Monday, July 18, 2016 2:09 PM Local Time
Hand 33:
Kakwan Lau raises to 525,000 from under the gun, Joshua Weiss calls in middle position, Griffin Benger calls in the cutoff, and Jerry Wong calls in the small blind to create four-way action.
The flop is . It checks to Weiss, who bets 1,050,000, and all three opponents fold. Weiss wins the pot.
Hand 34:
Joshua Weiss raises to 525,000 in early position, and Kakwan Lau defends his big blind. The flop is . Lau checks, Weiss continues for 525,000, and Lau calls. The turn is the , and Lau checks again. Weiss checks behind, and the river is the . Both players check. Lau wins the pot at showdown, though his hole cards are never made visible.
Monday, July 18, 2016 2:05 PM Local Time
Hand 27:
Jared Bleznick raises to 500,000 from early position and William Kassouf calls from the hijack. Everybody else gets out of the way and the flop is .
Bleznick bets 650,000 and Kassouf calls. The turn is the and Bleznick checks. Kassouf tanks for a few minutes and Matthew Moss calls the clock. Kassouf bets 1,510,000 and Bleznick folds.
William Kassouf - 7,690,000 (32 bb)
Jared Bleznick - 8,135,000 (34 bb)
Hand 28:
Gordon Vayo raises from the cutoff and wins the blinds and antes.
Hand 29:
Jared Bleznick gets a walk in the big blind.
Hand 30:
Michael Niwinski raises from the hijack and wins the blinds and antes.
Hand 31:
Cliff Josephy raises to 550,000 from the cutoff and wins the blinds and antes.
Monday, July 18, 2016 2:02 PM Local Time
Hand 31:
Jeff Hakim raises from the button and takes down the blinds and antes.
Hand 32:
James Obst is under the gun and he raises to 500,000. Fernando Pons three-bets to 1,250,000 and action folds back to Obst. He folds and Pons takes the pot.
Hand 33:
Thomas Miller raises to 550,000 from middle position and wins the blinds and antes.
Hand 34:
Tom Marchese raises to 575,000 from the hijack and it fold around to Qui Nguyen in the big blind. He three-bets to 1,425,000 and action is back on Marchese. Marchese lets it go and Nguyen takes the pot.
Qui Nguyen - 6,345,000 (26 bb)
Tom Marchese - 12,320,000 (51 bb)
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:54 PM Local Time
John Cynn
Hand 28:
Jerry Wong raises to 535,000 in middle position, and Adam Krach defends his big blind. The flop is , and both players check. The turn is the . Krach checks, Wong bets 700,000, and Krach folds. Wong wins the pot.
Hand 29:
Griffin Benger raises to 525,000 from under the gun, winning the blinds and antes.
Hand 30:
Adam Krach limps in from the button, Vojtech Ruzicka completes the small blind, and Griffin Benger checks his option in the big blind. The flop is . The blinds check, Krach bets 450,000, Ruzicka calls, and Benger folds. The turn is the , and both players check. The river is the , and both players check again. Ruzicka shows , and takes the pot with trip sixes.
Hand 31:
John Cynn raises to 500,000 in middle position, and Adam Krach three-bet shoves for 4,745,000 in the cutoff. Cynn folds, and Krach wins the pot.
Hand 32:
John Cynn open-shoves for 2,540,000 in middle position, winning the blinds and antes.
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:54 PM Local Time
Michael Niwinski
Hand 24:
Cliff Josephy raises to 550,000 from the hijack and Jared Bleznick calls from the cutoff. The flop is and Josephy bets 900,000.
Bleznick calls and the turn is the . Josephy bets 1,900,000 and Bleznick calls. The river is the and Josephy bets 3,700,000. Bleznick folds and Josephy drags the pot.
Cliff Josephy - 29,690,000 (123 bb)
Jared Bleznick - 9,405,000 (39 bb)
Hand 25:
Matthew Moss raises to 525,000 from early position and wins the blinds and antes.
Hand 26:
Valentin Vornicu raises to 525,000 on the button and Michael Niwinski defends his big blind. The flop is and Niwinski checks.
Vornicu bets 575,000 and Niwinski calls. The turn is the and Niwinski checks again. Vornicu bets 850,000 and Niwinski calls.
The river is the and Niwinski checks. Vornicu checks back and Niwinski shows , good for a king-high straight, and Vornicu mucks his hand.
Michael Niwinski - 15,320,000 (64 bb)
Valentin Vornicu - 7,005,000 (29 bb)
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:53 PM Local Time
Hand 28:
Michael Ruane raises to 560,000 from the hijack and he takes down the blinds and antes.
Hand 29:
Action folds to Qui Nguyen and he opens to 530,000 from the cutoff. Fernando Pons three-bets to 1,310,000 from the button and action folds back to Nguyen. He folds and Pons takes down the pot.
Hand 30:
Pons raises to 600,000 from the cutoff and Tom Marchese calls from the big blind. The flop falls and Marchese checks. Pons bets 500,000 and Marchese folds.
Fernando Pons - 21,990,000 (91 bb)
Tom Marchese - 13,170,000 (55 bb)
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:47 PM Local Time
Hand 27:
Tom Marchese raises to 560,000 from middle position and Michael Ruane calls from the cutoff. The flop falls and Marchese checks. Ruane bets 700,000 and Marchese folds.
Michael Ruane - 40,250,000 (168 bb)
Tom Marchese - 13,890,000 (58 bb)
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:44 PM Local Time
Level: 32
Blinds: 120,000/240,000
Ante: 40,000
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:30 PM Local Time
Michael Ruane holds the chip lead after Level 31
Players are on their first break of Day 7. Play will resume at roughly 1:43 p.m.
Day 7 started with 27 players remaining. Vojtech Ruzicka led the field when play resumed partway through Level 31. While Ruzicka held the lead, Cliff Josephy seemed to grab the headlines. The two-time bracelet winner who first made a name for himself in the world of online poker started Day 7 in third place with 23,860,000 in chips. Josephy quickly took over the chip lead today, and stayed there for much of the level.
However, perhaps the most interesting story from Level 31 this afternoon is the meteoric rise of Michael Ruane. Ruane started the day in second place, between Ruzicka and Josephy. Ruane took the lead from Cliff Josephy after winning a huge hand with over 20,000,000 in the pot. He now has 39,050,000 in chips, well ahead of Kenny Hallaert, who's in second with 26,520,000. Josephy is third with 25,700,000.
Chris Kusha was the first player eliminated on Day 7
The first bustout of Day 7 came after less than 30 minutes of play. Chris Kusha was left severely short-stacked after Jared Bleznick doubled through him, and he was eliminated the next hand. Kusha finished in 27th place, earning $269,430.
One other player was eliminated this level. Just a few minutes after Kusha’s bustout. Philip Postma was eliminated in 26th place ($269,430) when his pocket queens ran into James Obst’s pocket aces.
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:30 PM Local Time
Hand 22:
Valentin Vornicu raises to 450,000 from early position and Cliff Josephy calls from the button.
The flop is and Vornicu continues for 400,000. Josephy raises to 900,000, Vornicu reraises to about 1,750,000, and Josephy folds.
Hand 23:
Matthew Moss raises to 440,000 from the hijack and William Kassouf calls from the big blind.
They check to the river of a board and Moss bets 875,000. Kassouf folds.
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:29 PM Local Time
Hand 26:
Mike Shin raises to 430,000 from the cutoff and Qui Nguyen calls from the big blind. The flop falls and Nguyen leads for 500,000. Shin calls and the falls on the turn.
Nguyen slows with a check and Shin does the same. The completes the board on the river and Nguyen bets 1,500,000. Shin folds and Nguyen takes the pot.
Qui Nguyen - 6,270,000 (31 bb)
Mike Shin - 17,840,000 (89 bb)
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:29 PM Local Time
Hand 25:
John Cynn raises to 450,000 under the gun, and Adam Krach three-bets to 1,100,000 in middle position. Cynn folds, and Krach wins the pot.
Hand 26:
Vojtech Ruzicka raises to 450,000 in middle position, winning the blinds and antes.
Hand 27:
Vojtech Ruzicka raises to 280,000 in early position, Griffin Benger calls behind him, and Kakwan Lau calls on the button to create three-way action. The flop is . Ruzicka continues for 1,300,000, Benger folds, and Lau calls. The turn is the . Ruzicka checks, and Lau bets 2,000,000. Benger folds, and Lau wins the pot.
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:26 PM Local Time
Hand 25:
Fernando Pons opens to 450,000 from early position. Action folds around to Tom Marchese in the cutoff and he three-bets to 1,150,000. Action comes back around to Pons and he calls.
The flop falls and Pons checks. Marchese continues for 900,000 and Pons folds.
Tom Marchese - 14,520,000 (72 bb)
Fernando Pons - 20,290,000 (101 bb)
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:24 PM Local Time
Hand 19:
Gordon Vayo raises to 450,000 on the button and Matthew Moss calls out of the big blind. The flop is and Moss checks.
Vayo bets 470,000 and Moss calls. The turn is the and Moss checks again. Vayo bets 930,000 and Moss folds. Vayo mucks his hand and takes the pot.
Hand 20:
William Kassouf raises to 450,000 from middle position and Cliff Josephy defends his big blind. The flop is and both players check. The turn is the and Josephy checks.
Kassouf checks behind and the river is the . Both players check again. Kassouf shows and wins the pot.
William Kassouf - 6,670,000 (33 bb)
Cliff Josephy - 27,240,000 (136 bb)
Hand 21:
Matthew Moss raises to 440,000 on the button and Jared Bleznick defends his big blind. The flop is and both players check. The turn is the . Bleznick bets 500,000 and Moss calls.
The river is the and Bleznick bets 1,200,000. Moss calls. Bleznick shows , good for trip queens, and Moss mucks his hand.
Jared Bleznick - 12,950,000 (65 bb)
Matthew Moss - 9,285,000 (46 bb)
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:22 PM Local Time
Hand 23:
Michael Ruane is under the gun and he raises to 450,000, taking down the blinds and antes.
Hand 24:
Qui Nguyen raises to 475,000 from middle position and it folds to Michael Ruane in the big blind. He three-bets to 1,225,000. Nguyen folds and Ruane takes the pot.
Michael Ruane - 39,210,000 (196 bb)
Qui Nguyen - 5,060,000 (25 bb)
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:19 PM Local Time
Antoine Saout
Hand 20:
Griffin Benger raises to 450,000 from under the gun, and Antoine Saout calls in middle position. The flop is . Benger checks, Saout bets 675,000, and Benger calls. The turn is the , and Benger checks again. Saout bets 1,030,000, and Benger calls. The river is the . Benger checks for a third time. Saout has less than a pot-sized bet left in his stack, and he thinks for a couple minutes before checking behind. Benger shows , and wins the pot with queens up.
Hand 21:
Joshua Weiss raises to 450,000 in the cutoff, winning the blinds and antes.
Hand 22:
Vojtech Ruzicka raises to 450,000 on the button, winning the blinds and antes.
Hand 23:
John Cynn raises to 450,000 in middle position, winning the blinds and antes.
Hand 24:
Griffin Benger raises to 465,000 in the cutoff, winning the blinds and antes.
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:18 PM Local Time
Hand 20:
Mike Shin raises to 430,000 and wins the blinds and antes.
Hand 21:
Michael Ruane makes it 450,000 to go from middle position. He takes down the blinds and antes.
Hand 22:
Ruane once again opens to 450,000 and it folds to Jeff Hakim in the small blind. He moves all in for 4,275,000 and it folds back to Ruane, who folds.
Jeff Hakim - 5,165,000 (25 bb)
Michael Ruane - 37,910,000 (190 bb)
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:15 PM Local Time
Kenny Hallaert
Hand 18:
Kenny Hallaert raises to 475,000 from the hijack and Valentin Vornicu
three-bets to 1,100,000 on the button. Hallaert calls and the flop is
.
Hallaert checks and Vornicu bets 1,225,000. Hallaert calls and the
turn is the . Hallaert checks and Vornicu bets again, this time
2,200,000.
Hallaert calls again and the pot is just shy of 10,000,000 when the
comes on the river. Hallaert checks and Vornicu bets 2,650,000.
Hallaert check-raises all-in for 8,690,000 and Vornicu quickly calls.
Hallaert shows for trip tens and Vornicu shows for queens up. Hallaert doubles up and Vornicu loses a chunk of his stack.
Kenny Hallaert - 26,970,000 (135 bb)
Valentin Vornicu - 7,695,000 (38 bb)
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:14 PM Local Time
Hand 15:
Valentin Vornicu raises to 450,000 from under the gun and wins the blinds and antes.
Hand 16:
Jared Bleznick limps in from the cutoff and William Kassouf completes the small blind. Valentin Vornicu checks his option from the big blind and they are three-handed to a flop of .
Kassouf checks, Vornicu checks, and Bleznick bets 600,000. Kassouf folds, Vornicu folds, and Bleznick wins the pot.
Hand 17:
Matthew Moss raises to 440,000 from early position and Cliff Josephy calls from middle position. Gordon Vayo defends his big blind and they are three-handed to a flop of . Action checks to Josephy, who bets 600,000 and wins the pot.
Monday, July 18, 2016 1:13 PM Local Time
Hand 19:
Action folds to James Obst, who raises from the button. Fernando Pons is in the big blind and he three-bets to 1,300,000. The flop comes and Pons continues for 1,225,000. Obst calls.
Fourth street is the and Pons checks. Obst bets 1,800,000 only to have Pons raise to 9,040,000. Obst folds and Pons takes the pot.
Fernando Pons - 21,720,000 (108 bb)
James Obst - 7,245,000 (36 bb)