Jie Zhang

After a short but action-packed Day 3 at the Crowne Plaza Galleria, just 48 players remain from the 175 hopefuls who started the day. Leading the charge is Hong Kong's Jie Zhang, who holds a commanding chip lead with a stack of 3,930,000 after a dominant performance.

From the moment cards were in the air, eliminations came at a blistering pace. It took just six hours for the field to be whittled down to one-third of its original size, ensuring a new Main Event champion will be crowned, as no former winners remain in contention for the PHP 11,069,680 (~$190,201) top prize.

Zhang's rise to the top was punctuated by a massive double-knockout in the late stages, where his pocket aces held strong against pocket kings and ace-queen in a crucial three-way all-in. He cemented his lead by delivering the final elimination of the night, as his pocket queens proved too strong for the pocket sixes of Inoue Senan.

Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts

Behind Zhang, Alexander Ugay holds the second-largest stack with 2,335,000, while Samuel Mullur is the only other player to cross the two-million mark, bagging 2,065,000.

Start-of-day chip leader Po-Shuo Huang ended the day in solid shape with 1,755,000, while Jayden Zalac (1,740,000), Rishi Mehra (1,465,000), and Niklas Warlich (1,365,000) all secured a top-ten finish. The top ten list is represented by ten different countries, showcasing the truly international nature of the competition and reinforcing APT's status as a premier global poker tour.

Three former Main Event champions entered the day, but none managed to survive. Yohn Paredes (107th), Mike Takayama (85th), and Moses Saquing (78th) all saw their title hopes cut short before the bags came out.

Adalsteinn Karlsson

Eleven of the 29 qualifiers managed to find a bag and advance to Day 4. They include the aforementioned Mehra, Adalsteinn Karlsson (1,345,000), Che Li Lin (1,295,000), Noppon Taengruen (1,090,000), Xuan Huy Dinh (1,030,000), Nopparut Piyatassakorn (615,000), Donavan Chu (525,000), Padipan Photha (470,000), Anusorn Asiralertsiri (300,000), Miei Hayama (285,000), and Terry Gonzaga (280,000).

At the bottom of the counts sits Spain’s Javier Zarco, who will enter Day 4 as the tournament’s shortest stack with just 30,000 chips—a little over a single big blind. It will take nothing short of a miracle for him to run it up, but if poker has taught us anything, it's that a chip and a chair is sometimes all you need.

For a full APT Main Event Day 3 Survivor List: Click here.

Day 4 kicks off at 11 a.m. on February 14th, where the remaining 48 players will battle to keep their title hopes alive. With the stakes rising and the pressure mounting, there will be no love lost at the tables as they fight for a spot in the final stages of the APT Main Event on Valentine's Day.

175 players started the day and it only took five levels before a field of 48 players was left. The 48 will return tomorrow for Day 4. Main Event Day 3 recap to come soon.

Some recent busts include: Stephen Lai, David Erquiaga, Marc Rivera, Takumi Monden, Abraham Ceesvin and Vytautas Laurinaitis.

Inoue Senan shoved all in for 400,000 from the hijack and was called by the Jie Zhang on the button.

Inoue Senan: 6 6

Jie Zhang: Q Q

Zhang was ahead with pocket queens as the flop came down 3 8 7 . The turn brought the 4 , giving Senan a gutshot straight draw. Unfortunately for Senan, the 7 landed on the river, sealing his elimination from the field.

The remaining 48 players have successfully advanced to tomorrow's Day 4.

Matthias Lipp had his last 230,000 chips in the middle against the monster stack of Jie Zhang.

Matthias Lipp A J

Jie Zhang A A

Lipp would need a miracle runout to beat the pocket aces of Zhang. The board ran out J 2 K 8 2 to give Lipp a glimmer of hope on the flop, but he couldn't find another one. Zhang wins the pot to extend his chip lead, while Lipp heads to the rail.

Chuning Tan

Vlada Stojanovic raised to 50,000 from the cutoff with Chuning Tan calling on the button and Cheng Zhou defending his big blind.

The flop came down 8 6 4 and all three checked to see the Q turn. Action fell to Tan, who fired 70,000. Zhou check-raised to 150,000. Stojanovic surrendered, but Tan used two time bank tokens before making the call.

The K dropped on the river casuing Zhou to check this time to Tan, who blasted 275,000 into the middle. It was Zhou's turn to use two time bank tokens before finally making the call. Tan showed Q T for a flopped flush while Zhou could only send his cards back to the dealer.

Jie Zhang

Jie Zhang kicked off the action with a raise to 50,000 from under the gun, and Or Yaaqov Nezer called right behind him. When the action reached Suya Lee on the button, he jammed for 425,000. Takumi Monden, sitting in the small blind, peeked at his cards and instantly moved all in for around 1,200,000. Zhang didn’t hesitate—he snap-shoved his stack of nearly 1,300,000, prompting Nezer to fold with a calm, "I surrender."

Suya Lee: A Q

Takumi Monden: K K

Jie Zhang: A A

What a brutal setup! Lee was all but drawing dead, while Zhang had a golden opportunity to build a massive three-million chip stack—provided his aces held.

The J 6 9 flop was bone-dry, leaving Lee with a slim chance at survival. The 4 on the turn sealed his fate, and only a king could save Monden. But the 5 river was clean for Zhang, who raked in the monster pot and sent both opponents to the rail!

Joshua McCully made it 365,000 to go from the hijack, leaving only one blue 5000-chip behind. Hyungdong Lee then shoved all in for around 690,000. McCully called off his last 5,000 chips.

Hyungdong Lee: A Q

Joshua McCully: A K

McCully was ahead with the better kicker, but the flop came down Q 6 6 , improving Lee to a pair of queens. The rest of the board rolled off 8 J , sealing McCully’s elimination from the tournament.

Bonifaci Junior Mondalo made it 40,000 to go on the button and Jiaqi He called from the small blind.

Both players saw the flop come 4 5 T . He sent out a barrel of 16,000, and Mondalo put in a raise to 100,000. He the shoved all in for around 120,000, and was snap-called by Mondalo.

Jiaqi He: J T

Bonifaci Junior Mondalo: T 8

Both players had flopped a pair of tens, but He held the lead with the better kicker. The dealer quickly revealed the rest of the runout asf A T , securing He a much-needed double-up.

Hayama Miei

Hayama Miei of Japan and Ngoc Huyen Quach of Vietnam are the last two women who still have their Main Event championship dreams alive.

Both ladies have a pretty decent stack.

Frederick Hernandez opened the cutoff to 50,000, only to be jammed on by Donavan Chu from the small blind for 340,000. Hernanadez dropped in a call to put Chu at risk.

Donavan Chu: K Q

Frederick Hernandez: T T

In the coin fliop, Hernandez held the lead on the flop of 6 9 7 with his pocket tens, but he still needed to fade a king or queen to win the pot. Unfortunately for Chu, he found no help on as the rest of the board ran out 3 4 , and headed to the exit.