Lee in the Lead at WSOPE Main Event

Ronald Lee leads a star-studded field at the end of Day 3 of the World Series of Poker Europe’s Main Event. Lee has collected an impressive stack of 947,000 chips, but is being pursued by some of the biggest names in poker, including Phil Ivey and Hoyt Corkins.

In all, 22 players remain to come back for tomorrow’s Day 4. The tournament played down relatively quickly, with just five levels of play necessary to cut the field down from the 66 who began play on Sunday.

Of course, more stars were eliminated on Day 3. Daniel Negreanu busted out before making the money, meaning that the Canadian legend will not be making his third consecutive final table appearance in the WSOPE Main Event. Other notable eliminations who did not cash included Huck Seed, Eli Elezra, and November Nine member John Dolan.

The top 36 players made the money, starting with £21,106 for the players eliminated right after the bubble. Several fan favorites hit the rail after cashing, including Freddy Deeb (30^th place) and Barry Greenstein (23^rd, £26,400), who was the day’s final elimination.

Who’s still around to fight for the title? Phil Ivey is looking strong, as he is currently 6^th in chips with 657,000. Hoyt Corkins is right behind him in 7^th with 566,000 chips. Also on the leaderboard is the intriguing Viktor Blom, who many believe to be the online poker legend Isildur1. Blom is currently 5^th with 705,000 chips.

The action picks up against at the WSOPE on Monday, with the final table being scheduled for Tuesday. Poker fans in many parts of the world will be able to follow the action live online if they wish; wsop.com will have coverage for European viewers, while ESPN3.com will carry the action live for viewers in the United States and other locations around the world.

The World Series of Poker Europe is being played at the Casino at the Empire in London, England. First prize for the Main Event is £830,401 (a little over $1.3 million), with the total prize pool coming in at £3,460,000.