Stalemate

The action has been brisk to say the least on Day 4 of the WSOPE Main Event. It took just five hours to get from 24 players down to nine and one elimination away from the televised final table. However, now the action has slowed tremendously as a result of a big payjump and a chance to appear on one of the biggest final tables of the year.

The Brat Now Leads the Pack

Watch out, ladies and gentlemen, Phil Hellmuth is chip leader with just two tables remaining in the WSOPE Main Event. Hellmuth jumped into the chip lead during the hand pictured when Curt Kohlberg made a move all-in with jack-ten only to run right into Hellmuth's pocket aces. Kohlberg couldn't dodge Hellmuth's bullets and he was eliminated in 17th place while Hellmuth ascended to the chip lead and has only been building his stack since then.

Bucket List

Steve Dannenman will tell you he isn't even supposed to be here. The 2005 WSOP Main Event runner-up came to Cannes because a trip to the South of France was, "on his bucket list." He played the Main Event here in Europe just to say he did. Now he is in the running for one of the biggest bracelets of the year with just 18 players remaining in the event. Dannenman also has a chance to join the short list of players that have final tabled both the WSOP and WSOPE Main Events. Ivan Demidov, Antoine Saout, and James Akenhead are the only ones on the list so far, but Dannenman, Joseph Cheong, and Phil Hellmuth all have a chance to join their ranks today.

Stand and Deliver

It has been a frustrating evening for Phil Hellmuth. He has David Benyamine needling him, hands not going his way, and players like Timothy Adams (right) have been sending Hellmuth into that all-too-common state where he stands up and delivers an oration during a hand.

No End in Sight

Jason Mercier may not have had the most memorable WSOP in Las Vegas this year, but he has a big chance at a big score here in Cannes that could certainly give his 2012 results a boost. Mercier is currently third in chips with four tables left. He knows what it takes to get to this final table too--he took fourth in this event in 2009.

October 49er

The good news for Jesse Sylvia is that he has the chip lead headed into the final table of the WSOP Main Event. The bad news is, things did not go his way in Cannes. Sylvia was the bubble boy in this year's Main Event, busting out in 49th place at the hands of someone who has been to the final table of the Main Event himself, Joseph Cheong.

Refreshments--High Roller Style

The refreshments for players at Hotel Majestic Barriere certainly haven't been bad. There are coffee machines, fridges filled with juice, red bull, and water, and baskets of French madeleine pastries set up around the room throughout all of the bracelet events. The hotel staff stepped things up for the High Roller event though, offering the players in the €50,000 buy-in event champagne and brownies if they wanted a snack.

Vamo!

Jonathan Aguiar and Franciso Da Costa Santos playfully joked about who was the first Portugese bracelet winner on Twitter in the hours following Aguiar's victory in the €10,000 Mix Max event. While Santos finished his event first, Aguiar's win came in Event 5 while Santos' came in Event 6. Tongue-in-cheek debate aside, Santos was on hand for Aguiar's bracelet ceremony to celebrate Portugal's second WSOP win in as many events. Aguiar dedicated the bracelet to his grandfather, who passed away seven years ago while Aguiar was playing in his first WSOP.

Good Heavens

In his winner interview with WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla, Jon Aguiar explained, “I’m not really a religious person, but I really felt my grandfather, who was such a big part of my life with me here today.” There were several times over the course of Aguiar's two-day final round heads-up battle between Brandon Cantu for the €10,000 Mix Max title that he would look skyward. It appears his grandfather was looking back and watching over him, as Aguiar had the good fortune of defeating Cantu and winning his first-ever WSOP gold bracelet.

So We Meet Again

First they were roommates. Then they became final tablemates in the WSOP Main Event. It appears October Nine chip leader Jesse Sylvia and Russell Thomas can't escape on another. The two spent the latter portion of Day 2 of the WSOPE Main Event seated side by side. Sylvia will go it alone from this point forward though. Thomas busted on one of the last hands of the night, leaving Sylvia as the only October Niner left in the field.