$10,000 Main Event - Live Updates

Within 12 hours of Day 7 play, the final nine are set. It was the hopes and dreams of many that this would be the year that a female would make it to the final table, but alas, those dreams faded with a 10^th place finish.

Here is a recap of how we made it to the final nine:

Out of the 6,598 players who entered the Main Event 27 players returned for Day 7. Marc Ladouceur was the chip leader with 132 big blinds, and Nicco Maag was the short stack with only 10 big blinds to work with.

Nicco Maag didn’t have much to work with, and he ended up being the first player eliminated for the day. He shoved with A♥ J♠ and was called Russell Thomas who was holding A♣ Q♥. Maag couldn’t catch a break and bricked out with little excitement for the crowd.

Shortly after Maag got eliminated, Robert Salaburu went on a rampage and shot to the top of the chip lead.

While Salaburu was stacking chips, Jan Heitmann was shipping his. He four-bet shoved over the top of Strelitz’s bet. It was a swift and easy decision for Strelitz as he made the call turning up pocket eights. Heitmann was in trouble with his pocket sixes that were never able to catch up.  Heitmann was the second elimination of the day, but he still took home $294,601.

Gaelle Baumann facetted herself at the top of the chip counts for much of the tournament, but she was having a hard time growing her chips on Day 7. She got short and was able to double through Jeremy Ausmus when her pocket tens held up against pocket nines.

The few hours before dinner break brought a string of bust outs that brought play down to the final two tables.

16^th            Percy Mahatan                             $369,026

17^th            Robert Buckenmayer                    $369,026

18^th            David Balkin                                $369,026

19^th            Jamie Robbins                              $294,601

20^th            Paul Volpe                                    $294,601

21^st            Robert Corcione                            $294,601

22^nd            Cylus Watson                               $294,601

23^rd             Yuval Bronsthein                          $294,601

24^th            Daniel Strelitz                               $294,601

25^th            Roland Israelashvili                        $294,601

After the dinner break, the pace slowed down a bit. But that seemed inevitable considering the lightning-quick speed the tournament had been going at. During the first two hours back from our dinner break, we had one elimination.

Wilfried Harig moved all-in for his remaining 2.45 million and got a call from Greg Merson. Merson showed K♠ J♦ and Harig appeared to be in good shape with A♠ A♣.

The board came 3♦ Q♠ K♦ J♠ 7♠ and Merson's two-pair eliminated Harig in 15th place. Harig also made the pay jump and earned $465,159.

But while this level didn't bring too many eliminations, it gave Jesse Sylvia the chip lead. Sylvia got involved in a huge pot against Robert Salaburu. Salaburu held pocket jacks while Sylvia showed K♠ Q♥. The flop brought Sylvia a king and his ascent to the top started.

Danny Wong was the next elimination. His Main Event executioner was also Greg Merson. After getting it all-in pre flop, Wong showed A♠ 2♣ to Merson's A♣ J♣.

The flop fell Q♠ 6♣ 5♠ 8♣ 7♠ and Wong was eliminated in 14th place.

The next to go was Marc Ladouceur.

Ladouceur also fell to the person we call Merson. It was a pre flop battle that ended with all of Ladouceur's chips in the middle.

Merson: 4♥ 4♣

Ladouceur: A♦ 7♥

The 7♦ 4♠ 7♣ flop hit both players, but Merson's full house was better than Ladouceur three sevens.

Ladouceur was also the bubble for the next money jump. Scott Abrams would be the first player to make that pay jump.

Scott Abrams was eliminated in the largest pot of the tournament yet.

Thomas Russell raised to 500,000 from the cutoff and Steven Gee called from the button. Jesse Sylvia and Scott Abrams called from the blinds and we got a K♥ 7♦ 3♦ flop. Action was checked to Gee on the button and he led out for 1.35 million. 

Sylvia raised to 3.4 million and Abrams 3-bet to 7 million. Russell and Gee folded and Sylvia moved all-in.

Abrams had about 18 million to start the hand, but Sylvia had him covered. Abrams called, putting his tournament life at risk. 

Abrams showed K♦ J♦ for top pair and a flush draw while Sylvia turned over 7♠ 7♣ for a set. The turn was a Q♣ and the crowd exploded when the 6♣ came on the river. Abrams was eliminated in 12th place and was the first player to make the pay jump to $590,442. Sylvia -- on the other hand -- took a commanding chip lead with 44.5 million. 

We still had two ladies left with 11 players to go, but they'd be the next two to fall.

Hille was short stacked with only about 10 big blinds. She moved all-in and got called by Andras Koroknai.

Hille: A♥ Q♥

Koroknai: 7♠ 7♣

Everyone jumped out of their seats to watch as one of the favorites doubled up or went bust. The board came out 4♠ 3♠ J♦ which didn’t help Hille. Her rail started chanting and calling for cards that would help her.

The K♣ came on the turn which didn’t help, and the 3♣ was disappointing to everyone that wanted to see the young Norwegian become part of the October festivities. But, as a consolation prize, Hille will be taking home $590,442.

The Main Event then moved all its remaining players to the feature stage. It was packed with spectators, moving lights and the most energy we've seen in the Amazon room this year. Baumann was severely short-stacked with about 2.2 million and managed to double up once. She wasn't as lucky the second time.

Baumann moved all-in from the hijack and action was folded to Andras Koroknai in the small blind. Koroknai tanked for about a minute and finally called.

Baumann: A♦ 9♥

Koroknai: A♥ J♠

Someone in the crowd screamed for a nine and other railbirds followed suit. Soon enough, the entire right side of the rail was chanting for a nine. The flop came 3♥ Q♣ Q♥ and there were sounds of dissapointment across the rail.

They came back and started chanting for a nine or a three. The turn was an 8♠ and everyone went silent for a moment. The cheering started again and the last card of Baumann's Main Event was dealt, the K♦.

Baumann was eliminated in 10th place and became the November Nine bubble. Baumann was also the last woman standing, but now she's gone. Baumann will take home $590,442 for her finish. 

And that was it. This part of the Main Event was over. Players then went and took pictures and celebrated with their posses. They'll be coming back tomorrow for interviews, but they won't be coming back to play until October 28th.

Here is how the players will stack up when they reach the final table in October:

1            Russell Thomas                        24,800,000

2            Jacob Balsiger                          13,115,000

3            Jeremy Ausmus                         9,805,000

4            Steven Gee                               16,860,000

5            Greg Merson                             28,725,000

6            Jesse Sylvia                              43,875,000

7            Robert Salaburu                        15,155,000

8            Andras Koronai                          29,375,000

9            Michael Esposito                        16,260,000

After almost eight weeks of poker excitement, the 2012 WSOP is in the books-almost. In a few months, players will file back into the Rio for one last shot to claim a bracelet. Although the Amazon room will go dark, there will be plenty of coverage from now until October to keep our readers up to date on the latest poker news.

Thank you for being part of this amazing WSOP!

Video: Meet the 2012 WSOP October Nine

WSOP 2012 October Nine Player Bios and Videos

We've got profiles of each and every October Niner, along with video interviews. Use the links below to get to know the guys who have a shot at this year's world championship.

• Jesse Sylvia
• Greg Merson
• Jake Balsiger
• Russell Thomas
• Steven Gee
• Robert Salaburu
• Michael Esposito
• Jeremy Ausmus
• Andras Koroknai
  

And we have our unofficial final table, the mid-July 10 if you will. We lost one player in a massive four-way pot and lost one of our two remaining women. If we had two women at this point, we'd be guaranteed to have a woman in the November Nine for the first time.

But alas, Hille was eliminated in 11th place and Gaelle Baumann is the last lady standing. She's also the tournament short stack with 2.1 million.

While Baumann has a chance at being the first woman to make the November Nine, she'd be the second woman to make the final table of the Main Event. The only other woman to make the ME final table was Barbara Enright. Enright made the final table back in 1995 and she finished in 5th place.

Now Baumann has a chance to make history, but she's going to need some luck. The players have all been moved to the main feature table and the rail is the largest we've seen all year. 

Scott Abrams Out in 12th

Scott Abrams was eliminated in the largest pot of the tournament yet.

Thomas Russell raised to 500,000 from the cutoff and Steven Gee called from the button. Jesse Sylvia and Scott Abrams called from the blinds and we got a K♥ 7♦ 3♦ flop. Action was checked to Gee on the button and he led out for 1.35 million. 

Sylvia raised to 3.4 million and Abrams 3-bet to 7 million. Russell and Gee folded and Sylvia moved all-in.

Abrams had about 18 million to start the hand, but Sylvia had him covered. Abrams called, putting his tournament life at risk. 

Abrams showed K♦ J♦ for top pair and a flush draw while Sylvia turned over 7♠ 7♣ for a set. The turn was a Q♣ and the crowd exploded when the 6♣ came on the river. Abrams was eliminated in 12th place and was the first player to make the pay jump to $590,442. Sylvia -- on the other hand -- took a commanding chip lead with 44.5 million. 

Elisabeth Hille Eliminated in 11th Place

The women in the 2012 WSOP have been really stepping up their game this year. As Elisabeth Hille and Gaelle Baumann made it deeper and deeper into the Main Event, everyone had their eyes on them.

They have made an unprecedented run at the Main Event this year. However, as play got closer to the final table, both ladies started dropping to the bottom of the chip counts. 

Hille was short stacked with only about 10 big blinds, and when Andras Koroknai raised to 605,000 she moved all in. Koroknai called the 3,465,000 and put Hille’s tournament life on the line.

Hille: A♥ Q♥

Koroknai: 7♠ 7♣

Everyone jumped out of their seats to watch as one of the favorites doubled up or went bust. The flop came out 4♠ 3♠ J♦ which didn’t help Hille. Her rail started chanting and calling for cards that would help her.

The K♣ came on the turn which didn’t help, and the 3♣ was disappointing to everyone that wanted to see the young Norwegian become part of the October festivities. But, as a consolation prize, Hille will be taking home $590,442.

Now, there is only one woman left, and anyone that wants to see a softer final table will have all their bets on Gaelle Baumann. She goes into the final 10 as the short stack with only 5,030,000 (16 BB).

However, with play going ten handed, she will have more time to wait for a good hand before sticking her stack in.

The Unofficial Final Table

Seat 1: Russell Thomas -- 18,700,000

Seat 2: Jacob Balsiger -- 16,300,000

Seat 3: Jeremy Ausmus -- 10,855,000

Seat 4: Steven Gee -- 15,800,000

Seat 5: Greg Merson -- 31,305,000

Seat 6: Gaelle Baumann -- 2,140,000

Seat 7: Jesse Sylvia -- 48,450,000

Seat 8: Robert Salaburu -- 16,675,000

Seat 9: Andras Korknai -- 23,180,000

Seat 10: Michael Esposito -- 18,470,000

Gaelle Baumann has been watching her stack slowly dwindle down, and she was getting to the point where her stack was getting alarmingly low.

After Elisabeth Hille raised to 480,000 from the cutoff, Baumann shoved over the top for her remaining 1,525,000 from the small blind. Michael Esposito called from the big blind which gave Hille something to think about. After a long pause, Hille decided to let the two go head to head and she folded her hand.

Baumann:  A♥ 9♦
Esposito:  A♦ 7♦

To Baumann’s surprise, she was ahead in the hand. She extended her lead when the flop came T♣ 9♥ K♦. The deal was sealed when the 9♣ came on the turn, and the 4♦ came on the river.

Baumann survives the all-in, but she is still short and will have to find another spot to put her chips in good.

Sylvia Doubles, Salaburu Drops

Jesse Sylvia has doubled up and Robert Salaburu has lost the chip lead.

Salabur raised to 550,000 from the cutoff and Steven Gee called from the button. Sylvia was in the small blind and he moved all-in for 8.085 million.

Salaburu re-shoved and Gee got out of the way.

Salaburu:  J♥ J♠
Sylvia:  K♠ Q♥

The crowd started chanting for different cards and Sylvia's rail exploded when the flop came K♣ 4♠ 8♦. They cheered so loud when the 6♣ came on the turn that Scott Ambrams covered his ears.

The crowd started chanting for a 3♥ on the river, but it brought a 9♦ instead. Sylvia was holding onto a girl on the rail and when the river fell, he did too. Sylvia lied on the floor and covered his smiling face with his hands.

Sylvia is now up to about 17 million while Salaburu is down to 12 million.

A-K vs. A-K Makes a Flush For Koroknai to Bad Beat Ladouceur

In the last hand before the break, Andras Koroknai just got all his chips in with A♣ K♠ against Marc-Andre Ladouceur's A♠ K♣.

As expected, the crowd got very excited when the players moved all in, then felt let down when they saw it was A-K vs. A-K.

But then the flop came Q♣ 10♣ 2♣, Koroknai was freerolling to a flush draw.

The turn card was the 8♣, and Koroknai made an ace-high club flush to win the pot and double up to about 18 million in chips.

Ladouceur took a painfully brutal beat to drop down to about 5 million in chips.

Flashback to 2011

With a very similar overall field size for the 2011 and 2012 Main Events, we thought it'd be interesting to take a look at last year's final table to see how it compares in terms of chip stacks.

Last year, they reached the final nine players during Level 36, with blinds at 250,000-500,000 and a 50,000 ante. Here were their chip counts:

Martin Staszko  -  40,175,000  (80 bb)
Eoghan O'Dea  -  33,925,000  (67 bb)
Matt Giannetti  -  24,750,000  (49 bb)
Phil Collins  -  23,875,000  (47 bb)
Ben Lamb  -  20,875,000  (41 bb)
Badih Bounahra  -  19,700,000  (39 bb)
Pius Heinz  -  16,425,000  (32 bb)
Anton Makiievskyi  -  13,825,000  (27 bb)
Sam Holden  -  12,375,000  (24 bb)

The average stack last year had 45 big blinds when they reached the November Nine.

If this year's field reaches nine at 200,000-400,000, the average stack would have 54 big blinds. If it takes until the 250,000-500,000 level, the average stack would have 43 big blinds.

And if action continues until the 300,000-600,000 level, the average stack would have 36 big blinds.

The closest parallel to last year is the 250,000-500,000 level, which won't start for another five hours -- not counting breaks.

And ESPN just called for a break.

Updated Leaderboard

Here's a look at the updated chip counts, courtesy of WSOP.com, with blinds at 120,000-240,000 and a 30,000 ante:

1.  Jesse Sylvia  -  24,065,000  (100 bb)
2.  Michael Esposito  -  21,580,000  (89 bb)
3.  Russell Thomas  -  21,490,000  (89 bb)
4.  Greg Merson  -  19,425,000  (80 bb)
5.  Andras Koroknai  -  18,300,000  (76 bb)
6.  Scott Abrams  -  15,560,000  (64 bb)
7.  Jacob Balsiger  -  15,355,000  (63 bb)
8.  Steven Gee  -  14,215,000  (59 bb)
9.  Jeremy Ausmus  -  12,775,000  (53 bb)
10.  Robert Salaburu  -  11,780,000  (49 bb)
11.  Elisabeth Hille  -  11,770,000  (49 bb)
12.  Marc-Andre Ladouceur  -  5,025,000  (20 bb)
13.  Gaelle Baumann  -  3,050,000  (12 bb)
14.  Danny Wong  -  1,940,000  (8 bb)

The 90 minutes are up and we're back.

There's one hour left in Level 32, giving players 100,000/200,000 blinds and a 30,000 ante. Our remaining 15 players are also coming back to a guaranteed payday of $465,159.

The money will only go up as we keep on bringing the number of players down. The final 12 will make a jump to $590,442. 

Play has been going by fairly quickly and bust outs tend to pick up after the dinner break. We'll see if the fast pace that's been present all day continues for the rest of the day.

We don't know how many levels we'll be playing, but we do know that we won't stop until we hit the November Nine. Stay tuned for more live updates from the 2012 Main Event.

VIDEO: Get to Know Big-Stack Robert Salaburu

Robert Salaburu is a poker pro who's been making his living playing cards for the last 10 years.

Originally from San Antonio, Texas Salaburu is reveling in the opportunity to score big in this Main Event. Check out the full interview below to get to know him a little better and stay tuned for more videos as we play down to the final table.

We’ve reached that magic point, where the ante -- 30,000 at the current level -- is the same size as the entire starting stack players began with a week or so ago when their Main Event quest began.

We’re two eliminations away from the next pay jump at $369,026 for 18th place, with 20 players still soldiering on here on Day 7 as we play our way down to a final table of nine. 

Russell Thomas has been one of the big movers on the day, starting with 9 million chips and doubling that up to now lead the way with just under 18 million.

Corcione and Volpe Representing the EC, Baby

It doesn’t come close to rivaling Tupac/Biggie but the poker world has a rivalry of its own with East coast grinders at Foxwoods and the Borgata not always getting the same props that their West coast counterparts in Vegas and California receive.

Paul Volpe and Robert Corcione are trying to change that in this year’s Main Event, with the two talented pros showing that their success at Foxwoods and the Borgata translates well to the WSOP stage.

Volpe has rolled up over $150,000 in cashes and Corcione is close behind with just over $140,000 -- although both are poised to bump those figures up in a big way when their Main Event winnings are tallied up and added in.

Watson Out in 22nd

Cylus Watson moved all-in for his remaining 920,000 and Greg Merson called.

Watson showed A♦ 5♣ while Merson turned over J♣ 10♦. Watson's final board read 7♦ 8♦ 10♣ Q♥ 2♦ and Watson was eliminated in 22nd place. This is Watson's third WSOP cash and it is largest, by far.

Before this, Watson had a total of $61,000 in live-tournament earnings, he nearly quintupled that number today. 

No More Representation

The East Coast - West Coast rivalry has come to an end. 

Our East Coast representatives, Paul Volpe and Robert Corcione have been eliminated.

Corcione was the first to go, his elimination started when Scott Abrams raised to 340,000 from early position. Corcione moved all-in for 4.3 million from the button and Abrams called.

Abrams: A♦ Q♦

Corcione: 10♠ 10♦

The flop brought a Q♣ and Abrams took the lead. Corcione couldn't improve and he was eliminated in 21st place.

Down Goes Volpe

There was a wild three-way going on at the secondary feature table. 

Steven Gee moved all-in from the cutoff and Danny Wong reshoved from the button. Paul Volpe was in the small blind and called. Salaburu folded the big blind and we had ourselves a three-way. Wong had Volpe and Gee covered, he also had the best hand:

Wong: 10♠ 10♣

Gee: 8♣ 8♥

Volpe: A♣ K♥

The flop fell 5♥ 7♦ 6♦ and Gee picked up a straight draw. The turn was a J♣ and Gee and Volpe started standing up. But a 4♣ came on the river and Gee sat back down. Volpe became our 20th place finisher and Gee tripled up to 11.7 million. 

Chip Counts

Russell Thomas - 20,900,000

Scott Abrams - 19,760,000

Marc Ladouceur  - 19,475,000

Robert Salaburu - 17,965,000

Jacob Balsiger - 15,200,000

Jeremy Ausmus - 14,085,000

Michael Esposito - 13,200,000

Steven Gee - 11,700,000

Greg Merson - 9,650,000

Elisabeth Hille - 9,445,000

Chip counts courtesy of WSOP.com

Players took their first break of the day. The blinds have gone up to 80,000/160,000 with a 20,000 ante. Robert Salaburu has the chip lead with just under 20 million. On the other side of the coin, Andras Koroknai is the short stack with only 2,215,000. He will need to find a place to double up since he only has 13 big blinds.

Pairs of Pairs

Pocket tens have been kind to the short stacks at the secondary feature table.

Robert Salaburu raised to 320,000 from early position and Jeremy Ausmus and Yuval Bronshtein called. Danny Wong moved all-in from the small blind for 4.250 million and Salaburu folded. Ausmus also folded and Bronsthein went into the tank. After about a minute, Bronshtein called and showed 9♥ 9♣. Wong was at risk but he turned over a higher pocket pair, 10♣ 10♠.

The flop came J♣ J♠ J♦ and both players hit a full house. The turn was an A♦ and the river brought the 3♥.

Wong doubled up to about 9.5 million while Bronshtein's stack shrunk to about 4.5 million.

A few minutes later, a similar hand would play out.

Jeremy Ausmus raised to 325,000 and Gaelle Baumann moved all-in for 2.965 million. Action folded back to Ausmus and he made the call.

Gaelle: 10♥ 10♦

Ausmus: 9♥ 9♦

The crowd laugh at the repetitious showdown and the dealer fanned out a J♣ 4♣ 5♥ flop. The turn was a 2♠ and an A♣ completed the board. Gaelle doubled up to 6.1 million and Ausmus was left with 3.85 million.

Table Dynamics

The makeup of the secondary feature table has changed a bit. Robert Corcione has been moved out of the nine seat and gone off to the tertiary feature table. The chips at this table also seem to prefer the five seat. That seat is currently occupied by Robert Salaburu and he has a giant stack. It seems to have its own gravitational pull and chips just can't stay away.

Salaburu has been winning pot after pot, and with 19.1 million, he currently holds 36 percent of the chips at his table.

Scott Abrams Isn’t Bad at NLHE, Either

Scott Abrams has five previous WSOP cashes to his credit, but he’s a rare beast in the world where everyone is eating a steady diet of No-Limit Hold’em. His best results have come in Razz, Stud, and 8 Game Mix events.

This will be his first Main Event cash and by far his biggest tournament score. His lifetime tournament winnings prior to the Main Event total just over $57,000.

He’s best known as an online grinder under the “weirdchess” handle and is a regular on the forums at 2+2.

His run here in the Main will be slightly bittersweet, as he sold off 72% of his WSOP action via packages on 2+2. However, at least he’ll be providing a big sweat for a lot of his backers that are looking at a very nice ROI on their investment so far.

Harig’s River Save

Wilfried Harig has been very active on the file table today. He’s moved all in more than a few times today, but he never got called. Greg Merson finally gave him the chance double up.

Harig moved all in from middle position for 2,915,000, and Merson called from the big blind.

Harig 6♠ 6♣

Merson: Q♣ Q♠

The flop came out T♥ 7♥ K♥, which extended Merson’s lead in the hand. When the 9♣ came on the turn, everyone was expecting Harig to be the next player to exit the Amazon room. However, the 6♥ came on the river, which was one of the only cards in the deck that could save Harig’s tournament life.

Harig doubled up to 6,030,000 in chips.

Jeremy Ausmus Capping an Awesome WSOP

Jeremy Ausmus is one of the more decorated players that made it through to Day 7. He has cashes stringing back to 2008 which is virtually the Stone Ages for many of today’s uber-young grinders.

Ausmus’ biggest lifetime cash was for $190,000 in a $4,750 NLHE event at the Bike, and he has put together a very impressive 2012 WSOP.

Ausmus has already cashed in eight different events this WSOP, with the biggest a $28,793 payday in Event #50 $5,000 NLHE.

He’s also shown that he’s a well-rounded player, with scores in different formats including NLHE, Omaha/7 Card Stud HiLo, Mixed Hold’em, and NLHE/PLO tournaments.

 Top 10 Chip Counts

Robert Salaburu                      19,100,000

Marc Ladouceur                      17,710,000

Russell Thomas                      15,200,000

Michael Esposito                     12,450,000

Jacob Balsiger                        11,275,000

Jamie Robbins                        9,820,000

Scott Abrams                         9,580,000

Greg Merson                          9,150,000

Daniel Strelitz                        8,250,000

Danny Wong                          8,050,000

Chip counts courtesy of WSOP.com

In just the first hour of the day, we are starting to see a deviation of chips from when the day first started. We lost one player this level, and we are aiming for 17 more to fall before the day is out.

Nicco Maag Out in 27^th Place

Nicco Maag is our first elimination of the day. Maag was short-stacked and moved all-in for 1.11 million from early position. Russell Thomas called from middle position and we had ourselves a showdown.

Thomas: AcQ♥

Maag: A♥ J♠

Maag was dominated and the 9♥ 8♣ 4♣ flop brought no help. The 3♣ on the turn was worse for Maag, as it gave Thomas nine more outs. The 2♣ on the river was one of them and Thomas flushed away Maag's Main Event run. Maag finished in 27th place and earned $294,601.

Money Money Money

Our remaining players are definitely focused on one thing -- making the final table of nine players -- but some will still be keeping an eye on the tournament clock as far as the payout jumps.

All 27 that start the day are guaranteed at least $294,601, but there’s some extra incentive for hanging around as long as possible even if they don’t make the final table.

Here are the remaining payout jumps leading up to the final table of nine:

19-27: $294,601

16-18: $369,026

13-15: $465,159

10-12: $590,442

Balkin Binks A Pair

Jesse Sylvia raised to 240,000 at the ESPN feature table. It folded around to David Balkin, who was on the button, and he called to see a flop.

The flop came down 8♥ 9♠ K♦. Both players checked to see the 5♥ that came on the turn.

At this point, Sylvia felt confident enough to bet 355,000. Balkin made the call, and the river was the T♣. Both players checked.

Balkin was the first to open his hand with A♦ 9♣ for a pair of nines. Seeing that he was beat, Sylvia mucked his hand.

Scott To The Top

Scott Abrams has been climbing at the tertiary feature table.

After three big pots, Abrams is now fourth in chips with 11.5 million. It all started when Abrams raised to 255,000 from early position. He got calls from Russel Thomas in the cutoff and Michael Esposito in the big blind.

Esposito checked the 3♣ 2♥ 2♦ flop and Abrams led out for 475,000. Thomas called and Esposito folded

The turn was a J♣, and Abrams led out for 1.075 million. Thomas folded and Abrams chiped up to about 9 million.

The following hand, Abrams came in with another raise from 255,000 from early position. Esposito called from the small blind and the flop came Q♠ 9♦ 8♣.

Esposito bet 325,000 and Abrams called, bringing the K♥ on the turn.

Esposito led out for 600,000, Abrams called and the Q♣ came on the river. Both players checked and Esposito showed 9♥ 8♥ while Abrams showed J♣ J♥.

Abrams rivered two-pair won him the pot and he was over 10 million.

Then things got settled on the flop

Jan Heitmann raised to 250,000 from the hijack and Abrams re-raised to 700,000 from the big blind. The flop came 10♠ 10♥ 9♣ and Abrams led out for 710,000. Heitmann folded and Abrams stack grew even more.

Top 10 Chip Counts

Robert Salaburu                       15,300,000

Marc Ladouceur                        15,205,000

Russell Thomas                        13,900,000

Scott Abrams                           11,500,000

Greg Merson                            11,285,000

Yuval Bronshtein                       9,735,000

Elisabeth Hille                          9,515,000

Daniel Strelitz                          9,515,000

Jamie Robbins                          8,750,000

Jacob Balsiger                          8,600,000

Chip Counts Courtesy of WSOP.com

Ten days of the most intense poker action in the world and it all comes down to this.

Twenty-seven players will get a shot at poker immortality by making it into the final nine today in the Amazon Room.

While yesterday saw most of the big name pros get eliminated - including Gavin Smith, Vanessa Selbst, Jason Somerville and Sam Holden - there are still some very notable players gunning for the final table.

For the first time in the Chris Moneymaker era we have not one but two females still alive in the final three tables. If either Elisabeth Hille or Gaelle Baumann makes the final table it will truly be a game changer.

Meanwhile Yuval Bronshtein, Gerg Merson, Jeremy Ausmus and Scott Abrams are skilled pros who may take their games to the next level by making it into the final nine.

Jan Heitmann and Roland Israelashvili are well-known pros in the poker world and may very well bust their way onto poker's grandest stage today.

Action will resume at 1 p.m. today thanks to the tournament going late last night. Check back here for all the action leading up to the final table.

Here’s a look at the complete chip counts of the 27 remaining players:

 

• 1.  Marc Ladouceur  -  15,875,000 (132 bb)
• 2.  Daniel Strelitz  -  12,790,000 (106 bb)
• 3.  Robert Salaburu  -  10,915,000 (90 bb)
• 4.  Russell Thomas  -  9,985,000 (83 bb)
• 5.  Elisabeth Hille  -  9,770,000 (81 bb)
• 6.  Yuval Bronshtein  -  9,735,000 (81 bb)
• 7.  Jamie Robbins  -  8,750,000 (72 bb)
• 8.  Robert Corcione  -  8,745,000 (72 bb)
• 9.  Cylus Watson  -  8,500,000 (70 bb)
• 10.  Jeremy Ausmus  -  8,300,000 (69 bb)
• 11.  Scott Abrams  -  8,080,000 (67 bb)
• 12.  Greg Merson  -  7,435,000 (61 bb)
• 13.  Jesse Sylvia  -  7,385,000 (61 bb)
• 14.  Jacob Balsiger  -  7,330,000 (61 bb)
• 15.  Michael Esposito  -  7,045,000 (58 bb)
• 16.  Percy Mahatan  -  6,750,000 (56 bb)
• 17.  Jan Heitmann  -  6,390,000 (53 bb)
• 18.  Danny Wong  -  6,360,000 (53 bb)
• 19.  David Balkin  -  6,330,000 (52 bb)
• 20.  Gaelle Baumann  -  5,530,000 (46 bb)
• 21.  Roland Israelashvili  -  5,525,000 (46 bb)
• 22.  Steven Gee  -  4,830,000 (40 bb)
• 23.  Robert Buckenmayer  -  4,410,000 (36 bb)
• 24.  Andras Koroknai  -  3,125,000 (26 bb)
• 25.  Wilfried Haerig  -  2,665,000 (22 bb)
• 26.  Paul Volpe  -  2,650,000 (22 bb)
• 27.  Nicco Maag  -  1,300,000 (10 bb)

In the meantime here’s our video recap of Day 6 featuring Jesse Sylvia, Erik Hellman and Niels van Alphen: