Max Silver Claims WSOPE Main Event Lead

Day 3 of the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event saw two players from the UK take the lead as the money bubble broke and the field was reduced to just 25 players.

In the lead at the end of the day was Max Silver, who will enter Day 4 with 1.78 million in chips. He’s joined near the top of the leaderboard by online superstar Chris Moorman, who has been on a tear in live play in 2011. Moorman has 1.769 million in chips, just 11,000 behind Silver.

As always, the bubble was a heated affair, as only 64 players were being paid in this year’s WSOPE Main Event. In an unusual twist, this year’s bubble boy was none other than poker legend Barry Greenstein, who predicted his exit not long before being eliminated in 65^th place.

Max Silver is a relatively new face on the poker scene, but he’s had a great run over the last year. He’s had three final table appearances (including a win) on the UK/Ireland Poker Tour, as well as a 28^th place finish in last month’s World Poker Tour Grand Prix de Paris. Silver was also the 4^th place finisher in last week’s No-Limit Shootout during the WSOPE. In just over a year, he has earned around $367,000 in live tournament earnings.

While there are just 25 players left, several of them will be familiar to poker fans around the world. Still alive are Shawn Buchanan (4^th place, 1,267,000 chips), Patrick Antonius (696,000), Jake Cody (522,000), Erik Seidel (242,000) and Tony G (226,000), as well as his son, John Eames.

Several other notables have didn’t make it through to Day 4, but were able to make the money before being eliminated. Among them were Victor Ramdin (59^th), Day 2 chip leader Constant Rijkenberg (49^th), Sean Getzwiller (43^rd), Hoyt Corkins (42^nd), Freddy Deep (39^th) and Maria Ho (27^th).

Tomorrow, the remaining field will play down to a final table. The winner, who will receive €1,400,000, will be determined on Thursday.