Antonio Esfandiari Dazzles on Day 3 of the Main Event on PokerGO

One of the most exciting days of the year made its way to PokerGO with the Main Event money bubble ready to pop. The 2018 World Series of Poker has provided drama all summer and yet another stellar session of tournament poker hit the air.

The star of the Day 3 feature table is Antonio Esfandiari. Working on his fifth Main Event cash, the Poker After Dark stalwart sliced up the competition and created another set of highlights for his reel.

Relive all the Day 3 action here as the final 1,182 players return for Day 4 with at least $15,000 locked up.

Placed in a tough spot early in the day, Esfandiari fought his way out using aggression. A long soak in the tank brought time for Nick Schulman to explain Esfandiari’s thought process and then Esfandiari proved once more why he is one of the best.

Esfandiari brings 499,000 into Day 4 and has a chance to best his 24th place finish from 2009.

The snap call had @MagicAntonio thinking he was about to be sent to the rail, but instead he was shipped a big Day 3 double!
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Not all of the 2,786 players who entered Day 3 were fortunate enough to survive the money bubble. Most notably, Phil Hellmuth exited in the first few hours of the day. Hellmuth trended down to start play and then found an all-in spot to get back into the race for his second Main Event title. A cruel river card spelled Hellmuth’s doom and the field was one step closer to the money.

A double up looked destined, but @phil_hellmuth's Day 3 run ended after a rough river. Sans Hellmuth, @WSOP Main Event coverage continues live on @PokerGO.
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Other players who did not earn a cash in the Main Event include Super High Roller Bowl participants Jason Koon, Tom Marchese, Steffen Sontheimer, Jason Mercier, and Matt Berkey.

Big stacks on their way to Day 4 with an eye on the $8.8 million first-place prize are Ben Yu (1,040,000), Chris Moorman (969,000), Chino Rheem (904,000), and Phil Ivey (827,000).

$25,000 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller champion Shaun Deeb (474,000) is also on to Day 4 along with $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo winner Paul Volpe (989,000).

Patrik Antonius made it through in his first Main Event since 2012 and credits a new passion for the game for his success.

Relive the sounds of the money bubble on the Poker Central Podcast with Remko Rinkema as he is joined by Jeff Gross and other esteemed guests. Kelly Minkin reached Day 6 in 2015 and joined Rinkema to talk about her run and her 795,000 chips she bagged for Day 4.

Drew Amato captured the bubble fever on the latest edition of ‘Through the Lens of Drew.’