We started with 27, now just 18 remain on this seventh day of Main Event action. Over the course of six hours of play, the chip lead changed, the chip leader exited, and a new crop of contenders emerged as we inched closer to the final table. The field currently includes players from nine different countries.
Here were some of the daily highlights, so far:
New Chip Leader -- Sylvain LoosliGerman poker player Anton Morgenstern seemed to be rolling along as chip leader, with almost 30 million in his stack at one point during the afternoon. Then, he took two serious blows, including running trip aces into Mark Newhouse’s full house and fell to just over 5 million in chips. The shift was seismic and completely altered the state and direction of the Main Event. Thing only got worse for Morgenstern, as he ran A-J into Fabian Ortiz’s pocket aces to exit in 20th place.
It seemed as though the honor of dinner break chip leader would go to Marc McLaughlin of Montreal, Canada. After beginning the day with just 5.4 million chips, McLaughlin briefly got over 20 million after taking a huge chunk of Chris Lindh's chips during a hand where McLaughlin got paid off with trip fours. He is currently sitting in third in the counts with 18,380,000, while Sylvain Loosli of France and nightclub promoter Jay Farber edged him out in the chip counts with 20,970,000 and 18,715,000 respectively.
The Matador’s Run at the Repeat Continues2001 Main Event Carlos Mortensen remains very much alive in the Main Event. He's right about the chip average at the moment, ranking ninth in chips with 9,760,000.
No November Niner RepeatSteve Gee, who finished ninth in last year's Main Event, was eliminated earlier in the day. This time, Gee went out in 24th place. He collected $285,408 as a consolation prize. Gee's two-year run in the Main Event stands as one of the greatest individual feats in WSOP history, given the whopping number of players he's outlasted. Gee topped 6,590 players out of 6,598 in 2012, and topped 6,329 players out of 6,352 in 2013.
In-the-Money (15th through 27th places)For eight players who started the day, the dream is now over. Here's a short rundown of what's happened, so far:
27th place – Benjamin Pollak, from Paris, France was eliminated at 12:15, just a few minutes into the action. He was dealt pocket nines on his final hand, which looked to be in good shape versus Maxx Coleman's A-4 suited. However, Coleman spiked a straight on the river, making Pollak the day's first casualty.
26th place – Jorn Walthaus. from Amsterdam, Holland busted at 12:20 pm. He was low on chips and took A-9 up against Steve Gee, holding A-K. The dominant hand won, sending Walthaus to the rail.
25th place – Jason Mann, from Burnaby, BC (Canada) went out at 1:20 pm. He held pocket tens on his final hand, but lost to Chris Lindh who flopped two pair -- queens over fives. Mann missed his two-outer and exited as yet another Canadian success story at this year's WSOP.
24th place – Steve Gee, from Sacramento, CA was eliminated at 2:25 pm. The 2012 Main Event ninth place finisher came in short on chips. He went out on a failed steal attempt (T-7 suited) which ran into chip leader Anton Morgenstern's pocket eights, ending the best two-year run of anyone from the 2012-2013 Main Event.
23rd place – Clement Tripodi, from France, was eliminated at 2:30 pm. The Frenchman moved in with his last 2.3 million holding A-Q, which was topped by Bruno Kuwauti's pocket kings.
22nd place – Yevgeniy Timoshenko, from north of Seattle, was eliminated at 3:30 pm. He was low on chips and shipped in his last 2.5 million with A-8 suited. Jan Nakladal called with a dominating A-J. Nakadal flopped two pair, putting Timoshenko on the rail. This was Timoshenko's sixth cash in 2013, which put him at more than $1.3 million in career WSOP earnings.
21st place -- Maxx Coleman, from Wichita, KS was knocked out at 5:30 pm. He was among the lowest stacks at the point of elimination, and pushed with Q-J suited, which was stomped by David Benefield, who made a straight with A-3.
20th place -- Anton Morgenstern, from Berlin, Germany was eliminated at 6:05 pm. In a shocking twist of developments, the man with a huge chip lead at one point, endured a brutal final three hours during which time he plunged from almost 30 million in chips all the way to the felt.
19th place -- James Alexander, from Edinburg, TX busted out on the last hand before the dinner break at 6:30 pm. After beginning the third level of the day second in the counts, Alexander dropped several large pots before exiting shortly before the level was scheduled to conclude.
Some Numbers at the BreakAll players are now guaranteed a payout worth at least $357,655.
The average chip count at the moment is 10,587,000.
There are nine nations will players still remaining in the Main Event. The following countries are represented: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Holland, Israel, Spain, and the United States
Coming TonightWe'll play tonight – and perhaps into the morning – until the final nine players have been determined, no matter how long that takes. This is the critical stage of the tournament which will shape the November Nine. Until then, here is a look at the chip counts for the final 18 players:
1. Sylvain Loosli - 20,970,000
2. Jay Farber - 18,715,000
3. Marc McLaughlin - 18,380,000
4. Amir Lehavot - 17,550,000
5. JC Tran - 17,430,000
6. Sergio Castelluccio - 12,555,000
7. Michiel Brummelhuis - 10,325,000
8. Matthew Reed - 10,055,000
9. Carlos Mortensen - 9,760,000
10. David Benefield - 8,625,000
11. Fabian Ortiz - 8,145,000
12. Bruno Kawauti - 7,660,000
13. Rep Porter - 7,450,000
14. Mark Newhouse - 5,955,000
15. Alexander Livingston - 5,280,000
16. Ryan Riess - 4,845,000
17. Chris Lindh - 3,945,000
18. Jan Nakladal - 31,60,000