button in SafariAlex Livingston Leads Final 20 Players in the $3,000 T.O.R.S.E.
Stud Games: 7,000 Ante, 10,000 Bring-In, 30,000 Completion, 30,000-60,000 Limits
While many eyes were on the Main Event today, the mixed game action was in full swing for Day 2 of Event #92: $3,000 T.O.R.S.E.. In the second edition of the tournament since Limit Hold’em was switched out for 2-7 Triple Draw, a total of 457 entries were tallied to generate a prize pool of $1,220,190.
Just 157 would return for today’s action, with only the final 69 players making the money. By night’s end, just 20 players remained in contention for the first-place prize of $247,842.
Leading the way into Day 3 is Alex Livingston, who had a strong last level of the night on his way to a bag of 1,840,000.
Qinghai Pan (1,810,000) follows close behind in second as he looks to make another deep run this summer, while Jesse Lonis (1,570,000) rounds out the podium in third as he continues to acclimate to the mixed game world, having already conquered the highest stakes of big bet.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Livingston | Canada | 1,840,000 |
| 2 | Qinghai Pan | United States | 1,810,000 |
| 3 | Jesse Lonis | United States | 1,570,000 |
| 4 | David Bach | United States | 1,395,000 |
| 5 | Daniel Blum | United States | 1,330,000 |
| 6 | Gary Bolden | United States | 1,105,000 |
| 7 | Yik Chiu | Hong Kong | 1,075,000 |
| 8 | Nick Guagenti | United States | 1,030,000 |
| 9 | Michael Reed | United States | 910,000 |
| 10 | Naoya Kihara | Japan | 900,000 |
A star-studded cast will reconvene tomorrow to resume battle. Among those coming back include 2024 champion of the final edition of the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. Gary Bolden (1,105,000), current second-place in the Player of the Year race Naoya Kihara (900,000), ex-online legend and current mixed game crushed Viktor Blom (800,000), and Marco Johnson (460,000), chasing his second bracelet of the summer and fourth overall.
The Day’s Action
The field size was dwindled rapidly to begin the day, with many notables exiting in the early proceedings, including Phil Hellmuth, Brian Rast, Mike Matusow, Huck Seed, James Obst, Danny Tang, Matthew Wantman, Andrew Kelsall, and Ray Henson.
With the elimination of Mike Leah, the hand-for-hand portion of the tournament was reached at the start of the fifth level of play. With many short stacks, it was a hectic period with players eagerly sweating the short stacks.
Ray Fishman was able to find a miracle survival after being forced all in for half an ante in Razz. He sweated his down cards after the side action was complete. The first one offered no help, but he peeled two near-perfect cards to make the winning hand and stay alive. Fishman was ultimately eliminated in 60th place for a min-cash.
A couple of hands later, a double elimination would bring the field into the money. Yannick Jobin got his short stack into the middle on third street in Razz, but he finished with two pair while Ryan Moriarty made number two. At another table, Derek McMaster got all in on the flop in Omaha Hi-Lo with an overpair against the wrap and low draw of Marco Johnson, who left McMaster drawing dead on the turn.
Those two would split the minimum cash, while the other 68 remaining players were guaranteed $6,039 for their efforts.
Over the next few hours, the field would reduced down to its final 19 players. Some who cashed but fell short of Day 3 include Ari Engel (68th - $6,029), Matthew Beinner (66th), Aaron Kupin (64th), Allan Le (49th - $6,190), Allen Kessler (44th - $6,341), Dylan Weisman (39th - $6,812), Robert Mizrachi (34th - $7,562), Benny Glaser (29th - $8,666), and Bryce Yockey (28th).
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $247,842 |
| 2 | $160,862 |
| 3 | $106,912 |
| 4 | $72,791 |
| 5 | $50,801 |
| 6 | $36,363 |
| 7 | $26,715 |
| 8-9 | $20,158 |
| 10-11 | $15,633 |
| 12-17 | $12,471 |
| 18-20 | $10,241 |
Day 3 gets back underway Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Gold section of Paris. Action resumes in Level 23 with blinds of 20,000/40,000 and limits of 40,000/80,000, with an average stack of 914,000. A full redraw of the final four tables will also take place. Play will continue in 60-minute levels until a bracelet is awarded tomorrow.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for updates as we play down to a winner in Event #92: $3,000 T.O.R.S.E., along with information from all events here at the 2026 World Series of Poker.