$10,000 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT - World Championship (Event #73)

Hand #92: Zhen Cai completed the blind and Dario Sammartino checked. Cai check-called 1 million on the     flop and then checked the   turn. That card checked through, bringing a  . Cai bet 1.9 million and Sammartino called with    to win the pot.

Hand #93: Nick Marchington raised preflop and won the pot.

Hand #94: Sammartino raised to 1.7 million on the button and Kevin Maahs defended the big blind. Both players checked the flop for a board of     . Maahs checked again and Sammartino bet 2 million. Maahs tanked a bit and folded.

Hand #95: Alex Livingston raised to 1.9 million up front and Cai went deep into the tank. After several minutes in the tank, he made it 3.5 million. Livingston called and     flopped. Both players checked, bringing a  . Livingston checked and folded to 3.5 million more.

Hand #96: Milos Skrbic raised to 1.6 million in the cutoff and Livingston won the pot in a hurry with a shove worth 14.4 million out of the big blind.

Dario Sammartino	65,500,000	6,600,000
Milos Skrbic	56,900,000	-3,600,000
Zhen Cai	29,900,000	1,000,000
Nick Marchington	22,600,000	0
Alex Livingston	17,200,000	-1,500,000
Kevin Maahs	14,700,000	-4,900,000

Milos Skrbic recently broke out in the poker tournament scene, but he's far from a newcomer to the game. After playing high-stakes cash for five years, the 31-year-old poker pro from Serbia who now resides in San Diego got interested in trying his hand in the tournament variant, bursting onto the scene in 2018 racking up $1,450,295 in cashes, according to Hendon Mob.

Skrbic is in good company of illustrious players who studied for another career before switching their major to poker. Before he took up the game 10 years ago, Skrbic studied to be a veterinarian back in his home country of Serbia. After one year, he shifted gears and decided to study computer science in the U.S. but eventually went all in with poker.

His journey in the Main Event so far has been a smooth one as he has padded his stack, staying near the top of the counts in the days leading up to the final table. A quick look through the live reporting blog paints a story of Skrbic winning pot after pot, many with no showdown — a quiet and calculated assassin climbing the ranks.

"I've definitely had some good hands. I made some great value bets on rivers and I also made some good calls, so I'm playing pretty good. Everything is going very smooth."

"I'm very relaxed. I think that's my big advantage."

Skrbic has been in some big-equity tournament spots that have prepared him well for the moment he's found himself in, approaching the final table of poker's crown jewel. Last year, he finished 958th in the WSOP Main Event. Then, he took sixth place in the $10k Bellagio Cup, and followed that up with a fifth-place finish in the €10k WSOP Europe Rozvadov Main Event won by Jack Sinclair.

"Well I was supposed to win that tournament, I ran pretty bad. I had like 45 percent of the chips five-handed and ran pretty bad...In the spot where I was, I expect to win a lot of times."

While he got good experience in the Main Events, he feels he got even more out of the experience of finishing runner-up to Dylan Linde in the $10,000 WPT Five Diamond Poker Classic in late 2018 that earned him seven figures.

"That was my second big one, so I just got used to all these things, so I don't feel any pressure or anything [in this one]. I'm very relaxed. I think that's my big advantage. And I also feel like home in Vegas and I have a lot of friends here and I'm just completely natural so that's helping me a lot."

How He Got Here

Key Hands

On Day 7, Skrbic has been putting the pressure on his opponents, chipping up throughout the day with few showdowns. All day it seems he's been winning pots preflop with three-bets and four-bets, or taking it down with bets or raises on the flop and turn. He's also won some critical pots making river calls with the best hand.

The one that really got him rolling though he says, was a hand he played with start-of-day chip leader Nick Marchington. Skrbic opened from the hijack with blinds at 150k/300k with a 300k big blind ante and called when Marchington put in the three-bet from the small blind.

On the     flop, Marchington led for 1.8 million and Skrbic raised to 4.55 million. He got a call and the   hit the turn. After a check from Marchington, Skrbic moved in for around 25 million which prompted a fold, putting Skrbic up over 39 million.

"I picked up some more outs on the turn and went all in when I showed the eight of hearts, so that was like huge - that was like a breaking point for today."

He also mentioned a significant hand on Day 4 where he overbet shoved two-times pot on the river for value and got called by worse, holding king-jack versus king-ten. "That was kind of the moment when my tournament went in a good direction."

What to Watch For

While others may be feeling the pressure of the huge money jumps and the lights and cameras, Skrbic is perfectly comfortable, a fact he'll be looking to continue using to his advantage with the most important poker days of his life ahead of him. With many friends here in town, Skrbic will have plenty of support on his rail, but he doesn't want them to go out of their way until he's down to the final three.

"I told everyone to come only for three-handed, so we have celebration."

Asked if he feels he can get some redemption for his close calls by winning this one, Skrbic was emphatic: "That's the only thing that interests me. Yeah so, I need to win. I'll be very disappointed if I don't. Five Diamond was my 30th birthday so I was sad that I didn't win but it wasn't the end of the world. Winning this one is like my only goal that I have; it's the tournament that every poker player wants to win above everything."

So what would it mean to Skrbic to win the Main?

"Everything."

Hand #87: Nick Marchington raised to 1,600,000 from the hijack and Dario Sammartino called in the small blind. Milos Skrbic also called from the big blind. The flop came    . They all checked through to see the   on the turn, Sammartino checked, Skrbic bet 2,600,000 which was enough to make Marchington and Sammartino fold.

Hand #88: Sammartino raised to 1,700,000 from the button and that was enough to pick up the blinds and ante.

Hand #89: Sammartino raised to 1,600,000 from the cutoff and Skrbic three-bet to 6,000,000 on the button for the blinds and Sammartino himself to fold.

Hand #90: Skrbic raised to 1,600,000 from the cutoff and got no action.

Hand #91: Sammartino raised to 1,700,000 from under the gun and Zhen Cai defended his big blind. The flop came    , Cai check-called the 1,200,000 continuation-bet of Sammartino. The turn brought them the  , Cai checked again, Sammartino bet 2,600,000 and Cai called. The river completed the board with the   for both of them to check and for Cai to claim the pot with    for the two pair on the board with the ace-kicker in his hand.

Milos Skrbic	60,500,000	8,400,000
Dario Sammartino	58,900,000	-8,400,000
Zhen Cai	28,900,000	4,700,000
Nick Marchington	22,600,000	-5,600,000
Kevin Maahs	19,600,000	-2,000,000
Alex Livingston	18,700,000	-2,000,000

Hand #91: Michael Niwinski raised to 1,600,000 from the cutoff and Timothy Su three-bet to 5,800,000 from the button.

From the big blind, Robert Heidorn moved all in for 11,700,000, and after Niwinski folded, Su called.

Su:   
Heidorn:   

With a chopped pot all but inevitable, the dealer spread the       board, and the pot was chopped up.

Hand #92: Robert Heidorn moved all in from the small blind for 13,100,000 and and won the big blind and ante and showed his   .

Hand #93: Henry Lu received a walk in the big blind.

Hand #94: Timothy Su raised to 1,800,000 from under the gun and Michael Niwinski called from the big blind. The flop landed     and Niwinski check-folded to a bet of 1,200,000 from Su.

Hossein Ensan	104,700,000	-2,000,000
Timothy Su	87,000,000	4,400,000
Garry Gates	64,800,000	-400,000
Henry Lu	18,600,000	0
Michael Niwinski	18,200,000	-4,200,000
Robert Heidorn	14,700,000	2,200,000

Dario Sammartino is the most decorated, and arguably the most talented, remaining player in the WSOP Main Event. The native of Naples, Italy has an impressive resume that includes over eight million in live tournament earnings and dozens of cashes on the high-roller circuit. Now, as this year's WSOP Main Event final table approaches, his sights are set on the ten-million-dollar first prize and a gold bracelet.

Competing at the highest level can be exhausting. In 2018, as he began to play less poker, there was speculation on whether Sammartino, like Fedor Holz and Doug Polk, was "retiring" from the game.

"I'm not retired," he told PokerNews. "I just don't play poker full-time. Before it was my first priority but now it's not really important."

During the last year, Sammartino made an effort to spend more time with friends and family. He went skydiving in Australia. He started a new business called "Rent, Sell, Cars" in which he and a friend rent out their flashy Ferraris. Even as he's done an admirable job of branching out and achieving more balance, Sammartino hasn't entirely abandoned his poker goals.

"I still want to win a bracelet," he said.

Sammartino enjoyed oodles of success at this year's WSOP, cashing seven times and reaching two final tables: a third-place finish in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship and a ninth-place finish in the 50K Players Championship. He also faced some adversity during the early stages of the Main Event.

"I was so sick," he told PokerNews. "It was really bad for three or four days. I had to take a lot of medicine. It was really tough."

Despite a nagging illness, Sammartino got off to a good start on Day 1C, bagging 121,000 chips. He gained momentum over the next few days until a rough Day 5 left him short-stacked and 105th out of 106 remaining players. But the savvy Italian rounder didn't quit. He enjoyed a flurry of double-ups: against Corey Burbick, then against Antonio Esfandiari, and then against Sam Greenwood. By the end of Day 6, he had added nineteen million chips to his stack.

How He Got Here

Key Hand

Sammartino leveraged a short stack at the beginning of Day 6 into a healthy stack by the end. A pivotal hand that made his run possible was against an especially tough opponent—Big One for One Drop champ Antonio Esfandiari.

The hand happened during Level 27, with the blinds at 50,000-100,000. Holding the    and about three million chips, Sammartino raised to 220,000 and Esfandiari three-bet in the hijack to 530,000. Sammartino called. After seeing the     flop, Sammartino check-called a bet of 435,000 and binked a card that he was looking for—the  —on the turn.

Holding the nut straight, Sammartino check-called all in for 1,320,000 and saw that he had Esfandiari's    drawing to a chop. Suddenly Sammartino had over six million in chips and the necessary momentum to propel him to the brink of the final table. The hand also showed that Sammartino is capable of taking unpredictable lines with a wide range of hands.

"I change my play a lot," he said. "I change based on the table, the stack, the player. A lot of things help me decide how to play. I don't have one basic strategy, and that is good. I change all the time and play my opponents differently. I hope it makes it hard for people to know how to play against me."

What to Watch For

Given his stellar track record and a healthy stack, Sammartino is in excellent position to go the distance. The illness that plagued him at the beginning of the tournament is already a distant memory.

"This is completely different from other tournaments," he said of the Main Event. "It's the best tournament you can play."

Hand #76: Milos Skrbic raised to 2,500,000 from the small blind and Kevin Maahs folded his big blind.

Hand #77: Dario Sammartino raised to 1,700,000 from the cutoff and Nick Marchington shoved from the big blind for around 23,000,000 for Sammartino to fold immediately.

Hand #78: Milos Skrbic raised to 1,600,000 from the cutoff and got no action.

Hand #79: Marchington raised to 1,600,000 from the button and Zhen Cai called in the big blind. The flop came    , they both checked to see the   fall on the turn. Cai check-folded to the 2,200,000 bet of Marchington.

Hand #80: Cai completed his small blind and Sammartino opted to raise to 3,000,000 in the big blind which was enough to make Cai give up on the hand.

Hand #81: Cai raised to 1,800,000 from the button and Skrbic three-bet to 6,500,000 from the big blind to which Cai folded.

Dario Sammartino	67,300,000	200,000
Milos Skrbic	57,000,000	3,700,000
Nick Marchington	28,200,000	4,500,000
Zhen Cai	24,200,000	-4,000,000
Alex Livingston	20,700,000	-3,400,000
Kevin Maahs	11,400,000	-3,200,000

Hand #70: Nick Marchington raised to 1.6 million under the gun and Kevin Maahs tank-called in the big blind. On the     flop, Maahs checked and Marchington checked it back, bringing a  . They checked again and an   arrived. Maahs checked, Marchington bet 1.2 million and Maahs gave up.

Hand #71: Alex Livingston raised to 1.8 million first to act. Nobody gave him action.

Hand #72: Zhen Cai raised to 1.8 million under the gun and Livingston defended the big blind. Livingston check-folded on the     flop.

Hand #73: Livingston completed the blind but folded to a raise to 2.3 million by Cai.

Hand #74: Marchington opened for 1.6 million in the cutoff and Cai called him from the small blind. Cai check-called 1.2 million on the     flop and then checked the   turn. Marchington barreled again for 4 million and Cai tanked around a minute before giving it up.

Hand #75: Dario Sammartino and Milos Skrbic saw a board of      for the minimum before Sammartino bet 1.5 million. Skrbic called and the river was a  . Sammartino bet 4 million and Skrbic thought about 30 seconds and released.

Nick Marchington

23,700,000

5,200,000

Hand #74: Garry Gates raised to 1,800,000 from the button and won the blinds and ante.

Hand #75: Hossein Ensan limped the small blind and Henry Lu raised to 2,000,000 total from the big blind. Ensan called, and the flop landed    .

Ensan shoved all in, and Lu folded.

Hand #76: Timothy Su raised to 1,800,000 from under the gun and won the blinds and ante.

Hand #77: Timothy Su received a walk in the big blind.

Hossein Ensan	108,100,000	1,200,000
Timothy Su	79,200,000	2,400,000
Garry Gates	70,600,000	2,000,000
Michael Niwinski	22,200,000	-2,000,000
Henry Lu	15,400,000	-3,200,000
Robert Heidorn	12,500,000	-400,000

Hand #73: Hossein Ensan raised to 2,000,000 from under the gun, Michael Niwinski three-bet to 10,100,000 from the cutoff (with 1,000,000 behind), Ensan four-bet and Niwinski called all in for 11,100,000 total.

Ensan:   
Niwinski:   

The board came down      , safe for Niwinski to double up.

Hossein Ensan	106,900,000	-11,100,000
Timothy Su	76,800,000	0
Garry Gates	68,600,000	-400,000
Michael Niwinski	24,200,000	13,100,000
Henry Lu	18,600,000	0
Robert Heidorn	12,900,000	-1,600,000