Bay 101 Shooting Star Live Updates

On the very next hand after Steve Sung was able to double-up all the money went in with Sung as the serious underdog. Brandon Cantu opened from the button and Sung moved all-in. Cantu snap-called and tabled 4♥ 4♠.

Sung looked dejected and refused to turn over his hand. "What if I was slow-rolling you?" he said with a smile. Eventually the cards were rolled and we saw he was in rough shape with 3♠ 3♣. The flop came A♥ 9♠ 7♥ and Sung was reduced to two outs or some sort of runner-runner chop-fiasco to stay alive.

The turn was the 6♣ and Sung was down to the two remaining treys. The river was the 8♠ and just like that we have a champion! Steve Sung takes $585,000 for runner-up while Brandon Cantu nets a cool $1 million as well as the $40,000 he earned in bounties and bonuses.

PL.com is off to take winner photos and to speak with our winner so check back soon for all of that.

After a few small pots a huge hand just played out heads up between Brandon Cantu and Steve Sung. On a 7♣ 8♣ 6♦ flop Cantu bet out 200k and Sung called. The A♦ turn was checked by both players. The J♠ river was a different story though as Cantu bet $500k and Sung quickly called. The jack had given Cantu a set on the river and a $7 million to $500k chip lead that looks insurmountable.

Jen Harman picked up two pots in a row with all in moves. First she pushed when Steve Sung limped in on her big blind forcing him to fold. Then she shoved from the small blind and Brandon Cantu laid it down.

She open shoved a few hands later from the button and picked up the blinds again. Then she got caught. She open shoved again only to see Brandon Cantu go all in behind her. Sung folded and it was show time.

Brandon's 9♦ 9♠ had the slight lead in the race against Harman's A♥ K♦. The crowd wasn't sure how to react as the J♠ K♣ 9♣ fell giving Cantu a set and Harman a pair, but she was done on the 4♥ turn. The crowd still reacted wildly when the K♠ river came down but it was over for Harman. She is the third place finisher and will cash $330,000.

Cantu picks up his sixth bounty of the tournament and will go into heads up with $6 million to Steve Sung's $1.5 million. It's time to bring the money out!

Brandon Cantu made a $100k bet to open a pot and after Steve Sung folded Jen Harman shoved. Cantu called the extra $102,000 as Harman said she only looked at one.

It’s A♣ 8♥ for Jen against Brandon’s J♥ 10♠ and both players leave the table watching from a distance as the 8♦ 7♣ Q♦ flop falls. The turn is the 6♦ changing nothing, but the 4♣ river brings a roar from the crowd as Harman doubles up.

After a seemingly interminable amount of four-handed play we are finally down to three here at Bay 101. Noah Jefferson opened from the button and Brandon Cantu folded his small blind. Steve Sung paused for just a moment in the big blind before moving all-in. Jefferson snap-called.

Jefferson was the all-in player and we saw it was a race between his A♦ K♦ and the 7♦ 7♥ of Sung. The flop came J♠ 5♣ 3♣ and Jefferson was still looking for either an ace or a king. The turn was the 9♣, no help, and the river was the 7♠, nailing an overkill set for Sung and sending Noah Jefferson to the exit in fourth place. He’ll take $265,000 and Steve Sung will take his stack.

New Counts

Brandon Cantu is using his stack and the old check-raise to push Steve Sung around a bit. Cantu bet $100k into a 4♣ 2♥ 9♠ flop and Sung called. Cantu checked the 8♠ turn and Sung bet $150k only to see Cantu check-raise all in. With his tournament life hanging in the balance, Sung laid it down.

Sung got his revenge a few hands later. After a series of Cantu raise and take it hands. Sung called the usual $55k Cantu pre flop bet going heads up to the flop. On the A♣ 8♣ 2♦ flop Cantu bet out $100k and Sung made it $250k more, taking down the pot.

Jefferson Dumps Chips

Jennifer Harman opened up the betting in what would be a disastrous hand for Noah Jefferson. She made it $45k to go and Noah raised it up to $233k. Brandon Cantu was next to act and moved all in. Harman got out of the way and some how, some way Jefferson laid it down leaving himself just $330k behind.

The Six Million Dollar Man

No, it's not Lee Majors, it's our chip leader Brandon Cantu and he's currently flirting with the $6 million mark.

100th Hand: Kings for Harman; No Action Though

Jennifer Harman opens from the button to $45,000 and gets a call from Brandon Cantu in the big blind. The flop comes down ace high with two clubs and they both check it all the way to the river. Harman shows pocket kings which are good for what’s in the middle. “I need it!” says Harman as she rakes the modest pot.

Sung: Also Stays Fly (Not quite as fly as Cantu however)

Steve Sung has found his stride lately here at the final table. After Brandon Cantu made his standard $42k raise to open a pot, Sung flat called. Noah Jefferson also called in the big blind. The 4♦ 3♠ 2♠ flop was checked to Sung on the button and he made it $100,000. After Cantu and Jefferson backed away Sung picked up the pot.

Sung Exhibits More Flyness

Sung opened a few hands later to $42k and Noah Jefferson and Brandon Cantu called in the blinds. Cantu bet $50k into the 10♣ 10♠ 4♥ flop and Sung called. Jefferson folded and 5♦ turn was checked down. The 4♠ showed up on the river and both players checked before Sung showed a four for the boat, raking yet another pot. Sung’s stack is in the $850,000 range and he’s second in chips right now.

J-Harm with the All-In

Brandon Cantu opens from under the gun, which is the cut-off when four-handed, and after Steve Sung folds his button Jennifer Harman moves all-in from the small blind. Noah Jefferson quickly gets out of the way in the big blind and after a count we discover it’s $390,000 more for Cantu to call. He looks pained and it seems he wants to call but after a lot of thought he decides to let it go. Harman is chipping back up but is still the shortstack with around $500,000.

Another One for Harman

Jennifer Harman is on the comeback trail and followed up the pot described above with a nice pre-flop move. Brandon Cantu opens to $42,000 from the button and Steve Sung calls in the small blind.

Harman, in the big blind, pauses for a moment before announcing raise. She counts out chips and settles on an additional $125,000. Cantu gets out of the way and Sung follows suit. Harman rakes the pot uncontested.

One for Sung

Brandon Cantu makes it $50k straight and Steve Sung makes the call On the 2♣ 6♦ 4♥ flop Cantu bets $100,000 and Sung takes his time before raising it up another $150,000 forcing Cantu to fold.

Everday Chip Counts

Here are the counts for the remaining four people, Sly and the Family Stone-style.

Blinds Go Up

As we finish this post the blinds have been increased to $8,000/$16,000. The ante remains at $2,000. 

Sung: Back in tha Game

It’s folded to Brandon Cantu on the button and he comes in for a standard opening raise. Steve Sung makes the call in the big blind and the flop comes down A♣ K♥ J♥. Cantu quickly leads out for $60,000 and after a bit of thought Sung makes the call.

The turn is the 9♠ and Cantu cuts out $200,000 from his stack, dropping it in the middle of the table. Sung begins taking stock of his remaining stack and opts to just call. They both check the 7♥ river and Sung felts A♦ T♠ which appears to be good for the pot. We’re not sure on the exact count but Sung is rapidly approaching the $1 million mark.

Jefferson Takes a Big Hit; More Chips for Chip Leader

Noah Jefferson just took a big hit, losing almost half his stack as a result of being forced to fold on the river. Brandon Cantu opened from the cut-off and got calls from Steve Sung on the button and Jefferson in the big blind.

The flop came down 6♦ 6♠ 3♥ and after Sung and Jefferson both checked Cantu fired $75,000. Sung made the call but Jefferson announced raise, making it $300,000 to go. Cantu only took a moment before paying the difference and after Sung got out of the way the turn brought the A♠. Both players quickly checked and the T♠ hit the river. Noah checked again and Cantu wasted no time moving all-in.

Jefferson went way into the tank and his anxiety was clear, hands shaking and a visible sheen of sweat appearing on his forehead. After a lot of staring and chip-shuffling Jefferson said, "It's sick but I really think you have a six," and folded his hand. Jefferson's left with somewhere around $500,000 and Cantu extends his lead with close to $5.5 million.

Jefferson Steaming

In the middle of arguing with Steve Sung about what he had in an earlier hand, Noah Jefferson just took a few chips off of him. He made it $45k to go pre-flop in the first hand and Brandon Cantu and Sung both called in the blinds

The A♠ 2♥ 8♦ flop was checked by Cantu before Sung sent a $45k bet across the line. Jefferson wasted little time moving all in and both players folded.

The very next hand looked very much the same as Noah made it $45k to go pre flop in the and again, Cantu called before Sung asked for his chip count and also called.

The flop fell 10♣ 3♥ 2♠, Sung bet out $55k and Jefferson pulled the same move, shoving all in.

“Again,” Sung said, before folding. “You can’t be bluffing.

A short stacked Steve Sung just picked up a nice pot off Jen Harman getting back on solid ground. On a 7♠ 6♣ 7♣ flop he bet $120k and Harman called. The 2♠ turn was checked by both, but Harman fired $150,000 on the 6♦ river. Sung thought about it for a minute before just calling and showing a six.

"What a bad card," Harman said, throwing her two in the muck. Sung is back up over $600,000 and Harman down to around the same.

A few hands later Harman picked up a small, but tense pot. Harman made it $40k under the gun and Noah Jefferson called. Both players checked the J♥ 3♥ 7♣ flop bringing us to the Q♦ turn. Harman bet out $135,000 at this point sending Noah deep into thought. After counting out his chips in several stacks as the room fell silent, Jefferson figured his best move was to fold, laying the hand down.

Harman got in some difficulty again a few hands later after Brandon Cantu made a $42,000 bet and Steve Sung called from the button. Harman pondered the decision for a while before cutting out her entire stack, suddenly blurting out "I feel like John Phan," and flat calling.

Noah Jefferson then made the call making it a family pot. Harman checked the 9♦ 7♣ 4♠ flop in the dark and it checked around. She then fired $80k at the 6♦ turn, but when Jefferson moved all in and Cantu and Sung folded, she was forced to lay it down as well. At this point Harman looks like she is in a bit of trouble.

Cantu Not Illiterate

Brandon Cantu opens from the button to $30,000 and gets a call from Jen Harman in the big blind. The flop comes down J♣ 9♣ 6♦ and after a check from Harman, Cantu fires $50,000. After a bit of thought Harman makes the call and the turn brings the 2♥. Both players check and the river comes the A♥. Harman quickly bets $100,000 and Cantu goes into the tank.

“All I can beat is a draw”, says Brandon as he tosses four $25k chips into the middle. “Good read,” replies Harman as she watches the chip leader turn over pocket sevens. The sticks are good and another pot is shipped to Brandon Cantu.

Meaningless Observation*

Jen Harman is wearing a shirt that proclaims, "Don't piss me off." Being short of stature though, the bottom half of the shirt is concealed behind the rail of the table, resulting in just the first two words being visible. Right beside the assertion of "Don't piss" is her FullTilt Poker patch. How many times have you been playing online and had just that problem?

*Meaningless observation originally made by Courtney Harrington.

The Shortstack Shuffle

Noah Jefferson bets $30k pre flop and Brandon Cantu makes the call before Steve Sung re-raises making it $105,000. Jefferson asks what Sung has behind (310k) and decides to lay his hand down as does Cantu, giving the short stacked Sung a little more to play with.

Brandon Cantu folded a hand!

"Oh my god," Jen Harman said as Steve Sung began clapping. Before long the raucous crowd at Bay 101 got in to it with a huge round of applause for the first pot the chip leader hasn't played in quite some time.

With $5 million in chips, Cantu is running things and this was the first indication he may slow down to take a breath. Before long, however, he got back to business wading back into numerous pots.

One of those pots began when Sung opened the betting making it $30k to go, Noah Jefferson called as did Cantu. TheQ♠ 9♥ 6♠ flop was checked around but the 8♦ turn gave Cantu what he needed to lead out for $75k. Sung made the call and after Noah folded, the K♦ river fell.

Cantu took a moment before making a $150,000 raise.

"King any good?" Sung said, taking a few minutes before sliding the $150k across the table, making the call. Cantu claimed a nine and it was announced by TD Matt Savage that he had A-9. Some how it was good enough as Sung chucked his cards in the muck leaving us all to wonder what he called with.

Although Jefferson and Jen Harman have picked up a few small pots, no one seems to be ready to take a run at Cantu just yet.

Official Counts

Tournament director Matt Savage has just given us the counts. We're not sure but we think Brandon Cantu is in a pretty good spot.

Cantu Mortal After All

A few hairline chinks have appeared in Brandon Cantu’s $5,000,000 armor as both Jen Harman and Steve Sung have been able to take a short series of pots from our chip leader. Small as they may be, they certainly have a way of adding up.

Score One for Sung

It's folded to Brandon Cantu in the small blind and he opens with a raise. Steve Sung calls from the big blind and the flop comes down A♦ 5♥ 4♠. Both players check and the turn is the 9♥. Cantu checks again and Sung slowly reaches for chips, depositing $40,000 in the middle. Cantu's cards go in the muck and Sung reels in the pot.

Results so Far

For a full rundown of all the players who were able to cash in this event head over to the Results page where that information lives.

Cantu Takes Some Back

Brandon Cantu and Steve Sung see a raised flop of A♣ K♦ J♦ and they both check. The 2♣ hits the turn and brings another check from each player. The T♣ on the river incites a bit of action as Cantu slides $60,000 across the line. After a short dwell Sung makes the call but tosses his hand in the muck when he sees Brandon's Q-7. The ace-high straight is good for the pot and Cantu adds a couple chips to his mountain.

Blinds Go Up

We've reached another level, increasing the blinds to $5,000/$10,000 with a $1,000 ante. Remember, we'll be playing 90-minute levels until we reach heads-up, at which time we'll be reducing them to 45 minutes. 

In a battle of the big stacks Mike Baker opened a pot with a $30k raise under the gun. On the button, Brandon Cantu made it $75k total and when it got back to Baker he re-raised $125k more.

Not to be outdone, Cantu decided to make it $300k more. Baker pondered the decision for a while before making the call. Baker checked the Q♠ 10♦ 2♦ and Cantu asked for his chip count before pushing all in.

"All right, let's gamble buddy," Baker said. "I call."

It's A♦ A♥ for Cantu against the unbelievable K♦ 3♦ flush draw for Baker.

With everyone in the room wondering how Baker is still in this hand with king-three suited, the turn bricks out with the 5♠. Pacing around the room, Baker looks back to see the 5♣ fall on the river and he is done, shipping his $1.7 million in chips over to Cantu.

Baker is out fifth cashing $200k while Cantu's massive stack is up near $5 million in chips. With four remaining he's going to be hard to beat.

After losing a few mid sized pots early, John Phan open shoved under the gun for his last $70k. Once it folded around to Noah Jefferson in the big blind he made the easy call with 6♣ 6♦ and was in the lead against Phan's Q♦ 8♦.

The K♥ 3♣ 2♣ flop was no help for Phan and the 6♠ left him drawing dead giving Jefferson a set. Out sixth, Phan will grab $135,000 for his efforts.

Jennifer Harman is hungry for her first WPT title and has just taken a little bite out of Brandon Cantu's chip lead. The action in the biggest hand of the final table so far began when Cantu made it $30k to go from the cutoff.

Harman looked every bit like she was going to raise before flat calling from the button, as did Mike Baker in the small blind. Noah Jefferson folded his big blind and the flop of 6♣ 4♣ 9♥ brought a $100k bet from the relentless Cantu sending Harman into the tank. She emerged shoving all in much to the crowd's delight and after Baker let it go it was $348k more to Cantu.

"I really want to get your bounty," he said, making the gutsy call.

A set of sixes for Harman was ahead against Cantu's 10♣ 2♣ flush draw and the crowd went even crazier. The 10♦ turn kept the diminutive Harman in the lead and the 9♠ river ensured she would double up to around $900k. Cantu is still close to $3 million in chips.

The first few hands of the final table have been of the raise and take it variety with very few flops seen. The biggest hand so far played out when John Phan opened the pot making it $24k from the cutoff and Brandon Cantu obliged with a call from the button.

The flop fell 9♣ 8♣ 7♦ and Phan led out with a $22k bet. Cantu popped him right back making it $75k to continue and Phan made the call. The turn brought the 6♦ and after a Phan check, Cantu made it $100,000 to see a river card.

Phan looked like he wanted to shove his last $220k in the pot, but flashed a nine instead, deciding discretion might be the better part of valor and throwing both cards in the muck.

Phan's short stack is reaching a dangerous level as Cantu's Bay 101 dominance continues.

A Family Affair (Almost)

Brandon Cantu opens to $30,000, something we can expect to see a lot of this afternoon, and gets calls from Steve Sung in the cut-off, Jen Harman on the button and Michael Baker in the small blind.

Noah Jefferson denies us the pleasure of a family pot, folding his big blind, and the flop comes down Q♥ 8♣ 3♥. It’s checked to Steve Sung and he bets out $50,000. It’s enough to push the remaining players out of the hand and Sung picks up a nice pot.