Preben Stokkan closed out Day 3 of the 2019 WSOP Main Event as the chip leader after starting in the bottom 25% of the field. (partypoker photo)

It might have been a day earlier than some were expecting, but the bubble of the World Series of Poker came and went on Monday, leaving 1,286 players in the money just as the day was coming to a close.

Preben Stokkan Goes From 93,000 to 2,184,000

Norwegian poker pro Preben Stokkan is the only player with over 2,000,000 chips after bagging up 2,184,000 and the chip lead. Stokkan, who has never previously cashed the Main Event, started the day with 93,000 and trailed 75% of the field.

Andrew Brokos had the opposite kind of day after starting third in chips and finishing second. The Baltimore native more than doubled his stack on Monday and ended up with 1,906,000. Ryan Dodge sits third with 1,800,000.

The Bubble Burst for Ryan Pochedly

The bubble is usually one of the most tension-filled moments of the Main Event. It can be chaotic for players and problematic for tournament staff. Not so much this year. Just as hand-for-hand play was about to start, Pennsylvania‘s Ryan Pochedly called all-in with ace-king on an 8d 7h 3s Kd 7c board only to be shown 7-6 by his opponent for trip sevens. Pochedly did not leave empty-handed though. He was awarded a seat to the 2020 WSOP Main Event.

READ: Pochedly Leans On WSOP Experience, Excited for PA Online Poker

Chris Hunichen Bags 6th Best Stack to Lead Former #1s

All but two of the 10 former #1-ranked PocketFivers that started Day 3 made it to Day 4 and none made more noise than Chris Hunichen. After starting the day with 307,600, Hunichen finished with 1,618,000 and sits sixth in the chip counts.

Two other players worked themselves into the top 50 on Monday. Fabrizio Gonzalez finished with 1,190,000 and Yuri Dzivielevski was right behind him with 1,083,000. The other four members of the #1 fraternity to advance to Day 4 include current #1 ‘lena900‘ (693,000), Kevin Saul (633,000), Cliff Josephy (435,000), Paul Volpe (380,000) and Taylor Paur (148,000).

The only former #1s to not make it through the day were Calvin Anderson and Tim West.

Jean-Robert Bellande One of Many Notables Still Surviving

Jean-Robert Bellande leads the group of notable names moving on to Day 4. Bellande, who has twice finished in the top 100 of the Main Event, ended Day 3 with 1,126,000. Not far behind him is recent bracelet Joseph Cheong with 1,068,000. This is Cheong’s first cash in the WSOP Main Event since 2012. He cashed in three straight years beginning in 2010 with his third-place result.

Eric Baldwin (916,000), Antonio Esfandiari (740,000), Chance Kornuth (535,000), Brian Yoon (532,000), Kelly Minkin (456,000), and Gus Hansen (445,000) also advanced to Day 4.

Former World Champions Chris Moneymaker, Qui Nguyen, and Johnny Chan each navigated Day 3 successfully and will be back for Day 4.

No Chips, No Money, No More Main Event

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for some of the game’s top players. Igor Kurganov, Nick Schulman, Arseniii Karmatckii, legends TJ Cloutier and Scotty Nguyen, as well as Loni Harwood and 2019 $50K PPC champion Phillip Hui were all part of the 1,594 players who busted on Monday.

21 Pennsylvania Players Make it to Day 4

Just 21 Pennsylvania poker players remain heading into Day 4 with the biggest stack belonging to Matthew Sabia. The Bethlehem, PA resident finished with 1,060,000 and has the only seven-figure stack for Keystone State players. Chad Power (829,000), Matt Glantz (817,000), Jake Schindler (652,000), and Kenneth Smaron (632,000) round out the top five.

Top 10 Chip Counts

  1. Preben Stokkan – 2,184,000
  2. Andrew Brokos – 1,906,000
  3. Ryan Dodge – 1,800,000
  4. Galen Hall – 1,658,000
  5. Cassio Pisapia – 1,640,000
  6. Chris Hunichen – 1,618,000
  7. Pavlo Veksler – 1,594,000
  8. Duytue Duong – 1,576,000
  9. Jacob Daniels – 1,560,000
  10. John Patgorski – 1,524,000