10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT DAY 3 OF THE $50K POKER PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Each year, the early goings of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship has the fun, easygoing vibe of a cash game, but now that we are headed into Day 4 and nearing the money, things are starting to get serious. For many left in the field, this would be a shot at another PPC final table and the Chip Reese trophy. With David Bach eliminated, we are guaranteed a new champion this year, but in this stacked field of 22 players, there is certainly no clear cut favorite to take home the title.

Day 4 is upon us and by day's end, the final table will be set. But before we start thinking about the final table and the trophy, let's go over which players are still in the running and what things you should know about what happened during Day 3 of this year's Poker Players Championship:

1. There is still one lady left in the field who could become the first female to ever cash in this event. Melissa Burr ended the day 12th in the counts with 622,000.

2. There are two players left in the field with the ability to pass George Danzer in the Player of the Year contest, Brandon Shack-Harris and Brock Parker. Both players would need to win this tournament in order to take the lead. There is some good news for Danzer though. Since the inception of this event in 2006, only two players managed to win Player of the Year honors with the help of a cash in the PPC, Erick Lindgren in 2008 and Ben Lamb in 2011.

3. There is a good chance this year’s Poker Players Championship final table could look a lot like 2010’s line-up. We’ve got seven players remaining who have final tabled this event before, with three of them coming from the 2010 line-up, Rob Miazrachi, David Oppenheim, and Vladimir Shchemelev.

4. There’s a reason Doyle Brunson is a Poker Hall of Famer. After coming into Day 3 with less than the starting stack and just 110,000, Brunson managed to survive almost four full levels of play before getting eliminated late by Brock Parker late in Day 3. At one point, Brunson ran up his stack as high as 190,000, but he failed to bag up chips. Brunson has final tabled this event before though. He took eighth place in the first-ever PPC back in 2006 at a final table that many consider to be the most star-studded line-up poker has ever seen.

5. There are five players who ended the day in seven-figure territory yesterday. Chip leader Abe Mosseri has a bit of distance between himself and the rest of the field with 1,727,000. His next closest competitor is Brandon Shack-Harris with 1,185,000. Matt Glantz (1,083,000), Robert Mizrachi (1,020,000), and Frank Kassela (1,004,000) round out the top five. When play begins on Day 4, those stacks could consolidate quickly though, as Mosseri, Glantz, and Mizrachi will begin the day at the same table.

6. After taking eighth in this event last year, 2010 Main Event Champion Jonathan Duhamel joined an elite list of Main Event winners who have also final tabled the Poker Players Championship. He is one of six to have done so, joining the like of Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Jim Bechtel, Scotty Nguyen, and Huck Seed. If Duhamel makes the final table on Thursday, he would accomplish something only Seed has done before though, which is to final table this event twice. Seed did so in 2008, finishing seventh, and again in 2009, taking fifth.

7. While many players saw their chip counts swing violently over the course of Day 3, the majority of the top ten in chip counts at the start of Day 3 managed to survive to the end of Day 3. Only three players did not manage to bag up something, Shaun Deeb, Roland Israelashvili, and Eli Elezra. Deeb began the day third in the counts with 724,000, but lost several big pots, including a big one to Robert Mizrachi where Mizrachi made quad kings in PLO to crack Deeb’s aces after both flopped a set. Of the seven who did survive, only a couple thrived though. Scott Seiver (886,000) and Jonathan Duhamel (747,000) were the only players to start and finish the day in the top ten. Start of day chip leader Jason Mercier ended the day 19th in chips with 375,000.

8. After losing 33 players over the course of Day 3, we’ve got eight eliminations to go before we reach the final two tables and the money. Some of the players who didn’t make it through the day include Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Eli Elezra, 2009 Poker Players Champion David Bach, John Juanda, Chris Klodnicki, and Calvin Anderson.

9. This year has been a year with a large number of repeat bracelet winners and this event could bring that number up to 17 for the year. Of the 22 players left in the field, 13 have at least one bracelet, while only nine do not.

10. Here is a look at the top ten chip counts heading into Day 4:

1. Abe Mosseri - 1,727,000
2. Brandon Shack-Harris - 1,185,000
3. Matt Glantz - 1,083,000
4. Robert Mizrachi - 1,020,000
5. Frank Kassela - 1,004,000
6. Scott Seiver - 886,000
7. Elior Sion - 800,000
8. James Obst - 758,000
9. Jonathan Duhamel - 747,000
10. Jesse Martin - 726,000

Live updates from Day 4 are available on WSOP.com.