Event 31 - $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha - Live Updates

In the last level of the day, the $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event that had been dragging along at a snail's pace sped up like a jackrabbit -- Christian Harder out in fourth place, Warren Fund out in third place, and Ben Lamb out in second.

Deductive reasoning should tell you that would leave Sam Stein as the last man standing. Stein wins the WSOP bracelet and $420,802.

Here's how it happened:

CHRISTIAN HARDER OUT IN 4TH PLACE

Down to fewer than 10 big blinds, Christian Harder was all in preflop against Ben Lamb:

Ben Lamb: A♣ J♦ 9♦ 9♥
Christian Harder: K♣ J♠ 9♣ 8♦

The board came A♦ 7♣ 5♦ Q♥ 4♦, and Lamb won the pot with a jack-high diamond flush.

Christian Harder was eliminated in fourth place, earning $132,623. This the first WSOP final table of Harder's career, and his biggest WSOP cash to date.

WARREN FUND OUT IN 3RD PLACE

Harder's elimination broke the dam, opened the floodgates, or some other metaphor that indicated that bustouts would start coming quickly. Harder had barely left the arena before Warren Fund found himself all in after a flop of K♦ Q♠ 3♠ against Sam Stein:

Sam Stein: K♣ Q♣ J♠ 6♦
Warren Fund: A♥ A♠ 10♦ 7♥

Stein had top two pair (kings and queens) against Fund's pocket aces. The turn was the 2♥, the river was the 9♦, and Stein won the pot with his two pair.

Warren Fund was eliminated in third place, earning $184,368.

HEADS-UP PLAY BEGINS

With two players left, Stein had a 2.2-to-1 chip lead over Lamb:

Sam Stein - 4,245,000 (70 bb)
Ben Lamb - 1,920,000 (32 bb)

However, they took a short, unscheduled break, presumably to discuss a deal or a save.

Lamb seemed to gain a little ground against Stein, until they saw a flop of K♥ J♣ 3♦.

Lamb bet, and Stein called. The turn card was the 10♣, and Lamb bet again. Stein tanked for a while before he raised the size of the pot. Lamb either called or moved all in (the stack sizes were a bit unclear), and they turned over:

Sam Stein: A♣ Q♥ J♥ 6♥
Ben Lamb: Q♣ J♠ 9♦ 4♥

Stein had turned the nuts -- an ace-high straight -- while Lamb turned a king-high straight. Lamb was drawing dead to a chop, and he'd need an ace on the river to stay alive.

The river card was the 2♦, and Stein won the pot -- and the tournament -- with an ace-high straight.

Day 1 chipleader Ben Lamb finishes as the runner-up, earning $420,802.

Day 2 chipleader Sam Stein wins Event #31 ($3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha), earning $420,802 and the gold WSOP bracelet.

Congratulations to Sam Stein!

OFFICIAL FINAL TABLE RESULTS

1st Place: Sam Stein - $420,802
2nd Place: Ben Lamb - $259,918
3rd Place: Warren Fund - $184,368
4th Place: Christian Harder - $132,623
5th Place: Adam Junglen - $96,737
6th Place: Zimnan Ziyard - $71,548
7th Place: Brock Parker - $53,633
8th Place: Austin Scott - $40,748
9th Place: Dilyan Kovachev - $31,360

The increasing blinds have finally caught up with the final five players, and Adam Junglen was the unfortunate victim, finishing fifth.

For Junglen, it was his second fifth-place finish in the span of a week, as he also finished fifth in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout. Junglen now has more than $206,000 in earnings this WSOP.

ROLLER COASTER FOR CHARDER

It was an up-and-down level for Christian Harder (aka "Charder"), who started with about a million in chips, doubled to almost 2 million, and then finished the level with 600,000 -- just 10 big blinds.

Early in the level, Harder was all in after a flop of 9♣ 8♠ 2♠ against chipleader-at-the-time Ben Lamb:

Ben Lamb: A♦ Q♠ J♦ 7♠
Christian Harder: Q♥ J♣ 10♣ 6♥

Lamb had a spade flush draw with a gutshot straight draw, while Harder had a big straight draw.

The turn was the 8♥, the river was the 7♦, and Harder rivered a jack-high straight to win the pot and double up. That's the pot that took him to nearly 2 million in chips.

A few minutes later, Harder and Warren Fund reraised each other after a flop of K♥ 10♠ 8♦ until Fund was all in. They turned over:

Christian Harder: K♦ J♠ 9♦ 7♦
Warren Fund: K♣ 10♣ 8♥ 5♣

Harder had top pair with multiple straight draws, while Fund had three pair -- kings, tens, and eights.

The turn was the A♣, the river was the 5♦, and Fund took the pot with two pair, kings and tens, to double up to about 1.5 million in chips.

That pot dropped Harder to about 1.1 million. And then smaller pots bled him down until he finished the level as the short stack.

ADAM JUNGLEN OUT IN 5TH PLACE

After a flop of 8♣ 5♦ 3♥, Adam Junglen three-bet all in against Sam Stein, and they turned over:

Sam Stein: J♦ 8♥ 5♥ 4♦
Adam Junglen: Q♣ 10♦ 9♦ 8♠

Stein had two pair (eights and fives), while Junglen had a pair of eights with three over cards and backdoor straight draws -- and he'd need to catch at least a higher two pair to stay alive.

The turn was the 2♠, the river was the A♣, and Stein's two pair held up to win the pot.

Adam Junglen was eliminated in fifth place, earning $96,737.

OFFICIAL CHIP COUNTS

Here are the official chip counts from the table as the blinds increase to 30,000-60,000:

Seat 1. Christian Harder - 600,000 (10 bb)
Seat 2. Warren Fund - 1,100,000 (18 bb)
Seat 4. Sam Stein - 2,875,000 (47 bb)
Seat 5. Ben Lamb - 1,590,000 (26 bb)

5th Place: Adam Junglen - $96,737
6th Place: Zimnan Ziyard - $71,548
7th Place: Brock Parker - $53,633
8th Place: Austin Scott - $40,748
9th Place: Dilyan Kovachev - $31,360

It's been a relatively quiet level, at least in terms of action on the felt. The ESPN arena has actually been quite loud, thanks to the large rail here to support Christian Harder (aka "Charder").

At one point, they even got a wave going. And while we've seen people attempt the wave at the WSOP before, the new circular ESPN arena is much more conducive to "the wave."

Nobody has busted, though with the blind increase, the average chip stack has fewer than 25 big blinds. It's a fairly unsustainable situation for all five players to stay alive much longer.

WARREN FUND DOUBLES THRU BEN LAMB

Warren Fund was down to about 10 big blinds when he four-bet all in against Sam Stein and Ben Lamb. Stein folded, and Lamb called:

Ben Lamb: A♣ A♦ Q♦ Q♥
Warren Fund: J♥ J♣ 8♣ 6♥

The board came 8♥ 6♠ 5♥ 4♥ 9♣, and Fund flopped two pair (eights and sixes) to double up to nearly a million in chips and cut into Lamb's chip lead.

UPDATED CHIP COUNTS

Here are the updated chip counts as the blinds increase to 25,000-50,000:

Seat 1. Christian Harder - 1,005,000 (20 bb)
Seat 2. Warren Fund - 920,000 (18 bb)
Seat 4. Sam Stein - 950,000 (19 bb)
Seat 5. Ben Lamb - 2,240,000 (44 bb)
Seat 7. Adam Junglen - 1,110,000 (22 bb)

6th Place: Zimnan Ziyard - $71,548
7th Place: Brock Parker - $53,633
8th Place: Austin Scott - $40,748
9th Place: Dilyan Kovachev - $31,360

Christian Harder (aka "Charder") has fallen on hard times, and he is now fourth in chips with five players remaining. Sam Stein has taken over the chip lead as he approaches 2 million chips with a little more than 6 million in play.

ZIMNAN ZIYARD OUT IN 6TH PLACE

Shortly after the level began, short stack Zimnan Ziyard check-called bets from Christian Harder on the flop and the turn until he was all in on a board of A♦ K♥ 4♦ Q♣. They turned over:

Christian Harder: A♣ Q♠ 7♦ 2♣
Zimnan Ziyard: K♣ K♦ 4♣ 4♥

Harder had two pair, aces and queens, to Ziyard's set of kings. Harder needed an ace to bust Ziyard, but the river card was the 3♣, and Ziyard doubled up to about 350,000.

But the momentum didn't last for Ziyard, who got it all in preflop against Adam Junglen:

Adam Junglen: J♣ 10♣ 9♣ 7♥
Zimnan Ziyard: A♦ K♦ K♣ 4♣

The board came 9♦ 9♥ 7♠ A♣ Q♠, and Junglen flopped trip nines to win the pot. Zimnan Ziyard was eliminated in sixth place, earning $71,548.

OFFICIAL CHIP COUNTS

Here are the official chip counts from the table as the blinds increase to 20,000-40,000:

Seat 1. Christian Harder - 855,000 (21 bb)
Seat 2. Warren Fund - 685,000 (17 bb)
Seat 4. Sam Stein - 1,895,000 (47 bb)
Seat 5. Ben Lamb - 1,320,000 (33 bb)
Seat 7. Adam Junglen - 1,410,000 (35 bb)

6th Place: Zimnan Ziyard - $71,548
7th Place: Brock Parker - $53,633
8th Place: Austin Scott - $40,748
9th Place: Dilyan Kovachev - $31,360

Remember when Brock Parker was the first player to win multiple bracelets at the 2009 WSOP? Well, most people don't, because Parker's feat was overshadowed later that summer by Jeff Lisandro's three bracelets and Phil Ivey's two bracelets plus a final table in the WSOP Main Event.

But Parker won two six-handed no-limit hold'em events in 2009, with the final tables just a few days apart. Unfortunately, he never got a chance to play six-handed at this final table, because he busted seventh.

AUSTIN SCOTT OUT IN 8TH PLACE

But first, Austin Scott saw a flop of 7♠ 4♣ 2♣ against Warren Fund. Fund bet, Scott raised the pot, leaving himself only a handful of chips. The turn was the K♣, and Scott put in the last of his chips.

Warren Fund: A♣ J♣ 8♦ 4♦
Austin Scott: 10♦ 7♣ 5♣ 2♦

Fund had turned a club flush, while Scott had two pair. Scott would need a seven or a deuce to survive with a full house, but the last card was the 6♥. Fund took the pot with his flush.

Austin Scott was eliminated in eighth place, earning $40,748.

BROCK PARKER OUT IN 7TH PLACE

Parker has been fairly short in chips (less than 20 big blinds), and dropped under 10 big blinds when he moved all in against Fund:

Warren Fund: 7♥ 6♥ 6♣ 5♠
Brock Parker: K♥ K♠ 10♦ 3♠

The board came J♣ 3♣ 2♦ 10♥ 7♠, and Parker doubled up with two pair, tens and threes. He was still below 20 big blinds, however.

A short while later, Parker four-bet all in preflop against Harder and Fund. Harder folded, and Fund called with pocket aces against Parker's pocket kings:

Warren Fund: A♣ A♦ 9♠ 3♦
Brock Parker: A♥ K♥ K♦ 10♥

The board came J♠ 4♦ 2♥ J♦ 4♠, and Fund won the pot with his pocket aces.

Brock Parker was eliminated in seventh place, earning $53,633.

UPDATED CHIP COUNTS

Here are the updated chip counts as the blinds increase to 15,000-30,000:

Seat 1. Christian Harder - 1,240,000 (41 bb)
Seat 2. Warren Fund - 965,000 (32 bb)
Seat 4. Sam Stein - 1,070,000 (35 bb)
Seat 5. Ben Lamb - 1,295,000 (43 bb)
Seat 6. Zimnan Ziyard - 315,000 (10 bb)
Seat 7. Adam Junglen - 1,275,000 (42 bb)

7th Place: Brock Parker - $53,633
8th Place: Austin Scott - $40,748
9th Place: Dilyan Kovachev - $31,360

Christian Harder has increased his lead at the final table as they are down to eight players.

Harder was effectively sharing the chip lead with Ben Lamb when the final table started, but they played a big pot that separated them a bit.

Four players saw a flop of 7♠ 5♦ 4♥, Harder bet and Lamb called. When the 9♥ hit the turn, Harder bet again, and Lamb called again.

The 5♣ hit the river, Harder bet big, and Lamb tanked for several minutes before he folded. Pumped up by chants from the crowd asking Harder to show a bluff, Harder showed a bluff (but too quickly for us to get the cards).

Harder seems to have felt bad about showing up Lamb at the table, because he wrote this on Twitter a short while later:

@realcharder30: Not sure why I just showed that massive bluff v @BenbaLamb, not my style usually. I apologize to Ben for how I did it #adrenaline

DILYAN KOVACHEV OUT IN 9TH PLACE

Dilyan Kovachev was the short stack when the final table started, struggling not to be the first one to bust. He was still short when he effectively moved all in against Austin Scott.

Austin Scott: K♥ 10♣ 9♥ 2♣
Dilyan Kovachev: A♦ K♠ 8♦ 5♣

The board came 9♠ 4♣ 4♥ 3♣ 9♣, and Scott won the pot with a ten-high flush. Kovachev was eliminated in ninth place, earning $31,360.

UPDATED CHIP COUNTS

With eight players left, here are the approximate chip counts as the blinds increase to 10,000-20,000:

Seat 1. Christian Harder - 1,485,000 (74 bb)
Seat 2. Warren Fund - 292,000 (14 bb)
Seat 3. Brock Parker - 370,000 (18 bb)
Seat 4. Sam Stein - 465,000 (23 bb)
Seat 5. Ben Lamb - 965,000 (48 bb)
Seat 6. Zimnan Ziyard - 460,000 (23 bb)
Seat 7. Adam Junglen - 1,010,000 (50 bb)
Seat 8. Austin Scott - 715,000 (35 bb)

9th Place: Dilyan Kovachev - $31,360

Ben Lamb was the first player to cross the million-chip mark, and he took the chip lead to the ESPN arena when they reached the final ten.

But Tex Barch was eliminated in 10th place by Christian Harder (aka "Charder"), and the pot was big enough to slip Harder into the chip lead as the official final table begins -- after the dinner break.

The players are on a one-hour dinner break until 9:00 pm.

ROMIK VARTZAR OUT IN 11th PLACE

With the board showing A♠ 5♠ 5♣ K♠ on the turn, Romik Vartzar moved all in with a full house, fives full of kings, but ran into the flopped aces full of fives of Zimnan Ziyard:

Zimnan Ziyard: A♦ A♣ 7♠ 5♥
Romik Vartzar: K♥ 5♦ 4♣ 2♥

Since Ziyard held the fourth five, Vartzar was drawing dead. The meaningless river card was the 3♣, and Romik Vartzar was eliminated in 11th place.

TEX BARCH OUT IN 10TH

Shortly after play resumed on ESPN's featured table, Tex Barch got it all in preflop against Christian Harder, and both players had pocket aces:

Christian Harder: A♣ A♥ 8♥ 7♥
Tex Barch: A♦ A♠ 10♦ 7♠

But the board came K♣ 7♣ 2♦ 3♥ 8♠, giving Harder two pair, eights and sevens, to win the pot and eliminate Tex Barch in 10th place.

Adam Junglen makes the final table and is more or less in the same seat he was in a few days ago when he final tabled the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout, where he finished fifth to earn $109,406.

CHARDER LEADS THE FINAL TABLE

Here are the updated chip counts with the blinds at 8,000-16,000:

Seat 1. Christian Harder - 1,160,000 (72 bb)
Seat 2. Warren Fund - 620,000 (38 bb)
Seat 3. Brock Parker - 442,000 (27 bb)
Seat 4. Sam Stein - 670,000 (41 bb)
Seat 5. Ben Lamb - 1,105,000 (69 bb)
Seat 6. Zimnan Ziyard - 500,000 (31 bb)
Seat 7. Adam Junglen - 815,000 (50 bb)
Seat 8. Austin Scott - 650,000 (40 bb)
Seat 9. Dilyan Kovachev - 200,000 (12 bb)

RECENT ELIMINATIONS

10th: Tex Barch - $24,441
11th: Romik Vartzar - $24,441
12th: Jeremy Harkin - $24,441
13th: Andrew Chen - $19,429

As the final 13 players in the $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha take their first break of the day, Christian Harder (aka "Charder30") leads the field with 820,000.

A FEW ELIMINATIONS

Henning Dethlefsen was all in from the cutoff against Warren Fund, who was under the gun. They turned over their cards:

Warren Fund: K♣ K♥ 7♠ 4♠
Henning Dethlefsen: A♦ K♠ 9♠ 8♠

The board came K♦ Q♠ 2♣ 9♥ 5♣, and Fund was so fixated on his opponent's hand that he saw Dethlefsen turn two pair and thought he was behind -- he had already forgotten that his overpair was kings and that he had flopped top set.

That was little comfort for Dethlefsen, who was eliminated in 15th place.

A few minutes later, Dallas Wottlin was all in preflop against Austin Scott and Tex Barch, and all three saw a flop of 4♥ 3♦ 2♣.

Scott bet out, and Barch folded, saying he was forfeiting a big pair. Scott and Wottlin turned over their cards:

Austin Scott: Q♣ Q♦ 10♦ 4♣
Dallas Wottlin: A♦ K♦ J♠ 3♠

Barch seemed a bit annoyed to see Scott's queens, implying that he had folded a larger pair. Wottlin had a pair of threes and would need to improve to stay alive.

The final board came 4♥ 3♦ 2♣ 7♦ 8♠, and Scott won the pot with his pocket queens to eliminate Dallas Wottlin in 14th place.

With 13 players left, here are the updated chip counts as the blinds increase to 6,000-12,000:

TABLE 279

Seat 1. Adam Junglen - 600,000 (50 bb)
Seat 2.
Seat 3. Tex Barch - 390,000 (32 bb)
Seat 4.
Seat 5. Jeremy Harkin - 485,000 (40 bb)
Seat 6. Austin Scott - 660,000 (55 bb)
Seat 7.
Seat 8. Ben Lamb - 610,000 (50 bb)
Seat 9. Andrew Chen - 155,000 (12 bb)

TABLE 285
Seat 1.
Seat 2. Romik Vartzar - 200,000 (16 bb)
Seat 3. Sam Stein - 660,000 (55 bb)
Seat 4. Zimnan Ziyard - 285,000 (23 bb)
Seat 5. Warren Fund - 705,000 (58 bb)
Seat 6. Christian Harder - 820,000 (68 bb)
Seat 7. Brock Parker - 485,000 (40 bb)
Seat 8. Dilyan Kovachev - 90,000 (7 bb)
Seat 9.

RECENT ELIMINATIONS

14th: Dallas Wottlin - $19,429
15th: Henning Dethlefsen - $19,429
16th: Gabor Gyarmati - $15,446
17th: Rami Boukai - $15,446

There are 17 players remaining in the $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event, and they consolidated to the final two tables after Tex Barch made a straight flush to eliminate Tommy Le (brother to Nam Le) and Jens Hansen.

After a flop of 9♣ 8♣ 6♥, Hansen and Le were all in against Barch, who covered them both.

Tex Barch: A♥ J♣ 7♣ 2♥
Tommy Le: Q♦ J♥ 10♥ 9♠
Jens Hansen: A♠ A♣ K♣ J♠

Hansen had pocket aces and the ace-high flush draw to Le's top pair (nines) with a big straight draw to Barch's open-ended straight draw with a gutshot straight-flush draw.

Hansen temporarily had the best hand with the pocket aces, and the 7♠ on the turn gave Le the best hand with a jack-high straight.

But the 6♣ on the river gave Tex Barch a jack-high straight flush in clubs to win the pot and bust both of the other players.

The final 18 players redrew for new seats at the final two tables.

CUEVAS ELIMINATED BY JUNGLEN; STRAIGHT OVER STRAIGHT

A few minutes later, Jonathan Cuevas got it all in against Adam Junglen after a flop of 6♣ 3♥ 4♦.

Adam Junglen: 10♥ 8♠ 7♣ 5♠
Jonathan Cuevas: A♦ 8♦ 5♥ 2♣

Cuevas was in trouble with a six-high straight against Junglen's seven-high straight. The turn was the 2♦, the river was the 8♣, and Junglen won the pot with an eight-high straight to bust Cuevas in 18th place.

Here are the updated chip counts and recent bustouts as the blinds increase to 5,000-10,000:

TABLE 279
Seat 1. Adam Junglen - 450,000 (45 bb)
Seat 2.
Seat 3. Tex Barch - 630,000 (63 bb)
Seat 4. Gabor Gyarmati - 230,000 (23 bb)
Seat 5. Jeremy Harkin - 300,000 (30 bb)
Seat 6. Austin Scott - 500,000 (50 bb)
Seat 7. Dallas Wottlin - 90,000 (9 bb)
Seat 8. Ben Lamb - 550,000 (55 bb)
Seat 9. Andrew Chen - 165,000 (16 bb)

TABLE 285
Seat 1. Henning Dethlefsen - 125,000 (12 bb)
Seat 2. Romik Vartzar - 140,000 (14 bb)
Seat 3. Sam Stein - 730,000 (73 bb)
Seat 4. Zimnan Ziyard - 180,000 (18 bb)
Seat 5. Warren Fund - 475,000 (47 bb)
Seat 6. Christian Harder - 595,000 (59 bb)
Seat 7. Brock Parker - 620,000 (62 bb)
Seat 8. Dilyan Kovachev - 195,000 (19 bb)
Seat 9. Rami Boukai - 215,000 (21 bb)

RECENT BUSTOUTS

18th: Jonathan Cuevas - $15,446
19th: Ismael Abou Sharkh - $12,510
20th: Tommy Le - $12,510
21st: Jens Hansen - $12,510
22nd: Kory Kilpatrick - $12,510
23rd: Jean-Philippe Leandri - $12,510
24th: Josh Gibson - $12,510
25th: Tsubasa Manabe - $12,510

There are 25 players returning for the third (and final?) day of Event #31 ($3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha). But if they don't finish in ten levels, it'll extend to a fourth day.

Sam Stein leads the way with 843,000 in chips, followed by Day 1 chipleader Ben Lamb who has 657,000. Here's a look at the top 5, along with a few other notables:

1. Sam Stein - 843,000 (105 bb)
2. Ben Lamb - 657,000 (82 bb)
3. Warren Fund - 501,000 (62 bb)
4. Christian Harder - 496,000 (62 bb)
5. Brock Parker - 386,000 (48 bb)

8. Adam Junglen - 231,000 (28 bb)
14. Tex Barch - 183,000 (22 bb)
16. Tommy Le - 160,000 (20 bb)

The blinds begin today at 4,000-8,000. Stay tuned for updates throughout the day as they play down to the final table, and hopefully continue on until the bracelet is awarded late tonight.