45 big name players, or “shooting stars” as they are known for this event, were expected across both starting days in the 415 total entries of the World Poker Tour’s Bay 101 Event that began on Monday. Knock one of them out and collect an autographed t-shirt and the $5000 bounty on their head. Top Canadians included; Daniel Negreanu, Kara Scott, Patt Pezzin, Owen Crowe and Gavin Smith, while just a few of the other notables included; Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, Phil Hellmuth and Jeff Madsen, by far one of the more well known and talent packed playing field so far this year. Now, going into Day 3, only 24 players remain, with a top prize of $1,039,000 up for grabs.
Canadian Kara Scott finished Day One with a Top 5 chip count, but it wasn’t enough to earn the $10,000 prize awarded to the chip leader of each starting day. It also wasn’t enough to get her to the money, as Scott was eliminated with Negreanu and Smith on Day 2. Owen Crowe just missed the money bubble, making room for Shawn Buchanan to squeak in and collect $15,000 for a 44th place finish and with his elimination, there are no more “big” Canadian names left in the field.
There is however, no lack of recognizable favorites going into Day 3. The top all time money earning woman poker player, Kathy Leibert still has a shot at this and while below average chips at the moment, has more than above average experience on how to fix that. What WPT event would be complete without Mix Sexton? This time around, Sexton is a player in the field and in the money. Mike Matusow also remains, so there is still a good chance between the three for some of the poker world’s most recognizable stars to make the TV final table.
One other player that has often been seen on poker television still remains and has been battling back and forth for the chip lead of the past few days; Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar. Vivek just had an over $900,000 second place finish in a WPT event at LAPC last month, so there is no doubt he wants this win badly and has had the chip count for the last few days to prove it. Third in chips going into Day 3, Rajkumar has had the chip lead several times over Day 2 and certainly isn’t far from regaining it. Vivek while most known for his online play, already has over 3.7 million dollars in live cashes. Not bad at all for a player still in his early twenties!
Everybody remaining is guaranteed at least $25,800. Who will be at the final table?
Update:
It looks like Mike Sexton will get this tournament off from the commentating the final table, as although the shortest stack, he is in the final six for Day 4. Mike Matusow sits 4th overall in chips and Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar still maintains the third spot and with three TV veterans, this should be a talkative and interesting game to watch when it hits the tube. Kathy Liebert had a very respectable 15th place finish, worth $29,500. The final table plays out today, here are the chip counts going in:
| 1 | Steven Kelly | 4,169,000 |
| 2 | Alan Sternberg | 3,701,000 |
| 3 | Mike Matusow | 2,173,000 |
| 4 | Vivek Rajkumar | 1,616,000 |
| 5 | Casey McCarrel | 430,000 |
| 6 | Mike Sexton | 363,000 |
Final Update:
The WPT Bay 101 “Shooting Stars” has been decided and there was definitely some huge hands to look forward to on TV, but we won’t spoil those for you.
Here are the results:
| 1 – | Alan Sternberg | $1,039,000 |
| 2 – | Steven Kelly | $595,300 |
| 3 – | Mike Matusow | $369,800 |
| 4 – | Vivek Rajkumar | $295,800 |
| 5 – | Casey McCarrel | $221,800 |
| 6 – | Mike Sexton | $148,000 |
