Poker News

Reigning World Poker Champion Jo Cada has busted out of the WSOP 2010 Main Event.

The 22-year-old had dreamt of being the first player to defend the WSOP Main Event title since 1988, when Johnny Chan recorded back-to-back victories.

But Cada, who won $8.55 million last year as the youngest winner ever, was eliminated with around 1,800 players remaining when his ace-queen of spaces ran into pocket tens.

The hand ended a disappointing series for Cada, who entered 16 World Series of Poker tournaments in Las Vegas this summer but failed to cash in any.

Day Three began with 2,557 players but only 1,204 survived into Tuesday's Day 4 as the bubble – the first 747 places will get paid – fast approaches.

Chip leader after Day Three is American James Carroll. He holds 803,000 chips and is in top form having cashed twice already at this year’s WSOP – including a final table appearance in the $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event, earning him $103,594.

Carroll also made the final table at this year’s WSOP Circuit Main Event championship, which was played at Caesars Palace Las Vegas in April.

Imari Love, from Chicago, finished Day 3 in second overall with 741,500 just ahead of Swede Gerasimos Deres with 733,700 in his stack. Filippo Candio from Italy and Californian Max Casal complete the top five.

Astonishingly, two-time champ Johnny Chan – who has 10 WSOP bracelets to his name – is still seriously in the running.

The 53-year-old, who has lit up the 2010 Main Event, is currently ranked ninth and even held the  chip lead earlier in the day. It was the first time since his second victory 22 years ago that Chan has had the chip lead during the Main Event.

Chan's resilience was even more impressive as the gruelling schedule clearly started to take its toll on younger players, many of whom seem to play much looser on the first 'complete' day, when all the remaining players are in action. 

Tournament Director Jack Effel said: "They're just playing fast. They don't have to go broke now - they choose to go broke now."

Other former world champions to be eliminated on Day 3 were 1993 winner Jim Bechtel, whose pocket jacks were flattened by pocket aces, and Chris Moneymaker. The 2003 world champion enjoyed his best Main Event run since his victory but hit the rail soon after his ace-king ran into pocket kings, crippling his stack.

Scotty Nguyen survives to Day 4, albeit short-stacked, as does Robert Varkonyi, the 2002 world champion, who is sitting in the middle of the pack with an average stack.

The bubble is expected tomorrow night, when the remaining 747 players will all be guaranteed a minimum $19,000 in prize money – a decent profit on the $10,000 buy-in.

The WSOP 2010 Main Event continues at the Rio in Las Vegas until Saturday, when the final table to return later in the year – the so-called November Nine – will be determined.