Event #45: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em

Andrew Teng raised to 60,000 from the hijack and Kenneth Griffin called from the cutoff. Jean Luc Marais then folded but accidentally exposed his    in the process.

Next to act, Jonathan Lane pushed his entire stack of 515,000 into the middle and the action was back on Teng. The young tournament veteran from England began to agonize over the decision, asking the dealer to be sure that an ace had been exposed and was now in the muck. He held up his    and stared forlornly at what he considered a missed opportunity, before tossing the cards away.

With the action back on him, Griffin announced that he was making the call, putting Lane at risk of elimination.

Showdown:

Lane:   
Griffin:   

The all-in Lane held a big ace, but with one of his outs already in the muck, he was in a slightly more disadvantageous position than the average coin flip. The dealer spread a flop of     and now things had gotten interesting. Griffin was still in the lead with his pair of eights, but Lane now held two overcards and an open-ended straight draw. Two of Lane's straightening cards were held by Griffin, however, so his outs were still a bit limited.

The dealer turned the   and Lane was down to his last chance. He needed to spike an ace, king, queen or an eight to retake his seat at the final table. With Griffin's supporters screaming for the board to pair, the dealer revealed the river card.

River:  

The ultimate brick arrived on the river and after fading what seemed like half of the deck, Griffin scored the knockout.

Kenneth Griffin	1,900,000	750,000
Jonathan Lane	0	-510,000

In the previous hand, Antonio Esfandiari used a professional's ability to read the situation and he made a big reraise to capture the three calls of 60,000 made before him. The power play padded The Magician's stack and on the next deal he tried once again to push his tablemates around.

After Eric Baudry opened for 65,000 from early position, and Esfandiari three-bet to 150,000. Baudry paused, seemingly frozen by the moment, but he eventually made the call.

The flop rolled out     and Esfandiari led out for 180,000. Baudry was not to be bullied and after another long pause, he called the bet. The turn card came   and Esfandiari shoved all-in, which would force the shorter stacked Baudry to risk his tournament life.

Baudry was willing to take the risk and he instantly called while flipping up    for top set. Esfandiari dejectedly showed down his    and found that he was drawing dead. The meaningless   on the river gave Baudry a boat and the win. Esfandiari took a major hit to his stack, while the quiet Baudry let his cards do the talking for him.

Eric Baudry	1,170,000	-5,000
Antonio Esfandiari	625,000	-775,000

Philip Hammerling raised to 60,000 from the button and Eric Baudry called from the small blind. Andrew Teng gave up his big blind and we were heads up to the flop which came    . Baudry checked action to Hammerling who put out the minimum possible bet of 30,000. Baudry called and the turn brought the  . Baudry checked again and this time Hammerling bet a more sizable 80,000. Baudry opted to toss his cards into the muck and said "I'll only fold to a real bet!" as Hammerling scooped up the pot.

After the recent flurry of bustouts, Kenneth Griffin decided it was his turn to grab some chips, and he raised to 65,000 from the cutoff. Antonio Esfandiari didn't like the idea of surrendering his small blind, so he reraised and made it 150,000 to go. Griffin wanted to see the flop and he made the call.

Flop:    

The Magician led out for a bet of 115,000, trying to represent that he had connected with the textured flop, but Griffin was not a believer and he reraised all-in for 660,000. The power play worked to perfection and Esfandiari was forced to muck his hand.

Antonio Esfandiari	1,700,000	-120,000
Kenneth Griffin	1,240,000	220,000

With his short stack dwindling ante after ante, Jeremiah Siegmund decided to make his stand after watching Antonio Esfandiari open for 65,000. Siegmund pushed all-in for his last 315,000 holding the button and before The Magician could consider a call, Eric Baudry moved all-in as well. Baudry had Siegmund covered by about 75,000 or so, and Esfandiari quickly got out of the way.

Showdown:

Baudry:   
Siegmund:   

While had found a pocket pair to work with, Siegmund was in bad shape against Baudry's overpair. The flop ran out     and Siegmund was down to a two-outer for his tournament life.

No help arrived on the turn of   and after the river fell  , Siegmund was the first to be bounced from the final table arena. He will take home $33,813 for his run in this event, while Baudry gave himself some breathing room with the double-up.

Eric Baudry	725,000	353,000
Jeremiah Siegmund	0	-380,000

Our nine remaining players have returned from dinner and are back in action. Will chipleader Jean Luc Marais be able to maintain his lead? Will Antonio Esfandiari be able to overtake him? Stay tuned to find out!

The players are currently on their 60-minute dinner break, and here is where they all stand currently. After the break the players will be moving to the ESPN main stage.

Jean Luc Marais	1,915,000	35,000
Antonio Esfandiari	1,820,000	285,000
Philip Hammerling	1,520,000	300,000
Kenneth Griffin	1,020,000	75,000
Andrew Teng	645,000	220,000
Jonathan Lane	475,000	-110,000
Aaron Massey	445,000	-235,000
Jeremiah Siegmund	380,000	-122,000
Eric Baudry	372,000	-123,000

In the last two hands, Aaron Massey has tried and failed to steal Andrew Teng's blinds.

In the first encounter, Massey raised to 62,000 from the cutoff and Teng sized up his stack before shoving all-in. Massey mucked his cards and the steal attempt was thwarted.

On the very next hand, Massey held the button and raised to 50,000 after the action had folded to him. Teng again looked over at Massey's short stack and announced that he was all-in. Massey was visibly frustrated with the bullying but he tossed his cards into the muck, surrendering about one-fifth of his stack with the two failed steals.

With so much at stake at the final table of a WSOP event, some players choose to wear clothes that can more easily help them hide possible emotion and tells. Here at our final table, Ken Griffin, Jean Luc Marais, Philip Hammerling, and Jeremiah Siegmund are all sporting hooded sweatshirts with the hoods up. Jon Lane, Eric Baudry and Andrew Teng are all wearing baseball caps, and Antonion Esfandiari and Aaron Massey have left their heads uncovered.

Only Lane, Hammerling, and Siegmund have left their eyes exposed while all the other players are sporting sunglasses.

It's interesting to see the different ways in which players attempt to cover themselves. We've spotted Ken Griffin pulling his hooded sweatshirt up and around his face when he is involved in a hand. So much so, that during a hand earlier Jean Luc Marais (who is sitting directly to Griffin's left) had to lean out and over the table to attempt to get a read on his opponent.

Action folded to Ken Griffin in the small blind who raised to 85,000. Jean Luc Marais tossed out the chips to call and they saw the flop come    . Both players checked and when the turn brought the   they both checked again. The river was the   and Griffin led out with a bet of 100,000. Marais quickly called and the hands were revealed.

Griffin:   
Marais:   

Marais' aces and queens were best and he took down the pot.