop fell [Jx] [7x] [6x]. Buffer bet 2,150, Jarvis raised to 4,500 and Buffer called to see the Q turn. Buffer bet 7,000, Jarvis raised the 14,375 and Buffer shoved for about 15,000. Jarvis called, Buffer tabled pocket sixes for a set and Jarvis tabled pocket sevens for a better set.

The field will join as one for the first time when Day 2 gets underway at 11 a.m. EST. Phillippe Boucher will have the overall chip lead with 278,100 with Matt Kay and Jeff Gross as the other stacks north of 200,000.

Day 1c PartyPoker World Poker Tour Canadian Spring Championship Top Ten Chip Counts

1. Jonathan Driscoll – 263,800
2. Jonathan Roy – 218,400
3. Jake Toole – 208,900
4. Ben Hamnett – 148,800
5. Gabriel Frank – 142,300
6. Ravi Raghavan – 136,100
7. Ronnie Bardah – 115,200
8. Jason Duval – 113,000
9. Matthew Jarvis – 112,300
10. Paul Klann – 110,000

Coming up behind Diaz are Ben Zamani (725,000) andDavid “Doc” Sands (692,000). John Dollinger (537,000),Matt Salsberg (405,000), Raj Vohra (501,000), Daniel Buzgon (235,000), Matt Giannetti 9275,000) and Tony Cousineau (201,000) are serious contenders for a final table run.

The money bubble burst in the last level of the day when Talesh Patel was eliminated by Time Reily. A severely short stacked Patel open-shoved with Q J. Four players flatted but Reily made a straight to win the hand and trim the field to four tables. Those players eliminated but still walked away with a trip to the payout desk included Austin Buchanan (32nd), Ebony Kenney (29th) and David Tuthill (28th).

After the bubble burst nine players were eliminated inside of thirty minutes. Kenney was eliminated when she shoved with A K and David Bell found a pair of tens with K T when the board ran J 7 4 T 4.

Diaz hit a rush of hands and took over the chip lead during the final hour of play. He began by winning a huge pot off of John Dollinger. With a board of 5 5 2 8 2 Diaz made a large river raise, Dollinger called and Diaz tabled A 2 for a full house. Then after a “misclick” mistake by Dollinger, Diaz took advantage by putting in a 100,000 chip raise.

Dollinger took another hit to his stack when Corey Zarnoch opened to 17,000 and Dollinger called. The flop came A 8 8, Zarnoch was all in and Dollinger called with T 9. Zarnoch paired his ace and watched the turn and river run his way when it fell 6 4.

Many notables were eliminated without a cash, including: Noah Schwartz, Matt Glantz, Matt Waxman, Tommy Vedes, Will Failla, Shannon Shorr, Christian Harder, Aaron Massey, Brian Hawkins and Allen Kessler.

Shorr was eliminated when Diaz opened to 12,000, Matt O’Donnell raised to 27,000 and Shorr made it 45,000 from the small blind. Not to be outplayed, Diaz put in a five-bet raise to 90,000, O’Donnell got out of the way and Shorr moved all in for almost 250,000. Diaz called, tabled pocket aces and was ahead of Shorr’s pocket jacks. The board ran dry and Shorr’s jacks never improved while Diaz gathered steam.

Waxman played his last hand when Vedes opened from under the gun, Rodney Rodriguez called and Waxman shoved. Barry Hutter moved in over the top, Vedes and Rodriguez folded, Waxman tabled A K and Hutter revealed pocker jacks. The board ran 7 3 2 J 8 and Waxman was out.

 WPT bestbet Open Top Ten Chip Counts

1.  David Diaz – 1,705,000
2. Michael Linster – 816,000
3. Benjamin Zamani – 735,000
4. David “Doc” Sands – 692,000
5. Tim Reilly – 591,000
6. John Dollinger – 537,000
7. David Bell – 524,000
8. Raj Vohra – 501,000
9. Chad Deberry – 491,000
10. Aaron Lucas – 477,000

Joentausta’s chiplead can largely be attributed to a strange hand with Denis Segorski, where Joentausta five-bet all-in with A Q and Sagorski called off more than 50 big blinds with just K T. Joentausta had a lot to sweat, especially after the T 4 3flop put Sagorski ahead, but the 2 gave Joentausta the nut flush and a pot that pushed him over 1.5 million.

He’d slip a bit, finishing with 1,039,000 to edge out Swede Emil Olson, who bagged 1,011,000. It’s an all European top 10, with Americans Calvin Anderson and Olivier Busquet, two of only five remaining players from the USA, sitting in 11th and 13th, respectively. Just 55 of the 168 players who returned Wednesday afternoon were still there when the final card of Day 3 was dealt.

There are still a few notables in the mix as well, with Liv Boeree, Bryn Kenney, Sandra Naujoks, Max Lehmanski and tennis legend Boris Becker moving onto Day 4. This is Becker’s first career EPT cash, though he’ll have some work to do as he enters play Thursday as the shortest stack of 55.

Just 32 players had to bust for the remaining field to reach the money, but it took nearly four hours from the start of play for the bubble to burst. Igor Kurganov, Mantas Visockis, JC Alvarado, Marc-Andre Ladouceur and Taylor Paur each went out before the money, with Martin Hruby suffering the unfortunate fate of going out on the exact bubble.

Mickey Petersen (134th), defending EPT Berlin champion Davidi Kitai (129th), John Eames (124th) and Jan Heitmann (115th) each earned a min-cash, while Adam Levy (112th), Todd Terry (102nd), Sal Bonavena (95th), Dominik Nitsche (87th), Kitty Kuo (84th), Alex Kravchenko (73rd), Barny Boatman (63rd), Juha Helppi (62nd) and Theo Jorgensen (60th) each bumped up their payday a bit before going out.

Play will resume at 12 pm local time Thursday in Berlin (6 am ET) and they’ll play down from 55 players to just two eight-handed tables. Those 16 will be reduced to a final table of eight on Friday, which will play down to a winner Saturday afternoon. The €10,000 High Roller will also get underway Thursday.

Here are the top ten chip counts going into Day 4 of the 2013 EPT Berlin Main Event.

1. Aku Joentausta – 1,039,000
2. Emil Ohlsson – 1,011,000
3. Pascal Vos – 972,000
4. Ramil Yusupov – 958,000
5. Matias Juhani Kesanen – 938,000
6. Roman Herold – 816,000
7. Anaras Alekberovas – 805,000
8. Robert Auer – 781,000
9. Thang Duc Nguyen – 779,000
10. Lasse Christiansen – 761,000

Ronny Voth managed to bag the chiplead with 196,100, one of 24 players to cross the century mark by the end of eight 90-minute levels of play. With deep starting stacks almost exactly half the field survived, with 171 advancing to Day 2 with a day off in between on Monday. Dominik Nitsche (13th), Aku Joentausta (21st) and Marc-Andre Ladouceur (27th) each put together strong stacks to help their efforts moving forward.

Scott Seiver, Matthias de Muelder, Fabrice Soulier, Dimitar Danchev, Timothy Adams, Liv Boeree and tennis legend Boris Becker each managed to push through to Tuesday as well. They fared better than Dan Smith, AP Phahurat, Ionel Anton, Antoine Saout, Steve O’Dwyer, Aaron Lim, Rupert Elder, Justin Bonomo and Johnny Lodden, who will each need to look to the side events in order to win in Berlin after busting on Day 1A.

While the record mark of 945, which was set the first time Berlin hosted an EPT event, will be hard to beat, the previous two main event fields of 773 and 745 should be well within reach with strong attendance on Day 1B. Play will resume at noon in Berlin, with eight more levels on the schedule for Monday.

Here are the top ten chip counts after Day 1A of the 2013 EPT Berlin Main Event.

1. Ronny Voth – 196,100
2. Mike Kunze – 188,000
3. Thomas Richter – 176,100
4. Sebastian Trisch – 173,500
5. Giuseppe Vassallo – 169,300
6. Yakov Onuchin – 168,600
7. Pal Koppegodt – 165,200
8. Artur Rudziankov – 162,500
9. Marc Witt – 155,800
10. Theodoros Aidonopoulos – 143,100