Day 3 of the International Poker Open 3 Main Event saw the remaining 27 players take to the felt at Resorts World Manila, and in just under five hours, six Filipinos, one Chinese, and one Russian claimed a seat to the final table of 8.
The Final 8 of the IPO3 Main Event:
1 – Edilberto Gopez (Philippines), chip leader with 1.375M chips.
Gopez entered the IPO3 Main Event hot off the recent RVS Cup where he finished second place in the main event. Gopez earned a large portion of his chips when he eliminated fellow countryman and big stacked Luke Pangan in tenth place. Pangan held big slick while Gopez had pocket kings. Gopez also eliminated Korea’s Kim Do Kwuen in 15th place with pocket tens dominating Kwuen’s pocket nines.
2 – Lester Edoc (Philippines), second-in-chips with 1.365M chips.
Edoc is one of the most recognized players in the Filipino poker circuit, and he is the most experienced player at the IPO3 final table. His biggest live tournament cash was back in October 2013 when he win finished second at the APT Asian Series Manila Main Event. At today’s main event battle, Edoc immediately jumped into the chip lead position after eliminating Korea’s Seung Soo Jeon and Filipino player Edwin Marzan. Clearly ready to play poker, Edoc continued to earn more chips throughout the day by raising and entering a high number of pots.
Lester Edoc
3 – Mark Dela Cruz (Philippines), third-in-chips with 980K chips.
Cruz entered day 3 at the upper rung of the chip ladder and picked up where he left off by eliminating Huang Wu Jian and Ying Lin Chua. To end the day, Cruz eliminated China’s Abao Shi as the bubble, denying him a seat to the final table.
4 – Sun Ci (China), fourth-in-chips with 630K chips.
Ci kept a low profile for most of the day. He won random small pots while losing very little. At the bubble to the final 8, his two late all in game plays earned him a decent amount of blinds and antes to end the day in good position.
5 – Marc Rivera (Philippines), fifth-in-chips with 615K chips.
Known to be more of a cash game player, Rivera is one of the most well-respected players in the Filipino poker circuit. According to Hendon Mob, his biggest live tournament cash was back in July 2012 when he won the APT Asian Series Macau NLH Deep Stack Turbo. Rivera entered day 3 at the lower half of the rung but fought every step of the way starting with a triple up in the opening level. From then on, he won several good-sized pots to keep him away from any great danger.
Marc Rivera
6 – Andrei Dementev (Russia), sixth-in-chips with 585K.
Having already won a side event trophy at the IPO3, Dementev is clearly running hot as he inches closer to possibly capturing the biggest title of the series. Unlike his swings at day 2, today proved to be a much slower game for him. He claimed several pots throughout the day but only enough to minimally boost his stack.
Andrei Dementev
7 – Isabelo Braza (Philippines), seventh-in-chips with 545K.
Braza had a good start to his day with his pocket aces getting a bit of chips from both Ahn Seong Hwan and Pangan. He also scooped a nice pile when he eliminated short-stacked Song Nan in 19th place. After that, he maintained his chips to end the day with 2.5 time the amount he came in with.
8 – Martin Gonzales (Philippines), eighth-in-chips, 305K.
Rounding out the final 8 is Gonzales who may have the shortest stack but is definitely one to watch out for. He eliminated Mark Larson early in the day and then landed a double up with pocket kings against Zhou Quan. With the blinds escalating, Gonzales earned more chips by pushing all in several times and not getting a challenger.
The Final Table begins at 1pm on Thursday, December 3, 2015.
Day 3 Payouts (in US$):
9th place – Abao Shi – 5,450
10th place – Luke Pangan – 4,300
11th place – Ahn Seong Hwan – 4,300
12th place – Makoto Takahashi – 4,300
13th place – Wang Hai – 3,350
14th place – Zhou Quan – 3,350
15th place – Kim Do Kwuen – 3,350
16th place – Chen Zhi Ning – 2,650
17th place – Ying Lin Chua – 2,650
18th place – John Estrella – 2,650
19th place – Song Nan – 2,050
20th place – Mark Larson – 2,050
21t place – Pham Ngoc Bao – 2,050
22nd place – Huang Wu Jian – 2,050
23rd place – Edwin Marzan – 2,050
24th place – Seung Soo Jeon – 2,050
25th place – Steve Moon – 2,050
26th place – Fan Fan – 2,050
27th place – Tan Hwong hwee – 2,050
Louis Hartwell
Graduated in Media Communication at the University of Lausanne, Louis Hartman is a co-founder of somuchpoker.com. He began his career in Cambodia as freelance journalist. In same time he was making his living by playing poker every night at that time. Intense learner, he read dozens of poker strategy books to improve his skills during many years. With a strong interest about poker "behind the scene" in Asia and his communication skills, Louis launched Somuchpoker in 2014.
Follow Me:
