Qiao Du raised to 240,000 under the gun and Igor Popyk called from the cutoff. The button and blinds got out of the way and it was heads-up action to the 5♦4♥2♣ flop.
Du continued for 180,000 and Popyk called to see the Q♣ turn. The former then upped his bet to 450,000, and again Popyk just called.
When the 7♣ completed the board on the river, Du slowed down with a check and Popyk took the opportunity to bet 750,000.
Du hit the tank for around two minutes before dropping in a call and Popyk tabled the A♦Q♥ for top pair with top kicker.
Du then rolled over the K♣K♥ overpair for the win.
"Nice slowroll," Popyk said.
"Not a slowroll," Du responded. "You may have had a set."
In the first hand of the day, Dohyeok Kim opened to 240,000 from the hijack but Chris Moorman in the small blind three-bet to 750,000. The big blind folded and Kim called.
Moorman continued for 240,000 on the 4♥A♠8♦ flop, then fired a second barrel to 600,000 on the 7♠ turn. Kim called both times.
The 7♦ landed on the river and Moorman fired 1,535,000, keeping only 15,000 behind. Kim went into the tank and called, but he mucked his cards after Moorman revealed A♥Q♥.
As opening flights for the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event continue, a select group of 14 players will return to Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas ready to battle for their own bracelet today.
Event #79: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em has reached the final day, with action getting underway at 12 p.m. local time and a top prize of $683,830 set to be awarded. The event attracted a total of 1,792 entrants, generating a massive prize pool of $4,784,640.
Sitting in the top spot is Andrew Moreno (11,955,000), who bagged up the only eight-figure stack to possess 100 big blinds. Moreno will have to contend with several notable names among the Day 2 survivors, but carries a healthy lead over four-time WSOP bracelet winner and Day 1 chip leader Asi Moshe (9,950,000) in second place.
Methavee Taveekitvatee (9,375,000) returns in a close third position, with the top three all maintaining a large gap over the rest of the field.
Day 3 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Andrew Moreno
United States
11,955,000
100
2
Asi Moshe
Israel
9,950,000
83
3
Methavee Taveekitvatee
Thailand
9,375,000
78
4
Igor Popyk
Ukraine
6,440,000
54
5
Dohyeok Kim
South Korea
5,830,000
49
6
David Miscikowski
United States
5,815,000
48
7
Qiao Du
China
4,250,000
35
8
Dustin Murphy
United States
3,800,000
32
9
Walter Treccarichi
Italy
3,260,000
27
10
Chris Moorman
United Kingdom
3,140,000
26
11
Antoine Sankari
Canada
3,000,000
25
12
Martin Jacobson
Sweden
2,145,000
18
13
Gabriel Karlsson
Sweden
1,445,000
12
14
Greg Ostrander
United States
1,400,000
12
Chris Moorman
Just one 25K Fantasy player remains in the field, as Chris Moorman (3,140,000) of Team Fleyshman has secured his third cash of the series.
Moreno is the only other fantasy notable as an "ODB Bonus Player", sitting in prime position to score big points for those that drafted him.
Other WSOP bracelet winners still in contention include David Miscikowski (5,815,000), who joins Moorman inside the top ten on the leaderboard to begin the final day.
The 2014 WSOP Main Event champion Martin Jacobson (2,145,000) returns in the bottom third of the counts, while Greg Ostrander (1,400,000) has some work to do as the shortest remaining stack.
Martin Jacobson
The 14 survivors have each earned a minimum of $30,600, with the next pay jump just a single elimination away. A spot at the final table will be worth $60,740, while a seventh-place finish is required to hit the six-figure payouts.
Players will return to their seats on Level 28, where blinds will increase to 60,000/120,000 with a 120,000 big blind ante. The tournament clock will continue with 60-minute levels, stopping for 15-minute breaks after every two levels have been completed.
Stay closer than ever to the action with MyPlayers. This brand new, free feature on PokerNews puts your favorite poker players front and center. Whether you're keeping tabs on legends like Daniel Negreanu or following a friend grinding their way through a Day 2, MyPlayers delivers real-time updates tailored just for you. No subscriptions, no paywalls - just the hands, chip counts, and bustouts that matter most.
It’s simple: log in, search for any player in our live coverage, hit the star, and they’ll be added to your personalized MyPlayers list. You’ll see their progress across all live-reported events, with chip counts and updates pinned right where you need them at the top.
From railbirds to backers, MyPlayers is the smarter way to stay connected to the game.
It's time to crown the latest WSOP champion, so be sure to stay locked to PokerNews for live coverage from the final day of this exciting event.
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