Final Three players at the WSOP! Who will win?

Pius Heinz and Ben Lamb

After roughly seven hours and 45 minutes of play on Sunday, the 2011 World Series of Poker® (WSOP) Main Event is down to its final three players. Pius Heinz, Ben Lamb and Martin Staszko will return to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino on Tuesday to compete for the top prize of more than $8.7 million and the game’s most coveted prize, a WSOP gold bracelet.

Tuesday’s action will be carried nearly live – with just a 15-minute delay – on ESPN and ESPN3 beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern and will feature hole cards following the conclusion of the hand. Heinz, Lamb and Staszko will be vying for a share of more than $18 million.

In addition to the top prize of $8,715,638, the second-place finisher will receive $5,433,086 and the third-place finisher will take home $4,021,138.

Heinz is the chip leader going into the final day of play. The 22-year-old is a resident of Cologne , Germany . The student and poker professional has a chip count of 107,800,000.  Lamb, a 26-year old poker professional who splits time between Las Vegas and Tulsa , Oklahoma , is currently second in chips with 55,400,000. Staszko, 35, of Trinec , Czech Republic , will enter Tuesday’s play as the short stack, with 42,700,000.

Sunday’s action, which saw six of the final nine players eliminated, was carried nearly live on ESPN2 and ESPN3 beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. The competitors broke out in the following order, collecting the following prize money:

9th place: Sam Holden, 22, of Sussex , Great Britain : $782,115

8th place: Anton Makiievskyi, 21, of Dnipropetrovsk , Ukraine : $1,010,015

7th place: Badih Bou-Nahra, 49, of Belize City , Belize : $1,314,097

6th place: Eoghan O’Dea, 26, of Dublin , Ireland : $1,720,831

5th place: Phil Collins, 26, of Las Vegas , Nevada : $2,269,599

4th place: Matt Giannetti , 26, of Las Vegas , Nevada : $3,012,700

The 2011 WSOP Main Event began in July with a total of 6,865 entrants. The event’s total prize pool was $64,540,858, with $28,279,223 going to the final nine players. A total of 693 entrants cashed in the event.

As has become tradition in recent years, Main Event play was suspended in July when the tournament reached its final nine players. It resumed with the “November Nine” taking to the felt Sunday with 34 minutes, 57 seconds remaining in Level 36, with antes 50,000 and blinds at 250,000 and 500,000.

The 2011 WSOP attracted a record 75,672 players from 105 different nations competing for a total prize pool of $192,008,868 over the 58-event, 50-day extravaganza.

About the World Series of Poker

The World Series of Poker® is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world, having awarded more than $1.4 billion in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport’s top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest-running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970. In 2011, the event attracted 75,672 entrants from 105 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas , and awarded more than $191 million in prize money. In addition, the WSOP has formed groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent of the World Series of Poker Europe in 2007. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit www.wsop.com.