Event 17 - $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Live Updates

Well, Sam Trickett may have started the heads-up in the ascendant, but ultimately, he was run down by Jason Dewitt, never quite able to overturn the chip deficit he started heads-up with.

Trickett had been ground down in a number of hands until finally, Dewitt pushed all-in from the small blind...and Trickett made the call for his stack.

DeWitt Wins!

Trickett turned up A♠ 7♦ which was ahead of Dewitt's lesser-but-live T♦ 8♥ hand.

"Beat that!" yelled railer James Akenhead, although Dewitt was about to do just that.

The flop of 8♦ 6♠ 5♣ gave both players a sweat, although Sam Trickett had just lost the equity edge he had held pre-flop.

The turned 6♣ came and went and even though the British contingent on the rail yelled for a nine on the river, it came the 5♥ to give DeWitt the win, the bracelet and a hefty $818,958 1st prize!

He leapt out of his seat and high-fived his triumphant rail.

Meanwhile a gloomy set of english supporters commiserated with a downcast Sam Trickett, who collected $505,725 for his second place finish. A worthy payday for such a great run.

"I card-racked you so hard heads-up," a gracious DeWitt said to console his opponent. "I had it every time, you ran really bad."

But that was that! We had a new bracelet-winner in one of the toughest NLHE fields ever assembled.

Congratulations to Jason DeWitt, who narrowly missed out on a bracelet at WSOP 2009, finishing 2nd and 3rd, but came back this year and showed his skills to the world.

Definitely a man to watch in the future.

And that's it from us. Thanks for following - we'll have a full round up of the day posted shortly but we hope you have enjoyed our coverage of what has been a thoroughly enjoyable tournament.

Sleep well PokerListings fans.

The early running has all been done by Sam Trickett in the heads-up and he has eaten into Jason DeWitt's lead with the result that the pair are almost level.

The British rail have been thoroughly entertained and they have been amusing themselves between hands by alternately whistling the "Dambusters" theme tune, and singing "Walking in a Trickett wonderland."

The atmosphere is equally passionate to that generated by the James Dempsey bracelet bid days ago, but the rail seem a little less rowdy this time round.

Here's the news of those big hands.

Trickett's All-in!

San Trickett had just taken down the previous pot when the blinds went up and he raised it up to 280k, only for a blinking, thinking, calculating DeWitt to three-bet to 870k.

Trickett mused over this shuffling his chips as he deliberated...before quietly announcing, "all-in!"

Insta-fold from DeWitt and Trickett made a psychological dent in his opponent.

Sneaky Trickett

DeWitt limped in from the button, and the pair went heads-up to an A♠ Q♥ 5♣ board.

Trickett led out for 200k, and DeWitt made the call.

The turn was the 9♦ and when Trickett tapped the table, DeWitt did likewise.

The fireworks started on the A♦ river however, Trickett checking, only for DeWitt to bet out a smallish 150k.

Now Trickett sprung into action, making a large check-raise to 750k!

DeWitt looked a little suprised and considered his options before finally deciding he wasn't interested...and laying it down.

Cue cheering from rail Trickett!

Raymer, Raymer Give Us A Wave

As Greg Raymer walked past the final table, the english contingent in the rail sang the above to him repeatedly, Raymer looking a little confused before lifting his hand to wave at the rail.

Cue more boisterous cheering!

Raymer walked over and said "I couldn't hear what you were saying, I though you said, "Raymer Raymer give us a wife?" and I was going  to say "Sorry guys I can't help you with that!""

A shortstacked Jeff Williams went for a double through with ace-five, but ran into Jason DeWitt who had a pretty easy call with pocket sevens.

No drama on the flop and Williams is ousted, collecting $328,762 for third place. Great show Jeff, but no bracelet this time.

So this is it. Mano a mano. A loud english rail are well behind Trickett but DeWitt has the chip lead. It should be an incredible encounter!

Bring it on.

Here are the chip counts as we prepare for the heads-up.

Sam Trickett hasn't been sucking out much to build his dominant chip stack, but he bucked that trend moments ago to send an unfortunate Peter Gilmore packing.

This is how it happened!

The Roar Of The River

Sam Trickett raised it up to 230k on the button, only for big blind Peter Gilmore to announce "all-in" from the big blind for 1.2 million.

Trickett got a count, screwed his face up and made the call with A♦ T♠.

He was in trouble as Gilmore tabled the superior, dominating hand of A♠ K♥.

Bad luck for Trickett and his rail - including Praz Bansi, James Akenhead and Karl Mahrenholz, most of whom are hitting the champagne pretty hard - started yelling for a ten.

The dealer spread the cards....Q♣ J♦ 8♣....

"Ooohhhhhhhh," exclaimed the knowledgable rail, who recognised that Trickett had a decent sweat, having picked up a double belly-buster draw,

The turn was the 8♦ - a semi blank, although it increased Trickett's chances of a chop.

The river was the ...9♠!

Incredibly he made his straight on the river and his rail went wild, hugging him and cheering loudly. Meanwhile a glum and highly unfortunate Peter Gilmore was dismissed from proceedings $241,472 richer.

He'll perk up when he visits the cashier's desk perhaps...

That hand saw Trickett gain momentum after a slow period since the break.

It really is becoming more and more one-sided this final and Sam Trickett is the man covering himself in glory at the moment.

Since bullying his way to the chip lead, he has eliminated Raptor and now Makhija, managing to pick up a couple of pots in between these two bustouts.

Here's the story.

Big Mak Swallowed (Makhija -5th)

Amit Makhija was looking pretty short when he decided to ship it on the button with K♥ 6♥ -  a prefectly reasonable move given the circumstance.

Trickett wasted no time in calling when he looked down at ace-queen and the rail began to storm the final table to get a better look.

"Step back, step back!" the announcer pleaded with the rail, though little notice was taken by the partisan supporters - then the chanting began.

"King, king, king!" yelled Makhija's fans.

"Ace, ace, ace," yelled the Englisman's fans.

The flop was blank, but when the A♠ turned, the roar was from the English rail and Makhija was all of a sudden drawing dead!

He bows out in 5th spot, collecting $179,866.

Wowzer! Sam Trickett really has got this tournament by the scruff of the neck right now - and it's hard to see anyone but him winning the bracelet right now.

The Leaderboard

David Benefield might operate under the pseudonym "Raptor" but it was he who was eaten alive like the prey of a carniverous dinosaur moments ago.

He has had some problems throughout the final dealing with the threat posed by the big-stacked Jeff Williams and recently similarly well-stacked Sam Trickett in position on him.

Finally he was forced into making a move for his stack...and it went thus.

Raptor's Run Ended (6th)

Benefield had just 565k or less than 8 big blinds to play with, so finding a perfectly acceptable hand in pocket threes, he shipped it in the middle.

Both Sam Trickett and Peter Gilmore made the call and Benefield's tournament life was hanging in the balance.

Benefield had plenty of support in the crowd and one lively reveller yelled out, "Bet the flop you p***ies!"

He was to be disapointed as Trickett and Gilmore checked down the A♠ J♠ 9♣ 5♠ K♦ board, leaving Gilmore to turn over queen-jack for a pair of queens, but Trickett showed ace-eight for a pair of aces.

Benefield's time was over then, the high stakes cash player doing no better than sixth although he collects $135,718 for his performance.

Meanwhile that hand left the leaderboard in very interesting shape, Sam Trickett now with a dominant chip lead out in first.

Tale of the Tape

Blinds

Small Blind - 40k; Big Blind - 80k; Ante - 10k

The players are on a twenty minute break right now but just before the break we saw some interesting hands play out so let us bring you news of those.

Benefield Bullets

David Benefield had seen his stack slip to just 800k when he decided to limp in from the small blind with pocket aces and set a trap for the big-stacked Jeff Williams.

SNAP! The trap fell shut on Williams as he shipped it with pocket fours and Benefield of course snap-called.

No surprises, one board later Benefield had doubled to 1.6 million whilst Williams had seen his mighty towers reduced ever-so-slightly.

Trickett Holds Off Yellowsub Attack

An interesting hand started in similar fashion to the last, Williams limping in from the small blind on Sam Trickett's big blind.

Williams bet out 75k on the 6♣ 4♥ 6♠ flop, only for Trickett to make it 200k. Williams pondered his decision for a few moments...before calling.

The turn brought the K♣ and when Williams checked, Trickett also checked behind.

The river 4♦ saw Williams cut out 180k and lead out, only for a long think from Trickett, who then made it 530k.

Williams looked confused and shook his head but ultimately threw his hand away to further Sam Trickett's claims at picking up his first bracelet.

It's the final table of a $5k event with a bracelet in the offing. What don't you want to happen?

Well potentially lots of things. Your mom bringing a packed lunch to the table, your ex-wife turning up to harass you from the rail. We've seen all these things happen before, and we've also seen what happened to James Carroll happen many times.

It hurts, trust us.

Carroll Cooler (7th)

James Carroll had been a real force at this table previously, but hasn't run the best and this hand put the proverbial cherry on his run-bad cake.

Holding pocket kings he was happy to four-bet all-in over the top following Jeff Williams' three-bet. Williams snapped his million-plus shove - as you would with the bullets!

A nasty cooler and there was no salvation for Carroll as the board ran out king-less, leaving him high and dry on the rail and giving Jeff WIlliams a healthy chip lead.

James Carroll collects $103,594 for 7th place.

The Rail Rewind

The rail has a few quirky characters on it. The British support is well documented and they have shouted on their two heroes with great gusto - if not quite as much gusto as when James Dempsey won his bracelet days ago.

There are plenty of supporters for the American players too though, with the crowd bursting into choruses of the beatles classic"We all live in a yellow submarine" everytime Jeff "Yellowsub86" wins a pot.

One fan seems particularly enamoured by Williams holding up a sign saying "Marry me Jeff!" every time Williams looks vaguely in his direction.

As yet, there has been no reciprocal message from the chip leader though.

The Chip Counts

Counts courtesy of worldseriesofpoker.com.

Paul "Paolo69" Foltyn has struggled a little to get going in the final, waiting patiently to find a spot to fire his shortstack into the middle.

Eventually, he felt like he had found the right spot, when Jason DeWitt made it 90k and Peter Gilmore flat-called, he looked at pocket fives and moved all-in, hoping to squeeze his way to a bigger stack.

Unluckily for him, he had made a move at the wrong time, DeWitt re-shipping to isolate, then showing down pocket aces.

No five spiked to get Foltyn out of jail and he busts in 8th spot for $79,957.

"Nothing I could do really," said Foltyn afterward.

"It was a pretty standard situation, I didn't get too many cards."

Here's how that affected the standings.

Take The Count

We've only been back from dinner for a few minutes but already we've seen a key hand play out between David Benefield and Jason DeWitt.

Here's how it went down.

Tens Moment for Benefield

Opening to 95k, David Benefield saw Jason DeWitt three-bet him to 240k, only to announce all-in himself. At over a million chips it was a healthy chunk of DeWitt's stack to call, but holding ace-king, he felt he had enough firepower to take on Benefield.

Benefield tabled tens and a two million chip race was suddenly on the cards.

Raptor held the slight statistical edge and it held over flop, turn and river to ship him the potentially crucial pot.

That hand propelled the online pwner into the chip lead.

Here's how the players currently stand.

Chip Counts

We haven't seen any more eliminations in the final few minutes before dinner, but it has been a keenly contested final table so far, with plenty of three-betting and four-betting going on pre-flop.

The players have now broken for an hour to grab some nourishment and work on their tactics, so hit us back in sixty minutes when we will resume eight-handed for the bracelet.

We really do have some incredible talent on show at this final table and we can expect very few weak spots in the playthrough to the bracelet.

We have lost one player in the opening stages however and here's how.

Come On Baby Light Minaya (9th)

The first man to have his bracelet dreams crushed under the unforgiving boot of variance is Manny Minaya.

Looking at a short stack of only 200k and facing a table average above one million chips, Manny Minaya decided the time to act is now.

Minaya pushed his remaining chips under the gun holding A♠ 8♠. Players folded around to the big blind where Jeff "yellowsub86" Williams called with his A♦ 10♣.

The flop came A♣ K♥ 2♦, giving Williams a commanding lead. The turn card brought a 10♥ and Minaya could only be saved by a river king. The river bricked, however, despite calls from Minaya's cheering section-producing the J♦ and Minaya was sent home in 9th place and $62,350.

Williams moves up to just over 2.2 million.

The Standings

Here's how that hand affects the lay of the land.

Well it didn't take too long for the players to be whittled down from 18 to 9 and we now have our final table underway.

To be fair, most of the knockouts have been just, the better hands generally holding up, although tell that to Antonio Esfandiari, who missed out on the final table in sick fashion.

Here's how we got to where we are.

Magician Disappears (Esfandiari - 12th)

Antonio Esfandiari may have won millions of dollars through poker, be seen with attractive women and live the balla lifestyle that poker players are so keen on emulating but even the most jealous observer would surely not have wished this upon him.

Heads up with Peter Gilmore on a J-9-x flop, Esfandiari moved all-in for his remaining stack, leaving a pained Gilmore to contemplate his decision - the call being most of his remaining chips.

Eventually, he said "I call," and flipped up jack-ten for top pair.

It was no good as Esfandiari showed down pocket aces and he looked set to collect a monster pot.

The turn blanked but cruelly, the river was a jack to send him crashing out of the tournament in emphatic fashion. So harsh.

Ever the gentleman, Esfandiari took his time to wish the other players good luck and didn't moan or berate his opponent, despite the fact that card must have hurt him.

Take note, Phil Hellmuth. Esfandiari collects $49,024 for his 12th place finish.

Makhija - not a big pizza fan.

 

Take It On The Chinne (11th)

Aces do sometimes hold up and Gilmore it was again involved in a confrontation with the bullets - but this time it was he who held the pocket rockets.

The hand was a simple case of Jesse Chinne shipping his shortstack in with fives, Gilmore finding aces and making the easiest call of his life, and the aces holding.

One more down, Jesse Chinne crashes out in 11th spot, collecting $49,024.

The Missing Pizza (10th)

We like Perry Friedman's hat. Walking around with a pizza on your head takes some balls so we are sad to report his demise just shy of the final table.

The hand in question saw Amit Makhija open to 50k, only for Friedman to move all-in over the top for 550k. Makhija had a tough decision to make for much of his stack - but after a period in the tank, head in hands, he emerged to make the call, showing down jacks.

Friedman had A♦ Q♦ - but despite picking up a flush draw on the diamond turn, he couldn't spike any of the helpful cards he needed, losing a key flip and finishing up in 10th spot for $49,024.

And that's it! Here are the final table chip counts with the table moments away from playing out.

The Final Table Chip Counts

A fiery start to the day has seen another four bustouts as the temperature really starts to rise in the otherwise cooly air-conditioned Amazon Room.

The rail is starting to thicken - in depth, not IQ - and with two British players - Sam Trickett and Paul Foltyn - looking to add to Britain's growing bracelet tally, there is some fervent support mounting.

Shouts of "Paolo Paolo" and "Trickett, Trickett" are evidence both of this, and also of the need for some creative input into the chant lyrics. Maybe we'll get some more imaginative shouts as the day progresses.

Anyway, back to the poker!

Dragan Gets Burned (16th)

German Poker Player of the Year 2009 Dragan Galic has busted out to Paul Foltyn, much to the delight of Foltyn's British rail.

A simple scenario, Foltyn took on the short-stacked Galic's shove with pocket sixes and was racing versus his ace-eight.

The pocket pair held and Galic busts in 16th spot, picking up $31,305.

Cooper Scooped (15th)

Poor Joshua Cooper found a sweet spot to double his ace-jack racing with a built-in advantage against Peter Gilmore's king-queen.

A jack on the turn looked promising but needing to fade the river, the queen brought his hopes of a double-through crashing down and he hits the rail in 15th spot, winning $39,159.

Behling - Losin' flipz and s***.

 

Garga-No chips(14th)

Gargano has just hit the rail in 14th spot, re-shipping over the top of an opening raise with king-queen from the small blind. Not for the first time, however, Antonio Esfandiari found ace-king in the big in an almost identical situation to how he doubled up through Nico Behling last night.

On that occasion Behling also had king-queen to Esfandiari's big slick, and once again his circa 70% edge held to give him a big boost and leave Gargano on the rail with $39,159.

For Whom The Behl Tolls (Nico Behling - 13th)

Nico Behling was short-ish, down to just 300k, when he decided to go for a double-through with ace-jack. David Benefield found pocket sixes and raced the German, coming out on top and leaving Behling just short of the final table with $49,024 his reward.

Chips!

How does that leave the standings. Well, like this.

Chip counts courtesy of worldseriesofpoker.com.

Straight out of the traps, there was a short period of jostling for position before two quick eliminations.

16 remain now and there is an air of tension hanging over the players. The stakes are high, the pressure is immense and we have quite a game on our hands.

Here's the early news.

Italian Stallion Put Down (Macciello - 18th)

It's a fine line between bravery and insanity - and possibly Joshua Macciello just danced a little close to the crazy side a few moments ago. Raising it up to 50k from the cut-off, he saw James Carroll announce all-in from the button and with close to 300k behind he pondered his decision - then made the call.

Carroll had the goods in pocket queens, whereas Macciello must have thought he was three-betting light, having called off 25 big blinds with king-jack.

An optimistic call, that looked like paying dividends as he hit both a king and a jack on the flop to take the lead.

The poker gods were in the mood for justice though and dispensed a queen on the turn to reverse his fortunes once again. The slightly drowsy rail were awoken from their slumber as a chorus of "oooohs" rang out to highlight the somewhat sick nature of that turn card.

No re-spikage was forthcoming on the river, meaning we lose Macciello in 18th spot for $31,305 - a fitting reward for a deep run in a tough field.

Veronica's Dunn(17th)

Almost a fairy tale come true, Veronica Dunn had recovered from a single 500 chip to spin back up to over 250k in a sensational run of form last night. There was no fairy tale ending however, Dunn taking her chances with king-queen but running into Peter Gilmore's superior ace-jack.

Live, but ultimately unable to turn the equity tables, Dunn was finally done and busts in 17th spot, collecting $31,305. Good work.

That elimination means we now know the winner of this event will be male, but which male is very much a matter of speculation.

Here's how they stand as we speak.

Chip Counts

Counts courtesy of worldseriesofpoker.com.

An uber-strong field gathered to contest this bracelet - certainly one of the toughest NLHE rosters assembled at this year's WSOP.

Two long, hard , aggressive days of poker are in the bag and we return with 18 players left and a number of top players in the hunt for that desirable bracelet.

There's no doubt that the man (or sole remaining female player) who picks up this bracelet will have played some superb poker to get there - but they will also have to avoid many a pitfall along the way.

We'll be closely documenting all the pitfalls and big pots, highs and lows here until finally we crown a bracelet winner.

If you want some names to entice you in, how about Jason Dewitt, David Benefield, Antonio Esfandiari, Perry Friedman, Sam Trickett, Jeff Williams...as you can see the field is packed with talent.

Stick with us, it should be a fun ride.

BLIND LEVELS

Small Blind - 6k; Big Blind - 12k; Ante -1k