Monday, April 25, 2016 5:56 PM Local Time
In the first hand of the new level, Leif Force opens the button to 275,000, and Maurice Hawkins three-bets to 750,000 from the big blind. Force moves all in for 3,305,000 total on a four-bet shove. Hawkins, who has been acting quickly on nearly every decision, takes a brief pause to consider. After maybe 90 seconds, he folds.
With that chunk of chips changing hands, it looks like Force has just inched into the chip lead.
Leif Force - 4,125,000 (41 bb)
Maurice Hawkins - 4,100,000 (41 bb)
Monday, April 25, 2016 5:48 PM Local Time
Level: 31
Blinds: 50,000/100,000
Ante: 10,000
Monday, April 25, 2016 5:40 PM Local Time
Chip Ervin opens to 175,000 in middle position, and Karthik Ramakrishnan calls in the small blind.
The flop comes . Ervin moves all in with the covering stack, sending his opponent deep into the tank. Ramakrishnan cuts down his stack and announces the effective bet. "I have one million fifteen (thousand) chips left," he surmises correctly. After maybe two minutes more of deliberation, he slides his cards into the muck.
"Phew. Good fold," Ervin says. He tables . "I was worried when you thought so long."
Chip Ervin - 2,700,000 (34 bb)
Karthik Ramakrishnan - 1,015,000 (13 bb)
Monday, April 25, 2016 5:03 PM Local Time
Chip Ervin opens to 175,000, and Brannon Cashion calls in position.
The flop is . Ervin continues for 175,000, and Cashion calls to see the turn. It's the . Ervin checks, Cashion bets 305,000, and Ervin check-raises all in for 1,750,000. Cashion considers briefly before surrendering his cards into the muck.
Chip Ervin - 2,595,000 (32 bb)
Brannon Cashion - 3,500,000 (44 bb)
Monday, April 25, 2016 4:49 PM Local Time
Cards are back in the air following the break.
Monday, April 25, 2016 4:48 PM Local Time
Level: 30
Blinds: 40,000/80,000
Ante: 10,000
Monday, April 25, 2016 4:34 PM Local Time
Another two levels are in the books, and the seven remaining players are on a 15-minute break. Here's how they'll stack up when the new level begins with 40,000/80,000 blinds:
Seat 1: Leif Force - 1,020,000 (13 bb)
Seat 2: Randy Lowery - 5,915,000 (74 bb)
Seat 3: Maurice Hawkins - 3,715,000 (46 bb)
Seat 4: Chip Ervin - 2,230,000 (28 bb)
Seat 5: --empty--
Seat 6: Corey Bierria - 2,135,000 (27 bb)
Seat 7: Brannon Cashion - 4,250,000 (53 bb)
Seat 8: --empty--
Seat 9: --empty--
Seat 10: Karthik Ramakrishnan - 1,190,000 (15 bb)
Monday, April 25, 2016 4:21 PM Local Time
Chip Ervin opens to 155,000, Brannon Cashion calls in the small blind and Marty DeBruhl moves all in from the small blind. Ervin moves in over the top and Cashion flashes pocket sixes before mucking.
Ervin:
DeBruhl:
The board runs , DeBruhl's fours are beat and Ervin takes the pot.
Chip Ervin - 2,550,000 (42 bb)
Monday, April 25, 2016 3:55 PM Local Time
Action folds around to Karthik Ramakrishnan on the button. "Five and a quarter," he announces, moving all in for 525,000. Leif Force calls from the small blind to put him at risk.
Ramakrishnan:
Force:
The board runs out . Ramakrishnan pairs his ace on the river to earn the come-from-behind double, drawing nearly even with Force in the process.
Karthik Ramakrishnan - 1,190,000 (20 bb)
Leif Force - 1,220,000 (20 bb)
Monday, April 25, 2016 3:50 PM Local Time
Marty DeBruhl opens to 130,000 and Maurice Hawkins calls from the big blind. The flop comes , both players check and the turn comes . DeBruhl check-calls 225,000, the river lands and DeBruhl checks. Hawkins bets 535,000, DeBruhl goes into the tank and folds after Hawkins counted down the bet for him.
Maurice Hawkins - 1,200,000 (20 bb)
Marty DeBruhl - 1,500,000 (25 bb)
Monday, April 25, 2016 3:43 PM Local Time
Level: 29
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 10,000
Monday, April 25, 2016 3:41 PM Local Time
Randy Lowery opens the button to 125,000, and Maurice Hawkins three-bets to 300,000 in the small blind. Lowery calls.
The flop comes . Both players check, and Hawkins bets 115,000 in the dark as the turn brings the . Lowery calls. The river is the . Hawkins checks, then calls a bet of 300,000 from Lowery.
Hawkins: (pair of tens)
Lowery: (aces up)
Lowery wins the pot with two pair, and he's now building a significant chip lead over the chase pack.
Randy Lowery - 5,900,000 (118 bb)
Maurice Hawkins - 1,275,000 (26 bb)
Monday, April 25, 2016 3:02 PM Local Time
Chip Ervin opens the action to 125,000, Hamid Izadi calls and Brannon Cashion calls in the small blind. The flop comes , Cashion checks and Ervin bets 290,000. Izadi tosses one chip in and announces all in a fraction after the chip hit the table. His action is ruled a call and he has little over 100,000 behind.
Cashion mucks, the turn comes and both players check. The river is , Ervin checks and Izadi moves his stack all in. Ervin calls, rolls over and Izadi has .
Izadi is eliminated from the Main Event in ninth place for the second consecutive time.
Chip Ervin - 1,990,000 (39 bb)
Hamid Izadi - Eliminated
Monday, April 25, 2016 2:53 PM Local Time
Karthik Ramakrishnan opens to 115,000 in middle position, and Randy Lowery three-bets to 300,000 from the cutoff. Hamid Izadi calls from the big blind, and Ramakrishnan calls the remainder to proceed three-handed.
The flop comes . It checks to Lowery, and he moves all in for 1,590,000. Izadi ponders for a couple minutes, then calls to put him at risk. Ramakrishnan folds.
Lowery:
Izadi:
Izadi's pair is a slight favorite, but Lowery has plenty of outs with two cards to come. The turn is the blank , but the river sends the big pot to Lowery. He doubles up into second place, knocking Izadi all the way down to the shortest stack at the table.
Randy Lowery - 4,150,000 (83 bb)
Hamid Izadi - 575,000 (12 bb)
Monday, April 25, 2016 2:45 PM Local Time
Maurice Hawkins opens the action to 110,000 and Chip Ervin three-bets behind him to 400,000. Hawkins calls, the flop comes , Hawkins shoves and Ervin calls.
Hawkins:
Ervin:
The board completes , Hawkins improves to a set and Ervin sends chips over to Hawkins.
Maurice Hawkins - 1,250,000 (25 bb)
Chip Ervin - 1,050,000 (21 bb)
Monday, April 25, 2016 2:39 PM Local Time
Hamid Izadi opens the cutoff to 125,000, and Jong Kim three-bet shoves for 580,000 in the big blind. Izadi calls to put him at risk.
Izadi:
Kim:
The board runs out . Izadi flops his queen and turns aces up, winning the knockout pot to climb into second place on the leaderboard. Kim, the start-of-day chip leader, is eliminated in 10th place.
Hamid Izadi - 2,375,000 (48 bb)
Jong Kim - Eliminated
Monday, April 25, 2016 2:31 PM Local Time
The players returned from the break and cards are back in the air with the stunning Katie Pool dealing.
Monday, April 25, 2016 2:31 PM Local Time
Level: 28
Blinds: 25,000/50,000
Ante: 5,000
Monday, April 25, 2016 2:10 PM Local Time
Two levels are in the books and the event is down to a single table. They're filling out bio information and will be back in 20 minutes.
Monday, April 25, 2016 2:06 PM Local Time
With about 10 minutes left in Level 27, the field has been reduced to 10 players. They've just redrawn seats for the final time, now seated around the last table left in play. Here's how they're laid out:
Seat 1: Leif Force - 2,200,000 (55 bb)
Seat 2: Randy Lowery - 525,000 (13 bb)
Seat 3: Maurice Hawkins - 715,000 (18 bb)
Seat 4: Chip Ervin - 2,200,000 (55 bb)
Seat 5: Hamid Izadi - 1,610,000 (40 bb)
Seat 6: Corey Bierria - 1,740,000 (44 bb)
Seat 7: Brannon Cashion - 5,200,000 (130 bb)
Seat 8: Jong Kim - 600,000 (15 bb)
Seat 9: Martin Debruhl - 1,450,000 (36 bb)
Seat 10: Karthik Ramakrishnan - 1,800,000 (45 bb)
Everyone left is guaranteed to earn at least $22,226, with a gold ring and a top prize of more than ten times that reserved for the winner.