Despite his serious lack of chips Chris Bell is making a valiant effort to get himself back in this match. The blinds are astronomical, leaving little room for maneuvering, but somehow Bell is still alive. Heads-up has gone well over 100 hands, which was the amount of time it took to eliminate every other player at the final table.

Bell is in desperate shape though, and his long run of doubles will have to run out at some point.

Davidi Kitai	$2.15 million
Chris Bell	$300,000

The Bell Tolls for Thee

Chris Bell has doubled up again. The two players saw a flop of K 9 8 and Bell moved all-in. Kitai looked pained but made the call and tabled 9 4 for middle pair. Bell had him out-kicked with Q 9 and after the board finished A 5 he was good for the double. After that hand he was up to about $475,000.

This epic heads-up match is still rolling with Chris Bell taking a disastrous hit then fighting his way back to something resembling a stack. Read on for the details and stay tuned for the conclusion.

Bell Doubles; Stays Alive

Chris Bell is refusing to go out without a fight and has just doubled up to get himself back in the game. All-in before the flop with pocket jacks to Davidi Kitai’s J 7 he retained the lead all the way through the T 6 4 4 7 board, doubling up to around $550,000.

New Counts

Here are the updated counts, courtesy of www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

Davidi Kitai	$1.9 million
Chris Bell	$520,000

Tough Chop

Chris Bell was just in a great spot to double up but got somewhat unlucky to split the pot instead. Bell was all-in before the flop with A 8 to Kitai’s A 7. The board ran 9 6 4 6 6 and they chop the pot with their ace.

Bell Crippled

Davidi Kitai has taken control of this match with a huge pot moments ago. Bell had his hand in the cookie jar and Kitai woke up with an absolute monster. It began with Bell limping his button and Kitai popping it to $150,000 from the big blind.

The flop came down Q 3 2 and Kitai followed up his pre-flop aggression with a bet of $125,000. Undeterred, Bell raised to $35,000. Kitai flat-called. The turn was the 4 and Kitai checks, feigning weakness as we would soon see.

Bell reached for chips and pushed half a million across the line. Kitai instantly moved all-in and even though it was just $95,000 more to Bell he took a long time before making a pained call. Kitai turned over pocket queens for top set and Bell merely sat there, refusing to table his hand.

At the tournament director’s behest Bell turned over K-8 which was in the worst kind of trouble. The river was the J and Kitai takes a massive lead. Bell is in critical condition with around $300,000.

The madness continues in this heads-up match as these two players refuse to give an inch in their quest for the bracelet. They were even up until a few moments ago when Chris Bell took down a decisive pot and with it the chip lead.

Hell's Bells

Chris Bell just took down a nice pot, earning him the chip lead over heads-up opponent David Kitai. Bell limped his button and Kitai raised from the big blind. The call was made and the flop came down T 6 4.

Kitai bet $60,000. Bell called and the turn was the 3. Kitai bet again, this time $150,000, and again Bell came along. The river was the 2 and after a slow check from Kitai Bell bet out $100,000.

Kitai was thinking it over, with the chips in hand, and seemed to be pump-faking the call. After one long arm-extension the tournament director declared it a call. Kitai seemed confused but acquiesced nonetheless.

Bell tabled K T for top pair and Kitai mucked his hand.

Table for Two

Here are the new counts, courtesy of www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

Chris Bell	$1.3 million
David Kitai	$1.1 million

The Hundredth Meridian

We’ve reached the 100th hand of this heads-up match and it was very emblematic of this match in its entirety. It was a limped pot that led to a flop of J 6 4. The break-neck speed continued with checks from both players and the J on the turn.

Chris Bell

David Kitai tentatively pushed $60,000 into the middle which was more than enough to take down the mammoth pot. You can sit back from the edge of your seat now, the excitement is over for now.

A Pot!

Chris Bell limps on the button and David Kitai checks in the big blind. The flop comes down 7 2 2 and both players check. The turn is the J and Kitai bets $40,000 which is called. The river is the 6 and Kitai cuts out $100,000, sliding it into the middle.

Chris Bell makes a quick call but mucks when he sees Kitai turn over 2-5 for trips.

Things are getting interesting at the final table of Event 38. Chris Bell had a stifling chip lead over Davidi Kitai and was within striking distance of the WSOP bracelet but instead Kitai has stormed back and the now has the chip lead.

Here’s how it all went down:

Davidi Kitai was severely chip-depleted but managed to win an important to put him back in the game. In the hand Kitai made a massive call with merely king-high to win a pot worth nearly $500,000.

Several hands later Kitai would take the chip lead for the first time in an epic hand. In the hand Kitai bet $50,000 pre-flop and Bell called. The flop came J 5 3 and Kitai fired again – this time $90,000. Bell called and the turn came Q. Showing relentless aggression, Kitai bet $200,000 and yet again Bell called.

The river fell K and with an absolutely massive pot on the line Kitai bet $400,000. Bell goes deep into the tank and obviously realizes this is one of the most important hands of the tournament. He appears deeply conflicted and eventually Bell throws his hand into the muck and makes the biggest laydown of the tournament. If he goes on to lose Bell will likely be haunted by this hand.

After Kitai scooped the pot he was up to $1.4 million to Bell’s $1 million.

Hold on to your armrests, boys and girls, this one ain’t over yet!

After a surprisingly quick journey to heads-up play the action between Davidi Kitai and Chris Bell has been increasingly slow.

Kitai and Bell seem evenly matched and thus far no one has been able to land the decisive blow. There have been plenty of walks although Bell has gotten the best of it and right now has a chip lead of nearly 2-1.

Here are a couple of the important hands:

Bell of the Ball

In the first pivotal hand Chris Bell and Kitai saw a flop of 9 5 2 with minimal action. The turn peeled off the deck as the A and Kitai bet $35,000. Bell re-raised to $100,000 and Kitai called. The river came 3 and Kitai fired again – this time $175,000. Bell thought for a couple minutes but then called.

Kitai tabled A-3 for two-pair but Bell had him beat with A-9 for the bigger two-pair.

Bell still Blasting

Another interesting hand occurred when Davidi Kitai bet $50,000 pre-flop and Bell called. The flop came A T 5 and Kitai bet $70,000. Bell flat-called and the turn came 4. Once again Kitai fired a bet of $70,000 and Bell called.

The river fell 2 and Kitai changed gears and checked. Bell eventually decided to check as well and flipped over A-6 for a pair of aces. Kitai had pocket jacks. Bell raked the pot.

After little more than three hours of play we are down to heads-up. The two remaining combatants are none other than Davidi Kitai and Chris Bell, who has knocked out five of the nine players at today’s final table.

Here’s how it happened:

Jan von Halle gets Von-Dusted (Fourth)

Jan von Halle, who entered this final table as the chip leader, has been eliminated. Winamax pro Davidi Kitai bet $75,000 from the button von Halle, who was on the button, called. The flop came A 7 6 and both players checked.

The came Q and von Halle bet $162,000 and Kitai moved all-in. von Halle made the call and flipped over Q T while Kitai showed A 4. The river fell 8 and von Halle busted. Bam! He will receive $77,077 for coming in fourth.

Keith Greer Gear’ed (Third)

On the very next hand after Jan von Halle’s elimination Keith Greer went bust. In the hand Chris Bell made it $80,000 but Greer re-raised all-in for a total of $264,000. Eventually Bell makes the call and the players revealed their hands:

Greer: J J

Bell: Q Q

The board came K 9 8 3 3 and Greer hit the deck in third. He will receive $94,695 for lasting as long as he did.

Heads-Up, Already?

Believe it or not we are down to heads-up play. The relatively unknown Davidi Kitai will face North Carolina pro Chris Bell in his quest to win his first bracelet. Here’s a look at the stacks as they head into battle:

1. Chris Bell	$1.5 million
2. Davidi Kitai	$1 million

 

Another level has been played and three more players are in the process of getting paid including one of the most well-known players at the final table. Play at the final table has been refreshing fast thus far and many in the poker media are intrigued by the possibility of a final table ending before midnight.

Here’s what happened in the last hour:

Mahmood Mashed (Seventh)

Ayaz Mahmood, who has over 15 cashes in the WSOP including a couple final tables, has been dealt his last cards at this final table.

Mahmood shoved all-in on a flop of Q J 3 and Chris Bell looked him up. Mahmood flipped over J 9 for a pair of jacks but Bell had him beat with Q 4 for a pair of queens. The board finished 6 and then K to eliminate Mahmood. He will receive $39,089 for coming in seventh.

Robert Cheung Chucked (Sixth)

Robert Cheung, who frequents the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C., will not be winning another WSOP bracelet today. In the hand Chris Bell bumped it up to $60,000 and Cheung re-raised to $210,000. Bell thought for a minute before raising enough to put Cheung all-in. Cheung called and the players flipped over their cards:

Bell: A K

Cheung: 9 9

It was another race at the final table and the board ran a dramatic Q 7 5 T… J! Cheung is eliminated and the Bell supporters went crazy. Cheung will receive $50,100 for coming sixth.

Lee Watkinson Wasted (Fifth)

Lee Watkinson, who was probably the most well-known pro at today’s final table, was eliminated in a hand versus Chris Bell.

Watkinson was crippled in a previous hand against Davidi Kitai and then decided to call all-in on a flop of Q J 8 against Bell.

Watkinson flipped over A 4 and found he was up against A 6. It looked like there would be a chop-pot but the turn came 2 and the river 9 to send Watkinson to the rail. He will receive $63,313 for coming in fifth.

The last 10 months or so have been incredible for Watkinson as he has made the Main Event final table, a WPT final table and now another WSOP final table, not to mention numerous cashes along the way.

We’re little more than an hour into the final table of Event 38 and we’ve already seen one of the ultimate coolers in poker. Read on to find out exactly what went down.

First Double-up goes to Ben Roberts

We have our first double-up of the final table. In the pivotal hand Full Tilt Pro Ben Roberts bet $34,000 from late position and action was folded to big blind Michael Greco. It’s only $18,000 more for Greco and eventually he makes the call. The players flipped over their cards:

Roberts: A 8

Greco: 4 2

The board came A Q J 5 T which was enough to double up Roberts to approximately $80,000.

Greco Deco’d (Ninth)

Former English soap-opera star Michael Greco has had a rough go at the Event 38 final table. In his first major hand he was pretty much pot-committed to call with 4 2 and when he finally got a premium hand his opponent held a monster.

The hand in question saw Greco bet $40,000 pre-flop but Chris Bell fired back in the $100,000 range. Greco pushed all-in and Bell insta-called. The cards?

Greco: K K

Bell: A A

Greco was in terrible shape and praying for a king but the board came T 7 5 T 8 to eliminate the Englishman. Greco will receive $22,573 for coming in ninth and one hell of a bad beat story to tell his grandchildren.

Ben Roberts Bent (Eighth)

It looked like Ben Roberts was on his way to a comeback at this final table but Robert Cheung put a cruel end to his dream of winning this event.

In the hand Cheung made it $39,000 to go and Roberts moved in for $52,000. Cheung called and flipped over K J while Roberts showed 7 7.

It was a classic race as the board was dealt 8 5 5 J 2 which gave the definitive checkmark to Vancouver, B.C., native Cheung.

Roberts is out in eighth and will receive $30,831 for three days of poker-related activities.

Welcome to PL.com's coverage of the $2,000 Pot-Limit  final table. Nine players have battled there way through a field of 605 to be here and by the end of the night we'll have ourselves a bracelet winner.

The tournament director has just instructed the dealer to shuffle up and deal so we are underway but before we begin here is a look at the chip counts (courtesy of the fine folks at www.worldseriesofpoker.com):

1. Jan Von Halle	$485,000
2. Lee Watkinson	$357,000
3. Robert Cheung	$352,000
4. Ayaz Mahmood	$314,000
5. David Kitai	$274,000
6. Chris Bell	$260,000
7. Keith Greer	$238,000
8. Michael Greco	$120,000
9. Ben Roberts	$82,000