Ronaldo Survives Day 3 of PCA Main Event
Monday, 12 January 2015
Day 3 of this year's PCA Main Event threw up some interesting twists and turns as the field was whittled down from 175 to just 59.
A Slew of early exits set the tone for the session and, within a handful of levels, the remaining few were already staring the bubble in the face.
Knowing that an untimely elimination would cost them $17,800, the players left in the room decided to slow down their play in the hopes that someone would make a costly misstep. After much trepidation and uncertainty it was Arne Kern who broke the tension.
After a pre-flop betting war with Ambrose Ng, Kern found himself all-in with Ac Ks against his opponent's pocket tens. A Kh 8h 3d 3h gave Kern the lead and a solid chance of doubling up on the bubble. However, the Tc on the river was enough to snatch victory from his hands and send him to the rail in the most uncomfortable position of the tournament.
As the unfortunate pro made his way out into the Bahamian sunshine, the rest of the field rejoiced before resuming their frantic dash towards this year's PCA Main Event title.
With time on the clock running low and the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Liv Boeree and Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier unable to muster more than a semi-deep run, it was left to Argentina's Juan Etcheverry to take the chip lead.
The young pro managed to bag up 1,704,000 chips by the close of play to sit comfortably ahead of America's Kevin Schulz and Chance Kornuth. Also making through the session and one step closer to this year's $1.5 million top prize was Pratyush Buddiga, Benjamin Pollak and Jason Mercier.
However, the story of the day has to be the advancement of Ronaldo. The former Brazilian football legend managed to double up in the final level of the day to bag up just over 500,000 chips. That haul is enough to put him easily in contention when play resumes later today for Day 4.
PCA Main Event Chip Leaders
1. Juan Etchverry -- 1,704,000
2. Chance Kornuth -- 1,165,000
3. Kevin Schulz -- 1,165,000
4. Juan Martin Pastor -- 930,000
5. Jim Collopy -- 889,000
6. Ambrose Ng -- 877,000
7. Emrah Cakmak -- 815,000
8. Diego Ventura -- 643,000
9. Rami Boukai -- 625,000
10. Eugenio Pacelli Mattar -- 607,000