Day 3 of the 2012 DeepStacks Poker Tour Mohegan Sun National Championship is complete, and after roughly eleven and a half hours of play, the official final table is set. Leading the remaining six players is David Stefanski, who bagged 3.715 million chips, and right behind him is Artyem Perlov (2.65 million chips).
DSPT Mohegan Sun Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Artyem Perlov | 2,650,000 |
| 2 | Nicholas Palma | 945,000 |
| 3 | Andrew Sherman-Ash | 605,000 |
| 4 | Patrick Chan | 970,000 |
| 5 | Adam Bitker | 1,310,000 |
| 6 | David Stefanski | 3,715,000 |
On a day that began with 36 players, the bubble came quickly. Among the notables who exited before the money were Chip Jett, Aaron Massey and Jared Jaffee. Jett moved all in during Level 18 with the blinds at 3,000/6,000/1,000 for around 115,000 from the small blind, and Adam Bitker looked him up in the big blind. Bitker held the 
, and Jett tabled the 
. The board ran out 
, and Jett was eliminated.
Massey busted in a massive pot against Peter Jankowski in the next level with the blinds up to 4,000/8,000/1,000. Massey was all-in and at risk holding 
on a flop of 
. Jankowski held the 
, and although the turn () was a brick, the 
slammed on the river. Jankowski made a flush, and Massey hit the rail.
During the same level as Massey’s bust, Jaffee lost a flip against Nicholas Palma. Jaffe’s 
was up against Palma’s 
, and the board ran out 
, eliminating Jaffee.
Ken Silberstein burst the bubble soon after Jaffee exited. Palma raised to 19,000 from the small blind, Silberstein defended his big blind, and the dealer fanned the 
. Palma led out for 15,000, Silberstein raised to 35,000, and Palma reraised to 85,000. Silberstein called.
The turn was another three — the 
— and Palma checked. Silberstein moved all in for around 200,000, and Palma called.
Palma: 
Silberstein: 
Palma needed either the board to pair or to hit one of the three remaining queens in the deck, and lo and behold, the 
spiked on the river to bust Silberstein on the stone bubble.
Shortly after the bubble burst, there were a flurry of eliminations, including William Klevitz, Ted Spencer, Stephen McGuire, Just Schwartz, Charles Saleba, Timothy Reilly, Andrew Devito, Bryan Leskowitz, Justin Pechie, Art Pappas and Carlo Sciannameo.
Right before dinner, with 14 players left and the blinds in Level 21 at 6,000/12,000/2,000, Jankowski and Patrick Chan played a massive pot. Chan opened to 27,000 on the button, Jankowski three-bet to 60,000 from the small blind, and Chan four-bet to 180,000. Jankowski moved all in for 629,000, and Chan called.
Chan:
Jankowski:
The flop fell 
, giving Chan two extra outs to make the best hand. He did not make aces, kings, or a straight, however, as the turn and river bricked with the and , respectively.
Jankowski chipped up to 1.284 million chips, while Chan was left with just 265,000. Chan found a double soon after with two kings and continued to stay afloat from there.
After Jean Elie Joseph bowed out in 14th place, Fabio D’Agata bluffed his way out of the tournament in 13th place. During Level 22 with the blinds at 8,000/16,000/2,000, Vinny Pahuja raised to 38,000 out of the small blind, and D’Agata defended the big blind. The flop fell 
, and Pahuja led for 40,000. D’Agata called.
The turn was the 
, and Pahuja led again — this time for 75,000. D’Agata clicked it back, min-raising to 150,000, and Pahuja reraised to 300,000. D’Agata tanked for a bit, then moved all in for over 800,000.
"Call!" Pahuja blurted, flipping over the 
for the stone nuts.
D’Agata sheepishly turned over the for a lowly pair of eights, and an inconsequential 
fell on the river. D’Agata hit the rail in 13th place, earning him $7,560, while suddenly Pahuja was the chip leader with over 1.9 million.
James Campbell, Matt Kuba and Jeff Blake were the next players to be eliminated. In Blake’s elimination hand, he opened to 53,000 from the hijack seat in Level 23 with the blinds at 10,000/20,000/3,000, Andrew Sherman-Ash defended his big blind, and the flop fell 
. Sherman-Ash checked, Blake moved all in for 235,000, and Sherman-Ash tank-called.
Blake:
Sherman-Ash:
The turn was the , giving Sherman-Ash a straight, and Blake could only survive if one of the two remaining eights in the deck fell on the river. It was not to be as the completed the board, eliminating Blake in 10th place.
Nine-handed play took over two hours, and the chips were flying, but finally Joe Matos busted in ninth place. Matos, who at one point was crippled, then tripled, then doubled, and then found himself all in and at risk with 
. His opponent, Perlov, woke up with and held as the board ran out 
.
During this time, Stefanski did some serious chipping up. In one hand, Stefanski raised out of the small blind, Bitker defended his big blind, and the flop came . Stefanski led for 56,000, and Bitker made the call.
The turn was the , and Stefanski fired a second bullet worth 113,000. Bitker called. The river was the , and Stefanski slowed down, checking to Bitker, who fired 188,000. Stefanski went deep into the tank, and eventually made the call. Bitker showed 
for ace-high, and Stefanski tabled for just a pair of sevens. Bitker dipped to 420,000 chips, while Stefanski jumped up to 3.08 million.
The next player to bust, Pahuja, fell from the chip lead and tried to work with a short stack for more than two hours. On his final hand during Level 25 with the blinds at 15,000/30,000/5,000, Pahuja was all in and at risk preflop holding the 
. He was well behind the of Perlov, and the board ran out 
.
The official final table bubble boy was Jankowski. After four-bet jamming with and running into the of Palma, he was all in a few hands later with 
against Stefanski’s . The flop was a doozy: 
. Jankowski looked like he was going to have over 1.4 million in chips, but the turned to give Stefanski a better two pair.
Only a queen or a nine was needed to keep Jankowski alive, but the river was another king — the 
— and Jankowski was eliminated.
The remaining players celebrated, knowing they will be at a televised final table tomorrow, but most still gave Jankowski a handshake and wished him well.
The final table is set to begin Tuesday at 1400 EST (2000 CET). There, play will last until a champion is crowned. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for the recap, or follow along live in our Live Reporting blog.
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