Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:39:23 -0700
Vitaly Lunkin wins Event #2, $40,000 No-Limit Hold'em ($1,891,012), Isaac Haxton Eliminated in 2nd Place ($1,168,566)
Hand #167 -
Vitaly Lunkin has the button. He limps in and Haxton raises an additional 600,000. Lunkin makes the call.
The flop is

. Haxton leads out for 1,200,000, Lunkin moves all in and Haxton calls all in for 5,635,000.
Haxton

Lunkin

The turn is the

, no help for Haxton, who needs a diamond, an eight or a three to keep his bracelet hopes alive. The river, though, is the

and Vitaly Lunkin wins the tournament, his friends rushing the table to embrace him. They wrap Lunkin in a Russian flag as they celebrate.
Haxton earns $1,168,566 for his runner-up finish while Lunkin takes home $1,891,012 and his second WSOP bracelet.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:27:54 -0700
Hand #166 - Isaac Haxton
Isaac Haxton has the button. He limps in and Lunkin checks his option.
The flop is

and Lunkin check-folds to Haxton's 325,000 bet.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:25:22 -0700
Hand #165 - Isaac Haxton
Vitaly Lunkin has the button. He makes it 500,000 to go, Haxton moves all in for 5,475,000, and after asking for a count, Lunkin folds. Haxton wins the pot.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:23:09 -0700
Hand #164 - Vitaly Lunkin
Isaac Haxton has the button. He limps in and Lunkin raises to 600,000. Haxton folds and Lunkin wins the pot.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:22:25 -0700
Updated Chip Counts
We've now seen exactly 50 hands of heads up. Safe to say the last 10 have been somewhat more exciting than the previous 40.
Vitaly Lunkin -- 18,360,000
Isaac Haxton -- 5,735,000
It has been about three hours since heads up play began.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:21:14 -0700
Hand #163 - Isaac Haxton
Vitaly Lunkin has the button. He limps in and Haxton raises to 600,000. Lunkin folds and Haxton wins the pot.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:17:23 -0700
Hand #162 - Vitaly Lunkin Doubles Through Isaac Haxton
Talk about a suck/re-suck...
Isaac Haxton has the button. He makes it 400,000 to go and Lunkin reraises to 1.4 million. Haxton calls and they go to the flop.
The flop is

. Lunkin leads out for 2,000,000, Haxton moves all in and Lunkin calls.
Lunkin

Haxton

Haxton is in dire shape here and needs to hit an eight or running non-club straight cards to survive.
And the turn is... the

.
Even Haxton can't believe it, his jaw hanging open in amazement.
However, the river is the

and the room explodes as Lunkin makes his flush, decimating Haxton's stack. He's left with 5,505,000 while Lunkin has the rest, 18,590,000 in all.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:10:00 -0700
Hand #161 - Isaac Haxton
Vitaly Lunkin has the button. He limps in and Haxton raises to 800,000 total. Lunkin calls.
The flop comes down

and Haxton checks. Lunkin checks behind. The turn is the

and both players check again. The river is the

. Check-check.
Haxton shows

and wins the pot.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:04:46 -0700
Hand #160 - Isaac Haxton Doubles Through Vitaly Lunkin
Isaac Haxton has the button. He opens for 400,000 and Lunkin calls.
The flop is

and Lunkin check-raises Haxton's 525,000 bet to 1.45 million. Haxton calls and they go to the turn, which falls the

. Lunkin leads out with a 1.5 million bet, Haxton moves all in and Lunkin calls.
Haxton

Lunkin

Haxton needs a king or a ten to survive.
"This would be a good time to use my 'one time'" he says, echoed by a chorus from his railbirds.
One time indeed-- the river is the

and Haxton thrusts his fists into the air.
"ONE TIME! ONE TIME!" screams Haxton's half of the audience.
With that hand, Haxton doubles to 13,970,000 while Lunkin is down to 10,125,000.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:56:15 -0700
Hand #159 - Isaac Haxton
Vitaly Lunkin has the button. He gives Haxton a walk in the big blind.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:55:16 -0700
Hand #158 - Isaac Haxton
Isaac Haxton has the button. He raises to 400,000 and picks up the blinds and antes.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:54:45 -0700
Let's Turn This Around
There was a dealer change after that last hand. "He's my man," said Isaac Haxton with a smile, hopeful to retake the momentum once again.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:53:20 -0700
Hand #157 - Vitaly Lunkin
Vitaly Lunkin has the button. He raises to 400,000, Haxton three-bets to 1.4 million and Lunkin moves all in. Haxton folds and Lunkin takes the pot.
Lunkin is now up to 17,470,000.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:51:22 -0700
Hand #156 - Isaac Haxton
Isaac Haxton has the button. He raises to 400,000 and Lunkin calls.
The flop is

and Lunkin check-folds to Haxton's 600,000 bet.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:49:45 -0700
Hand #155 - Vitaly Lunkin
Vitaly Lunkin has the button. He raises to 500,000 and Isaac Haxton calls.
The flop is

and Haxton check-folds to Lunkin's 500,000 bet.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:46:29 -0700
Hand #154 - Vitaly Lunkin Doubles Through Isaac Haxton
Isaac Haxton has the button. He raises to 400,000 and Lunkin comes in with a three-bet to 1.4 million. Haxton moves all in and Lunkin calls all in for 7,940,000. Haxton has him well covered.
Lunkin

Haxton

The flop is

and the Russian contingent explodes on one side of the room as Lunkin flops top set. The turn is the

, leaving Haxton drawing dead. The river is the meaningless

and Lunkin earns a huge double-up, completely reversing the chip counts.
Lunkin is currently up to 15,940,000 while Haxton is left with 8,155,000.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:44:11 -0700
The Battle Continues
It has been over two hours since Greg Raymer's sudden elimination and the start of heads up play.
Isaac Haxton held a little better than a 2-to-1 chip lead over Vitaly Lunkin at that point, but it only took Lunkin seven hands to take the lead away. But after a lengthy bit of back-and-forthing, Haxton has now retaken the momentum and has built his way close to that 2-to-1 chip advantage once again.
Neither player appears to be in any huge hurry to gamble it up. And the stacks are still deep -- Haxton has about 75 big blinds to Lunkin's 45.
But wait... something big is brewing...
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:42:07 -0700
Hand #153 - Isaac Haxton
Vitaly Lunkin has the button. He makes it 500,000 to go and is met with a reraise to 1.6 million from Haxton. Lunkin folds and Haxton takes it down.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:40:19 -0700
Hand #152 - Isaac Haxton
Isaac Haxton has the button. He raises to 400,000 and Vitaly Lunkin calls.
The flop is

and Lunkin checks to Haxton, who bets 525,000. Lunkin folds and Haxton wins the pot.