Thursday, July 13, 2017 1:16 AM Local Time
Artan Dedusha Leads WSOP Main Event Going into Day 3
Play has concluded in Day 2c of the 2017 World Series of Poker Main Event. This was the last day where the first three starting flights were separated, meaning all remaining players will converge into one massive field for Day 3 on Thursday.
A field of 3,300 players returned Wednesday to continue on their path to Main Event glory, and at the end of it there are still plenty of big names advancing, as well as more unknown players ready to spring an upset.
Leading at the end of Day 2c — and leading overall going into Day 3 — is British player Artan Dedusha in his very first Main Event. He told us as the day ended that his aim was to double his stack to around 200,000-220,000 on Day 2. He ended up with more than three times that amount with 680,000.
Dedusha, who has just over $100,000 in cashes to his name, mostly in England, had an eventful day, cracking kings when his pocket fives flopped a set, and cracking aces when he flopped two pair.
"I guess I ran good," Dedusha said. "I lost a few pots as well, but mainly I ran good. I held up, I won the races, I was on the better end of a cooler. But also I played good. I picked up many small pots here and there.
"I'm happy, I'm very happy. But, I'm not that excited because I've seen so many things. I've gone up and down, up and down. It doesn't mean anything right now. You never know."
Also bagging big stacks were Marcin Chmielewski (564,000), Michael Krasienko (561,300), Sonny Franco (546,700), and Player of the Year contender and two-time bracelet winner Ryan Hughes (510,100).
It was tough a day for former Main Event champions. Ryan Riess, Joe McKeehen and Phil Hellmuth all fell, with 2000 Main Event Champion and 2017 POY contender Chris Ferguson also eliminated when his ran into on a flop of .
Multiple bracelet-winners Men Nguyen, Paul Volpe, JC Tran, Antonio Esfandiari, and Loren Klein, as well as November Niners Griffin Benger, Federico Butteroni and Max Steinberg also won't be advancing.
Fan favorites Maria Ho, Bertrand Grospellier, Anthony Zinno and Gus Hansen were also eliminated. Joining them on the rail was William Kassouf, who was eliminated early in the day.
Both Kassouf and opponent Dany Georges held jack-ten on an board when the money got in, but importantly for Georges he held a redraw to a diamond flush to eliminate the loud-mouthed Brit. The all-important diamond fell on the river and the Main Event lost one of its loudest and polarizing voices.
Two-time $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Heads-up Championship runner-up John Smith also came back on Day 2c, but was eliminated after he failed to pull off a monster bluff with just a single pair. His opponent called with a set to eliminate Smith in Level 7.
Former Main Event champions Scotty Nguyen, Johnny Chan, Joe Cada, and Carlos Mortensen are still in contention. Other notables include 888poker Ambassador Dominik Nitsche, Jake Cody, Felipe Ramos, Cate Hall, 2016 November Niner Fernando Pons.
Natasha Mercier bagged 218,000 at the end of Day 1c, and found herself bagging over 470,000 at the culmination of another ten hours of play. Meanwhile, her husband Jason started a lot shorter with only 28,000 and he managed to chip up to 150,000 before bagging 101,000.
When asked if they found it distracting to be playing in the same tournament, Natasha said it was business as usual.
"I think we're both very competitive," Natasha said. "So when I see him at the table I really want him to do well, but at the same time I want to beat him. I'm like hoping to get more chips than he does."
"I don't really wanna beat Natasha," Jason said. "Actually, it's nice to see her still in the event. Especially when she has so many chips, so hopefully if I bust, she can go on and go really deep. It's awesome that we're both still in. We've never both made day three."
All those advancing from Day 2c will join together with the 1,023 players that advanced from Day 2ab for Day 3 on Thursday. Cards will be in the air at 11 a.m. local time, and PokerNews will be there to cover the action from start to finish.
A full list of chip counts and the Day 3 seat draw will be posted later tonight.
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:55 AM Local Time
Chip Leaders From 2c Entering Day 3
| Artan Dedusha | 680,000 | 15,000  |
| Michael Krasienko | 561,300 | 86,300 |
| Marcin Chmielewski | 561,000 | 34,000 |
| Sonny Franco | 546,700 | -13,300  |
| Todor Kondevski | 529,100 | 529,100 |
| Joshua Tekesky | 526,300 | 526,300 |
| Ryan Hughes | 510,100 | -19,900 |
| Denis Timofeev | 498,000 | 163,000 |
| Nick Petrangelo | 480,300 | 200,300 |
| Natasha Mercier | 476,800 | 10,800 |
| Khaled Gutierrez | 464,800 | 464,800 |
| Paul Senat | 449,700 | 39,700 |
| Remi Castaignon | 424,000 | 19,000 |
| Joe Serock | 423,000 | 203,000 |
| Eric Blair | 421,100 | 251,100 |
| James Gilbert | 420,500 | 305,500 |
| Seth Fischer | 418,400 | 418,400 |
| Jesus Javier Sanchez Blanco | 412,700 | 412,700 |
| Justin Bond | 412,600 | 412,600 |
| Kfir Nahum | 411,400 | 411,400 |
| Javier Garcirreynaldos | 405,400 | 405,400 |
| Dan Colpoys | 404,000 | 404,000 |
| Jared Jaffee | 399,500 | -2,500 |
| Matthias De Meulder | 397,300 | 37,300 |
| Quoc Vu | 396,000 | 71,000 |
| Justin Liberto | 394,500 | -40,500 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:44 AM Local Time
Dedusha Up; Bicknell Down
Picking up the action on the turn of an board with roughly 40,000 in the pot, Artan Dedusha bet 22,500 from the small blind. Kristen Bicknell called from the button, the river completed the board, Dedusha checked, and Bicknell bet 39,000. Dedusha tanked for nearly three minutes before he called.
Bicknell showed , while Dedusha turned over for jacks and eights to win the pot.
| Artan Dedusha | 665,000 | 145,000 |
| Kristen Bicknell | 121,000 | -99,800 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:37 AM Local Time
Jake Cody Gets a Fold
Jake Cody raised to 3,800 from mid-position and got called by the players on the button and in the big blind.
The flop came , the player in the big blind check-folded to the 7,600 bet of Cody. The other player called though.
The came on the turn, now Cody lead out for 14,300 and the other player called.
The on the river completed the board, Cody shoved all in for his remaining 48,200 chips. His opponent was considering his options and in the end decided to fold.
| Jake Cody | 105,000 | 48,500 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:35 AM Local Time
Zarco Takes a Multi-Way Pot
With four or five players in the pot, Javier Zarco bet 6,800 from early position on an board. He got called by a player on the button and another in the big blind. On the river, everyone checked, and Zarco's took it down. Zarco remains above the 400,000 mark heading into the final few hands of the night.
| Javier Zarco | 405,000 | 1,000 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:34 AM Local Time
Jason Ramos Flushes the River
Four players put in 3,500 preflop and the flop came . Jason Ramos checked in the small blind, the big blind checked, and Victor Choupeaux bet 5,500. The button folded and Ramos and the next player called. On the turn, Ramos checked, the big blind bet 11,000, Choupeaux folded, and Ramos called.
It was heads up to the river and both players checked. Ramos tabled for the flush on the river, good for the pot.
| Jason Ramos | 267,000 | 35,000 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:32 AM Local Time
Eric Nathan Hits a Full House
A player in middle position raised to 3,500 and both Eric Nathan, in the hijack, and the player on the button called.
The flop came , the player in middle position led out for 6,500, Nathan called and the other player folded.
The turn brought the , and Nathan called a bet of 10,000.
The river completed the board with the . The other player checked, and Nathan decided to bet 25,000. His opponent took some time to think and opted to call. Nathan showed for a full house, sevens over sixes.
| Eric Nathan | 247,500 | -2,500 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:31 AM Local Time
Five More Hands Before Bagging
The clock has been paused here on Day 2c and each table will play five more hands before bagging for the night.
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:31 AM Local Time
Counts from Tan
| Marcin Chmielewski | 527,000 | 87,000 |
| Natasha Mercier | 466,000 | -4,000 |
| David Mock | 392,000 | -28,000 |
| Adam Levy | 280,000 | 50,000 |
| Victor Choupeaux | 275,000 | 21,000 |
| Paul Wasicka | 272,000 | 0 |
| Jared Palmer | 267,000 | -42,000 |
| Aditya Agarwal | 251,000 | 28,000 |
| Ricardo Eyzaguirre | 240,000 | 240,000 |
| Jason Ramos | 232,000 | 162,000 |
| David Pham | 190,000 | 73,000 |
| Gavin Smith | 175,000 | 15,000 |
| Richard Tuhrim | 163,000 | -74,000 |
| Phillip Hui | 124,000 | -47,000 |
| Mike Wattel | 114,000 | 23,000 |
| Minh Ly | 113,000 | 21,000 |
| Jason Mercier | 97,000 | -18,000 |
| Je Oh | 89,000 | 1,000 |
| Steffen Sontheimer | 60,000 | -17,000 |
| Alexis Sterner | 43,000 | -1,000 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:28 AM Local Time
Luca Gives to Blais; Busts One After
With more than 60,000 in the middle, William Blais checked from early position on the turn of and Ivan Luca checked behind. The fell on the river and Blais checked again. Luca bet 41,000 and Blais check-raised to 116,000 in order to force a fold from the Argentinian.
One hand later, Blais opened to 4,000 and a short stack moved all in for 36,400. Luca checked his cards and eventually tossed in a single chip for the call. It folded back to Blais, and he also quickly let go.
Ivan Luca:
Opponent:
The board came and Luca recovered some of the previous losses by sending an opponent to the rail without much of a sweat.
| William Blais | 335,000 | 208,000 |
| Ivan Luca | 245,000 | 100,000 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:27 AM Local Time
Ted Lawson Eliminated by Matt Hyman
Following a flop of , Ted Lawson was all in for about 62,000 with against Matt Hyman with . The turn and river completed the board, no help to Lawson, ending his tournament and locking up the pot for Hyman.
| Matthew Hyman | 215,000 | 215,000 |
| Ted Lawson | 0 | -65,000 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:21 AM Local Time
Tanned Chip Counts
| Loni Harwood | 131,000 | -4,000 |
| Cate Hall | 120,000 | 21,000 |
| Fatima Moreira de Melo | 107,000 | 2,000 |
| Martin Finger | 102,000 | 42,000 |
| Dylan Linde | 90,000 | 5,000 |
| Dario Sammartino | 59,000 | -46,000 |
| Igor Yaroshevskyy | 50,000 | -20,000 |
| Arne Coulier | 46,000 | -70,000 |
| Cory Waaland | 19,000 | 19,000 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:11 AM Local Time
Weissman Takes Sick Beat
Mag Botros had a bet of 7,500 in front of him in the hijack on a flop and was facing a check-raise to 29,000 from big blind Joey Weissman. Botros slid in a stack of T5,000 chips that made it 77,500, most of his total chip stack. Weissman wasted little time before moving all in.
"All right," said Botros after about 30 seconds, sliding his remaining 50,000 or so in.
Weissman:
Botros:
Botros was in awful shape with only one live immediate out, but the brought a backdoor flush possibility. The filled the flush, and Botros shouted in celebration. Weissman barely reacted to the beat, counting out 124,400 and sending it over with a "nice hand."
| Maged Botros | 275,000 | 275,000 |
| Joey Weissman | 141,000 | -219,000 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:09 AM Local Time
Luske Keeps Climbing
Marcel Luske was down to 12.000 at one point during the day but has found the way up. When Christoph Haller opened to 4.200 in early position, Luske made the call on the button and a player called from the big blind.
The flop got checked to Luske, who bet 8.000. Only Haller came along with the call. On the turn, Haller opted to lead out for 14.000 and Luske quickly called.
The river was the and Haller checked. Luske flung 25.000 to the middle and Haller called after some slight hesitation. Luske showed for the rivered straight to win the hand.
| Marcel Luske | 150,000 | 65,000 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:08 AM Local Time
More Purple Counts
| Sonny Franco | 560,000 | -20,000 |
| Yaxi Zhu | 314,000 | 33,000 |
| Jerome Brion | 270,000 | 14,000 |
| Alan Snow | 263,000 | -77,000 |
| Joe Serock | 220,000 | 40,000 |
| Charlotte Godwin | 202,000 | 55,000 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:06 AM Local Time
"I am the Absolute F***ing Worst!"
Bryce Yockey bet 45,000 on the river with the board reading and Robert Correa raised all in for 141,600 total.
"I am the absolute f***ing worst," Yockey said, "I could play my hand normally and not lose a huge pot. I don't think I can fold this."
Yockey was standing up and, after about 30 seconds flicked his cards into the muck.
Correa showed pocket kings.
"That's so sick, I had two aces."
| Robert Correa | 194,000 | 194,000 |
| Bryce Yockey | 144,000 | -10,000 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:03 AM Local Time
Updated Chip Counts
| Artan Dedusha | 520,000 | 50,000 |
| Phil Mader | 345,000 | 345,000 |
| Jerome Evans | 325,000 | 35,000 |
| Nick Petrangelo | 280,000 | 52,000 |
| Kristen Bicknell | 220,800 | -9,200 |
| Carl Carodenuto | 191,000 | 46,000 |
| Alex Masek | 87,000 | 14,000 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:00 AM Local Time
Perry Friedman Knocks One Out
While we missed the way the hand played out, Perry Friedman was collecting a large pot while holding on a board of against one opponent who was holding for just one pair. Friedman's two pair had held up and he took down the big pot and sent one opponent to the rail.
| Perry Friedman | 149,000 | 25,600 |
Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:00 AM Local Time
Joris Ruijs Four-Bets From Big Blind
There was an open from a big stack under the gun for 3,800 and then Quoc Vu on the button three-bet to 8,000. Joris Ruijs was in the big blind and he four-bet to 23,600.
The original raiser had a long think about the situation he was in, particularly as the aggressive Vu was still to act behind him. A minute or so passed and he let his hand go.
Vu called and it was heads up to a flop .
Ruijs led out for the modest amount of 14,000 and Vu called.
Both players checked the turn and the river.
It was Ruijs who had to show first. He turned over his .
"Straight," said the dealer of the runner-runner result for Ruijs. Vu's face went through a number of emotions, none of them happy as he picked up his cards, looked as though he was about to show them, then threw them face down in the felt in disgust.
"I'm the worst." Ruijs chuckled to himself as he stacked the pot.
| Quoc Vu | 325,000 | -50,000 |
| Joris Ruijs | 125,000 | -85,000 |
Wednesday, July 12, 2017 11:58 PM Local Time
Daniel Negreanu Eliminated From the Main Event
Poker's all-time money leader has busted from the Main Event.
The hand before Negreanu busted, he opened to 3,500 from middle position and got calls from both players in the blinds.
When the flop fanned out , the player in the small blind took the betting lead, sliding out 6,100. Negreanu went into the tank.
"If you check, I was doing everything," Negreanu said as he cut down his stack. "Don't know if that's good or bad for you."
Negreanu eventually folded, showing the . His opponent tabled for just six-high. A stunned Negreanu looked around and said, "That had me as confused as I've ever been in my life."
The very next hand, Negreanu moved all-in from early position and was put at risk by John Allan Hinds out of the big blind.
Negreanu:
Hinds:
Negreanu was in great shape to score a double up as the dealer laid out a flop. The turn was , sparking some chatter around the table. Hinds had picked up a flush draw and it would be completed when the dealer swept out the on the river.
Negreanu gave his best to the table, wishing them luck before saying goodbye to the Main Event.
| John Allan Hinds | 115,000 | 74,200 |
| Daniel Negreanu | 0 | -24,000 |