Defending Champ Among 1,299 Left Heading to Day 4 of $10,000 Main Event
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Day 4 of action in the 2022 World Series of Poker $10,000 Main Event kicks off today at noon local time after an exciting and lengthy Day 3 that saw the money bubble burst. All 1,299 of the remaining players are guaranteed at least $15,000 of the $80,782,475 prize pool, while the top prize of $10 million awaits the eventual winner.
Defending champion Koray Aldemir, who less than a year ago won the 2021 Main Event at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino for $8 million, is now looking to win a Main Event bracelet in the WSOP's new home at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas as he enters the fourth day of play with a healthy stack of 67 big blinds.
The German poker pro will be joined on the felt by a handful of Main Event champions still in contention: Damian Salas (2020), John Cynn (2018), Ryan Riess (2013), Greg Merson (2012), and Chris Moneymaker (2003).
Topping the counts heading into Day 4 is Aaron Mermelstein, who bagged a stack of more than two million that is good for 250 big blinds as he looks to add to his $3.6 million in live earnings. Close behind is another crusher with millions in earnings, Michael Rocco, who ended Day 3 with 1,866,000 in chips.
2022 WSOP Main Event Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts
Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Aaron Mermelstein | United States | 2,059,000 |
2 | Michael Rocco | United States | 1,866,000 |
3 | Gabi Livshitz | Israel | 1,835,000 |
4 | Brandon Lulo | United States | 1,679,000 |
5 | Leo Zamarripa | United States | 1,643,000 |
6 | Jake Abdalla | United States | 1,615,000 |
7 | Thi Nguyen | Canada | 1,600,000 |
8 | Jordyn Miller | United States | 1,580,000 |
9 | Mathieu His | France | 1,565,000 |
10 | Ian Armstrong | United Kingdom | 1,563,000 |
Other well-knowns who will battle it out in Day 4 of poker's most prestigious tournament include Shannon Shorr, Brian Rast, Martin Zamani, Cliff Josephy, Mitchell Halverson, Jared Jaffee, Loni Hui, Phillip Hui, Angela Jordison, Joey Weissman, Max Pescatori and John Juanda.
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The money bubble burst in the early Sunday morning hours on Day 3 and saw three players chopping up the $15,000 min-cash for $5,000 each, a nice rebate on their $10,000 entry. Those three players were Robert Lipkin, Ognjen Sekularac and Tom McCormick, who were fortunate enough to avoid going home empty-handed when they busted in unison.
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Like previous days, Day 4 will consist of five two-hour levels of play with 20-minute breaks after every level and a 75-minute dinner break after Level 18, which is expected to be around 5:40 p.m. Play will resume on Level 16 with blinds of 4,000/8,000/8,000.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team is on-site and ready to bring readers all the updates on Day 4 of the $10,000 Main Event at the 2022 World Series of Poker.
Former Main Event Champions on Day 4
Rank | Player | Country | Year Won | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
339 | Koray Aldemir | Germany | 2021 | 537,000 | 67 |
505 | Damian Salas | Argentina | 2020 | 405,000 | 51 |
594 | John Cynn | United States | 2018 | 343,000 | 43 |
699 | Chris Moneymaker | United States | 2003 | 268,000 | 34 |
806 | Ryan Riess | United States | 2013 | 218,000 | 27 |
923 | Greg Merson | United States | 2012 | 168,000 | 21 |