The European Poker Tour Grand Final is well underway in Monte Carlo, and the remaining 124 players at the start of day three all had their mind focused firmly on the $3.2 million grand prize, as the money bubble loomed over their heads.
The day went quickly, with Antonio Esfandiari having starting the day as he meant to finish it, with a strong chip lead. His lead was cemented when Gordon Vayo went all in pre-flop with his pocket kings – Esfandiara held aces, and when the board did nothing to change Vayo's fate, Esfandiara doubled his already huge stack, and held that lead throughout the tournament.
The money bubble dominated the day, with the media being removed from the tournament area as the bubble approached, and a media blackout for the entire time. The bubble lasted for more than three hours, with 81 players in the poker tournament for the duration. They even played through a scheduled break, until eventually the 81st place elimination occurred, with Surinder Sunar being the unfortunate elimination, and causing people to finally break for dinner.
When the players returned, the pace of play picked up somewhat, and it was not long before the field was down to the final 40.
1 Antonio Esfandiari -- 1,198,000
2 Robin Keston -- 916,000
3 Denes Kalo -- 642,000
4 Johnny Lodden -- 623,000
5 Maxime Villemure -- 600,000
6 Mostafa Belkhayate -- 523,000
7 Gerasimos Deres -- 494,500
8 Henrik Gwinner -- 487,000
9 David Shade Kruger -- 486,500
Thomas Boekhoff -- 465,000
Antonio Esfandiari has not enjoyed a major tournament win since his World Series of Poker bracelet back in 2004, but if he continues to play as he did on day 3, he could pick up another win here.
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