Wynn Classic Live Updates

This match is over! After beating Ryan Young down to a shortstack Chris Moore looked at only one of his cards, the K♦, before putting his heads-up opponent all-in. Young only looked at one of his cards, the A♥, before calling.

Unfortunately for Ryan, Moore's other cards was the K♠, while his was the 5♥. Moore finished third here last year, eliminated by the eventual winner, and a victory this time around was so close he could taste it.

The board ran K♣ T♦ 7♣ 6♣ 2♥ and Moore's kings hold up for the title and the almost $700,000! Ryan Young is out in second for $355,020. Stay tuned for winner photos, a wrap-up blog and an interview with our winner.

In one of the first hands of heads-up play Ryan Young has been crippled in a rough set-up of a hand. Young opened from the button to $50,000 and Moore made the call from the big blind. The flop came down J♠ 8♦ 5♠ and Moore checked. Young bet out $100,000 and Moore check-raised to $400k.

Young then moved all-in and Moore snap-called, laying J♦ 5♦ down on the felt. Young was behind with A♥ J♥ for top pair, top kicker, and would need a lot of help to win the hand. The board finished out with no help whatsoever for Young and Moore is good for the double. He's now in a commanding position with $3.2 million to Young's $500,000.

Just like Tina Turner said, only one player will be able to walk away from this thing with the title and the first-place money. Here are the counts at the beginning of this epic battle.

Ryan Young	$2,070,000
Chris Moore	$1,598,000

Blake Cahail is our third place finisher after getting caught squeezing from the big blind. Ryan Young opened the pot from the button to $60,000 and Chris Moore called in the small blind. Cahail then moved all-in from the big blind for what looked to be around $500,000. Young made the call, Moore folded, and the cards were rolled with Cahail at risk of elimination.

J♠ J♣ for Young was in great shape against Cahail's Q♣ T♠ and the A♠ 7♥ 5♣ flop did nothing to change things. The turn was the 3♦ and the river the 8♠, eliminating Blake Cahail in third place for $177,510.

Since returning from the dinner break Blake Cahail was able to take down one nice pot, re-re-raising all-in before the flop and forcing Ryan Young to surrender his $200,000 re-raise. After that though, Cahail got deep in a hand with Chris Moore and missed a great opportunity to pick up a big pot with the worst hand.

We didn't catch the action but we saw both players check it down on the river with about $300,000 in the pot. Moore showed jack-high which was surprisingly the best hand against Cahail's seven-high. Both players had been playing draws fast and shut down on the river.

That loss, along with a few others, has left Blake Cahail with less than $600,000.

Ardavan Yazdi was another one of the relatively inactive players at this table for the last few levels and suffered the consequences a few moments ago. Chris Moore opened the pot and Yazdi moved all-in for $273,000. Blair Cahail re-shipped over the top to isolate and after Moore got out of the way it was time for a showdown with Yazdi's tournament life on the line.

We saw Cahail was in great shape with Q♥ Q♠ against Yazdi's 3♥ 3♦ and the board changed nothing, coming J♦ J♠ 2♦ T♣ 9♥. Ardavan Yazdi is out in 4th place and will take $95,855.

Jace Markgraf has been eliminated, his chips assimilated into the growing stack of Ryan Young. It was folded to Markgraf in the small blind and he shoved for $273,000 total. Young was in the big blind and took his time before making a decision.

After a bit of chat, with Jace becoming visibly more and more uncomfortable, Young made the call and tabled K♥ Q♣. He saw he'd made a great read as he was in a dominating spot against Markgraf's Q♠ 8♥. The board ran A♥ T♦ 5♠ T♣ 9♥ and Markgraf is out in fifth for $71,004.

Larry Wright seemed to go into hibernation for the last few levels, hardly playing a hand and watching his stack slip below the $200,000 mark. He open-shoved on what would be the last hand of his tournament for about $165,000 on top of the blinds and got a call from Blake Cahail who tabled pocket eights.

Wright was looking to improve with K♠ Q♣ and picked up a few outs with the A♥ T♠ 7♥ flop. The turn gave him even more good cards, coming the A♠, but the river missed them all when the A♣ hit the felt. Cahail's aces full of eights are good for the pot and the elimination, sending Larry Wright home in sixth for $53,253.

Chris Moore and Ryan Young are definitely the major players at this table and the two just got into yet another raising war before the flop. It was folded to Young and he made it $50,000 to go from the button. Moore re-popped to $150,000 from the small blind and after the big blind folded, Young took a second before moving all-in. It was more than $600,000 more back to Moore who spent a long time in the tank before mucking his hand. Advantage: Young.

Ryan Young was able to pick up a few chips before getting in the big confrontation that resulted in Ricky Chow's elimination. Chow opened from the cut-off and Young shipped it from the big blind. Chow made the call and when the cards were rolled we saw he was a great spot with pocket jacks to Young's pocket tens. Chow was the all-in player and must have been sick when that ten hit the flop. Chow got no help from the turn or the river and is forced to hit the exit in 7th place for $44,378.

Ryan Young was getting dangerously short-stacked with just $168,000, which he shipped in a moment ago from under the gun. It was folded all the way around to Jace Markgraf in the big blind who made a quick call. A♣ K♣ for Jace would need to improve against Young's 3♣ 3♦ but he got none of it with the 8♦ 8♠ 2♠ 5♣ 6♥ board. Young doubles and knocks Markgraf down to around $400,000.

Alemu Tesema won a freeroll raffle to get his seat in this event and is now walking away with $35,502. Tesema barely played a hand for the last few levels and saw his stack shrink to just $51,000 by the time he decided to take a stand.

He moved in from late position and Blake Cahail made the call from the big blind with the always-powerful T♦ 3♦. Tesema had a slight lead with J♦ 9♠ but lost it when the flop came K♦ T♣ 5♣. The turn was the T♥, reducing Tesema's hopes to just his gutterball outs, and the river was the 2♣, eliminating him in eighth place.

Blake Cahail was getting dangerously short-stacked but managed to double up a few moments ago at the expense of Ricky Chow. Chow opened the pot to $35,000 from the hijack and Cahail moved all-in from the cut-off. The rest of the table got out of the way and after a bit of thought Chow made the call.

A♣ T♣ for Chow was in the lead against Cahail's K♥ Q♣. The flop was great for the all-in Cahail, coming K♦ 5♠ 5♣, and he was able to make it hold up as the board finished 3♠ 2♠. Cahail is now on about $250,000.

It seems Ryan Young is at the center of every big pot being played today and the one we saw a moment ago was no exception. It was folded to Jace Markgraf in the small blind and he raised to $30,000. Young, in the big blind, re-raised all-in and Markgraf made the call.

A♦ J♠ for Markgraf held a small edge over Young's K♣ 9♠ and Markgraf pulled further into the lead with the J♥ T♥ 6♦ flop. The board finished out 5♠ 9♥ and Markgraf is good for the double. He was all-in for $248,000 so he's now up over half a million. Young, meanwhile, is back down to about $300,000.

Ryan Young's stack has seen some serious fluctuations so far today. He was down below $300,000 up until a moment ago when he managed to double through Blake Cahail. Cahail opened the pot to $31,000 from under the gun and Young flat-called from middle position. The rest of the table got out of the way and the flop came down T♠ 9♠ 2♣.

Cahail thought for a moment before leading out with a $45,000 bet and Young moved all-in for $232,000, getting a quick call from Cahail. A♠ A♥ for Young was in great shape against his opponent's Q♣ Q♠ but as the dealer burned for the turn Young said, "It's not over yet."

The turn and river finished 3♦ 4♠ and Young's good for the double. He's now on $560,000.

Ardavan Yazdi just got lucky to double up and stay alive, laying a sick river-beatdown on Ryan Young. It started with Young opening from the button and Chris Moore and Yazdi calling from the blinds. The flop came down 7♣ 5♥ 4♦ and Moore bet out $30,000. Yazdi moved in for about $178,000 and Young called. Moore folded and it was time for a showdown.

Pocket jacks for Young were in great shape against Yazdi's 7♦ 6♥ and the 9♠ on the turn changed nothing. The 8♣ on the river, however, changed everything and gave Yazdi the winning straight. Young's down to a little under $300k while Yazdi is back in the game with close to $500,000.

Ryan Young just got a taste of his own medicine from the player to his left, Chris Moore. Moore made the final table here last year, finishing third, and has since made another final at a WSOP Circuit event in Indiana.

He just took a big pot from Young, along with the chip lead, with a massive bluff on the river. We picked it up on the turn with the board reading Td-T♠ 9♦ 5♠. There was already a significant amount in the pot with Young in the small blind and Moore in the big. Young checked and Moore bet out $84,000. Young then check-raised to $224,000 and Moore called.

The river was the J♣ and Young checked. Moore paused for just a moment before announcing all-in. The two were near even with Young holding a few more chips at this point. Young went into the tank and eventually mucked, leaving close to $300,000 in the pot to be raked by Moore.

Chris immediately turned over Q♣ 3♣ for absolutely nothing. He had picked up an open-ender on the turn but that's the only thing even remotely resembling a hand that he had. Moore is now the dominant chip leader with about $975,000 while Young is down below $500,000.

Things seem to be going smoothly for Ryan Young so far, as we watch him pick up pots unopposed and show down strong hands when he has to. This hand was an example of the latter and it was Ricky Chow's stack looking a little worse for wear when the dust had cleared.

Young opened the pot from under the gun plus one and Chow called in the small blind. The flop came down 7♥ 6♥ 2♠. Both players checked and the 4♦ hit the turn. Chow fired $50,000 and Young made a quick call. The river was the 3♥ and, after a check from Chow, Young bet $55,000.

Chow gave it some thought before making the call. Young tabled 4♠ 5♠ for the straight and Chow mucked. Young rakes the pot.

Level 16 is over and the players have been sent on a 15-minute break. Blinds will be up when we get back as the remaining eight fight for the title and the first-place money.

We're down to eight with the elimination of Eugene Todd. One of the name pros at this final table, Todd was on the short stack and got his money in bad before the flop with pocket tens to the pocket queens of Jace Markgraf.

The flop was no help to the all-in Todd, coming A♣ A♠ 8♠, and he was down to his last two outs when the turn brought the J♠. The river was the Q♦, making Jace the overkill full house and sending Eugene Todd to the exit with $31,952 to show for his time here at the Wynn.

Jace Markgraf was the short stack at the table but just managed to get his money in good and double up. He open-shoved for $118,000 from under the gun and got a quick call from Chris Moore a few spots to the left. The rest of the table got out of the way and it was time for a showdown.

A♠ K♦ for Moore needed to improve against Markgraf's T♠ T♦. The flop of T♣ 6♠ 4♣ put Jace way in the lead and the turn 8♦ and river 9♥ changed nothing. Markgraf doubles to around $255,000 and Moore loses the chip lead but is still in good shape with around $600,000.

Ryan Young continues to bully the table, taking every opportunity to try to tilt his opponents. This last hand started with Young opening from the button and both blinds calling. The flop came down Q♦ J♠ 6♣ and Chris Moore checked in the small blind. Ardavan Yazdi checked in the big blind and Young did the same on the button.

The turn was the 9♥ and both blinds checked again. Young reached for chips and tossed $125,000 into the middle. Moore quickly folded but Yazdi took his time, looking like he had some sort of a hand. He eventually opted to fold and Young raked the pot, showing the 2♦ as he did.

Alemu Tesema stands to profit the most from this tournament, having spent the grand total of zero dollars on his buy-in. Here at the Wynn Poker Room they ran a raffle program whereby cash game players could redeem their hours of play for tickets. Before this $10,000 main event began they drew one name who would receive a seat in the tournament. That one name was Alemu Tesema and he's now guaranteed $31,952.

It's no secret that Ryan Young is an aggressive player and yet he continues to surprise. Young was the recipient of the first big pot of the day as he came over the top of a Ricky Chow opening raise, making it $79,000 to Chow's original $22,000.

Chow made the call and the flop came down Q♠ 7♦ 5♦. They both checked and the turn brought the 6♣. They checked that, and the river as well, as the board finished 6♣ J♣. Young tabled the always-powerful 3♥ 5♣ and Chow mucked.

It looks like the tournament staff rolled the clock back to the start of Level 16 so we'll have 90 minutes until the blinds go up. Cards are now in the air as we begin the playdown to this year's Wynn Classic champion!

The tournament announcer is currently introducing the nine final-table players to the small audience gathered here in the Wynn Poker Room. Ryan Young is currently in the driver's seat with the big stack but each of our survivors has a legitimate chance at the almost $700,000 up for grabs. Here's a look at the ammunition each player brings to the table.

Seat 1	Ardavan Yazdi	$405,000
Seat 2	Eugene Todd	$236,000
Seat 3	Alemu Tesema	$230,000
Seat 4	Larry Wright	$572,000
Seat 5	Ricky Chow	$507,000
Seat 6	Blake Cahail	$299,500
Seat 7	Jace Markgraf	$167,500
Seat 8	Ryan Young	$714,000
Seat 9	Chris Moore	$536,000