Longtime popular high-stakes grinder Jean-Robert Bellande, who once dubbed himself the “Bill Laimbeer of Poker,” needs to bust just six players to win his second World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet.
The cash game specialist who has appeared countless times on televised shows such as High Stakes Poker has a big chip lead at the final table of Event #32: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em. Action will resume with Day 4 at 1 p.m. PT and will be live reported right here at PokerNews.
Can JRB Close it Out?
Bellande, who won his first and currently only bracelet in 2018, will have a tall task ahead against a tough final table that includes Jim Collopy, Jessica Vierling, and other skilled pros. But he’ll have the advantage of 81 big blinds when play resumes, 13 more than Christos Argyriadis, who will return to action with 68 big blinds.
There’s a significant dropoff from the top two stacks, with Omar Zazay in third place at 35 big blinds, followed by Vierling’s 24. Collopy, seeking his fourth bracelet, is among the short stacks with 18 big blinds.
Final Table Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean-Robert Bellande | United States | 16,290,000 | 81 |
| 2 | Christos Argyriadis | Greece | 13,600,000 | 68 |
| 3 | Omar Zazay | United States | 6,900,000 | 35 |
| 4 | Jessica Vierling | Germany | 4,885,000 | 24 |
| 5 | Guofeng Wang | China | 3,910,000 | 20 |
| 6 | Jim Collopy | United States | 3,690,000 | 18 |
| 7 | Troy Donaldson | United States | 3,220,000 | 16 |
Bellande entered Day 3 on Thursday 12th in chips, well above the average stack. He spent the entire day in solid position, but found himself having to sweat out a turn and river for his tournament life late in the day. And anyone who has followed JRB’s career knows those sort of hands don’t seem to go his way often, including the following memorable hand he busted at the WSOP with pocket aces.
Bellande would move all in with pocket aces again deep in the $3k and received a call from Argyriadis, who had K♦10♦. The flop came out 6♠9♦J♦, leaving JRB in desperate need of dodging a straight flush draw. Spoiler alert: he did.
JRB simply couldn’t lose in the most crucial spots on Thursday. He doubled with kings against 10’s, queens against a flopped flush draw, and hit runner-runner flush to crack flopped top pair. Day 3 was his day. If he runs just as hot at the final table, he’ll win his second bracelet and the $538,158 first-place prize.
Bellande, who is making just his sixth career WSOP final table appearance, would crack the $5 million mark in lifetime live tournament cashes if he wins the tournament, according to The Hendon Mob database. He would also secure his second big tournament win of the year, his first being the Onyx $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller Championship for $1.5 million in January.
Follow Live Updates of the $3k NLH Final Table
