The final table of this year’s record-breaking World Series of Poker Paradise Main Event has been reached. With seven players remaining, stars of the ‘turquoise felt’ at Atlantis on Paradise Island that are still in with a chance of winning the $2 million top prize include chip leader Daniel Neilson, Portuguese professional Rui Sousa and the American WSOP Mystery Bounty Millionaire winner Matt Glantz.

Day 3 Drama Sees ‘K-Mart’ Kicked

An exciting Day 3 of the WSOP Paradise Main Event coincided with a Game of Gold reunion away from the felt, featuring players such as Olga Iermolcheva, Daniel Negreanu, winner Maria Ho, Josh Arieh, Fedor Holz, Johan ‘YoH Viral’ Guilbert and runner-up Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates, a.k.a. ‘Danny McFanny’ (if you know, you know). There was one cast member who had no interest in such pleasantries but only because he was elbow-deep in the action in the Main Event.

Kevin Martin was part of Team Club, featuring teammates Daniel Negreanu, Jason Koon and Michael Soyza, that was busted in Round 1 of the legendary blend of poker and reality TV. Here, however, the former Big Brother Canada winner excelled in this WSOP Paradise Main Event. With an incredible number of 3,010 entrants, the WSOP Paradise Main Event is the first of its kind but a prizepool of $15,050,000 defines its success and it will surely return next year around the same time. Martin will be hoping to finish just 24 places higher, busting as he did in 25^th place for $72,200. His king-jack lost to pocket aces as the popular Canadian player exited stage left with three tables remaining.

By that stage, stars of the poker world such as Mustapha Kanit (46^th for $47,500), Sam Greenwood (39^th for $58,300), David Peters (35^th for $58,300), and Barry Hutter (33^rd for $58,300) had all departed, and after Martin left, so too did Timothy Adams (20^th for $90,000) and Bryce Yockey (17^th for $90,000). They might all have left, but some modern poker legends were still in place, promising a thrilling final to the penultimate day of the event.

All-Time Legend Loses Out

As three tables went to two, just 16 players were still in the hunt for the latest and greatest WSOP bracelet victory. One of them was the Brazilian online poker legend Pedro Garagnani but when he moved all-in from the button after Stanislav Zegal had raised him pre-flop, the German called. Garagnani turned over , the second best pre-flop hand in poker. Zegal – naturally – held and praying for kings or diamonds, Garagnani was to be disappointed as a runout of saw him busted in 16^th place for $90,000.

Eliminations for the colorful character Henrique Lessa (15^th for $113,150) and Wellington Araujo (14^th for the same amount) followed. Bojan Gledovic busted in unlucky 13^th place and Vitor Dzivielevski in 12^th for equal scores, before Daniel Neilson scored a vital double-up to save his tournament life. When Adam Walton busted in 11^th place for $150,000 after his dominated was trumped by Rui Sousa’s , only 10 players remained.

Neilson was on the rise as others floundered, and having bounced up off the canvas, he came up swinging. Taking a big pot from All-Time Money List legend Mikita Badziakouski, Neilson then watched on as Matt Glantz busted the Belarussian. Badziakouski called off his stack holding on a flop of but was behind Glantz’ . That didn’t change after the turn and river fell, and Badziakouski cashed for $150,000 too, this time in 10^th place.

Neilson Peaks as Penultimate Day Closes

Heading into the action at the final table, Brazilian player Gabriel Schroder was the chip leader on 71 big blinds. With the short stack Luke Graham on 21 big blinds, the evenly spread chips meant some red-hot action remained as nine became seven. Stephane Guelpa lost with to Matt Glantz’ , busting in seventh for $200,000 and shortly after, Graham joined him on the rail, winning $250,000 when his couldn’t hold against Neilson’s .

There was still time for Neilson to win a few more pots and build a comprehensive chip lead. Ending the day on 37.4 million, Neilson’s stack of 74 big blinds is a lot more than the short-stacked Montgomery McQuade, whose micro-stack of 4.9 million represents less than ten big blinds. Between those two polar opposite chipstacks, Matt Glantz ended the day on 31 big blinds with 15.5 million, Rui Sousa did even better, bagging 20.7 million and the aforementioned Schroeder ended on 28 million.

With seventh place worth $300,000 and the top prize and incredible $2 million, there will be a massive difference between how players will feel if they are first out on finals day or if they can make the heads-up and win a bracelet just as Erik Seidel did just the other day when he took bracelet #10. Whoever becomes the first-ever WSOP Paradise Main Event champion, one thing is for sure – they will not be the last.

Watch the WSOP Paradise action from Day 3 right here: