This heads-up battle continues and with the levels rising each pot played to the river is growing big enough to make a difference. Rocco's in the lead at the moment but that can change over the course of just one hand.

Barbieri seems to be the aggressor, playing a much more proactive style than his opponent. Rocco is content to keep pots small and try to outplay Barbieri over the long run. Only one will emerge victorious so stick with us for the conclusion.

Rocco Rockin’

Mike Rocco just netted a nice pot, picking up a ton of chips given the size of the betting limits. It began with Al Barbieri bringing it in with the 8 and Rocco making the call with the A. Rocco called a bet on the next street when he got the Q and Barbieri received the K.

The next street saw the 6 for Rocco and the Q for Barbieri. Sugar Bear bet it and Rocco raised. Barbieri called and took the 8. Rocco bet his Q and Barbieri made the call. By this time the boards showed:

Barbieri: (X-X)8 K Q 8(X)

Rocco: (X-X)A Q 6 Q(X)

Barbieri bet the final street blind and Rocco made the call, turning over an ace in the hole for two pair, aces and queens which are good.

Count It!

Here's a look at the new counts, courtesy of www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

We’re looking at a war of attrition over on the $1,500 Stud final table right now, as the remaining three competitors battle it out for the bracelet. Al Barbieri has a significant chip lead, but with the limits so high anything can happen on any given hand.

Rocco’s Good Luck Charm

Mike Rocco was beginning to slip away, watching his stack grind down through antes, bring-ins, and fourth- and fifth-street folds. He wore his frustration on his sleeve, mucking cards with more force than usual, until his good luck charm showed up.

Cyndy Violette appeared on the rail and waved hello to Rocco, who returned her greeting. On the next hand that was dealt, Rocco ended up picking off a big pot for almost all the rest of his chips when he began with buried deuces and picked up another deuce on sixth street. Al Barbieri found himself on the losing end, flashing his buried aces after seventh street before mucking. That drew a quick celebration from Rocco, complete with a slap of the table and a “YES!”

Rocco was up to $250,000 with that pot.

Torosyan Tanked! (3rd)

Just as Rocco was climbing up the leaderboard, Levon Torosyan was falling off.

After dropping a big pot to Al Barbieri, Torosyan found himself on the short stack - and also on the bring-in with the 2. Rocco raised with the A and Torosyan made the call. The boards ran out through seventh street:

Torosyan: x-x/A 4 2 2/x
Rocco: x-x/2 5 7 3/x

On seventh, Torosyan made a bet that put Rocco in the tank. He eventually called, and all Torosyan could show was his pair of deuces. Rocco turned up a pair of jacks, crippling Torosyan to just $6,000 in chips. He was eliminated two hands later in third place, earning $50,186.

Dinnar!

Following that last hand, the players went on a scheduled 30-minute dinner break. When they come back we’ll have all the details for you.

Can't Stand Losing Chip Counts

Here are your heads-up chip counts, courtesy of WorldSeriesOfPoker.com: