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Now that Lacay is out of the tournament, there is a lot more room in the stands.  The final table area was filled with Lacay supporters, and now there are plenty of seats available for spectators.

Mattila's Luck Runs Out

Over the course of several hands, Ville Mattila had taken beats and was able to double up a few times to take Miguel Prouix in the chip count.  However, it all came to a head when Mattila sought to butt heads with Daniel Alaei.

Mattila potted from the button, and Daniel Alaei repotted.  If Mattila made the call, he would only have a small amount of chips left, so it was a decision for his tournament life.  He ended up making his all in move, and Alaei called.

Mattila: A♥ K♦ 7♦ 2♣

Alaei: K♠ K♥ 6♥ 2♦

The flop came A♠ J♣ 6♣ which put Mattila ahead.  When the K♣ came on the turn it was a massive one outer for Alaei to pull back into the lead.  The river was the T♠ which stamped the win on Alaei's hand. 

Mattila was eliminated in 3^rd place and took home $354,218.

Proulx Takes 2nd Place

 

The Last Stand

After Mattila was knocked out the player talked about taking a 20 minute break.  At some point in the conversation they must have decided to forego the break since Alaei had such a massive lead over Proulx. 

As they played on, Alaei and Proulx saw a T♠ 9♥ 5♣ flop.  Proulx checked and Alaei bet 250,000.  Proulx made the call.  The turn was the 2♣ prompting a check from Proulx.  Alaei potted for 900,000, and Proulx moved all in for a little bit more.  It was an easy call for Alaei.

Alaei: 7♠ 6♣ 5♠ 5♥

Proulx: A♣ K♥ T♥ 2♥

The J♥ on the river wasn't the card Proulx needed in order to stay alive, so he becomes our 2^nd place finisher.  He will take home an impressive $482,625 for his diligent play in this event.

Bracelet Number Three

After missing all the fire works on this 4^th of July, Daniel Alaei has created some fire works of his own.  This win marks his third bracelet win, and he will be taking home $780,599 for his amazing play in this event.

When we asked Alaei what he thought his chances were going into the final table, he said that he thought he had a good chance to win it from the start. 

"I ended having a bad couple of levels and lost two thirds of my chips," said Alaei, "but then I got back up to a million.  Whenever you have 20-30% of the chips in play you have a really good chance of winning it.  So when I got up to 5 million I knew I had a good chance."

This was a fantastic win for a very talented young player.  Alaei plans on playing the Main Event, so if you are interested in getting more updates about Alaei's future wins be sure to come back to PokerListings.com for more live coverage. 

The crowd favorite for this final table has clearly been Ludovic Lacay.  He's held a significant amount of the chips through the day, but the last hour was incredibly brutal for the young French pro. 

Mattila Takes A Chunk From Lacay

Ville Mattila and Ludovic Lacay saw a flop of 9♥ T♥ 6♣.  Mattila announced that he would be betting, but it took him a bit to announce what the bet would be.  Finally, he said he would be betting 325,000.  Lacay reraised, and Mattila couldn't wait to push the rest of his chips in the pot.

Mattila: J♠ J♣ 6♦ 6♥

Lacay: 3♥ 8♣ 9♣ J♥

Mattila had a set of sixes, but he would have to dodge the flush and straight outs that Lacay held.  The J♦ only proved to help Mattila, and the river was the K♠ which was a brick for Lacay.

Mattila doubled his stack wile taking a big chunk from Lacay.

The Hex On Lacay

A few hands after doubling up Mattila, Lacay was nice enough to double up Miguel Prouix.  Lacay had a slightly better hand when the chips when into the pot, but at the end of the hand, Prouix had the best of it and doubled up.

Ludovic was down to his last 415,000.  He was first to act and shoved it in.  Alaei made a quick call, Prouix got out of the way, and Mattila seemed at a big decision.

"How much is that?" asked Mattila.  The dealer told him that it would be 295,000 more for him to call from the big blind.  There must have been some sort of language barrier because Mattila seemed really confused about the amount of the bet.

"If I call can we check it down," Mattila said to Alaei. 

"You can't say that sir," scolded the dealer, "that isn't allowed.  It is collusion for you to say things like that."  Mattila didn't seem to understand this either. 

"Its two bets!" exclaimed Lacay who was obviously irritated by Mattila's antics.  After a bit more stalling, Lacay called the clock on Mattila.  After the countdown, Mattila folded his hand.

Alaei: A♥ K♣ Q♦ J♠

Lacay: K♠ J♥ 9♦ 2♠

The board came out Q♣ 2♦ 5♣ T♣ 3♥ to give Alaei the win to bust Lacay from the tournament. 

Chip Counts

Courtesy of www.WSOP.com

Blinds are up again at 50,000/100,000.  The structure sheet for this event only shows four more levels.  It would be stunning to see this event go past the 100,000/200,000 level, but anything is possible. 

Uyesugi Can't Hold Out

Trevor Uyesugi was the short stack in the last round, and he ended up opening from the button to 280,000.  Alaei was in the big blind and reraised enough to put Uyesugi all in.  Ready to gamble, Uyesugi made the call.

Alaei: Q♠ J♣ T♦ 7♣

Uyesugi: 8♥ 7♠ 6♦ 4♠

The flop brought some hope for Uyesugi when it came T♥ 8♦ 4♦ giving him two pair.  The K♦ on the turn gave Alaei more outs.  When the T♠ came on the river Uyesugi was out. 

Uyesugi is our 5^th place finisher and will take home $195,631. 

Chop It Up

What started out to be a inconsequential hand looked to be very exciting by the river. 

Both Ville Mattila and Ludovic had played the hand very passively on the flop by checking.  However, when the river came, there were fireworks when Lacay bet 350,000.  It took Mattila a moment to process his option, but he eventually called. 

When the hands were turned up, both players had rivered trip aces with a king kicker.  For a moment, it looked like we would see a nice size pot get scooped, but in the end both players just chopped it up.

Chip Counts

Courtesy of www.WSOP.com

Players are back from dinner break and have come back to 40,000/80,000 blinds.  Trevor Uyesugi comes back from the dinner break as the short stack on the table, and Ludovic Lacay maintains a healthy chip lead over the other players.

Alaei Doubles Through Lacay

Daniel Alaei and Ludovic Lacay had played a few small pots with each other.  However, they finally entered a head on head battle which saw Alaei come out on top.

Lacay made it 160,000 preflop, and Alaei repotted.  Lacay made the call and it was heads up to the flop.  The board came out A♣ 8♣ 3♦.  Lacay bet big enough to put Alaei all in, and Alaei made a reluctant call.

Alaei: Q♥ Q♠ K♦ 4♠

Lacay: 8♦ 7♦ 6♠ 3♠

Alaei only had a pair of queens against Lacay's bottom two pair.  The A♦ on the turn help put Alaei back in front giving him a higher two pair.  The K♥ was enough to give Alaei the double up.

Round Two

A few hands later, Alaei and Lacay were back at it again.  Alaei made it 160,000 preflop, and Lacay called. 

The flop came A♦ 9♣ A♥.  Lacay checked, and Alaei bet 160,000 again.  Lacay smooth called to see a T♥ on the turn.  Lacay changed gears and bet 330,000.  Alaei took a few moments to count his chips.  It looks like he might make the call, but at the last moment he ended up folding his hand. 

Chip Counts

Courtesy of www.WSOP.com

The blinds are still 30,000/60,000, and with six players left things are starting to move along now. 

Pierson Goes Down In 6^th

Stephen Pierson was the short stack going into six handed play.  When Miguel Prouix raised in the cutoff, Stephen Pierson reraised in the big blind.  Prouix potted in order to put Pierson at a decision for all of his chips.  Pierson obliged and put himself at risk.

Pierson: A♦ J♣ T♦ 5♠

Prouix: K♦ K♥ 4♣ 2♠

The board ran out 9♠ 7♥ 6♠ Q♠ T♥ which allowed Prouix's kings to hold up.  Pierson took a 6^th place finish for $147,138 in hard earned cash.

Dinner Break

Players are going on a one hour dinner break.  They are scheduled to return at 9:36.

Chip Counts 

Courtesy of www.WSOP.com

Blinds have gone up to 30,000/60,000 with eight players remaining. 

Kravchenko Picks A Spot

Alexander Kravchenko had a very short stack coming into the level, and he would need to find a spot to double up if he had any hopes of going further in the final table. 

Ville Mattila raised to 110,000, and Alexander Kravchenko moved in for his remaining 225,000.  Mattila made the call.

Mattila: J♠ 7♣ 6♠ 4♥

Kravchenko: A♦ 9♠ 8♥ 8♣

The board delivered Q♦ T♥ 3♠ 7♦ 5♥.  Kravchenko wasn't able to catch up and would be eliminated in 8^th place for $85,000.

Stelmak Goes Out In 7^th

Dmitry Stelmak opned for 175,000.  Daniel Alaei potted all in.  When it folded back around to Stelmak, he committed the rest of his chips for a bit less than Alaei's stack.

Stelmak: A♥ K♥ Q♣ 6♠

Alaei: A♠ A♣ Q♦ 9♥

Stelmak would need a bit of help if he had hopes of staying alive.  The board ran out J♥ 3♦ 8♠ 7♥ 2♦.  Alaei's hand was able  to hold up and Stelmak becomes our 7^th place finisher taking home $111,524.

Uyesugi Takes A Stand

Miguel Proulx raised to 100,000 in late position, and Travor Uyesugi made the call from the big blind. 

The flop came out 8♠ Q♥ K♠.  Uyesugi bet out, Proulx potted, and in a matter of a few seconds, Uyesugi had all of his chips in the pot.  Proulx made a quick call.

Uyesugi: A♠ K♦ T♠ 5♠

Proulx: K♥ J♥ 8♦ 7♣

Proulx had flopped two pair, but Uyesugi was on the nut flush draw.  The A♦ on the turn gave Uyesugi a bigger two pair, and the 6♦ was of no help to either player. 

Uyesugi dodged a bullet and was able to double up his stack.

Chip Counts

Courtesy of www.WSOP.com

Players went on a 20 minute break, and have come back to blinds at 25,000/50,000.  Three of our remaining eight players have less than ten bets.  This means that there isn't a whole lot of play left on the table. 

Kravchenko Bricks

Alexander Kravchenko raised to 175,000, and Ludovic Lacay made the call from the big blind.

The flop came out J♦ 7♣ 2♠.  Lacay fired a bet which was enough to put Kravchenko all in for his remaining 225,000.  After a few seconds of thought, Kravchenko painfully laid his hand down.  He showed A♠ K♠ Q♦ T♠.

Spotlight on Ludovic Lacay

Ludovic Lacay is origionally from Toulouse France.  His first big cash was at the WPT Barcelona where he took 2^nd place for  295,200.  This put his name on the map, and from there he has had success in WSOP and EPT circuits. 

Aside form his success in poker, Lacay is also in law school in attempt to his license in Business Law.  He believes that both poker and law have similar concepts and logical evaluation. 

His total winnings are $1,435,089 and growing.  He is the current chip leader in this tournament.  If he can hang onto the lead he will be able to add another $780,599 in winnings for his biggest cash to date. 

Chip Counts

Courtesy of www.WSOP.com

Tight aggressive poker is the name of the game this evening at the Tournament of Champions.

Plenty of betting and raising abound, but very little in the way of confrontations. Most of the hands see a preflop raiser, a reraise and no flop. Or we see a raise, a call, a flop, a bet and a fold. Very few hands have gotten beyond the flop, let alone to showdown.

Blinds are starting to put a little pressure on the stacks as they've grown to 3k, but the average stack remains above 80k.

50k Swing

Daniel Negreanu has been playing well today and acknowledged as much on his Twitter account within the last 15 minutes. Kid Poker said he fully expects to win the Tournament of Champions based on how he's been playing.

He may have jinxed himself as he went on to lose his biggest pot of the day moments later. Johnny Chan started the pot by raising to 6k from the button. Negreanu reraised to 20k from the small blind and Chan called.

The flop showed K♣ 8♣ 7♠ and both players checked. The turn brough a Q♦, Negreanu checked and Chan fired 30k. Negreanu thought for a few minutes before calling.

The river showed a brick 2♥ and Negreanu once again checked. This time Chan came out with a big 60k bet, which sent Negreanu into the tank for a few minutes before he ultimately decided to fold.

Greenstein Doubles Thru Harman

Barry Greenstein has been his usual quiet and reserved self at today's final table. That all changed over the last two hands as Greenstein notched back to back doubles.

The first double came at the expense of Jen Harman. Greenstein raised preflop and Harman came over the top all in. Greenstein snapped off a call and flipped over pocket aces against the pocket fours of Harman.

Jen was never able to improve and Greenstein made off with most of her stack.

Duke Goes Down to Two Outer

The very next hand after Greenstein doubled up Greenstein once again found himself in an all in pot. This time it was Duke who was all in for her remaining 33k. Greenstein also went all in to isolate Duke.

Duke appeared to be in great shape with A♦ Q♦ against the A♣ J♣ of Greenstein. Duke was cruising towards a double up after the first four cards came out 8♦ 3♥ 2♠ 7♦. Duke couldn't avoid the two outer, however, as Greenstein spiked the J♠ and scooped the pot.

Now we're down to seven players with Harman hanging by a thread.

Chip Count

The blinds have gone up to 20,000/40,000 which should be worrisome for some of our short stackers who now have less than ten big blinds.

Proulx Hits An Unlucky Board

Daniel Alaei raised to 80,000 in late position, and Miguel Proulx smooth called from the button.  When it got to Ville Mattila in the big blind, he potted.  Alaei folded his hand, and Proulx repotted to put Mattila all in.  Mattila was committed and called.

Proulx: A♠ K♠ K♥ 6♥

Mattila: A♦ Q♥ T♥ 3♦

Mattila needed some help on the board in order to beat Proulx.  When the board came T♣ 9♠ 3♥ A♣ 8♣, Mattila was sitting pretty with a flopped two pair that got better on the turn.  Mattila was able to double up and avoid elimination.

Wheat Taken By Uyesugi

There was some raise reraise action on the felt until Matthew Wheat was put all in by Trevor Uyesugi. 

Uyesugi: Q♦ Qs A♠ 8♦

Wheat: Q♣ T♦ 6♣ 5♦

Uyesugi had the best of it, but he would have to hold up against Wheat's double suited hand.  

The board came out Q♥ 9♦ 7♦ which gave Uyesugi a set of queens, but he would have to sweat Wheat's diamond draw.  The 2♥ on the turn and T♣ on the river were no help to Wheat, so he would become our 9^th place finisher.  He takes home $65,568 and will have time to catch some fireworks. 

Chip Counts

Courtesy of www.WSOP.com

Welcome back to the concluding coverage of the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship.  This event was scheduled to wrap up yesterday, but the journey to the final table was a long one.  By the time the final nine were established, players were given the option of playing it until the end, or returning today to play for the bracelet.  Players decided to come back today, so here we are.

Blinds will start at 15,000/30,000.  Miguel Proulx is the chip leader going into the final table with 2,380,000 in chips.  Alexander Kravchenko is the short stack with 295,000.

Slow Start

The action at this final table hasn't exactly been explosive.  It took about eight hands for players to see a flop, and we haven't seen too many hands flipped over.  We hope the action speeds up a bit, or it might be a 4^th of July without the fireworks. 

Mattila Avoids A Showdown

Ludovic Lacay raised to 60,000 from the cutoff, and when it folded to Ville Mattila in the big blind he potted for 175,000.  Lacay didn't hesitate to make the call. 

The flop came out K♥ Q♥ A♦.  Mattila fired out 180,000, and this time Mattila did take a few seconds to think about his options.  He decided to make the fold giving Mattila an extra chunk to his stack.

Chip Counts

Courtesy of www.WSOP.com

The Omaha final is just about to start and we will return with Migyuel Proulx heading the chip count, though the spotlight of the poker world may just fall a little further down the counts.

Daniel Alaei has had a relatively quiet World Series by his standards, although his only cash was a significant one - a final table berth in the $50k Player's Championship where he collected $221,105.

Alaei sometimes seems to pass under the radar of the poker community, but he is one of the most accomplished players in the world - with two bracelets, a WPT title and over $4 million in winnings.

We're going to make some noise on his behalf. This guy is good.

Could he make it three bracelets here?

There are plenty of other talented players in the mix though, including the sometimes fiery and always dangerous Frenchman Ludovic Lacay - who will have his Team Winamax friends cheering him on loudly.

Alex Kravchenko could also have a say - the Russian shortstacked but capable of great things if he can spin up his 330k.

Here are the counts with the final table moments away from playing out.

Players took a 20 minute break at the beginning of the level and came back to play 15,000/30,000.

Wong Out In 12^th

Wong was sitting at a very short stack when he found a spot to double up.  He was called by Matthew Wheat and the cards were turned up.

Wong: A♦ K♦ K♥ 9♦

Wheat: A♣ K♣ 7♦ 6♣

The flop came 7♣ 8♥ 7♠ which had Wong in bad shape.  The 2♦ and 3♠ on the river were enough to seal the deal, and Wong was sent packing in 12^th place.  He takes home $50,867 for his efforts. 

Buona Notte

Italian player Alessio Isaia was developing quite the section of Italian railbirds including Dario Minieri, but that was short lived as his night just came to an abrupt end.

Isaia opened the pot to 80k, but had to know he was in trouble when Ludovic Lacay bet the pot up to 265k. Isaia reraised all in and Lacay snap called.

Isaia showed K♦ K♥ A♣ J♣ while Lacay showed A♦ A♠ 3♠ 4♠. Lacay spiked an ace in the window, Isaia didn't get the help he needed and he was sent packing in 11th place. He will receive $51k for his efforts.

Bad Timing For Mercier

 

Mercier Just Short Of Final Table

It was heads up to the flop with Jason Mercier and Daniel Alaei.  The flop came out A♣ T♥ K♠.  Mercier moved all in for his stack, and Alaei made the call. 

Alaei: A♦ Q♦ J♠ 5♣

Mercier: Q♥ Q♠ T♣ 6♥

Alaei flopped Broadway, but Mercier could still catch up.  However, the 7♠ and 3♣ on the river shattered any hopes that Mercier had of making the final table.

Mercier tweeted after the bust out, "Awful awful timing. Wouldn't have even opened with hand I did if I heard player busted in 11th 5 seconds earlier as we were combining at 10."

Final Table

There are nine players left, and the option was given to them to play it out or come back tomorrow.  The majority ruled that they would like to come back tomorrow to establish the winner of the event, so players will resume play at 4:00 pm tomorrow. 

Come back tomorrow for more coverage of this exciting final table.

Chip Counts

Courtesy of www.WSOP.com

Blinds have gone up to 12,000/24,000 with 13 players remaining.

Jason Lester was eliminated in the last round by Alessio Isaia.  He took home a 16^th place finish for $31,288. 

Alaei Stabs Mercier

The flop came A♣ 3♦ 8♥, and Daniel Alaei made it 100,000 to go.  Jason Mercier made the call.  The turn came the A♥, and both players carefully checked their option. 

When the J♥ came on the river, Mercier checked, and Alaei bet 150,000.  Mercier took a few minutes to count out his chips.  For a second it looked like he might raise, but in the end he made the call.

Alaei turned up A♦ J♦ 4♣ 2♥ for a rivered full house.  Mercier took two cards from his hand and showed it to Alaei quickly before folding his hand. 

A Fading Fin

At one point Finnish player Ville Mattila had so many chips that he had constructed a makeshift cup holder out of his massive collection.

Perhaps the Fin has had one too many cocktails as he has been hemorrhaging chips recently. The latest spew came with Mattila in the big blind and Ludovic Lacay in the small. Lacay made the call and Mattila raised an additional 50k on top.
Lacay once again made the call and the flop brought K♠ 8♦ 5♣. Lacay checked and Mattila fired out 133k. Lacay thought for a moment and made the call.

The turn brought a 9♣ and instead of checking Lacay led out with what was either a pot sized bet or an all in for 384k. Mattila looked disheartened and never seemed serious about making a call. He folded and dropped down to below 800k.

Top 10 Chip Counts

Courtesy of www.WSOP.com

Players have come back from dinner break and came back to the blinds being 10,000/20,000.  There were 18 players left coming back from dinner break.

Alaei Moves Into Action

Daniel Alaei made it 52,000 preflop.  Tom Dwan made the call from the button, and Danny Wong called in the big blind.  The flop came T♦ 8♠ 2♣.

Wong checked, and Alaei made it 75,000 to go.  Dwan folded his hand, and Wong let it go as well. 

Another Close Call

Tom Dwan raised it to 70,000, and Matthew Wheat called.  The flop came 7♥ 6♥ J♣.  Wheat checked, and Dwan moved in with the rest of his chips.  Wheat quickly called.

Dwan: Q♦ 8♥ 9♣ 7♦

Wheat: K♥ 8♦ 5♥ 3♣

The turn came the 2♣ and the river was the 8♠ to knock Dwan out in 17^th place.  He will take home $31,288 for his efforts, but that is nothing compared to the millions he will miss out in bracelet bets. 

No 12th Bracelet Tonight

Phil Hellmuth's time and stack was running low after he was forced to make a few big folds just prior to dinner break.

Hellmuth endured a couple of orbits and stole the blinds once before he finally decided to take a stand with his last 115k as blinds had skyrocketed to 24k.

There was a 66k raise to Hellmuth and he went all in for 115k preflop. He showed A♦ Q♦ J♦ 6♣ while his opponent tabled K♦ K♥ 8♠ 7♦. The flop bricked out for Hellmuth and he was forced to settle for 15th place and $39k.

Hellmuth Now Available For The Tournament Of Champions

 

Top 10 Chip Counts

Courtesy of www.WSOP.com

For every player that busts, at least two on lookers take their place on the rail.  There are a number of pros that are railing this tournament along side the fans that keep snapping pictures of the big names that are remaining.

Mercier Two Hellmuth Zero

Phil Hellmuth laid down a big hand to Jason Mercier earlier, and there is some pressure for him to bust from this tournament with all the big names waiting for him to play the Tournament Of Champions. 

Hellmuth raised to 37,000 from early position.  Mercier was on the button and made the call.  The flop came out A♦ 4♣ Q♠.  Hellmuth thought long and hard before putting out a bet of 40,000. 

"I have a bad feeling this is going to be my last hand," said Hellmuth.

Jason then raised to 101,000.  After some deliberation, Hellmuth laid down his hand and showed A♥ Q♣ T♦ 9♦.  The on lookers were amazed to see Hellmuth lay down this hand with top two, a straight draw, and a back door flush draw.

"Show the bluff Jason, its good for the game," a player on the table said.

Jason turned over the 3♥ and 7♦ as a little teaser towards Hellmuth.

Decision Made

Players are going on a 90 minute dinner break.  Originally, they were only supposed to have a 60 minute dinner break, but Hellmuth is going to be playing the TOC so they afforded him a little extra time.  Although, it seems the irritation over the matter continues. 

Mercier Pushes Hellmuth Off Another Big Hand

 

Top 10 Chip Counts

Courtesy of www.WSOP.com

Blinds have gone up to 8,000/16,000, and at the beginning of the level they had 21 players remaining. 

Lucky Raise For Lester

Jason Lester raised to 40,000 in early position and got a call from Ludovic Lacay.  The flop came Q♥ T♠ 8♠ Lester moved all his chips in the middle, and Ludovic made the call.

Lester: A♠ 4♠ T♣ 2♣

Ludovic: A♣ K♣ K♦ Q♦

Lester needed a spade to complete his flush draw.  The 9♣ came on the turn, and the river brought the needed Q♠ to give Lester the much needed spade.

"That was a lucky raise preflop Jason," Hellmuth said, "I would have beat you."

To Dinner Break Or Not To Dinner Break?

There has been some discussion over the schedule of the breaks thus far.  First, the tournament director asked if the players wanted to bag their chips at 9:00 pm and play the rest of the tournament down tomorrow.  A majority of the players were agreeable to this, but Jason Mercier decided against it.  Since all the players have to agree, they will play at least 10 levels tonight.

Some of the other players want to push the dinner break back another two levels.  They are scheduled to go on dinner at the end of this level, but that might not happen depending on if everyone is agreeable.

Durrrr Busts Devilfish

Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott raised preflop and got calls from Tom Dwan and Daniel Alaei.

The flop came 10♠ 8♦ 5♣ and Devilfish slowly slid all of his chips in the middle while singing a tune for the rest of the table.

Dwan shot a look in the direction of Alaei as if to say "Which one of us is going to make the call?" Alaei gave Dwan a "so-so" hand signal that indicated he was probably about 50/50 on making a call. It was about as close to colluding as you can get in a $10k buy in championship.

Dwan ended up making the call with Q♥ Q♠ 10♦ 6♦ while Devilfish showed K♥ J♦ 10♦ 5♦. "How bout you throw me a diamond, dealer," Devilfish said.

Instead, Dwan hit a river queen for the winning set.

Matusow Isn't Playing, But He's In The Middle Of All The Action

 

From the Rail

An exasperated Mike Matusow (who has a number of bets against Dwan) was nearby during the Durrrr vs. Devilfish and let out a shriek of disbelief.

"Tom Dwan ladies and gentleman, in case you don't know who he is," Matusow said.

"You don't have anything to worry about, I only have about 11% of the chips in the best tournament for me," Dwan gloated.

"Yeah, I'll only lose like my whole bankroll, why should I worry?" Matusow didn't seem the least bit amused by Dwan's newly acquired chips.

Down To Final Two

Seamus Cahill was eliminated in 19^th place which meant that the final 18 players would redraw for the final two tables. 

This came at the dismay of a few of Hellmuth's rail birds.  Huck Seed, Johhny Chan, T.J. Cloutier, and a few others are waiting for Hellmuth to bust out so they can continue the Tournament Of Champions.  Hellmuth seems hell bent on making them wait. 

Top 10 Chip Counts

Courtesy of www.WSOP.com

Players took a 20 minute break in the middle of the hour, and then came back to play the 6,000/12,000 level.

Proulx's Monster Aces

Miguel Proulx just took down a monster and eliminated two players in the process. 

The flop came out 2♠ J♠ Q♣.  Stephen Ladowsky made it 105,000, Daniel Harmetz repotted, and Miguel Prouix moved all in.  Ladowsky only had about 40,000 behind, so he made a fairly quick call for all of his chips.  Harmetz then called off the rest of his chips as well.  Proulx had both players covered.

Proulx: A♥ #Ax K♠ 8♠

Harmetz: K♥ Q♠ T♠ 9♦

Ladowsky: A♠ K♣ J♦ T♥

Proulx had aces with the nut straight and flush draw.  Harmetz had a pair of queens with the straight draw and a lessor flush draw.  Ladowsky had a pair of jacks with the wrap.

The last ace in the deck came on the turn to give both Harmetz and Ladowsky the straight they were looking for, but Proulx had a set and was given outs to pair the board.  The J♥ on the river sealed the deal giving Proulx a full house and the win. 

Both Harmetz and Ladowsky were shown the door in 24^th and 23^rd place. 

Hellmuth Lays Down A Set To Mercier

 

Hellmuth Lays Down

Jason Mercier is playing the role of bully at his table and Phil Hellmuth is the latest to be steamrolled.

Mercier opened the pot for 24k preflop and Hellmuth came along. The flop showed K♣ J♥ 5♣ and both players checked. The turn brought a 9♥ and Mercier fired a bet of 57k, which Hellmuth called.

The river showed a 7♦, Mercier fired a 157k bet into the pot. Hellmuth eventually showed two kings and laid down top set.
"This kid fires into every pot," a frustrated Hellmuth said of Mercier.

Mercier's Aces Hold

In a raise reraise war, Leandro Pimentel had pushed his remaining chips in against Jason Mercier.

Mercier: A♦ A♥ 7♣ 7♠

Pimentel: J♥ 9♠ 8♦ T♥

Just when the cards were flipped over, Mike Matusow came over to Mercier and said, "He's the favorite."

As the board came out J♣ A♣ 3♦ 3♣ 2♣, Matusow resended, "Well, he's not the favorite anymore."

Pimentel took his leave while Mercier added more chips to his growing pile.

From the Felt

"Did the f***ers start without me?" Devilfish wondered aloud after returning five minutes late from break.

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Blinds are up to 5,000/10,000, and that has enticed some all in pots.  Nednad Medic, Ben Lamb, and Timothy Flanders are some of the all ins that didn't come out on top.  Each of these players took home $19,839 for their efforts.

Binger Counterfeited

Michael Binger limped in early positon, Matthew Wheat raised, David "Devilfish" Ulliot called the raise, and Binger also called.

The flop came T♠ 6♥ 3♣.  Binger opened for 60,000, and Wheat moved all in for 80,000 more.  Devilfish took a long moment before throwing in his hand.  Binger made a quick call.

Binger: K♣ Q♠ T♦ 8♣

Wheat: A♦ A♣ Q♥ 6♦

The K♠ came on the turn to give Binger two pair against the pair of aces in Wheat's hand.  However, when the 3♥ came on the river, Binger was counterfeited with kings and sixes against Wheat's aces and threes.

High Card

The clock was stopped 20 minutes into level 20 to high card for a three table redraw.  Players ended up taking a 10 minute break to get situated and run to the restroom.  For all you fans railing Tom Dwan, he is now at the outside ESPN feature table for your viewing pleasure. 

Devilfish Doubles Through Dwan

 

Devilfish Catches The Big Dwan

Devilfish opened to 20,000 in early position, and Tom Dwan potted for 75,000.  Devilfish made the call and it was heads up to the flop. 

The flop came Q♠ A♦ T♠.  Devilfish checked, leaving Dwan to make it 140,000.  Devilfish pondered for a moment before announcing all in.  Dwan made the call and the hands were turned up.

Dwan: K♥ K♦ 8♠ 6♠

Devilfish: A♠ 9♠ 9♦ 6♦

Devilfish had a pair and the nut flush draw, while Dwan had kings and a smaller flush draw.  The J♠ on the turn gave Devilfish the flush he was looking for, and the Q♥ on the river was no help to either player.

Dwan ended up paying out an extra 133,000 in chips to double Devilfish up.

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Cards are in the air at Day 3 of the Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship.  There were 346 players that entered, and 33 came back to battle it out for their chance at a WSOP title.  Tom Dwan starts the day out as the chip leader with 740,000 in chips.

The blinds are starting at 4,000/8,000.  According to the tournament director, we will be playing down to a winner today. 

Abdallah Holds Up With Kings

George Abdallah raised to 33,000, and Jason Lester made the call.  The flop came 6♣ 6♦ 9♣.  Both players checked.

Both players also checked down the turn and river which came the 4♣ 4♦.  Abdallah showed K♥ K♦ A♠ 8♣  which much have been good enough since Lester threw his cards into the muck.

Devilfish Reels In A Small Catch

David "Devilfish" Ulliot checked his option in the big blind after Stephen Ladowsky called from the small blind.  The flop came Q♦ 6♥ J♠, and Ladowsky bet 13,000.  Devilfish made the call. 

The turn came the T♦ to which both players checked.  On the river both players seemed to have given up and checked the 5♥.

Devilfish showed down Q♠ 8♦ 6♣ 2♣ for a flopped two pair.  Ladowsky mucked his hand.

Soulier Out In 32^nd Place

Fabice Soulier raised to 19,000 on the button.  Bille Mattila made it 61,000, and Soulier made the call.  The flop brought A♦ 3♦ 7♣.

Mattilia led out for 45,000, and Soulier moved all in.  Mattilia made the call and the cards were turned up.

Matilla: K♦ K♣ J♥ 5♠

Soulier: J♦ J♣ T♣ 6♦

The turn was the A♥ and the river was the T♠.  Soulier wouldn't be able to stay alive, so he was sent to the rail taking home $19,839. 

Soulier Goes Out In 32nd

 

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