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* Five 90-minute levels on Day 2
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8:47pm: Day 2 over–Leonardo Pires leads
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
We’ve reached the end of the day. We’re working on chip counts now. Leonardo Pires holds the chip lead with 524,000. You can read a full wrap-up of the day here.
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
Christian Campan, Julian Lozano, Anton Astapau, Karam Alfonse, Inditha Rajapakse, Miguel Silva, Jorge RibeiroJean Depinte, Scott Clements, Przemyslaw Piorowski, Brian Brunner, Tyler Patterson, Richard Farbar, Maximillian Hornung, Rinat Lyapin, Phillipp Lars Krummenacher, Joseph Rojas, Ambrose Ng, Damian Porebski, Arezki Beladi, David Robinson, Cristoph Volgelsang, Nikolai Koriagin, Michael Noor, Carlos Alvrez, and Chanracy Khun.
8:46pm: Chidwick doubles on last hand
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
While nearly every table had finished and were already bagging up, Stephen Chidwick and Ian Rudolph slowly played out a final hand of the night. In fact all their tablemates were bagged up and gone by the time their hand completed.
By the river the board showed 9♣ 9♥ 3â™ Kâ™ 2â™ and there was about 85,000 in the middle. Rudolph checked, and Chidwick pushed his last 45,000 or so in the middle. Rudolph tanked for quite a while before finally calling, and when Chidwick tabled his A♦ A♣ , it was better than Rudolph’s K♣ 5♣ and Chidwick earned the last pot of the night.
Chidwick ends with 164,000, which is roughly the same as what Rudolph is bagging. –MH
8:33pm: McAllister loses a few, still has big stack
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
We’d noticed Philip McAllister had pushed up around 450,000 a moment ago, and thus starting to stake a claim for the end-of-day chip lead. He just suffered a bit of a setback in that effort in a hand versus Michael Kamran.
A multi-way pot saw McAllister betting 12,200 following a 2♠3♥ 6♥ flop, Kamran calling, and everyone else stepping aside. The turn was the 6♣ , and McAllister bet 18,600, with Kamran calling again. Both then checked the 2♠river, and when Kamran tabled A♠J♠it turned out to be good enough as McAllister mucked.
McAllister still has 390,000 though and one of the biggest stacks around as the end of Day 2 nears. Meanwhile Kamran has 190,000. –MH
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8:35pm: The ten minute hand
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
I just witnessed a 10 minute hand that didn’t even make it to the flop. Whilst it didn’t have community cards it did have an illegal raise, lots of tanking and the presence of the floor staff.
Taylor Paur was on the two main protagonists in this hand, he opened to 4,000 from under-the-gun and action passed to Lennart Konst, who was on the button. He had a stack of around 130,000 to start that hand, he three-bet to 11,200 and action passed back to Paur.
The WSOP bracelet winner didn’t take too long to four-bet to 27,600 and this is where the fun began. His Dutch opponent tanked for a long time and he then took his bet back and didn’t put a raise out. When he did it was to 41,000 which was an under-raise. “Floor,” shouted the dealer and very quickly a member of floor staff arrived to let Konst know that his bet wasn’t legal and that he had to raise to 44,000 in total.
With that sorted Paur could get back to what he’d been doing the rest of the hand – raising. He moved all-in for about 120,000 total and Knost now tanked again.
You’d have thought that the previous tanking involved some thought about what to do if Paur shoved but apparently not. He tanked again, for another few minutes. He recounted his stack a couple of times before folding his hand. – NW
Taylor Paur – 165,000
8:32pm: Recent eliminations
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
Michel Dattani, Jani Sointula, Kyle Aiken, Kevin Schulz, Andrew Chen, Dominique Mosley, Marcos Carneiro Antunes, Ari Engel, Dzmitry Urbanovich, Ema Zajmovic, Anh Nguyen, Marc Karam, Manuel Correia Da Silva, Anthony Newman, Jeremy Menard, Lisandro Clavijo, Martyna Valantiejus, David Olshan, Troy Nisbet, Daniel Weinman, Georgio Sotiroploulos, Jordan Tentori, and Antonio Esfandiari*
*See below.
8:20pm: A new chip leader?
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
Franco Spitale might now be in possession of the biggest stack in the room, as he has just knocked out Keith Ferrera.
Spitale kicked off the action by opening to 5,000, before Ferrera 3-bet to 12,000. The Argentinian wasn’t done though and bumped it up to 29,000, leading to a shove from the American. Which was called.
With the cards on their back it was A♣ J♦ for Ferrera which was crushed by the A♦ Kâ™ of Spitale. He got no further help and sent his stack over to Spitale, who now has in excess of 400,000. Just 45 minutes of play, so there’s a strong chance he could be leading the field at the end of the day. –JS
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
A big three-way all-in situation has resulted in the elimination of Scott Clements with about 220 players remaining.
“BigRiskky” was all in and at risk with 9♥ 9â™ versus Keith Nassetta who had Q♦ Qâ™ and Brandon Crawford who had K♣ Q♥ and both of the other players covered. The board came 8♦ Jâ™ 7â™ 5♣ 3♥ , meaning Nassetta’s queens were best and Clements was eliminated.
Nassetta bumps up to 130,000 on that one, while Crawford has a comfortable 275,000. –MH
8:06pm: Set over set helps Shah
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
Michelle Syeda Shah was just the beneficiary of a set-over-set situation versus Lennart Konst. After a board of J♦ 4♦ 7♦ 3♣ Aâ™ , Shah’s 7♥ 7â™ were better than the 4♥ 4â™ of Konst, giving her the double. Shah has 106,000 now, while Konst has 118,000. –MH
8:05pm: Tough days
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
It’s been a good day for some, a tough day for others. With less than an hour to play today Anton Astapau, who earlier today had around 250,000 is down to 70,000, picking up a few more just a short while ago.
Stephen Chidwick has had a volatile day. At times he has been up, other times down, but right now has around 35,000, which is almost exactly what he had four levels ago.
Tamel Kamel, who has clashed with Chidwick several times today, has seen his stack reduced to 75,000 into the last level, down 100,000 or so from earlier today.-SB
8:04pm: Antonio Esfandiari disqualified from Main Event
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
We’ve just been informed that Antonio Esfandiari has been disqualified from the Main Event. According to Edgar Stuchly, Esfandiari was removed for a serious breach of tournament etiquette.
8:04pm: Crawford climbs to 350,000
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
The average stack is a touch over 117,000, but Brandon Crawford has three times that after winning a big pot that eliminated Nikolai Koriagin.
I joined the action on a K♥ J♣ K♦ flop, Koriagin (under-the-gun+1) had continued for 8,000 and Crawford had check-raised to 18,000. The action was on Koriagin and he elected to flat call. The A♣ fell on the turn, Crawford bet out pretty quickly, 25,000 was the size of the wager and it was one Koriagin elected to raise, the Russian moved all-in for 78,700, pushing his chips in so the stacks collapsed.
“Why’d you have to go and make such a mess?” asked Crawford. There was no reply from Koriagin, he merely leaned back and took a sip of his diet coke.
Crawford cut out the calling chips, thought for another minute or so and then called. Koriagin showed A♥ Q♣ but he was drawing thin as Crawford had turned broadway with Q♦ 10♥ . The river was the 9♠sending Koriagin to the rail.
“That was a brave call, he’s only been at this table for about four hands,” said another player at the table.
“I had a couple of Woodford’s (a brand of bourbon) during the break so I’m a little loose,” replied Crawford. -NW
Brandon Crawford – 350,000
8:03pm: Magnetic stacks
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
Only a handful of players are nearing the 400 mark and most of them are scattered throughout the tournament. But some are right next to each other.
A recent table break resulted in Fabian Rabah and Phillip McAllister being seated right next to each other. Both players were hovering around the 380,000 mark until Rabah doubled up a short stack.
Hans Winzeler called from middle position and Rabah raised to 5,500 from the cutoff. Stanley Blaby called from the big blind and then Winzeler moved all-in for 29,100.
Only Rabah called and lost. Despite that, Rabah was still near the top of the chip counts with 350,000.
Rabah didn’t slow down and opened to 4,500 the next hand. Everyone folded though and Rabah’s stack ticked up a bit. –AV
Phillip McAllister — 380,000
Fabian Rabah — 354,000
Hans Winzeler — 75,000
8:02pm: To bluff, perchance to dream
“It was the highlight of my poker career, bluffing you” said John Tabago with a grin to Vladimir Troyanoviskiy. The pair were referring back to a recently-completed hand, one in which a bold river bet from the Canadian had managed to get the Russian to let go of his cards.
There was a bit of a language barrier, but with some help from others at the table Troyanoviskiy got the message. He responded with an explanation that even though he’d suspected Tabago was bluffing, he hadn’t had the hand with which to call and so couldn’t do anything about it.
The table talk at last subsided, and the players returned to communicating with each other via checks, bets, and raises, with varying degrees of ambiguity about their intended messages.
Troyanovskiy has about 250,000 now, while Tabago is up to 120,000. Both continue to seek another career highlight, along with the other 220-plus players still battling. –MH
7:50pm: Lesson learnt; never leave a good table
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
Well what do you know. Typical, isn’t it? We dash back to write up a hand between the big stacks, only to return to the action and find the massive pot we were previously hoping for has taken place when we were gone.
We’re not sure how it happened, but Keith Ferrera’s stack has dwindled and now Franco Spitale, from Argentina, has shot up the leader board with a stack of 350,000.
We better get back to the action before we miss anything else! –JS
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
At the break Jonathan Little had 170,000. Some 15 minutes later he had 210,000, thanks to two hands that just played out.
In the latter, Little pushed three players out of a hand with a big three bet. But it was the first hand that proved most interesting.
Little opened from the hijack, making it 4,500 to play. Calvin Anderson was in the cut off in the seat next to him, and raised to 11,000. The action was folded back to Little who called, for a flop of 6♠5♣ Q♠.
Throughout the hand Anderson, not two feet from Little, stared at Little in a way that was not exactly comfortable to watch. Little did well to remain focused, ignoring Anderson on every street. But there was something compelling about this non-verbal communication. Little was saying he was ahead. Anderson was saying he didn’t believe him. But that wasn’t the last of it.
And so Little bet the flop, making it 18,000, which Anderson called. By the turn Anderson’s leg was bouncing. He watched Little bet 37,000 and then called for the river card, the 7♦ . More staring. More bouncing. Little remained unmoved, even when he moved all-in for roughly 85,000 more. He even moved his chips around to make it easier for Anderson to count them. More non-verbal communication. Anderson chewed his shirt collar.
Anderson finally mucked. Both players grinned.
“Jack-ten clubs, spades?” queried Anderson, apparently convinced. Then he asked why Little would play a hand like that.
“For fun,” replied Little. He was right about that.-SB
7:50pm: Vamos Ramos
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
The all-in deities have been friendly to Friend of PokerStars Felipe Ramos thus far.
Last time Ramos doubled up his pocket pair held. This time he caught up with a dominated hand.
Ramos got the rest of his stack in with A♣ Q♦ and was up against Bryan Eming’s A♦ K♦ for his tournament life. While the poker gods eventually threw the board in Ramos’s favor, they wanted him to a sweat a bit.
Ramos didn’t pair his queen until the river of a 6♥ 8â™ 10♣ 10â™ Qâ™ board. Ramos is now up to about 100,000. –AV
7:45pm: Behbehani chipping up and keeping loose
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
Sitting in a chair all day can take its toll and to help relieve some of that stress and tension, there are a number of masseuses at this tournament who are here to help. One of those has been in the employ of Salman Behbehani for at least the last two hours.
He’s got over $2,500,000 in lifetime earnings so can probably afford the rate they charge, and if he’s at all superstitious he might well ask the lady to stay right where she is as he’s been chipping up steadily since his massage began.
He got his latest boost when he played a big pre-flop pot, he opened, Rui Milhomens three-bet to 13,600 from the big blind and Behbehani was going nowhere. He four-bet to 30,000 total and Milhomens mucked. –NW
7:40pm: Pires knows something the rest of us don’t
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
We arrived at the table just in time to see Jani Sointula had committed his last 60,000 or so with 6♥ 6♦ , Leonardo Pires was his lone opponent with Q♥ 7♠, and community cards of 3♣ A♦ Q♠9♠4♥ added up to a better pair for Pires and the elimination of Sointula.
“You know something I don’t know,” chuckled Justin Swilling, who taking a gander at Pires’s stack added “we have ourselves a chip leader here, boys!”
Pires just grinned as he stacked the chips, which now total about 385,000, an amount that is indeed challenging Steve O’Dwyer’s leading stack of just a little more. –MH
7:35pm: When two monster stacks go to war…
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
Four of the biggest stacks in the room right now are all sat on the table, those being the ones belonging to Joao Vieira, Tomas Geleziunas, Keith Ferrera, and Jonathan Jaffe. So when there’s a pot brewing between any of them, our eyes are glued.
It was Jaffe and Vieira who were just battling it out. On a 10♦ 2♦ 5♣ board, Jaffe checked over to Vieira who fired 7,300 into the pot, which Jaffe called. Then came the 5â™ on the turn; Jaffe checked again and Vieira’s bet was now 17,200. Jaffe called once more taking us to the river, which would need a substantial bet from Vieira if he was to continue his betting pattern. Both players checked, however, and Jaffe’s set of fives took down the pot.
It wasn’t quite the monster pot we were hoping for, but you never know; it could be right around the corner. –JS
7:25pm: No repeat for Schulz, 2015 PCA champ out
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
Kevin Schulz topped an 816-entry field a year ago in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event to win the title. But this time around the Chicagoan has fallen short, having just busted with about 250 players remaining.
Following an opening raise to 4,500 by Fabian Chauriye, Sam Greenwood three-bet to 12,500 and the action folded to Schulz in the blinds who pushed all in for his last 16,500. Chauriye stepped aside, but Greenwood was quick to call.
Schulz had K♣ Kâ™ while Greenwood turned over A♣ Q♦ . The board came 9♣ 3♦ A♦ 10♥ 10♦ , hitting Greenwood’s ace and sending Schulz out of the tournament. Greenwood now has 140,000. –MH
Everyone is now back to play the last level of the night.
6:55pm: Break time
Players are now on a 30-minute break.
6:50pm: “This guy HAS to final table…”
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
We just can’t stay away Martin McCormick’s table, which he’s sharing with Jason Koon, JC Alvarado, Jeff Gross and Kevin MacPhee. He’s become a comedy legend, with chortles and guffaws coming from everyone around him.
The pot in question was against Dutch player Lennart Konst. He faced a heft 27,000 bet from Konst on the river with the board reading 10♣ 4♠5♠6♣ 7♦ .
McCormick was anguished. He stood up and started walking away from the table, but the dealer called him back (cue laughter). He stands out his seat and starts agonisingly going through the possibilities of the hands (cue more laughter).
“Do you have an 8? You DO have an 8? Do you? I can beat anything but an 8. Wait, do you have a 3?! You DO have a 3?!”
McCormick eventually gave it up and showed [5x][6x] for two pair. Kunst mucked.
When the laughter from the table settled down, JC Alvarado told the PokerStars Blog: “This guy HAS to final table!” –JS
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6:48pm: Engel sliced back
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
It had all been going so well for Ari Engel over the past level or so, but he’s now back down to about 60,000 after messing with Paul Gooley.
Engel opened from the hijack to 38,000 (a cutoff raise had just got through) and Gooley three-bet from the big blind, making it 92,000.
Engel didn’t hang around in moving all in, covering what they latter found out was Gooley’s stack of 67,600. Gooley called with his A♦ K♦ and stayed ahead of Engel’s A♥ 9♣ through a board of 5♥ 8♦ 5â™ 6â™ 3♦ . — HS
6:47pm: Chidwick up, Engel too
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Stephen Chidwick has had ups and downs today. At the moment he’s in an up phase having just won a hand against Marius Pospiech, which took his tack up to 135,000.
At the same table Ari Engel and Tamer Kamel just played out a hand.
Kamel opened to 3,500 in the cut off which Engel called form the big blind. The flop came 6♣ 10♠4♣ which was checked for the K♠turn card.
Engel checked and Kamel bet 4,300, which Engel called for the 5â™ on the river. A check from Engel, and check from Kamel. Engel flipped up pocket sevens to win the pot.
Engel – 135,000
Kamel – 100,000
6:42pm: McAllister still rising
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Phillip McAllister is closing in on the 400,000 mark.
The most recent addition to his massive started when Ilkin Amirov raised to 3,400 from the hijack. Jorge Ribeiro called from the small blind and McAllister did the same from the big blind.
All three players checked the 6♣ K♦ 10♠flop and checked again when the A♦ came on the turn. Ribeiro bet 3,400 when the 4♣ came on the river and McAllister bet 11,300. Amirov quickly folded and Ribeiro looked at his stack, he only had about 40,000 left.
Ribeiro folded and McAllister started adding a third layer of chips to his stack. –AV
Phillip McAllister — 380,000
Ilkin Amirov — 161,000
Jorge Ribeiro — 38,000
6:27pm: Looking for these folks in the field?
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Sorry. They aren’t here anymore.
Ellie Mirzaei, Matthew Haugen, John Gordon, Thomas Hueber, Alistair Hill, Dejan Boskovic, Patrick Devlin, Wade Townsend, Marc-Andre Ladouceur, Michael Wang, Dale Jamison, Eugene Katchalov, Taylor Von Kriegenbergh, Zvi Stern, Maurice Roy, Viliyan Petleshkov, Nick Mossa, Cary Katz, Jake Cody, Nikolay Sharkov, Panagiotis Pantazis, Jonathan Bussieres, Simon Appleby, Eyal Alksnis, Victor Figueroa, Pieter Aerts, Jans Arends, Christian Harder, and Omri Moga.
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Shortly after losing that hand a short while ago to Eddy Sabat, Troy Nisbet was down to his last 15,600 and open-pushed it all in with K♦ K♥ . He was called by Dan Hindin who had 6♣ 6♥ , which would seem to be a good spot for Nisbet. But a 7♣ 9♣ J♣ 2â™ A♣ runout added up to a club flush for Hindin, and Nisbet wished table well as he departed. Hindin has 128,000 now. –MH
6:15pm: They’re not Leonardo and Kate, but they’re pretty good y’know…
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
UK player Martin McCormick is having a whale of a time over at his table. He’s just been moved onto the same felt as Jason Koon, JC Alvarado, Jeff Gross, and Kevin MacPhee, and the excitement might be getting the best the best of him.
“I can’t believe I’m playing with you guys, this is nuts,” he said grinning. “I mean, you’re not Leonardo and Kate or anything, but you’re pretty good!”
Who are Leonardo and Kate? Your guess is as good as ours. All we can think of is Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet of Titanic fame, but they’re relationship to poker is unknown to us. The comment made the rest of the table, and Steve O’Dwyer is right next to the action, all crack up with laughter.
It’s great to see someone so excited to go deep in the Main Event, even if he doesn’t get to play with icons of the silver screen. –JS
6:17pm: Four-way all in!
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Having lost the previous hand with Q♦ 6♦ to Salman Behbehani’s K♦ 10♦ on a 5♦ Aâ™ 7♦ Jâ™ 9♦ board, Wade Townsend was down to just a quarter of a big blind. He was in the small blind, so they went in blind. He would be one of four players who committed all their chips in this hand.
From under-the-gun Lisandro Clavijo shoved for 28,000, Guillermo Olvera flat called from button, Townsend was already all-in, and Patrick Devlin – who had a micro stack – also called all in.
Clavijo: J♣ J♥
Olvera: Q♦ Qâ™
Townsend: 3♦ 2â™
Devlin: 10♦ 7♣
Olvera had the best hand and the biggest stack, so we had the potential for a triple elimination. However, the 2♥ 2♣ J♦ flop was huge for Clavijo, as he flopped a full-house. Olvera had two outs to win the main the pot, Townsend just one, whilst Devlin was drawing dead.
The K♥ turn and Kâ™ river kept Clavijo in the lead. He fist pumped and let out a few “vamos” at the end of the hand. He climbs to 60,000, Olvera drops to 110,000, and Townsend and Devlin are out. — NW
6:16pm: Sabat survives
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Eddy Sabat is sporting a Green Bay t-shirt today, although he seems not to be too distracted by the Packers’ playoff game which is presently ongoing. Washington is up 11-10, by the way, as the first half is nearing the two-minute warning.
Perhaps it is Sabat’s short stack that has forced him to tune out the game. Indeed, just now when he open-raised all in from the hijack seat with his last 21,200, he was utterly focused on how those behind would respond.
Troy Nisbet was one of the those players, and when he announced he was reraising all in from the button, the blinds skedaddled. Sabat showed 5♣ 5♦ while Nisbet tabled A♦ Kâ™ , and when the board came safely for Sabat — 3♣ 2♦ 7â™ 10â™ 9♣ — he earned the double-up. Sabat has about 46,000 now, while Nisbet is down to 58,000.
There’s about a half-hour to go before the next break, at which point perhaps Sabat can check in on how Green Bay is faring over in the Players Lounge where the game is playing on the big screen. –MH
6:15pm: Chen loses out to Mcnamara
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Christopher Mcnamara just down a big pot against Andrew Chen. On a flop of 9♣ A♦ Q♠Fedor Holz checked from the big blind before Andrew Chen, under the gun, bet 5,600. Mcnamara was in the cut off and called before Holz passed.
That took them to the turn, the 7♦ . Chen bet 13,000 which Mcnamara called for the Q♦ on the river. Then it got tense. Chen checked. Mcnamara tanked. Chen waited. Then Mcnamara quietly announced he was all-in.
Chen agonised, reeling in his chair. But he could only do one thing. He passed. Down to 52,000, while Mcnamara sits with around 185,000.-SB
6:07pm: Another double for Kessler
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
It’s been a great level so far for Allen Kessler as he just scored another double up. We only caught the showdown of the hand but as Kessler was being pushed the pot, he was busy taking a picture of the 4♦ 7♦ 4â™ K♦ 6♦ board.
He had 7♥ 7♣ in front of him for a flopped full-house whilst his opponent, Damian Porebski, held A♦ K♣ for the nut flush. Toby Lewis is also at the table and told us that the money went in down the streets with Kessler shoving all-in on the river and Porebski calling. -NW
Allen Kessler – 110,000
Damian Porebski – 35,000
6:05pm: Eldridge eliminates Moga
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Less than 300 players remain now, with Omri Moga the latest to be sent railward.
Moga was just all in and at risk for his last 20,000 or so with Aâ™ Kâ™ and needing to improve versus David Eldridge’s 7â™ 7♦ . But the board came 10â™ 10♣ 5♣ 3♥ J♦ , and Moga is out. Eldridge, meanwhile, now sits with about 230,000. –MH
6:04pm: Urbanovich back from the dead
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
A couple of tough tables are developing down in the darkest corner of the tournament room. Dzmitry Urbanovich, who had previously been reported out, wandered over to sit in the same space as Felipe Ramos and Sam Phillips, for example. Urbanovich had apparently lost his tournament ticket earlier on and that ticket had found its way to the pile of eliminated players. But Urbanovich is in–although his stack of about 55,000 is not one of the largest in the room.
On a neighbouring table, Stephen Chidwick sits beside Ari Engel, while Tamer Kamel is the man beneath the black hoodie on that same table. Engel and Kamel just played a pretty sizeable pot actually, with Engel bombing 26,700 on the river on a board of 3♦ 2♠A♠10♦ 8♥ .
There was about 40,000 in the pot and Engel’s bet was for about 80 percent of his remaining stack. Kamel thought about it for a long while before calling from his near 200,000. Engel turned over A♥ Qâ™ and Kamel mucked.
Kamel still has about 180,000 and Engel is now with about 100,000. Chidwick splits them. He has 125,000. — HS
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Georgios Sotiropoulos won the LAPT Bahamas yesterday and is looking for a repeat performance in the PCA Main Event.
Sotiropoulos had a massive chip lead throughout the entire final table and ran through his opponents on the way to victory. Now Sotiropoulos is battling it out with a short stack.
In a battle of the blinds, Sotiropoulos raised to 4,000 from the small blind and Thomas Petre called from the big blind. The flop came 9♥ 6♣ A♠and Sotiropoulos bet 3,100. Petre called and the turn brought a 3♥ .
Sotiropoulos bet 5,600 and Petre looked at the LAPT champ’s stack, he had about 19,000 remaining. Petre folded and Sotiropoulos’ stack rose to 38,000. It’s still below average, but Sotiropoulos has been navigating his short stack for some time.
We’ve seen how deadly he can be with a big stack, now we’ll see if he can get there again.
5:55pm: Katz runs out of lives
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
We’ve just lost Cary Katz. He shoved he open shoved his last 16,700 from under the gun and was looked up by the huge stack of Keith Ferrera who turned over 8♦ 8â™ . Katz let out a sigh and said “You’ve got one better” as he turned over his 7♦ 7♥ .
The flop gave him so hope, as the 5♥ 6♦ 4♦ gave him an open-ended straight draw. However, he’d used up all his lives in this tournament as the 2â™ turn and Q♦ river were no help.
Ferrera’s stack is monstrous now and he has two other huge stacks at his table too, belonging to Jonathan Jaffe and Joao Vieira. If two, or even all three of them were to clash, we’re going to one heck of a chip leader at the end of Day 2. –JS
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
After a raise to 3,200 from Rui Milhomens and a call from Farid Jattin, there was an all-in shove of 19,400 from Nikolay Sharkov. It folded back to Milhomens, the Portuguese player called, whilst Jattin passed.
Sharkov: A♣ J♦
Milhomens: K♣ Jâ™
The J♥ 10♦ 4♣ flop was a good one for Sharkov, the 9â™ turn gave Milhomens more outs, but the A♦ river made Sharkov two-pair. He doubled, whilst Milhomens slipped to 120,000, which is still plenty. –NW
5:42pm: Talal trying to win them all
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Super High Roller participants and friends Antonio Esfandiari and Talal Shakerchi are now sitting at the same table in Seat 1 and Seat 8, respectively. Unsurprisingly, they are frequently both leaning back to talk about various topics behind the dealer sitting between them. Their dialogue was interrupted just now, though, as Shakerchi was involved in a couple of consecutive hands.
The first saw Shakerchi open for 3,400 from middle position and get a call from Michel Fardel in the cutoff. After the 9♣ 2♠7♠flop Shakerchi bet 5,200, and Fardel called. The 7♣ turn brought another bet from Shakerchi, this time for 11,300, and Fardel called again.
The river was the 10♠. Shakerchi bet once more, pushing out 15,300, and Fardel again stuck around with a call. Shakerchi tabled 9♥ 7♥ for sevens full of nines, and Fardel mucked.
Shakerchi then raised to 3,400 again the very next hand, and James Calderaro three-bet him, raising to 8,600 from late position.
“You aren’t going to win all of them,” cracked Calderaro. “But I want to,” answered Shakerchi with a grin as he called the reraise.
The flpo came 8♥ K♣ 2♠, and Shakerchi check-called a bet of 6,500 from Calderaro. He check-called the 7♣ turn, too, with the bet being 12,500 that time. Both players then checked the 3♠river.
“Kings,” said Calderaro, showing his K♥ J♦ . But Shakerchi had that beat with Aâ™ Kâ™ . “Nice,” commented Calderaro as Shakerchi and Esfandiari resumed their conversation. –MH
Talal Shakerchi — 196,000
Michel Fardel — 128,000
Antonio Esfandiari — 110,000
James Calderaro — 104,000
5:45pm: So long, farewell…
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
We hate to say goodbye to the following Main Event players.
Dimitrios Farmakoulis, Nick Yunis, Frits Heckler, Murad Khan, Sergey Sergeev, Jason Wheeler, Michael Lesewa, Bryan Eming, Pedro Gusmao Madeira, Jaroslaw Lipien, Georgios Kapalas, Robert Michaels, Jamie Hollingsworth, Noah Schwartz, Farhad Hakim, Markus Kuhnen, Nathan Brooks, Yung Hwang, Thomas Muehloecker,Diogo Cardoso, Scott Stanko, Anthony Zinno, Valdamir Negodiaev, Raffaele Sorrentino, Danut Chisu, Mark Radoja, Andrew Gerl, Joshua Trott, Gianfranco Visalli, Leith Nassetta, Shyram Srinivasan, Lyle Vincent, Ryan Riess, Jussi Nevanlinna, Barry Greenstein, Tim Robinson, Uwe Ritter, Scott Baumstein, Aliaksei Boika, Luiz Da Silva, Thomas Taylor, Matthew Dietrich, Kathy Lehne, Harry Chaimowiz, Brian Odonoghue, Gary Johnson, and Jeremy Scharf.
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Every time we blink we see Jason Koon in yet another pot. He just took a huge one away from the player on his direct left, Kevin MacPhee, when he bet 36,000 into a 48,000 pot with the board reading Q♥ 8♦ A♣ 9♥ K♠. It was by no means an easy decision for MacPhee as the laydown took him at least 3 minutes to make.
Seconds later Koon was amongst it again, this time 3-betting Dutch player Lennart Konst’s open to 8,400, only to be 4-bet to 21,400. After Koon made the call we saw a flop of 7♥ 8♦ 8â™ , which prompted Kunst to continue for another 22,000. Koon again called and the turn was the 4♦ , which both checked. The Q♣ brought no further action either and Kunst showed Aâ™ Jâ™ to Koon’s A♥ J♣ . It was a chop pot, and you know what they say… –JS
5:38pm: High roller clash
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Talal Shakerchi and Antonio Esfandiari are seated at the same table, either side of the dealer. They just tangled in a pot kicked off by Jean-Baptiste Desvignes of France, who opened for 3,400 in middle position. Shakerchi was in the cut off and called before Esfandiari raised to 10,200 on the button. That forced Desvignes out, but Shakerchi called for the flop.
9♥ J♣ 5♣
Both checked.
The K♥ on the turn.
Both checked that too.
The river card, the 4♦ got a bit more action. Shakerchi check calling Esfandiari’s 4,000 bet, who then turned over 6â™ 9â™ . Shakerchi had that beat though, flipping up 9♣ 10â™ to take the pot.
Shakerchi up to 145,000 while Esfandiari slips to 77,000.-SB
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Allen Kessler is up to the relative safety of 30+ big blinds after doubling up through Frits Heckler. The hand took one of those funny twists when Heckler put out one blue 5K chip without saying raise. His intention was to do so, but it went as a call.
This put Kessler in a tough spot and he rubbed his face before he announced all-in. His shove was for 25,200 in total. Back on Heckler – who if we had to guess is inexperienced when it comes to live poker – he didn’t know what his options were or what to do.
He was fiddling with his glasses, asked the dealer what had happened, wanted to make sure he was only in the pot for 1,600 at this point. The dealer confirmed that was the case and also the amount of Kessler’s shove. Having processed that information, Heckler announced call.
Heckler: K♦ Qâ™
Kessler: A♣ Q♣
The Jâ™ 8♣ Aâ™ 7♥ 3â™ kept Kessler in front, and he’s back in it, Heckler however is all but out as he’s down to just 4,400 – NW
Allen Kessler – 54,600
5:20pm: Greenwoods united as Pires bosses
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Leonardo Pires is playing fast, both in the literal and the metaphorical sense. After Lukas Jebavy raised to 3,500 from early position, action quickly folded around to Pires in the big blind. Pires swiftly raised to 11,000.
Jebavy thought for a moment before calling and the two of them alone saw a flop of 6♥ 10♦ Q♠. No sooner was the last card down than Pires fired another 10,000 at it. Jebavy, a mite more ponderous (but only in comparison), called.
The 4♦ came on the turn and so did a bet of 26,000 from Pires. Jebavy was finally persuaded out of it, leaving Pires to build his stack up to 220,000.
This hand began with Pires reclining in his seat, with feet resting on an empty chair beside him. But as it played out, Max Greenwood came over with a tray of chips and prepared to take that chair.
Sam Greenwood has around 150,000 at that point. Max has about half that. — HS
5:16pm: Winkler fades straight flush draw
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Following a 4♥ 9♦ 10♦ flop, Bjorn Winkler of Germany was all in and at risk with Q♥ Q♣ versus the scary Q♦ J♦ of Omri Moga of Canada. For those with hold’em odds calculators out there, Moga was actually the favorite with two cards to come.
Any diamond, eight, or king would spell doom for Winkler, but the turn was the 10♥ and river the J♣ , and Winkler’s queens managed to hold. He exhaled with relief as the chips were pushed his way, and when he stacked them up they totaled about 135,000. Meanwhile Moga is down to 30,000, less than half the average at present. –MH
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
Felipe Ramos cashed in the LAPT Bahamas Main Event and is hoping to follow it up with a PCA Main Event cash.
He took a step in the right direction after he doubled up against Carlos Mora Alvarez. Alvarez raised to 2,500 from the cutoff and Ramos re-raised to 7,700 from the big blind. Alvarez called and a 9♥ 4♠8♠flop hit the felt.
Ramos bet 11,000 and Alvarez called. The turn brought a J♦ and Ramos moved all-in for 29,700. Alvarez called and showed A♠J♥ for top pair, but Ramos had a bigger pair in his pocket.
The Brazilian Friend of PokerStars showed Q♠Q♥ and an 8♦ came on the river to confirm the double up.
Ramos chipped up to just less than 100,000 while Alvarez dipped to 83,000. -AV
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
Toby Lewis has lost more than half his chips today, but he may have lost a whole lot more had he not slithered out of a trap laid by Sean Winter.
Lewis raised the cutoff; Winter defended the big blind and they went to a flop of K♦ 10♣ 4♠. Winter checked, Lewis bet 3,000 and Winter called.
The A♥ came on the turn and Winter checked again. Lewis this time checked behind. The river was the A♣ and Winter did not change his approach. He checked for a third time.
Lewis opted to check it back and Winter showed his appreciation. “Good check, man,” Winter said as he turned over A♦ 4♦ for a full boat. Lewis nodded his head and slid his cards back to the dealer. — HS
5:02pm: Players on break
Everyone left with chips now gets a 15-minute break
4:56pm: Anyone have a caged octagon?
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
So, you might have heard about that upcoming MMA fight between poker pros JC Alvarado and Olivier Busquet. Click here to see the battle they are in today.
4:56pm: Lovely for Liu
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
Joanne ‘JJ’ Liu won the Deuces Wild side event here yesterday, and she’s making a decent fist of the Main Event as she’s up to 170,000 after eliminating Andrew Gerl in a huge pre-flop encounter.
In the hand in question, Gerl opened from early position, Liu three-bet to 13,000 from the small blind, and Gerl then moved all-in for 46,000 more. Liu asked the dealer to pull in the 13,000 and count down the rest of his bet. She then tanked, and as she did so a friend (or possibly relative) wandered up to her table. She dwelled for a bit longer before electing to call.
Liu: Q♦ Q♣
Gerl: Aâ™ Qâ™
She looked on intently as the dealer dealt the community cards. She needn’t have worried though, as the 8â™ 6♥ K♥ 7♥ 7♣ board kept her in front. -NW
JJ Liu – 170,000
4:56pm: We know you have a choice of airlines
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
…so thank you for choosing the PokerStars Blog. With that said, it’s also pretty cool to see something like Jason Somerville and ElkY over there broadcasting the PCA on Twitch.
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4:50pm: Holz takes last of Riess’s pieces
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
Fedor Holz has finished off what he started in his duel with Ryan Riess.
Having left the former World Champion in grave danger in the hand reported below, Holz was able to pick up the last of Riess’s chips after action folded to the wunderkind him in the small blind.
Holz casually asked to see Riess’s stack, measuring it at around about 8,000. He then dropped in two blue chips, representing a total of 10,000. Riess peeked at his cards and called.
Holz had the goods. He had found A♦ K♦ . Riess was at least live with his Jâ™ 6♦ , but it was all over by the turn on a board of 7♦ 3â™ 3♦ 2♦ K♣ . — HS
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
Two eliminations in a single hand to tell you about. Not you. You.
Timothy Robinson and Uwe Ritter were both all in, the former with A♦ Q♠and the latter with K♠J♠. Neither was likely to be happy about the call from Sam Simmons, not least because he had Q♣ Q♥ .
The flop was innocuous: 6♥ 2♥ 9â™ . And the turn gave some hope to Ritter. It came J♥ . But the 6♥ on the end finished this as a contest and sent Ritter and Robinson away to find alternative occupation. — HS
4:46pm: Greenwood picks off Pires
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
Leonardo Pires has been gradually adding chips all day, stacking them neatly in 20-chip high towers that impressively curl around the cushioned curb at his end of the table. Sitting to his left, Robert Michaels (currently below average in chips) looked down at Pires’s stacks and noted how they were getting close to his seat.
“You might as well just go ahead and slide them over here,” Michaels cracked, and Pires chuckled as he opened another pot from early position for 2,700. It folded around to Sam Greenwood on the button who called, and the flop came K♣ 7♥ 5â™ . Pires continued for 4,700 and Greenwood called. The turn then brought the 10♥ and another bet from Pires — 15,000 this time — and Greenwood called again.
The river was the 6♣ . Pires fired a third barrel, betting 34,000, and after pausing for a moment Greenwood set out his own column of blue chips as a raise and Pires instantly mucked his cards.
Pires row still looks good, albeit is slightly shorter than before. Meanwhile Greenwood is starting to build his own fortress on the other end of the table. –MH
Leonardo Pires — 196,000
Sam Greenwood — 162,000
4:45pm: Ouimette doubles through Jaffe
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (100 ante)
Jonathan Jaffe doubled up in the very first level of this tournament on Day 1B and hasn’t looked back, ending the day with one of the biggest stacks in the room and continuing to build on it today. However, you can’t win a tournament without a few bumps in the road – much to Justin Ouimette’s delight.
The Canadian just doubled up through Jaffe in the all-time classic race. Jaffe opened to 3,400 and Ouimette 3-bet to 8,200, only for Jaffe to 4-bet to 22,500. The 5-bet shove was next for 57,400 total and Jaffe snapped it off turning over his A♥ K♣ , up against Ouimette’s [QH][QD]. Jaffe couldn’t find any help in the community cards and Ouimette secures a very healthy double-up indeed. –JS
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
Two of the big stacks just clashed in a pot over on table 38 with Fabian Rabah getting the better of Calvin Anderson.
Anderson has a fearsome reputation both online and live, and it was he who was the aggressor throughout the hand. He opened from under-the-gun and Rabah smooth called from the small blind.
The flop came low – 4â™ 7♥ 2â™ – but it didn’t slow Anderson down, he bet 4,300, all from Rabah. The Q♣ fell on fourth street, no one bet and the K♦ was the final community card. Again Rabah checked and this time Anderson did bet – 8,200 to be precise – and Rabah snap called with 8♣ 7♣ . It was only third pair, but it was good as Anderson had A♥ 5♣ . – NW
Fabian Rabah – 220,000
Calvin Anderson – 145,000
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4.35pm: Holz hoists Riess
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
The 2013 World Series of Poker World Champion is now down to a few big blinds after an optimistic all-in river raise against Fedor Holz.
The hand started with a 2,500 raise from Fedor Holz in the cutoff and Ryan Riess called from the button. The flop came[J♣ J♠K♦ and both players checked. A 10♠came on the turn and Holz bet 4,000. Riess called and a 9♦ completed the board.
Holz bet 6,500 and Riess moved all-in. Holz called and showed Q♦ 7♣ for the rivered straight while Riess tabled A♠10♦ for fourth pair.
Holz doubled to 85,500 while Riess dropped to about 7,000.
4:25pm: Tony Gregg takes a hit
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
Tony Gregg has almost $10,000,000 in lifetime earnings, including a runner-up finish in the PCA 2009 Main Event, which accounts for $1,700,000 of that figure.
It’s not going as well for him this year, as he’s slipped down to 45,000 after losing a pot to Brian Brunner. The two of them went heads-up to a Qâ™ Q♣ 4♦ flop, Gregg c-bet 2,200 but Bruner then check-raised to 6,000 total. A brief dwell from Gregg and then he called.
On the 3♣ turn Bruner bet 8,000 of his remaining 26,000, it was enough to win the pot as Gregg pitched his cards into the muck. -NW
Tony Gregg – 45,000
4:25pm: Ryan takes from Melianiuk
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
From middle position our chip leader Siarhel Melianiuk opened for 3,000 — as he’s being doing a lot of lately — and it folded around to Andrew Ryan in the big blind who three-bet to 10,000. Melianiuk thought for a beat and called, and the pair watched a flop come Kâ™ A♦ 10â™ .
Ryan checked, and acting with deliberation Melianiuk bet 12,700. Ryan called right away. The turn went similarly, with the 2♠falling, Ryan checking and Melianiuk slowly betting 23,600, and Ryan making a quick call. Both then checked the 8♣ river. Ryan tabled A♥ K♦ for two pair and Melianiuk mucked.
As Ryan collected the pot he remarked with relief how Melianiuk has always seemed to have it. But that wasn’t the case this time.
Melianiuk still has about 290,000, while Ryan is now up to about 210,000. –MH
4:20pm: You don’t have to go home…
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
…but you cant stay here. Adieu to these fine people who will not be winning the 2016 Main Event.
Andrew Usoltsev, Dmitry Sergeev, Luciano Garcia da Silva, Myro Garcia, Jonathan Roy, Vicente Delgado Zamorano, Heroen Goddijn, Fabio Coppola, Krishna Nagaraju, Emilio Boyd, Johnathon French, Boris Kolev, Ezra Abu-Gazal, Benoit Galland, Robert Gorodetsky, George Lind III, Nick Schulman, Antonio Luft, John Rogers, Jan Von Halle, Spencer Cossette, Patrick Kelly, Paul Ephremsen, Jaime Staples, Peter Jetten, Jake Abdalla, Peter Nigh, Markus Schottes, Chris Moneymaker, Remi Wyrzykiewicz, Luiz Duarte Ferreira Filho, Patrick Thibault, Gavin Cochrane, Yevgen Chernenko, Algirdas Zekas
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
Chris Moorman is out of the PCA Main Event in the kind of spot that a tournament beast such as he will likely consider standard, but which is going to hurt nonetheless.
Ambrose Ng opened to 2,600 from early position and Moorman, one seat to Ng’s left, raised to 6,500. Tom Thomas, another couple of seats around, was the one who fancied the pot more than anybody, however, and he cold four-bet to 18,500 from a stack of about 120,000.
Ng quickly got out of the way, but Moorman pondered his options for a long while, gently riffling a stack of about 70,000. He then moved all in and Thomas wasted no time in either calling or tabling his K♦ K♣ .
Moorman had an overcard with his A♦ K♥ , but did not hit it. The board ran 7♥ 8♣ 3â™ 10â™ 5♣ and that was that for Moorman. Thomas’s stack grows beyond 200,000. — HS
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
With more than 900 people in the Main Event, you might be wondering where all these people came from. This chart should sort you out.
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
Jen Shahade was one of the shortest stacks at her table, but she eliminated a player nonetheless.
Josh Goodman moved all-in for 12,900 from the cutoff and Shahade reshoved for 25,000 from the button.
The blinds folded and we had a showdown. Shahade tabled A♣ 9♣ but Goodman had a dominating A♠Q♥ .
The 10♥ 9â™ 5♣ flop quickly changed that and Shahade improved to a flush when the K♣ fell on the river. Goodman was eliminated while Shahade chipped up to about 40,000. –AV
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
Fabian Ortiz comes to this year’s PCA a two-time LAPT Main Event champion and with memories of past success here at the Atlantis, having final-tabled the PCA Main Event in 2014 where he finished eighth. The Argentinian is doing well here today, too, having just collected a pot from fellow LAPT player Pedro Madeiras of Brazil.
Ortiz is up to 184,000 now — well over twice the average with 370 players left, while Madeiras has 85,000. –MH
3:45pm: Prize pool information
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
The tournament staff has released the prize pool information for the PCA Main Event. In total, there were 928 players (including five no-shows) in the PCA 2016 Main Event. The prize pool is worth $4,500,800. The top 135 finishers will get paid with the champ taking $833,260. You can see the full payouts here.
For our earlier coverage…see our Levels 9-10 updates.
PokerStars Blog reporting team on the $5,000 Main Event: Stephen Bartley, Jack Stanton, Howard Swains, Alex Villegas and Brad Willis. Photos by Joe Giron and Neil Stoddart. For more photos from this event by Joe Giron visit Poker Photo Archive.
