Wednesday, Oct 1, 2008 2008 WSOPE Main Event: John Juanda Takes the Lead
He is hunted by the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Brian "Sbrugby" Townsend and Mike Matusow.
Amazingly Ivan Demidov - one of the November Nine - is still alive in the Betfair Poker 2008 WSOPE Main Event. Should he make the final table in London as well, he will undoubtedly be the player of the year.
If the Russian poker sensation makes it remains to be seen, and the competition is certainly tough. Besides the already mentioned stars, a number of world-class players are among the 24 survivors, including Johnny Lodden, Andy Bloch, Scott Fischman, Mel Judah and Erik Seidel.
The bubble has burst and the race for the £868,800 and the WSOP bracelet is on for real. These are the chip counts going in to day 4:
| Juanda, John | Las Vegas, NV | USA | 657 500 |
| Negreanu, Daniel | Las Vegas, NV | USA | 653 000 |
| Smith, Justin | Kissimmee, FL | USA | 624 500 |
| Rouas, Phillippe | San Francisco, CA | USA | 573 000 |
| Lodden, Johnny | Orpezano | Italy | 478 000 |
| Townsend, Brian | Santa Barbara, CA | USA | 424 500 |
| Sonnert, Ben | Linkoping | Sweden | 346 500 |
| Hiltunen, Toni | Lahti | Finland | 321 500 |
| Kongsgaard, Soren | Aarhus | Denmark | 316 500 |
| Demidov, Ivan | Moscow | Russia | 316 000 |
| Bloch, Andy | Las Vegas, NV | USA | 301 000 |
| Fischman, Scott | Las Vegas, NV | USA | 298 000 |
| Bergius, Perttu | Espoo | Finland | 261 000 |
| Judah, Mel | London | UK | 254 000 |
| Shakerchi, Talal | London | UK | 225 000 |
| Alekhin, Stanislav | Moscow | Russia | 215 000 |
| Neff, Peter | Los Angeles, CA | USA | 213 500 |
| Adams, Brandon | Miami, FL | USA | 212 000 |
| Elliott, Christopher | Alloa | UK | 181 500 |
| Matusow, Mike | Las Vegas, NV | USA | 147 500 |
| Seidel, Eric | Las Vegas, NV | USA | 85 000 |
| Torsvik, Kim-Andre | Bergen | Norway | 78 500 |
| Keston, Robin | London | UK | 74 000 |
| West, Tim | Los Altos, CA | USA | 63 500 |
