Event 24 - $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout - Live Updates

Mark Radoja was in command for the entire heads-up match against Jeff Gross, who started in a deep hole that he couldn't climb out of.

Gross had narrowed the gap a bit, with about 6.2 million to Radoja's 8.8 million. But then they played a key pot on a board of A♣ 10♣ 5♦ 10♦. There was more than 3.2 million in the pot, and when Gross checked, Radoja bet 1,000,000.

Gross folded, and Radoja stood up and held his cards high so his friends on the rail could see them -- 8♥ 4♣. Radoja bluffed at the pot with nothing but eight high.

Mark Radoja bets into Jeff Gross on a river.

 

That gave Radoja another big lead with 10.3 million to Gross's 4.7 million. Gross then picked up a few smaller pots to get back up over 5.5 million. Yes, the blinds were pretty big (120,000-240,000), so even small pots were big.

Then Gross raised, Radoja moved all in, and Gross quickly called. Radoja showed K♥ 10♦, but Gross had the advantage with A♠ J♣. If Gross could win, he'd suddenly have a huge chip lead.

But the board came Q♥ 10♥ 2♠ 10♣ A♥, and Radoja clinched it with trip tens on the turn. Sure, Gross could have caught a king for an ace-high straight, but it would also give Radoja a full house.

Jeff Gross finished as the runner-up, earning $269,742 for second place. Mark Radoja wins Event #24, $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout, earning $436,568 and the gold WSOP bracelet.

One of the people cheering for Radoja here at the end was Yasuhiro Waki, who pushed Radoja to the limit in the longest match of the day yesterday in Round 2. Waki seemed as proud of Radoja as any of his long-time friends.

Radoja's friends join the celebration.

 

Congratulations to Mark Radoja!

1st: Mark Radoja - $436,568
2nd: Jeff Gross - $269,742
3rd: Nicolas Fierrogottner - $198,096
4th: Scott Baumstein - $146,639
5th: Adam Junglen - $109,406
6th: Nikita Lebedev - $82,287
7th: Todd Terry: $62,370
8th: Tom Marchese - $47,636
9th: Sean Getzwiller - $36,669
10th: Dan Smith - $28,447

Mark Radoja hasn't lost any of the momentum he had in the previous level, continuing to roll -- and he rolled right over Nicolas Fierrogottner.

Radoja raised from the button, Fierrogottner shoved from the big blind with A♠ 5♦, and Radoja quickly called with a dominating A♥ Q♣. An ace flopped, and Fierrogottner turned a gutshot straight draw, but the queen kicker held up for Radoja to win the pot.

Nicolas Fierrogottner was eliminated in third place, earning $298,096.

Fierrogottner busted in 3rd, but will be starring in "The Hangover 3."

 

At the start of heads-up play, Radoja had a 2.75-to-1 chip lead over Jeff Gross -- 11 million to 4 million. And for a long time, their chip counts never drifted far from those numbers.

They played one huge pot in that time, worth more than 3.1 million, on a board of J♠ 8♣ 4♣ 9♦ 10♣. But Radoja turned over 7♦ 6♦, Gross turned over 9♥ 7♠, and they chopped it with identical jack-high straights.

Then Radoja picked up a little momentum, knocking Gross down below 3 million in chips.

That's when Gross moved all in with Q♠ 8♦, and Radoja called with A♠ 4♥. Radoja was one card away from victory, but the board of J♦ 7♦ 7♠ 6♦ 8♥ gave Gross a pair of eights on the river to double up.

That brought Gross back up to 5.6 million in chips, inching closer to Radoja's 9.4 million. And, a short while later, that's still pretty much where they stand as the blinds increase to 120,000-240,000 with a 40,000 ante:

Radoja was one card away from the bracelet. That damn eight of hearts!

 

Mark Radoja - 9,400,000 (39 bb)
Jeff Gross - 5,600,000 (23 bb)

1st: $436,568
2nd: $269,742

3rd: Nicolas Fierrogottner - $198,096
4th: Scott Baumstein - $146,639
5th: Adam Junglen - $109,406
6th: Nikita Lebedev - $82,287
7th: Todd Terry: $62,370
8th: Tom Marchese - $47,636
9th: Sean Getzwiller - $36,669
10th: Dan Smith - $28,447

As we expected, 18 big blinds per player was unsustainable, and there were five all-in situations in the last hour -- three double-ups and two bustouts.

The cards fell the wrong way for Adam Junglen, who busted fifth, and Scott Baumstein, who exited in fourth.

Jeff Gross doubled up when his 2♣ 2♠ held up against the K♦ J♦ of Mark Radoja. Radoja flopped an open-ended straight draw, but improved no further. But they both finished with more than 3.1 million in chips.

Then Adam Junglen doubled up with A♣ 4♥ against Scott Baumstein's K♠ Q♠. Junglen unnecessarily paired his ace on the flop and rivered trips to win that one. But they both finished with more than 2.5 million in chips.

Scott Baumstein busted in 4th place.

 

Then Radoja doubled up when his Q♣ Q♦ held up against Junglen's 9♣ 9♦, and the board offered no help to either of them. This one cost Junglen, as he finished the hand with less than 600,000 -- less than four big blinds.

Shortly after that, Junglen was all in preflop with A♠ 4♠, at risk against Nicolas Fierrogottner's 9♣ 9♥. The board came K♠ 5♣ 2♥ 6♦ 2♠, giving Junglen additional outs to a gutshot straight but eventually leaving him with nothing but ace high.

Adam Junglen was eliminated in fifth place, earning $109,406.

Then, late in the level, Scott Baumstein shoved the small blind with A♥ 7♦, and Jeff Gross woke up in the big blind with a dominating A♣ Q♦. Both players paired their kickers on the flop, but the board of Q♣ 9♠ 7♥ 8♣ K♥ pushed the pot to Gross.

Scott Baumstein was eliminated in fourth place, earning $146,639.

So there were three players left as the level ended and they took their 15-minute break. Here are the official chip counts as the blinds increase to 100,000-200,000 with a 30,000 ante:

Chipleader Mark Radoja

 

Seat 1. Jeffrey Gross - 4,030,000 (20 bb)
Seat 2. Nicolas Fierrogottner - 2,025,000 (10 bb)
Seat 3. Mark Radoja - 8,935,000 (44 bb)

4th: Scott Baumstein - $146,639
5th: Adam Junglen - $109,406
6th: Nikita Lebedev - $82,287
7th: Todd Terry: $62,370
8th: Tom Marchese - $47,636
9th: Sean Getzwiller - $36,669
10th: Dan Smith - $28,447

Amazingly, the average stack is about to drop to less than 19 big blinds, and there are still five players remaining. The last bustout occurred nearly three hours ago.

While there have been a lot of instances where players have moved all in, they've only been called three times since the last bustout three hours ago. And each time, the short stack won to stay alive:

Fierrogottner's A♣ 10♠ defeated Junglen's 7♣ 7♦.

Baumstein's A♠ 2♦ defeated Junglen's A♣ J♦.

Radoja's A♠ K♦ defeated Fierrogottner's 9♣ 9♠.

Fierrogottner still looks like Zach Galifianakis to me.

 

The blinds are increasing to 80,000-160,000 (20,000 ante), which means the average stack is only 18.75 big blinds. That's a difficult balance to maintain, so expect a bustout (or two) (or three) soon.

Here are the approximate chip counts:

Seat 1. Scott Baumstein - 4,000,000 (25 bb)
Seat 2. Jeffrey Gross - 2,000,000 (12 bb)
Seat 5. Nicolas Fierrogottner - 1,950,000 (12 bb)
Seat 8. Adam Junglen - 2,800,000 (17 bb)
Seat 10. Mark Radoja - 4,300,000 (26 bb)

6th: Nikita Lebedev - $82,287
7th: Todd Terry: $62,370
8th: Tom Marchese - $47,636
9th: Sean Getzwiller - $36,669
10th: Dan Smith - $28,447

Nobody busted during the last level. In fact, the exact opposite happened -- everybody's chip count migrated toward the average stack of 3,000,000.

With five players left at the first break after dinner, everyone has about 20-30 big blinds. It shouldn't take long for that situation to change, of course, but for now it's an interesting anomaly.

Adam Junglen is the current chipleader, after gaining and losing that status several times already today. Junglen has caught some bad breaks, particularly running pocket kings into pocket aces, but he has had a certain knack for making straights today that has paid off.

Junglen played a huge pot against Mark Radoja on a board of K♦ Q♥ 7♠ J♦ J♠. With 1.7 million in the pot, Junglen bet 720,000 on the river, and Radoja quickly called.

Junglen flipped over 10♣ 9♥ to win the pot with a king-high straight, and Radoja mucked. That took Junglen to about 4.7 million. But …

Scott Baumstein caught a deuce to double thru Junglen.

 

Scott Baumstein got it all in preflop with A♠ 2♦ against Junglen's A♣ J♦. Junglen was about to take a commanding lead at this table, but a deuce on the turn gave Baumstein the double up and evened up the stacks.

Here are the official chip counts from the break, with the blinds increasing to 60,000-120,000 with a 15,000 ante:

Seat 1. Scott Baumstein - 3,110,000 (25 bb)
Seat 2. Jeffrey Gross - 2,205,000 (18 bb)
Seat 5. Nicolas Fierrogottner - 3,500,000 (29 bb)
Seat 8. Adam Junglen - 3,695,000 (30 bb)
Seat 10. Mark Radoja - 2,480,000 (20 bb)

6th: Nikita Lebedev - $82,287
7th: Todd Terry: $62,370
8th: Tom Marchese - $47,636
9th: Sean Getzwiller - $36,669
10th: Dan Smith - $28,447

Hope Todd Terry enjoyed his dinner, because when he returned to the final table, he only got to play one hand.

The final seven players had just taken their seats after dinner when Todd Terry moved all in under the gun for 435,000. Adam Junglen called right behind him, and then Mark Radoja moved all in right behind Junglen for 1.82 million.

The first three players to act, and two were already all in.

Everyone folded back to Junglen, who thought for a bit before he called. This is what they showed, in descending order of chip counts:

Chipleader Mark Radoja

 

Adam Junglen: 10♦ 10♠
Mark Radoja: K♥ K♠
Todd Terry: Q♠ 9♣

Board: A♥ J♣ J♦ 7♦ 3♦

The pocket kings held up for Radoja, and he busted Terry as he doubled through Junglen. Terry was eliminated in seventh place, earning $62,370.

Once again, Junglen lost the chip lead, this time to Radoja, who improved to 4.1 million. Junglen has about 2.4 million.

Junglen rebuilt his stack a bit by five-betting all in preflop against Nicolas Fierrogottner, who folded.

Nikita Lebedev busted in 6th place.

 

A short while Later, Junglen raised under the gun, Nikita Lebedev moved all in for 1.1 million, and Junglen called with K♦ K♠. Lebedev showed Q♥ 9♥, and he'd need to improve to survive. He didn't improve, and he didn't survive.

Nikita Lebedev was eliminated in sixth place, earning $82,287. And Junglen moved up to about 4.1 million.

Here are the updated approximate chip counts as the blinds increase to 40,000-80,000 with a 10,000 ante:

Seat 1. Scott Baumstein - 1,600,000 (20 bb)
Seat 2. Jeffrey Gross - 2,100,000 (26 bb)
Seat 5. Nicolas Fierrogottner - 1,800,000 (22 bb)
Seat 8. Adam Junglen - 4,100,000 (51 bb)
Seat 10. Mark Radoja - 5,300,000 (66 bb)

6th: Nikita Lebedev - $82,287
7th: Todd Terry: $62,370
8th: Tom Marchese - $47,636
9th: Sean Getzwiller - $36,669
10th: Dan Smith - $28,447

Tom Marchese will almost certainly win a WSOP bracelet at some point, but he won't win it today.

Marchese four-bet all in with A♦ Q♥, but he ran into the A♠ K♠ of Mark Radoja. The board was all Radoja, as it came K♣ 9♠ 3♦ 4♦ K♥, and he won with trip kings.

Marchese was eliminated in eighth place, earning $47,636.

Adam Junglen, who led this final table in the early going, has since been knocked down to earth after running pocket kings into current chipleader Scott Baumstein's pocket aces. But Junglen bounced back, getting a bit of revenge on Baumstein in the process.

It takes more than kings-vs.-aces to keep Adam Junglen down.

 

With the board showing Q♠ 8♥ 7♦ 9♦ 2♥ on the turn, Junglen was all in with 6♠ 5♠ for a nine-high straight. He was up against the 10♣ 7♣ of Baumstein, who had a pair with a higher open-ended straight draw.

The river card was the 2♥, and Junglen's straight held up to win the pot, doubling him back up into the chip lead with about 3.8 million. Baumstein dropped to about 2.5 million.

That brings an end to Level 4, which means the players take their 60-minute dinner break. When they return, the blinds will be 30,000-60,000 with a 10,000 ante. Here are the official chip counts from the table:

Seat 1. Scott Baumstein - 1,690,000 (28 bb)
Seat 2. Jeffrey Gross - 2,265,000 (37 bb)
Seat 5. Nicolas Fierrogottner - 3,175,000 (52 bb)
Seat 6. Nikita Lebedev - 1,270,000 (21 bb)
Seat 7. Todd Terry - 445,000 (7 bb)
Seat 8. Adam Junglen - 4,290,000 (71 bb)
Seat 10. Mark Radoja - 1,830,000 (30 bb)

8th: Tom Marchese - $47,636
9th: Sean Getzwiller - $36,669
10th: Dan Smith - $28,447

Sean Getzwiller was trying to become the first double-bracelet winner of 2011, but he was eliminated in ninth place. Getzwiller lost most of his stack early when short-stack-at-the-time Mark Radoja doubled up with pocket aces against Getzwiller's pocket jacks.

Pocket aces would become a theme at this final table, but more on that later.

After chipleader Adam Junglen raised from the button, Getzwiller moved all in from the small blind for 660,000, and Junglen called with 2♣ 2♠. Getzwiller turned over A♠ 8♠, but he never improved beyond a flush draw on the turn.

Jeff Gross is close friends with 8-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps.

 

With Getzwiller out in ninth place, Junglen increased his chip lead with more than 4 million.

Then pocket aces made a few more appearances in key spots, to the benefit of Jeff Gross and Scott Baumstein, though Baumstein got burned by them first.

Jeff Gross was all in for 1.2 million with A♣ A♥ against the A♠ J♠ of Baumstein, and the board only teased Baumstein with a possible five-high straight to chop -- but no dice. Gross doubled up to about 2.5 million, and Baumstein dropped to about 1.6 million.

Then the aces fell in Baumstein's favor, as he got it all in with A♦ A♠ against chipleader Adam Junglen's K♦ K♠. Baumstein turned an unnecessary set of aces to win the pot and double into the chip lead with nearly 3.5 million.

Pocket aces were cruel, then kind, to Scott Baumstein.

 

As Level 4 begins, with blinds of 20,000-40,000 and a 5,000 ante, here are the approximate chip counts:

Seat 1. Scott Baumstein - 4,200,000 (105 bb)
Seat 2. Jeffrey Gross - 1,340,000 (33 bb)
Seat 4. Tom Marchese - 1,720,000 (43 bb)
Seat 5. Nicolas Fierrogottner - 1,360,000 (34 bb)
Seat 6. Nikita Lebedev - 1,320,000 (33 bb)
Seat 7. Todd Terry - 705,000 (17 bb)
Seat 8. Adam Junglen - 1,650,000 (41 bb)
Seat 10. Mark Radoja - 1,225,000 (30 bb)

9th: Sean Getzwiller - $36,669
10th: Dan Smith - $28,447

Adam Junglen takes the lead in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout as he eliminates Dan Smith in 10th place.

Dan Smith made a standard preflop raise, Todd Terry reraised from the small blind, and Adam Junglen reraised from the big blind. Smith moved all in for 1,162,000, Terry folded, and Junglen called with A♠ K♣. Smith turned over Q♣ Q♥.

The board came 7♣ 7♥ 4♥ K♦ 8♣, and Junglen paired his king on the turn to win the pot, catapulting his stack up over the 3 million-chip mark. Dan Smith was out in 10th place, earning $28,447.

Junglen is the current chipleader (see below), though Scott Baumstein isn't too far behind.

Dan Smith out in 10th place.

 

Baumstein played a big pot against Nicolas Fierrogottner on a board of Q♣ Q♦ 3♥ 4♣ 10♦. With about 1 million already in the pot, Baumstein bet 385,000 on the river, and Fierrogottner called. Baumstein showed A♥ Q♠ to win the pot with trip queens.

Here are the official chip counts from the break with the blinds increasing to 15,000-30,000 with a 5,000 ante.

Seat 1. Scott Baumstein - 2,835,000 (94 bb)
Seat 2. Jeffrey Gross - 1,340,000 (44 bb)
Seat 3.
Seat 4. Tom Marchese - 1,720,000 (57 bb)
Seat 5. Nicolas Fierrogottner - 1,360,000 (45 bb)
Seat 6. Nikita Lebedev - 1,300,000 (43 bb)
Seat 7. Todd Terry - 880,000 (29 bb)
Seat 8. Adam Junglen - 3,395,000 (113 bb)
Seat 9. Sean Getzwiller - 535,000 (17 bb)
Seat 10. Mark Radoja - 1,605,000 (53 bb)

10th: Dan Smith - $28,447

Mark Radoja has had the spotlight on him early, losing a big pot to quads before doubling up with pocket aces.

Radoja played a pot worth 1.25 million against Nicolas Fierrogottner on a board of K♥ 10♣ 10♠ 10♥ 2♦. Fierrogottner bet big on the river, and Radoja tank-called to see Fierrogottner had flopped a full house that improved to quad tens with K♦ 10♦.

A few minutes later, Radoja caught some redemption, moving all in with A♥ A♠ for 964,000, and getting a call from Sean Getzwiller with J♣ J♦. The board came Q♠ 10♣ 6♦ 9♠ 10♦, and Getzwiller turned an open-ended straight draw but missed all of his outs on the river.

Zach Galifianakis is at a final table? No, it's Nicolas Fierrogottner.

 

That doubled Radoja to 1.95 million, while Getzwiller dropped down to about 450,000. Getzwiller faces an uphill battle if he wants to become the first mult-bracelet winner of the 2011 WSOP.

Here are the approximate chip counts during Level 2, with blinds at 12,000-24,000 with a 4,000 ante:

Seat 1. Scott Baumstein - 1,500,000 (62 bb)
Seat 2. Jeffrey Gross - 1,500,000 (62 bb)
Seat 3. Dan Smith - 1,500,000 (62 bb)
Seat 4. Tom Marchese - 1,525,000 (63 bb)
Seat 5. Nicolas Fierrogottner - 2,045,000 (85 bb)
Seat 6. Nikita Lebedev - 1,485,000 (61 bb)
Seat 7. Todd Terry - 880,000 (36 bb)
Seat 8. Adam Junglen - 2,030,000 (84 bb)
Seat 9. Sean Getzwiller - 430,000 (17 bb)
Seat 10. Mark Radoja - 2,000,000 (83 bb)

The $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout is down to the final 10 players, who have each won two different tables to earn their seats at the final table. Here's the lineup:

Seat 1. Scott Baumstein - 1,500,000 (75 bb)
Seat 2. Jeffrey Gross - 1,500,000 (75 bb)
Seat 3. Dan Smith - 1,500,000 (75 bb)
Seat 4. Tom Marchese - 1,500,000 (75 bb)
Seat 5. Nicolas Fierrogottner - 1,500,000 (75 bb)
Seat 6. Nikita Lebedev - 1,500,000 (75 bb)
Seat 7. Todd Terry - 1,500,000 (75 bb)
Seat 8. Adam Junglen - 1,500,000 (75 bb)
Seat 9. Sean Getzwiller - 1,500,000 (75 bb)
Seat 10. Mark Radoja - 1,500,000 (75 bb)

The two headliners at this table are Sean Getzwiller, who won a bracelet in Event #8 just 12 days ago, and Card Player's reigning Player of the Year Tom Marchese. Other well-known pros at the table include Adam Junglen, Dan Smith, and Todd Terry.

Announcer Robbie Thompson has just introduced the players to the crowd, so it's time to shuffle up and deal.