Day 3 of the Season XVI WPT Choctaw Main Event wrapped up on Monday afternoon with just six players remaining and the televised WPT final table set. Leading the way in sizable fashion was Josh Kay with a stack of 11.105 million.
Kay’s stack was nearly 3.5 million ahead of Michael Stashin in second place, who bagged up 7.685 million. Stashin came into Day 3 with a commanding lead on the field, but Kay’s dominance in the latter part of Monday’s action propelled him to the front.
Season XVI WPT Choctaw Final Table
Seat 1: James “Jeb” Hutton – 1,645,000 (20 big blinds)
Seat 2: Jay Lee – 3,455,000 (43 big blinds)
Seat 3: Paul Fisher – 1,700,000 (21 big blinds)
Seat 4: Eric Bunch – 2,020,000 (25 big blinds)
Seat 5: Michael Stashin – 7,685,000 (96 big blinds)
Seat 6: Josh Kay – 11,105,000 (139 big blinds)
The day began with 24 players remaining from a field of 924, and Kay busted eight of the 18 players en route to the televised final table.
It all began for Kay when he scored a lucky one against WPT Champions Club member Jordan Cristos. On a board of 
, Kay called Cristos’ shove with the 
and was behind the 
for Cristos. The 
on the river delivered Kay with two pair and the winning hand to bust Cristos.
After that, Kay busted Blair Hinkle in 16th place, Andrew Nguyen in 15th place, Adrian Garduno in 14th place, DJ Alexander in 13th place, Jason Emmons in 11th place, Kamran Munaf in 10th place, and Daniel Nakic in eighth place.
With seven players left, WPT Champions Club member Zachary Smiley was the only player left in the field chasing a second WPT title. He valiantly tried to bluff Stashin, though, and was eliminated in seventh place when the 20-year-old Stashin made a tough call with second pair.
The other four players joining Kay and Stashin at the Season XVI WPT Choctaw final table were Jay Lee (3.455 million), Eric Bunch (2.02 million), Paul Fisher (1.7 million), and James Hutton (1.645 million). Each of them were guaranteed a minimum of $117,761 by reaching the final table.
On Tuesday, August 8, the Season XVI WPT Choctaw Main Event final table will play out, with cards in the air at 3 p.m. CT. First place is worth $593,173 plus a $15,000 seat to the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions, plus the winner will receive a luxurious Hublot Big Bang Steel watch.
Photography by Joe Giron of PokerPhotoArchive.com.
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