Live updates from day three, level 20 of the EPT London Main Event event brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains, Brad Willis and Simon Young.
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Look back on the tournament so far with wraps from:
And today’s action so far in the Level 16 | Level 17 | Level 18 | Level 19 posts.
Blinds: 6,000-12,000 (1,000 ante)
7.45pm: Break time
Another level drifts by. Level 21 will begin after a 15 minute break.
7.40pm: Into the Woods
Darren Woods opened from under the gun, 31,000 to go. It was folded back to the big blind where Annette Obrestad was waiting. She called for a flop of 2♠J♠A♥ . Obrestad checked while Woods fired in a bet of 40,000. Obrestad called, enough to put the fear into anyone, then checked the 8♥ turn. Woods though was not afraid. He took a bet of 107,000 and with both hands threw it into the pot. Then he waited, and he waited, until Obrestad packed it in. Woods showed 6♣ 6♠.
7.30pm: Norwegian on Norwegian action
Annette Obrestad is continuing in a rich vein of form; she sure knows how to get paid off. Obrestad bet 32,000 on a flop of 2♦ 3♠6♠and her solitary opponent, Martin Gudvangen, called. The turn was J♠and Obrestad again bet, this time 58,000. Gudvangen called. The river was J♣ and this time Obrestad bet 126,000, which Gudvangen again called. Obrestad tabled 5♥ 4♥ for the flopped nuts and stacked another 300,000-odd.
7.25pm: Lichtenberger tames champions
Peter Eastgate and Jesus Ferguson have been sitting one seat away from each other for much of the day, although they’ve not exactly been whooping it up in gleeful goading that they’re the only two World Champions left in the field. Instead, it’s just poker, and it’s Andrew Lichtenberger who recently came out on top of a hand with Eastgate. The two of them got to an unraised flop, which came: A♣ 7â™ Q♣ . Lichtenberger checked, Eastgate bet 18,000 and Lichtenberger called. The turn and river we both checked: 9♥ Kâ™ and Lichtenberger’s Q♦ 2♥ took it down.
7.15pm: Haik Licht
Andrew Lichtenberger opened for 30,000 from under the gun. Eric Haik on his immediate left re-raised to 90,000. When the action was folded back to Lichtenberger he announced all-in. Haik wasted no time calling, showing A♥ Q♥ but Lichtenberger was narrowly ahead with A♦ K♦ . The board ran out: 2♠J♠9♣ 4♥ 8♠. A double up for Lichtenbrger, who now sits with nearly 350,000.
7.08pm: Chip leaders
With only about a dozen players left to lose before we get down to 24 and break for the night, we just did a quick pass to identify the chip leaders as of this very moment. Here are the top stacks in the room right now.
Nikolai Senninger — 1.6 million
Raymond Wu — 1.1 million
Benny Spindler — 1 million
Eric Haik — 1 million
Darus Suharto — 950,000
Annette Obrestad — 950,000
7.06pm: Wheels coming off?
Chip leader, Benny Spindler, has moved back at the same pace he was moving forward earlier. He now sits on around 900,000 after doubling three players in quick succession. Well, when I say three players I really mean two but seeing as Kenneth Hicks was twice a recipient and Spindler’s stack is feeling the effects of three double-ups I’m going with that.
The other player who got some of the German’s chips was Rui Milhomens. Spindler raised only to face a big three-bet shove from Milhomens that he called with K♦ Q♦ . Milhomens had 4♦ 4â™ and won the pot after a 4♥ Kâ™ 2♥ 3♣ 6♦ board to give him a 540,000 stack.
Hicks already had one double-up through Spindler before the above hand and the second one came after a pre-flop all in encounter with Spindler where he held A♦ J♦ to the German’s K♥ Q♣ and the board came 10♥ A♣ 3♦ 9♣ 9â™ . That put hicks up to 720,000.
7pm: Lisandro leaves
Jeff Lisandro is out. “How are you, sir?” asked poker’s undertaker – aka the payout desk assistant, whose job it is to be the first to speak to these deceased souls. “I’m sorry. It’s a stupid question.” “That’s OK,” said Lisandro. “I guess you have to ask the same thing every time.”
No news yet on how he bust, but he had been left with only a few chips from a difficult day at the tables.
6.42pm: We almost had a new chip leader
With approximate 400,000 in the pot and a board 3â™ 2♥ 2♦ 10♣ board, PokerStars qualifier Eric Haik pushed all in for 702,000. Theo Tran, who just had Haik covered, looked like he was going to call about four times over four minutes. “Can you beat jacks?” he asked Haik. In response, Haik pulled up his hood and looked at the table.
With a giant exhale, Tran tossed his cards toward the muck. One of them turned up and it was, indeed, a jack. Most every observer believed there was no doubt about the other card.
As the dealer pushed Haik the pot, he proudly turned over pocket eights. Tran’s eyes got wide, he turned his back, and walked in the other direction.
Haik is now sitting with about 1.1 million to Tran’s 780,000.
6.40pm: Quick hands
On a board of K♦ K♣ 6♦ , Tobias Reinkemeier checked and his solitary opponent Aaron Gustavson bet 34,000. Call. The turn was 9♥ and both players checked. The river was Kâ™ and Gustavson bet 61,000 after Reinkemeier’s check and that was good.
Benny Spindler raised to 27,000 pre-flop from mid position and Marty Smyth called from the big blind. The flop came 2♥ 4♠Q♠and after Smyth checked, Spindler bet 45,000, which was good.
Michael Berry raised pre-flop to 40,000 and his opponent, Darren Woods, made it 130,000 from the small blind. “You want to go to the races?” asked Berry, pondering a call. “Will it be a fair race though?” “I dunno,” said Woods. “Put me in and we’ll see.” Berry folded.
6:30pm: Prize winners updated
If you’re looking to see if anyone you know has cashed in EPT London, see the recently updated EPT London winners page.
6.20pm: Juanda done
On the last hand of the last level, John Juanda went broke. He was all in pre-flop for his last 130,000-odd and was called by Karim Bennani Smires. “You got aces again?” said Juanda. “Two hands in a row?” He did. Juanda’s pocket fives were never ahead and he bust out.
6.15pm: Picture
I reckon it’s time for a picture. I give you:
6.15pm: Whaddya know
It’s another level.
There are 41 players left.
Full chip counts are coming.
The prizes page is up to date.
How do you see them?
How do you think?
