Thursday, 28th March 2024 21:37
Home / Uncategorized / David Peters commands the ACOP High Roller final nine

After another 11 hours of play here on Day 2 the 2016 ACOP High Roller final table is set at last. When registration closed an hour into today’s proceedings we had 71 confirmed entrants generating a total prize pool of HK$16,699,200. Of those players a lucky nine will return tomorrow with their eyes set on the High Roller title, the trophy and a hefty HK$4,885,200 top prize.

Starting tomorrow in pole position with more than a third of the chips in play is David Peters. He eliminated Stephen Chidwick in the final hand of the night (more on that below) to bag up 6,535,000 at the conclusion of Day 2.

Peters has a whopping $12,690,661 in live earnings to his name and has already guaranteed that he’ll add to that here in Macau with this final table appearance.

David_peters_2016ACOP_HighRollers_day1.jpg

David Peters leads the way

While Peters is an enviable position, for others it was a different story, as another 45 players were felted during play today. Someone who knows that all too well is Steffen Sontheimer who was sent home by Yaqi sun. Sontheimer got it in good with Kâ™  Q♣ on a 2♦ J♥ K♥ Q♦ board but couldn’t fade the 9â™  river which improved Sun’s Qâ™  10♣ to a straight. Sontheimer slammed a chip down in frustration before departing painfully close to the final table and a payday.

While Sontheimer will be licking his wounds, perhaps the most sympathy should go to Chidwick who earned the unfortunate title of bubble boy for both the final table and the money. Chidwick had his bluff picked off by Peters for a big pot right before he called off with his tournament life holding J♣ J♦ . He was flipping against the A♣ Q♥ of Peters and failed to hold on the Q♣ 3♠ 8♣ 5♥ 8♥ run out.

2016 ACOP HighRoller bubble boy Stephen Chidwick.jpg

Stephen Chidwick sweats his fate

Chidwick’s departure meant that the remaining nine players had all locked up HK$484,000.

And those nine still in contention include the only Team PokerStars Pro to pull up a seat – Yaxi Zhu. You can see how she stacks up against everyone else in the seating draw below.

Seat Last Name First Name Chip Count
1 Metalidi Artem 3,180,000
2 Korenev Roman 550,000
3 Zhu Yaxi 620,000
4 Zang Shunu 1,005,000
5 Sun Yaqi 2,070,000
6 Newey Paul 730,000
7 Dvoress Daniel 1,130,000
8 Cheng Leo Yan Ho 1,930,000
9 Peters David 6,535,000

2016 ACOP High Rollers final nine.jpg

They’ll all be back tomorrow from 2:30pm local time to play down to a new ACOP High Roller champion. We’ll have blow-by-blow coverage direct from the tournament floor here in Macau. Who will earn the crown? Be sure to join us on the PokerStars Blog to find out! — BK

1:55am: Stephen Chidwick bubbles the ACOP High Roller
Level 15 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Well, that was a shock. Earlier this level Stephen Chidwick was challenging David Peters for the chip lead, and now he’s out as the bubble boy. With no money. And you can guess who sent him to the rail.

Chidwick opened to 100,000 before Peters moved all-in from the button. The blinds folded and Chidwick snap called all-in for around 1.1 million.

Chidwick: J♣ J♦
Peters: A♣ Q♥

The flop fell Q♣ 3â™  8♣ to see Peters take the lead. Chidwick’s rail started shouting for a jack but it failed to come on the 5♥ 8♥ turn and river. Peters will take a massive 6.535 million through to tomorrow’s final table. That’s more than a third of the chips in play.

Full counts, final table seat draw and a wrap of the day’s play will be up on the blog shortly. –MC

1:50am: Chidwick tries to take Peters off pot, fails
Level 15 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

David Peters has more than 4.5 million after he called a huge river bet from Stephen Chidwick.

Chidwick raised to 100,000 from the hijack and called when Peters three-bet to 280,000 from the next seat. The flop fanned 6♦ 6♠ 10♣ and Chidwick check-called 220,000 before both players checked the 6♥ turn. The 10♥ on the river put a full house on the board and Chidwick bombed for 800,000. Peters flicked in a chip to call and was shown 3♣ 3♠ by Chidwick. Peters opened J♥ J♦ and scooped the big pot. He dropped down to around 1.1 million.

1:30am: Peters applies bubble pressure
Level 15 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Stephen Chidwick has dropped to around 1.7 million after he lost a pot to David Peters in the blinds.

The Brit completed and then called after Peters raised to 175,000 from the big blind. The board rolled out 5♣ 2♥ J♥ A♣ 6♣ with Chidwick checking to face bets of 125k, 375k and 650k on each street of a 5♣ 2♥ J♥ A♣ 6♣ board. Chidwick called all the way to the river where he check-folded. Peters has moved clear at the top of the counts with around 3.6 million. –MC

1:10am: Miller soft bubbles
Level 15 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Thomas Miller has gone from third in chips an hour ago, to out two off the money. He moved all-in for 610,000 from the cutoff and was called by Artmen Metalidi in the small blind.

Metalidi: A♦ 4♣
Miller: Q♣ 10♣

The board ran K♦ 5♣ 9♥ 8♥ A♠ and Miller was done.

Two table of five players remain and play has gone hand-for-hand. –MC

1am: More doubles!
Level 15 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

This is getting silly now. I’ve never seen so many double ups so close to a big bubble like this one. It was Artem Metalidi’s turn to be the benefactor, quickly followed by Daniel Dvoress.

Metalidi three-bet all-in for 720,000 after Yaxi Zhu opened too 100,000 from under the gun. Shanu Zang was on the button and his call was enough to force out Zhou.

Metalidi: A♥ K♥
Zang: A♥ Q♣

The board ran J♣ 8♦ 9♥ 7♣ 5♦ to see the Ukrainian’s hand hold.

The very next hand, Dvoress min-raised his button and snapped off for 735,000 after Zhou moved all-in from the big blind with 7♣ 6♣ . Dvoress opened J♣ J♥ and survived the 3♥ 9♣ 5♥ 10♦ 5♣ board. –MC

12:50am: Sun setting fast
Level 15 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Yaqi Sun has dropped 2 million chips in 35 minutes. This time it was Leo Cheng he doubled.

Sun bet the 3♦ J♣ A♦ flop and then moved all-in on the 4♠ turn. Cheng called the flop bet and called all-in for 790,000 on the turn holding A♠ Q♥ . Sun opened 8♦ 9♥ for air and the river was the 3♠ .

Sun – 2.2 million
Cheng – 2.9 million
–MC

12:45am: Zhu doubles through Miller again
Level 15 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Yaxi Zhu and Thomas Miller tangled in another preflop, this time for a lot more chips. Same result though.

Miller opened from the button and called after the Team PokerStars Pro three-bet ripped 775,000 in from the small blind.

Zhu: Aâ™  2â™ 
Miller: J♥ J♠

The board ran Qâ™  9â™  4♦ 4â™  2♦ to make her the nut flush. Miller dropped further, to 520,000. –MC

12:40am: Korenev gets lucky to double
Level 15 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Yaqi Sun has taken another hit to his stack after he doubled up Roman Korenev.

The Russian was down to 510,000 when he moved all-in with 10♥ 9♥ from the hijack. Sun was sat in the next seat with Aâ™  10♦ and made the call but couldn’t survive a 9â™  2♥ 6â™  Q♣ 7♥ board. –MC

12:35am: Zhu smoking, gets a needed double up
Level 15 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Team PokerStars Pro Yaxi Zhu has found another double up.

She was down to 420,000 in the big blind when Thomas Miller set her all-in from the small blind. Call.

Miller: Q♠ 4♥
Xhu: A♣ 10♠

The board ran 9♦ A♥ 9â™  K♥ 8♥ to make her two pair. Miller dropped down to 1.125 million. –MC

12:30am: DP picks off a Sun bluff
Level 15 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

It’s late and the Sun has dropped in the sky a little. David Peters has moved up to 2.8 million after he picked off a bluff from Yaqi Sun.

We picked up the action on the turn where Peters (BB) check-called a 165,000 bet from Sun. The final board read 7â™  7♥ 4♣ 9♦ and Peters checked to face a 275,000 bet. He tanked and called with 6♦ 4♦ to beat Sun’s 10â™  8♥ . Sun dropped to 3.8 million, still Boss Man, and well clear of the field. –MC

12:20am: Senh Ung and Zhou Tong terminated
Level 15 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

We’ve lost two more in quick succession here – both Senh Ung and Zhou Tong were eliminated on neighbouring tables.

Tong’s last hand saw him run pocket fives into the pocket eights of Stephen Chidwick preflop. The board ran out clean with no hint of danger to the pocket eights and Tong was on his way out of the tournament area.

Ung’s demise came against Shanu Zang whose Aâ™  8♦ proved too much for Ung’s J♥ J♣ on a board of A♥ 8♥ 7♥ A♦ Qâ™  . Ung and Tong depart and with that we’re drawing very close to the final table where nine lucky players will lock up a payday. — BK

12:10am: Back to it; bubble looming
Level 15 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Level 15 is underway, here’s the break-time counts:

Name Country Chips
Yaqi Sun China 4,365,000
David Peters USA 1,904,000
Thomas Miller USA 1,860,000
Leo Cheng Canada 1,620,000
Stephen Chidwick UK 1,325,000
Paul Newey UK 1,315,000
Daniel Dvoress Canada 985,000
Artem Metalidi Ukraine 975,000
Shanu Zang China 855,000
Zhou Tong China 705,000
Roman Koranev Russia 680,000
Senh Ung UK 645,000
Yaxi Zhu China 460,000

11:58pm: Break time
Level 14 – Blinds 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

The players are on a ten-minute break.

11:56pm: Ung doubles
Level 14 – Blinds 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

Boy, did Senh Ung need a little help from the poker gods, and boy, did he get it.

Artem Metalidi opened to 70,000 from the cutoff before Ung put his hands together, looked to the skies briefly, and moved all-in for 295,000. Metaidi didn’t seem to like it, but made the call.

Ung: Aâ™  Jâ™ 
Metalidi: A♣ 4♣

The board ran 9♦ 10â™  J♦ Q♦ 2♥ . Ung flopped a pair and managed to avoid the straight chop. Metalidi dropped down to 980,000. –MC

11:50pm: Korenev catches a king
Level 14 – Blinds 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

Roman Korenev is lucky to still be in the tournament after finding a three outer against David Peters.

Peters opened the action with a raise to 70,000 before Korenev pushed his last 415,000 into the middle. It folded back to Peters and he snapped it off with the better hand.

Korenev: K♠ Q♦
Peters: Q♠ Q♥

Peters winced at the king in the window on the 3♣ A♣ K♥ flop as Korenev took a massive statistical lead. Needing to fade the case queen for a loss or running straight cards for a chop Korenev got it done when the 8♦ turn and 8♠ river bricked off to see hi secure the double up.

Peters now has 2.1 million worth of chips in front of him. — BK

11:40pm: Chidwick gets Troyanovskiy
Level 14 – Blinds 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

Vladimir Troyanovskiy contracted and winced in imaginary pain when a king appeared on the river to end his tournament.

The hand started with a cutoff raise to 60,000 from Stephen Chidwick before Troyanovskiy three-bet to 180,000 from the next seat. Chidwick wasted little time in jamming and Troyanovskiy tank-called off for around 675,000.

Chidwick: A♠ K♦
Troyanovskiy: 10♣ 10♥

“Classic race!” said Chidwick’s fiancé Marine on the rail.

Indeed it was and the board ran 5â™  Jâ™  2♣ J♥ K♣ to hit her man on the river. He moved up to around 1.63 million. –MC

11:35pm: Steffen Sontheimer sent packing by Sun
Level 14 – Blinds 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

Yaqi Sun’s steamroller run continues as he eliminates another player. This time his casualty was Steffen Sontheimer. The board was already spread 2♦ J♥ K♥ Q♦ and after a check from Sun, Sontheimer made a sizable jam holding Kâ™  Q♣ for top two pair.

Sun didn’t hesitate long to slide in a single chip to denote a call and he had Qâ™  10♣ for a pair and open-ender combination.

Just needing to fade an ace or nine Sontheimer slammed down the chip he was holding out of frustration when the 9â™  fell to complete Sun’s straight and send Sontheimer home.

He leaves us just a few places shy of a payday while Sun extends his mammoth chip leader even further by eclipsing 3 million. — BK

11:25pm: Zhu build a bigger house
Level 14 – Blinds 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

Yaxi Zhu has doubled up after she came from behind to make a full house versus Artem Metalidi.

The Team PokerStars Pro was down to 290,000 when she moved all-in from the button. Metalidi was in the small blind and made the call.

Zhu: K♣ Q♦
Metalidi: A♣ 10♥

The board ran Qâ™  6♣ 6â™  6♥ 9♦ and Metalidi dropped to around a million. –MC

11:17pm: Peters lays down a marker
Level 14 – Blinds 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

David Peters seems so comfortable in high roller these days. He was always respected by his peers but seemed to struggle to break away from being a tournament rounder. He still grinds them hard, but you’re more likely to see him at high roller final tables than 2ks these days.

He’s closing in on Yaqi Sun at the top of the counts after a well timed four-bet. Sun opened to 70,000 from UTG+1 and before Zhou Tong three-bet to 200,000 from the next seat and Peters four-bet to 500,000 from the big blind. Sun seemed annoyed that he had to fold and Tong folded too after tanking for a few minutes.

Peters – 2.65 million
Sun – 2.83 million
Tong – 800,000
–MC

11:10pm: Sun rises further as Hata hits the rail
Level 14 – Blinds 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

Aymon Hata has been eliminated by the tournament chip leader Yaqi Sun. The effective stack was Hata’s 320,000 and the two of them got all the money in preflop.

Hata: 5♠ 5♣
Sun: Kâ™  10â™ 

Hata looked surprised at Sun’s hand and less than ecstatic that he was in a coinflip so close to the money. The 7â™  9â™  J♦ was super sweaty and granted Sun both straight and flush draws. Hata needed to fade a spade, an eight, a ten, a queen and a king, and while he succeeded on the A♦ turn, the 4â™  river landed to seal his fate and send him packing.

After that hand Sun extends his lead even further to 2.85 million in chips. — BK

11pm: Sontheimer and Hata swap places
Level 13 – Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

Steffen Sontheimer was the shortest stack in the room but not anymore. He won a race against Aymon Hata to see them swap places in the counts.

Sontheimer was down to 313,500 when he moved in from UTG+1. Hata was in the cutoff and made the call.

Sontheimer: 9♥ 9♦
Hata: A♥ Q♦

The board ran a blank 10♥ 2♣ 3â™  10♣ 4♥ and Hata dropped down to around 320,000. –MC

10:55pm: Help to Hata’s stack
Level 13 – Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

Aymon Hata is gaining momentum while Roman Korenev falls closer to the danger zone after the two players clashed in a recent pot.

On a board of 10♦ K♣ 2♠ 5♣ Hata checked from the big blind to Korenev in the under the gun seat. The latter made a bet of 105,000 and Hata made the call to see the 7♣ river.

Both players decided to check it on the end and Hata tabled Kâ™  7â™  for a rivered two pair. Korenev immediately tossed his hand into the muck and now has only 315,000 in play. Hata, however, sits with 615,000 worth of chips. — BK

10:45pm: Final two table redraw with counts
Level 13 – Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

Table 1 Name Country Chips
1 Thomas Miller USA 1,729,500
2 Yaxi Zhu China 449,000
3 Artem Metalidi Ukraine 1,535,000
4 Shanu Zang China 1,134,000
5 Leo Cheng Canada 1,521,000
6 Paul Newey UK 1,543,000
7 Senh Ung UK 396,000
8 Daniel Dvoress Canada 753,000
       
Table 2 Name Country Chips
1 Steffen Sontheimer Germany 326,000
2 Vladimir Troyanovskiy Russia 988,000
3 David Peters USA 2,120,000
4 Aymon Hata UK 427,000
5 Roman Koranev Russia 522,500
6 Yaqi Sun China 2,516,000
7 Zhou Tong China 1,162,000
8 Stephen Chidwick UK 671,500

10:35pm: Down to two tables as Buddiga busts
Level 13 – Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

The final 16 players will be re-drawn onto two tables now after the elimination of Pratyush Buddiga.

He was down to his last 246,000 when he made his move from the hijack. Artem Metalidi was in the cutoff and thought through his options before he flat-called. All others folded.

Buddiga: 5♣ 5♥
Metalidi: Q♦ Q♥

The board ran J♦ 10♦ 6♦ A♦ 3♠ to make Metalidi a flush. Buddiga made a quick dash for the exit.

Pratyush_Buddiga_2016ACOP_HighRoller_day2.jpg

Small pair no good

They’ll now be a short break while the re-draw takes place. –MC

10:25pm: Laurynas Levinskas leaves us
Level 13 – Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

Laurynas Levinskas was the most recent High Roller evictee after he clashed with Leo Cheng in a recent hand.

With the board reading 4♥ 7♦ K♠ 8♥ Levinskas checked it over to Leo Cheng who moved all in with enough to cover the 200,000 in chips that Levinskas had behind.

Levinskas gave it some thought before calling it off for his tournament life with just 6♦ 4♦ . It turned out to be the right call and he was ahead of Cheng’s 10♦ 9♦ for ten high with an open ended straight draw.

Unfortunately for Levinskas he made two pair on the 6♣ river which simultaneously completed Cheng’s straight. Levinskas tapped the table and exited the tournament area.

Cheng now has 1.55 million at his disposal. –BK

10:15pm: Sontheimer doubles through Dvoress
Level 13 – Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

Since knocking out Philipp Gruissem earlier, Daniel Dvoress’ stack had been on an upward trajectory. The opposite can be said for Steffen Sontheimer’s stack. He was chip leader a few hours ago, but came back from dinner in the bottom quarter of the field. Those trends changed just now.

Dvoress raised to 50,000 from the cutoff and Sontheimer peeled from the big blind. The flop fanned A♥ 10♠ 5♠ and Dvoress continued for 30,000 before Sontheimer check-raised all-in for 230,500. Dvoress tank-called.

Sontheimer: Jâ™  9â™ 
Dvoress: Q♣ Q♥

The board ran out 8♦ 8â™  to make the German a flush. Dvoress dropped back down to around 590,000. –MC

10:05pm: Ung flushes it
Level 13 – Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

The flop was a paired A♦ A♠ 4♠ and Senh Ung checked it over to the only other active player Aymon Hata. He fired for 40,000 and Ung made the call to see the 8♠ turn card.

Ung checked it again and Hata continued for 70,000. After a smooth-call from Ung the 2♦ river completed the board.

The action went check-check and Ung flipped over Kâ™  5â™  for the nut flush. Hata sent his cards soaring into the muck with a frustrated look on his face.

With that pot Ung builds to 680,000 while Hata is left on 430,000 in chips. — BK

10pm: Sun using the chips well
Level 13 – Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

Yaqi Sun came back as the chip leader and has extended it ever so slightly. We caught him raking in a small pot, and he went on to win the next two.

Dong Zhoa raised to 45,000 from the button and Sun defended his big blind. Both players checked a 2♦ 8♥ Q♦ flop before Sun too down the pot with a 60,000 lead on the K♦ turn.

The very next hand, Roman Korenev raised to 45,000 but folded when Sun three-bet to 135,000. –MC

9:50pm: Back to it
Level 13 – Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

The players are back from dinner. Twenty players remain with play continuing until nine remain. Thanks to the tournament staff who did full official chip counts for us in the dinner break. –MC

Name Country Chips
Yaqi Sun China 2,189,500
Thomas Miller USA 1,958,000
David Peters USA 1,643,000
Paul Newey UK 1,379,000
Leo Cheng Canada 1,312,000
Shanu Zang China 1,127,000
Vladimir Troyanovskiy Russia 988,000
Zhou Tong China 955,000
Artem Metalidi Ukraine 839,000
Roman Koranev Russia 836,500
Stephen Chidwick UK 827,500
Aymon Hata UK 678,000
Yaxi Zhu China 573,000
Senh Ung UK 534,000
Daniel Dvoress Canada 442,000
Steffen Sontheimer Germany 389,000
Laurynas Levinkas Lithuania 373,000
Pratyush Buddiga USA 362,000
Shan Huang China 265,000
Dong Zhoa China 141,000

9pm: Dinner break

The 20 remaining players have stepped away from the tournament floor for a 45-minute dinner break.

8:55pm: Chen chopped down by Troyanovskiy
Level 12 – Blinds 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

Two-time MPC High Roller champion James Chen won’t be able to add another title to his list of accolades this week – he was just eliminated by Vladimir Troyanovskiy.

On a flop of A♣ 7♥ 8♥ Chen checked from the big blind before Troyanovskiy fired for 35,000 from under the gun. Chen made the call and the dealer turned the 5♦ .

After another quick check from Chen, Troyanovskiy continued the aggression with a bet of 65,000. Chen riffled his chips and deliberated before making a call to see the 7â™  roll off on the river.

A final check from Chen prompted a bet of 125,000 from Troyanovskiy which had Chen’s entire stack covered. It was then time for Chen to go into the tank. After three minutes of consideration he still couldn’t make up his mind.

“I can only beat a bluff” Chen called out to the rail before taking a sip of water.

Not long after Chen did push in calling chips but saw he was beat when Troyanovskiy tabled Aâ™  10♦ . As the bet was for an all-in Chen’s hand was revealed and the table saw he’d made the call with 9♥ 8â™  . — BK

2016 acop high roller james chen.jpg

James Chen

8:45pm: Sun touching 2 million
Level 12 – Blinds 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

Yaqi Sun has a stack on the brink of the 2-million mark after he got Vladimir Troyanovskiy and Yaxi Zhu off their hands.

The three players took to a 9♦ 10♥ 6♣ flop where Sun bet 50,000 from under the gun. Troyanovskiy called from the cutoff but the Team PokerStars Pro check-folded from the big blind. The turn was the Aâ™  and Troyanovskiy called another 120,000 before he faced a 275,000 bet on the K♥ river. He thought for a minye and folded to drop to 1.465 million Zhu has 600,000. –MC

8:35pm: Peters and Buddiga chop it up
Level 12 – Blinds 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

The flop was showing J♦ 2♣ K♦ with David Peters and Pratyush Buddiga the only two active players. Buddiga checked from the big blind before Peters fired from 40,000 from the cutoff. Buddiga made the call and the 3♠ arrived on the turn.

After another check from Buddiga, Peters continued for 87,000. The bet was called and the 3♥ paired the board on the river.

Buddiga checked a final time and Peters opted to do the same behind. They each held K♣ 10♦ and K♥ 10♥ respectively and the dealer split the pot and divided it equally between the two. — BK

8:25pm: It’s Miller time
Level 12 – Blinds 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

Thomas Miller has a stack approaching 2 million now after a huge hands versus neighbour Dong Zhao.

The two players were heads up to the turn where the board read 4♣ 8♣ 8♦ 6â™  . Miller was UTG+1 and led or 125,000. Zhao tanked for a couple of minutes then called to the Q♣ river. It was Miller’s time to tank. When he came out of it he led for 175,000 and after another tank from his opponent he faced a raise to 440,000. Zhao only had 130,000 behind so the raise looked strong he seemed very relaxed.

Miller stared at his opponent, seemingly trying to figure out what he was up to. Eventually he called with K♣ 7♣ for the second nut flush and beat Zhao’s Aâ™  Q♦ . –MC

8:10pm: Li and Gruissem gone
Level 11 – Blinds 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

Yingui Li and Philipp Gruissem have both been eliminated from the High Roller.

Li’s final hand saw an under the gun open from James Chen to 35,000 and a call from Zhou Tong before Li moved all in for 201,000. Chen gave it up but Tong made the call to see he and Li were flipping.

Tong: 9♥ 9♦
Li: A♦ J♠

It was essentially a fair fight but Li couldn’t improve as the board ran out 6♥ 8â™  2♥ 4♦ 8♥ . Tong’s pocket nines held and Li was sent packing.

As for Gruissem, we missed the action but arrived at the table just in time to see he was out of his seat and what-were-once-his chips being stacked up by Daniel Dvoress. — BK

7:55pm: Sun down as Tong takes more
Level 11 – Blinds 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

Zhou Tong just scooped in a pot against the former chip leader Yaqi Sun. The latter brought it in for a raise to 30,000 from under the gun before Sun played back at him with a reraise to 80,000 from the cutoff. Tong made the call and the flop landed 3♠ 5♣ Q♣ .

After it was checked to him Sun continued for 75,000 only to be snap-raised to 260,000 by Tong – who left himself only 200,000 behind.

Sun couldn’t commit the chips and flashed the A♥ before tossing his cards into the muck. Tong turned over Q♦ 8♦ before raking in the pot and Sun dropped to 1.3 million. — BK

7:45pm: Same cooler costs Yurasov
Level 11 – Blinds 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

Another queens versus kings set-up has emerged. This time the kings held, but it sucked for Dmitry Yurasov, who held the queens.

Yurasov opened to 26,000 from under the gun and was called by Senh Ung on the button before Dong Zhao squeezed to 96,000 from the small blind. Yurasov shoved and Zhao snap called after Ung mucked.

Zhao: K♥ K♣
Ung: Q♣ Q♠

The board ran 7♦ 9♥ 5♥ K♣ K♦ to make Zhao an unneeded set. He moved up to around 700,000. –MC

dmitry_yurasov_2016_acop_HighRollers_103.jpg

Yurasov downed in a cooler

7:35pm: Super High Roller eliminated
Level 11 – Blinds 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

Yuan Li had dreams of winning both the Super High Roller and the High Roller but he’ll have to be content with the first achievement. He was eliminated from the High Roller in a recent hand against Senh Ung.

After a raise to 27,000 it folded to Ung on the button. He three-bet to 60,000 before the action landed on Li in the big blind. He deliberated for a few moments before moving all in for around 140,000. The initial raiser quickly folded, Ung snapped it off, and both he and Li tabled their hands.

Li: Aâ™  Qâ™ 
Ung: Q♥ Q♦

Li needed some help and while he flopped maybe the best possible option other than taking the lead when the Kâ™  4â™  J♥ landed, somehow he couldn’t catch a spade, an ace or a ten when the 3♦ turn and 3♣ river arrived to signal the end of his tournament run.

Li leaves us while Ung stacks up a new total of 600,000 in chips. — BK

7:25pm: Guo and Graham depart
Level 11 – Blinds 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

The back of Dong Guo and Andrew Graham’s chairs could’ve almost touched. Maybe their back luck rubbed off on each other as both busted at pretty much the same time.

Guo moved all-in for around 190,000 and was isolated by Roman Koranev who re-shoved from the next seat holding A♦ Q♦ . Guo opened 6♥ 6♣ but couldn’t quite hold as the board ran Kâ™  K♣ 9♣ 7♦ A♥ .

Swivel around and a cooler was coming to an end between Andrew Graham and Shanu Zang.

Graham: K♠ K♣
Zang: Q♥ Q♦

The board ran 8♥ Q♣ 5♥ 6♥ K♥ . Ouch. Zang moved up to 675,000. –MC

7:10pm: Double delight for Dong
Level 11 – Blinds 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

Dong Zhao had to wait until the river but there he found a card that enabled him to double through Dmitry Yurasov.

Zhao was down to 166,000 when he moved all-in from under the gun. Yurasov was sat two seats along and was the only player to call.

Zhao: A♣ J♠
Yurasov: 9♦ 9♣

The board ran Q♣ 6♣ 4♦ Q♥ J♦ . Yurasov dropped down to 317,000. –MC

6:55pm: Sun shining into Level 11
Level 11 – Blinds 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

Yaqi Sun is the current chip leader, he’s only just ahead of second-place spot Leo Cheng. Here’s how those two stack up against our other frontrunners.

Yaqi sun – 1.65 million
Leo Cheng – 1.6 million
Thomas Miller – 1.17 million
David Peters – 1.17 million
Steffen Sondtheimer – 1.05 million

— BK

6:45pm: Break O’clock

Play has been paused for a 10-minute break. Coverage will resume momentarily. — BK

6:35pm: Tong takes from the Super High Roller champ
Level 10 – Blinds 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

Three players were active on a flop of 8♣ J♠ K♣ . Zhou Tong led out from the small blind for an even 100,000 and the action was then on Yingui Li. After giving it some thought he threw it away and the decision fell on Yuan Li on the button.

He made the call before Tong snap-jammed on the 5â™  turn. Yuan immediately leaned back and put his hands on his head. He leant forward again to cut out a call but ended up in the tank for a considerable amount of time.

After five minutes Yuan began counting on his fingers and then finally announced a call to put Tong at risk. Yuan held J♣ 10♣ for a pair and flush draw combo but Tong had the best of it holding K♠ 8♠ for a flopped two pair and the other flush draw.

The 6â™  river completed Tong’s flush and he secured the pot while Yuan fell to 90,000 in chips. — BK

6:30pm: Yu falls to Gruissem
Level 10 – Blinds 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

Liang Yu was the 71st and last player to enter the High Roller tournament and he was the latest to go.

Gruissem raised from the button and watched as Yu three-bet all-in for around 138,000 from the big blind. The German star said he was getting a good price and made the call.

Yu: A♠ 8♥
Gruissem: K♠ 10♣

Gruissem was happy to see he was live and even happier after the board ran 9♦ Q♣ K♣ 8♣ 3♣ to make him top pair. He moved up to 620,000. –MC

6:20pm: Zhu doubles through
Level 10 – Blinds 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

Team PokerStars Pro Yaxi Zhu was the only one representing the red spade in this event and she’s still going strong after doubling up through Dong Guo.

We arrived at the table just in time to see the dealer cutting down Zhu’s chips for Guo to match. The cards in the middle were spread 9♦ 7♣ 4♥ 8♥ Jâ™  and while Guo had A♦ K♦ in front of him, Zhu had that beat with 10â™  10♣ .

On the wrong end of that sizable pot Guo drops to 135,000 while Zhu jumps up to a new total of 680,000 in chips. — BK

2016 ACOP High Roller Day 2 Yaxi Zhu.jpg

Yaxi Zhu

6:10pm: Bonomo and others bust
Level 10 – Blinds 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

“A lot of people are busting, but a lot people are doubling up – that seems fair to me.” Said Shan Huang in the corner.

The wise man from China is right. This game is all about balance after all. The tournament has been whittled down to 32 players already, or four tables. Those tables will keep being balanced until 16 remain, at which point they’ll be a full redraw.

The player to go in 33rd place was Justin Bonomo. We saw him getting out of his seat and his chips being passed to Artem Metalidi, who now has more than a million. Bonomo’s cards had already been mucked but the Ukrainian had aces out in from of him and the board was queen high from what we could see.

Nan Tu, Ihar Soika, and Winfred Yu went out recently too. –MC

6pm: Michael Addamo makes an exit
Level 10 – Blinds 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

Leo Cheng just took the last of Michael Addamo’s chips after an all-in move on the river.

The community cards read 2♥ 3â™  8â™  3♣ 6♦ and with a substantial amount of chips already in the pot, Addamo checked it over to Cheng. The latter then jammed with enough to cover Addamo’s entire stack.

Addamo smiled at Cheng before trying to decide on the correct play. Unfortunately for the Australian he called off with 9♥ 9♣ for an overpair, but Cheng had an even bigger one, tabling K♥ K♣ to administer the elimination.

Addamo leaves us while Cheng moves up to an impressive 1.2 million in chips. — BK

5:45pm: Top five stacks
Level 10 – Blinds 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

As the fourth level of the day gets underway, here are the players leading the way:

steffen_Sontheimer_2016ACOP_HighRollers_day2.jpg

Sontheimer leading the way

Steffen Sontheimer – 1.45 million
Stephen Chidwick – 1.3 million
David Peters – 1.2 million
Thomas Miller – 1 million
Dmitry Yurasov – 985,000
–MC

5:35pm: Too fast Tu felted
Level 9 – Blinds 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

Nan Tu was the next to go after a preflop clash with Super High Roller champion Yuan Li. The two of them were both short stacked and they got it all in with Li just covering Tu.

Tu: K♦ Q♥
Li: A♣ 10♣

Tu was behind and while his cards were live the A♥ 4♦ 7♠ was a big blow to his chances of sticking around. The 6♠ turn left him drawing dead before the Q♠ rolled off on the river to give Tu an inferior pair. It was too little too late for Tu and he leaves us in the later part of Level 9.

Li on the other hand now has 215,000 to play with. — BK

5:25pm: Zhao lucky to stay alive
Level 9 – Blinds 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

Dong Zhao is still in the tournament after getting it in bad but finding a pair versus Shunu Zang. Zhao was relatively short and moved all in for his last 123,000. It folded around to Zang and he called it off to put Zhao at risk.

Zang: A♥ J♣
Zhou: 8â™  7â™ 

Zhou picked up an open ender on the 6♥ 3♣ 9♦ flop but it was the 7♥ turn that paired him to take the lead. The Q♦ river failed to change anything and Zhou secured the double up.

Meanwhile Zang hurtled down to just 55,000 remaining. — BK

5:10pm: Tang triples where others failed
Level 9 – Blinds 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

It’s always nice to get protection from a worse hand after you’ve moved all-in. That happened to Devan Ying Seng Tang just now and he ended up tripling up.

He was down to just 65,000 when he moved all-in from UTG+1. James Chen called from two seats along before Artem Metalidi tanked and squeezed all-in for 305,000 from the button. Chen tank-folded.

Tang: A♥ K♦
Metalidi: A♠ Q♣

The board ran 6♣ 10♣ 6♦ 5♥ 7♣ .

Tang managed what Shih I Chao, Salman Behbehani and Mustapha Kanit failed to do – survive when all-in. –MC

5pm: Adios Aido
Level 9 – Blinds 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

Sergio Aido has fallen by the wayside at the hands of Roman Korenev. Aido moved his short stack of 46,500 all in from under the gun and it folded around to Korenev in the small blind who called to put Aido at risk.

Aido: 7♦ 6♦
Korenev: Q♥ J♣

A seven in the window gave Aido some hope until the Q♦ Q♣ 7♥ was spread all the way to crush his chances of survival. Needing running cards to keep his dream alive Aido couldn’t do it on the Kâ™  turn and K♥ river.

He departs as Korenev climb to a new total of 720,000 in chips.

Aido&kanit_2016ACOP_HighRollers_day2.jpg

Aido & Kanit both on the rail

4:55pm: Triple D: Dvoress downs Drinan
Level 9 – Blinds 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

Daniel Dvoress was looking for a double up himself. He didn’t get that but he won the pot and took out the dangerous Connor Drinan while doing so.

Dvoress was down to 127,000 when he moved all-in from middle position. Drinan was in the cutoff and called all-in for what looked like about 30,000. All other players folded.

Dvoress: J♥ 10♥
Drinan: K♠ Q♥

The board ran 4♦ 2♥ 8♣ 4â™  J♦ to pair Dvoress of the river. “Good luck guys,” said Drinan before he left. –MC

connor_Drinan_2016ACOP_HighRollers_day2.jpg
4:35pm: First break of the day

Players have stepped away from the tournament for a scheduled break. Action resumes in 10 minutes.

4:25pm: Philbort doubles to weave buying chips
Level 8 – Blinds 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Mustapha Kanit came over to tease Philipp Gruissem after he had doubled to up nearly 500k. He said something about the German’s small bald patch and Gruissem responded by saying, “Hey! I have the chips to buy new hair now!”

Gruissem had doubled through Laurynas Levinskas with the chips seemingly going in on the flop of a 6â™  Qâ™  J♥ Jâ™  8â™  board. Levinskas’s K♦ Q♦ was no match for Gruissem’s K♥ Kâ™  and he dropped down to 373,000. –MC

4:20pm: Payout information

Now that the tournament is locked out the payout numbers have been finalized.

In the end there were 71 players who pulled up seats to generate a prize pool of HK$16,699,200. Of that, HK$4,885,200 will go to the eventual champion, with the final nine all receiving a return on their investment.

You can check out the full list of payouts below.

Place Prize (HKD)
1 $4,885,200
2 $3,507,000
3 $2,279,000
4 $1,720,000
5 $1,336,000
6 $1,035,000
7 $818,000
8 $635,000
9 $484,000

— BK

4:10pm: Early fallers
Level 8 – Blinds 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Steve O’Dwyer never managed to recover from that loss a short while ago to cap off a pretty bad tournament series for him, especially after the high benchmark he’s set for himself over the last few years.

He’s joined the likes of Kitson Kho, Ben Lai, Zuo Wang and Bryn Kenney on the rail. –MC

4pm: Wakeman on the warpath
Level 8 – Blinds 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Matthew Wakeman returned today with just 95,500 but after only one level of play he has already built that number to 440,000. Wakeman accumulated some of those chips in a recent hand against Steve O’Dwyer.

We arrived at the table with players on the turn and the board reading A♦ Q♥ 6♥ 4♦ . O’Dwyer checked his option from under the gun plus one and Wakeman barrelled for 80,000 from the hijack seat. O’Dwyer made the call and the 2♣ arrived on the river.

O’Dwyer quickly checked again and Wakeman decided to do the same behind. After tabling A♣ Jâ™  O’Dwyer was shown the superior A♥ K♥ in Wakeman’s hand and the latter raked in another decent pot. — BK

2016 ACOP High Roller Matthew Wakeman.jpg

Matthew Wakeman on Day 1

3:50pm: Sun in no mood to go down
Level 8 – Blinds 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Even Stephen Chidwick allowed himself to smile just a little after he was unlucky to end up losing a pot worth more than 550k to his neighbour Yaqi Sun.

Sun opened to 15,000 from the hijack before Chidwick three-bet to 45,000 from the next seat. Sun went into the tank for several minutes before four-betting to 115,000. Chidwick double-checked his hand and moved all-in very quickly. Sun had 285,500 total and thought for another few minutes, all the while muttering in Chinese. He did speak one sentence of English when he asked Chidwick, “Ace-ace?”

Sun&Chidwick_2016ACOP_HighRollers_day2.jpg

Sun and Chidwick high-fiving

Then all over a sudden he cried something more in Chinese and called all-in with Aâ™  2♥ . Chidwick opened Jâ™  J♦ and the board ran A♦ 6♦ 5♦ 2♣ Qâ™  to make Sun two pair. To say he was happy about it was an understatement. Mustapha Kanit is sat to Sun’s right and he got involved in the celebrations too, I’m guessing he’s very happy Chidwick doesn’t have stack worth more than 1.1 million to his direct left.

“Big tuna!” said Kanit before high-fiving Sun. “Jack-jack no good!” he continued. Chidwick dropped down to 660,000. –MC

3:40pm: Metalidi making moves
Level 8 – Blinds 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Two-time MPC High Roller champion James Chen raised to 12,000 under the gun before Artem Metalidi three-bet to 34,000 next to act. Chen asked to see his stack and upon noting that Metalidi had 117,000 behind, Chen made the call.

The flop came down J♦ 9♦ 7♥ and both players checked. The 7♥ turn prompted another check from Chen but Metalidi moved all in for the rest of it. Chen considered his options but decided to let the hand go.

The pot was pushed to Metalidi while Chen fell back to 455,000 in chips. — BK

3:30pm: More bits and bobs
Level 7 – Blinds 2,500/5,000 (500 ante)

There seems to be a lot of little pots springing up over the room. Any big moves I’ve seen haven’t been called.

Andrew Graham looked closed to calling a big squeeze all-in but thought better of it. He opened to 15,000 from the hijack and was called by Shanu Zang before Vladimir Dobrovolskii moved all-in for 201,500 from the big blind. Both opponents folded.

On a nearby table, Daniel Dvoress opened to 12,000 and was called in two spots before the action got to Yuan Li in the big blind. The Super High Roller champion had just over 20 big blinds and studied his opponents. He then called as well, but he and the other two players folded to Dvoress’ 25,000 c–bet on a Q♦ 8♣ Q♥ flop. –MC

3:25pm: Choi tries to bluff Bonomo
Level 7 – Blinds 2,500/5,000 (500 ante)

Justin Bonomo is stacking chips after picking off a river bluff from Stanley Choi.

The board was spread A♦ 9♥ 3â™  5♥ 4♥ and Bonomo checked first-to-act in the small blind. Choi was the only other active player and he reached deep into his stack before firing for 126,500. The bet left Choi with only 70,000 behind but that didn’t stop Bonomo from making the correct call.

Choi: 7♥ 7♦
Bonomo: A♠ A♣

Bonomo had top set with three aces and that was way the best of it against Choi’s pocket sevens. — BK

3:20pm: Li versus Li
Level 7 – Blinds 2,500/5,000 (500 ante)

ACOP Super High Roller champion Yuan Li shares his last name with tablemate Yingui Li – and now he’s also sharing his chips. The two of them got all the money in preflop to find out it was a coinflip.

Yuan: 10♠ 10♦
Yingui: A♠ K♣

Yuan stood up with a sigh as a king fell on the K♦ 7♥ 2♦ flop. He couldn’t find a ten or running diamonds as the A♥ turn and 3♣ river rolled off and failed to eliminate Yingui.

After that dent to his stack Yuan is down to just 110,000. — BK

3:15pm: Koronev and DP up; three more join the fun
Level 7 – Blinds 2,500/5,000 (500 ante)

Roman Koronev won an early pot off Faraz Jaka. He checked-called 31,500 on the turn before both players checked the river. The final board rested as 4♣ K♣ 10♣ 5♦ 6♠ and Jaka mucked after Koronev opened A♥ K♥ .

David Peters has extended his chips lead by taking most of Dejan Boskovic chips, who had only bought in today. Peters’ 43,000 and 85,000 turn and river bets were both called. The final board read 8♣ K♥ Jâ™  9♥ 2♦ and Peters opened Kâ™  9♣ for two pair. Boskovic mucked to drop to 90,000.

Other players who have bought in today include: Sergio Aido. Yaqi Sun, Connor Drinan and Pratyush Buddiga. –MC

2:50pm: Zhu and Metalidi chop it up
Level 7 – Blinds 2,500/5,000 (500 ante)

There has been action early here but ultimately it didn’t change much.

On a flop of K♠ 6♥ J♠ Metalidi led at it for 55,500 from the big blind and Team PokerStars Pro Yaxi Zhu called from the button. The Q♦ fell on the turn and both players checked it through to the 10♥ river.

Metalidi thought for about a minute before checking it over to Zhu who moved all in. Metalidi had a quick peek at his cards then snapped it off with A♣ Qâ™  for the nuts. Zhu flipped over Aâ™  J♣ for effectively the same hand and they both split what was in the middle with their Broadway straights. — BK

2:35pm: Shuffle up and deal
Level 7 – Blinds 2,500/5,000 (500 ante)

Cards are in the air for Day 2. The plan for today is to play down to a final table of nine.

2:15pm: Day 2 set to begin
Level 7 – Blinds 2,500/5,000 (500 ante)

Welcome back to the penultimate day of the 2016 Asia Championship of Poker (ACOP)and it promises to an exciting one! On this page we’ll bring bringing you all the action from Day 2 of the $250,000 High Roller event and on our other page, the $100,000 Main Event is paying out the final day where just six players remain.

David_peters_2016ACOP_HighRollers_day1.jpg

Peters has fine high roller form

Day 1 of the High Roller attracted 62 players and after six levels of play 45 got through. That number could increase as registration is open for one more level. David Peters ended the day as chip leader on 1.057 million chips. To read all about yesterday’s action, click here, and join us back on this page soon for live action.

PokerStars Blog reporting team at 2016 ACOP: Marc Convey, Brad Kain and Howard Swains. Photography by Long Guan/Kenneth Lim Photography. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter: @PokerStarsBlog

Study Poker with Pokerstars Learn, practice with the PokerStars app