December 17 2011, Donnie Peters

The 12 remaining players in the third Epic Poker League Main Event returned to action on Saturday for another day at the office. All of them were in the money and Joe Tehan had a big chip lead on the rest of the pack. All of the players were spread across three, four-handed tables and guaranteed at least $50,920. At the end of the day, just five were left and Andrew “LuckyChewy” Lichtenberger led the way. He bagged up 1.742 million in chips.

It didn’t take long for the first player hit the rail. Amnon Filippi fell at the hands of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi. According to the EPL Live Update Team, Filippi was all-in preflop with , but in a tough spot against Mizrachi’s . The flop, turn and river ran out and failed to give Filippi what he needed to stay alive.

Hafiz Khan was the next man out the door in 11th place and then Amit Makhija was eliminated in 10th. Sorel Mizzi was out the door in ninth place and then David Williams fell in eighth.

Williams went out to fellow Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier. Williams moved all-in preflop with over a raise from Mercier. Mericer called with two black kings and held from there.

Even though Mercier was able to pick up Williams’ chips, he wasn’t able to put them to much use and he was the next player to head to the rail. Mercier and Chris Klodnicki saw a flop and Mercier bet 9,500. Klodnicki made the call and the landed on the turn. Mercier bet again and made it 27,000. Klodnicki raised to 63,000 and Mercier reraised to 138,000. Klodnicki reraised all-in and Mercier called to put himself at risk for 369,000 total.

Klodnicki, holding , had turned a set of tens. When Mercier opened his hand to reveal , it was much more apparent how lucky Klodnicki really got to hit the case ten on the turn. The river completed the board with the and Mercier was eliminated in seventh place.

The last player eliminated on the day was Noah Schwartz. He was involved in a hand with Klodnicki on a flop with 35,000 already in the middle. Klodnicki checked and Schwartz fired 14,000. Klodnicki check-raised to 40,000, but Schwartz didn’t scare. He made the call and the turn paired the board with the .

On the turn, Klodnicki bet 45,000. Schwartz raised to 108,000 and Klodnicki reraised all-in. Schwartz thought for a bit and then made the call to commit himself for 230,000. He held and Klodnicki showed . Once again, Klodnicki was on the positive side of a cooler. After the river failed to give Schwartz what he needed to stay alive, Klodnicki was shipped the pot.

During the Schwartz elimination hand, the other table had a big pot brewing between Scott Clements and Lichtenberger. Lichtenberger had raised to 15,000 from the button and Clements three-bet to 42,000 from the small blind. Lichtenberger made the call to see the flop, and Clements checked. Lichtenberger fired 45,000 and Clements called.

The came on the turn and Clements checked again. Lichtenberger upped his wager to 125,000 and slid it into the middle. Clements called and the landed on the river. Clements checked for a third time and Lichtenberger bet 335,000. Clements made the call for about three-quarters of his remaining stack, but could only muck when he saw Lichtenberger’s .

Wth five players left, the tournament was stopped for the day and the remaining competitors were set to return on Sunday at 1200 PST (2000 GMT) to continue. They redrew to one table before departing for the night.

Final Table Seating Assignments and Chips

All five players have locked up a minimum of $89,680, but they all have their eyes set on the first-place payday of $801,680. Be sure to check back here at PokerNews for the daily recap of the action.

Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

Follow Donnie Peters on Twitter – @Donnie_Peters