Wednesday, March 19, 2014 8:24 PM Local Time
That's all she wrote from the tournament floor! The total field of 756 players has been whittled down to one champion: Nipun Java. Java was ultimately able to best none other than Shane Schleger during heads up play to claim the gold ring, the seat to the National Championship, and $226,785 in tournament winnings.
The day began with 13 players each vying for Circuit glory. Eventual champion Java came into the day as the top stack and did his best not to relinquish that position. The field was cut down to the official final table quickly as the likes of Piotr Brodzik, James Buckley, ring winner Everett Carlton, and Joshua Thai all fell victim to their remaining opponents. Eventually the final table was set and it was in fact David Chase who led the way.
Javid Javani came into the final table as the shortest stack and was the first player to fall. His ace-eight could not best Jack Duong's pocket tens and he was eliminated in ninth place. From there, the likes of Zewdie Wondimagegnehu and Chris Hyden quickly fell in eighth and seventh place, respectively.
The players engaged in six-handed play for quite some time where the chip lead changed hands several times between Java, Chase, and Shane Schleger. Ultimately, it was Bao Dao who became the sixth place finisher when he lost a race against Java. Java continued his domination of the table soon after, getting it in for Duong's entire stack in a preflop race situation as well. Java once again held through the race and Duong was forced to settle for fifth place.
Danny Illingworth, who had seemingly been nursing a short stack for a majority of the final table, was able to navigate himself all of the way up to a fourth-place finish. As it seemed to be the theme of the day, Illingworth eventually found himself all in before the flop and in a race situation with Java. Illingworth held king-queen but could not catch up to Java's pocket eights.
The final three players picked up the pace during three-handed play and began playing large pots with one another. Schleger pulled ahead of the pack but ended up giving some of that back by doubling up Chase twice. Eventually, Chase found himself all in and at risk for a third time - this time against Java. Java held a dominating ace-king against Chase's ace-nine. Chase failed to improve on the community cards and his elimination thrust Java and Schleger into heads up play.
The heads up match lasted a mere two hands. On the final hand of the tournament, Schleger opened from the button with ace-seven. Java picked up ace-king and three-bet from the big blind. Schleger shipped, Java snapped him off, and 'shaniac' was unable to improve his hand. As the runner-up, Schleger takes home $189,820.
That does it for our coverage of the 2013/14 Bicycle Casino Main Event! Be sure to stay tuned to the rest of our coverage as the WSOP Circuit continues at Lumiere Palace Casino & Hotels in St. Louis, Missouri!
Here are the final table payouts. For a full list, go to the “Results” tab.
1. Nipun Java - $226,785
2. Shane Schleger - $139,820
3. David Chase - $103,080
4. Danny Illingworth - $76,830
5. Jack Duong - $58,025
6. Bao Dao - $44,395
7. Chris Hyden - $34,395
8. Zewdie “Woody” Wondim - $26,980
9. Javad Javani - $21,420
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 8:03 PM Local Time
On just the second hand of heads-up play, Shane Schleger raises to 250,000 from the button, and Nipun Java three-bets to 600,000 from the big blind. Schleger moves all in, and Java calls.
Java:
Schleger:
The flop comes , giving Schleger a flush draw. The turn is the , and the river the . Java wins the pot with his Ace-King.
Schleger takes home $139,820 for his second-place finish. Nipun Java wins $226,785 for his victory, along with his first WSOP Circuit ring and a free entry into the National Championship in May.
Stay tuned for a full recap of the final day of action at the Bike.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 7:52 PM Local Time
After a series of raises, David Chase and Nipun Java get into an all-in confrontation preflop. Java holds , and he's in good shape against Chase's . The board runs out , and Java wins the pot. Chase is eliminated in 3rd place, good for $103,080.
Nipun Java - 9,000,000 (90 BBs)
Shane Schleger - 6,500,000 (65 BBs)
David Chase - Eliminated
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 7:41 PM Local Time
Nipun Java raises to 200,000 from the button, David Chase calls from the small blind, and Shane Schleger calls from the big blind. The flop is , and all three players check. The turn is the , and Chase checks again. Schleger bets 225,000, Java calls, and Chase folds. The completes the board on the river, and Schleger continues for 550,000. Java tanks for a minute, then calls. Schleger turns over for a flush, and Java mucks.
Shane Schleger - 8,000,000 (80 BBs)
Nipun Java - 5,100,000 (51 BBs)
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 7:29 PM Local Time
Level: 31
Blinds: 50,000/100,000
Ante: 10,000
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 7:20 PM Local Time
Shane Schleger opens to 200,000 on the button, and David Chase calls from the big blind. The flop comes , and Schleger continues for 300,000. Chase raises to 700,000, and Schleger moves all in. Chase calls and shows , and Schleger turns over . The turn and river provide no help, and Chase Doubles up.
David Chase - 4,200,000 (53 BBs)
Shane Schleger - 5,000,000 (63 BBs)
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 7:11 PM Local Time
David Chase opens his button with a raise and Shane Schleger moves all in. Nipun Java folds his big blind and Chase snaps him off for his last 1.885 million.
Chase:
Schleger:
The board falls down , allowing Chase to double up with ace-king high.
Shane Schleger - 4,000,000 (50 BBs)
David Chase - 3,800,000 (47 BBs)
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 7:06 PM Local Time
Since the last elimination, most pots have been small, but they're having a combined impact as Nipun Java and Shane Schleger slowly chip away at David Chase's stack. Chase had nearly 4,500,000 when Illingworth was eliminated, but he is now down to 2,000,000.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 6:34 PM Local Time
Danny Illingworth is on the button, and he puts out a raise with a messy stack that looks like about 500,000. He only had about 800,000 to start the hand.
Nipun Java then moves all in from the big blind, and Illingworth immediately calls. He shows , and Java turns over .
The flop is , missing both players completely. The turn is the , giving Illingworth an open-ended straight draw to go with his overcards. The river, though, is the , a complete blank, and Java wins the pot with his pocket eights. Illingworth is eliminated in 4th place, and he'll take home $76,830 for his efforts.
Nipun Java - 7,150,000 (89 BBs)
Danny Illingworth - Eliminated
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 6:27 PM Local Time
The Bicycle Casino tournament staff has introduced plaques into play! These plaques are worth 1,000,000 in tournament chips and there are currently two in play - one owned by Nipun Java and one by Shane Schleger. Here's a look at these beautiful betting tools:
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 6:09 PM Local Time
Level: 30
Blinds: 40,000/80,000
Ante: 10,000
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 5:50 PM Local Time
Nipun Java raisees to 120,000 from the button. Jack Duong is in the small blind and already has 30,000 in the middle. He pushes out a stack of 300,000 more for a raise to 330,000. Java thinks for a minute, then announces he's all in. Duong thinks for a minute as well, then calls and shows . Java tables , and the players are in a coin flip.
The suspense doesn't last long, though, as the appears right in the door. The full flop is , and Duong would need a 10 to win the hand. The turn is the , and the river is the , and Java wins the pot. Duong is eliminated in 5th place, earning him $58,025.
Nipun Java - 7,200,000 (120 BBs)
Jack Duong - Eliminated
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 5:38 PM Local Time
Nipun Java and Jack Duong take a flop of and Java comes out swinging for 125,000. Duong calls and the turn brings the . Java continues his aggression with a bet of 275,000. Duong comes over the top for 575,000 only to have Java three-bet shove all in. Duong opts not to call for his tournament life and throws his cards away.
Nipun Java - 4,880,000 (81 BBs)
Jack Duong - 1,650,000 (27 BBs)
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 5:21 PM Local Time
Nipun Java raises to 120,000 from the cutoff, and Jack Duong three-bets to 310,000 from the button. Java goes deep into the tank. After three minutes of thinking, he puts out a raise to 600,000. Duong thinks for a minute, then calls, and they see the flop heads up. The dealer spreads , and Java quickly announces he's all in. Now it's Duong's turn to tank. After another three full minutes, he slowly slides his cards toward the dealer, yielding the pot to Java.
Nipun Java - 4,000,000 (67 BBs)
Jack Duong - 1,460,000 (24 BBs)
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 5:16 PM Local Time
Danny Illingworth pops it up to 125,000 from the cutoff and finds calls from Shane Schleger on the button and Jack Duong in the big blind. The flop comes
and all three players check to see the fall on fourth street. Duong and Illingworth check over to Schleger who fires 180,000. Duong flat calls and Illingworth gets out of the way.
The rivers and Duong flings forward a single 100,000-chip. Schleger riffles chips for a moment, gives Duong a grin, and then tosses out a call.
Duong rolls over for top pair but is ultimately bested by Schleger's for two pair.
Shane Schleger - 3,600,000 (60 BBs)
Jack Duong - 2,050,000 (24 BBs)
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 4:49 PM Local Time
Nipun Java raises to 120,000 from under the gun, and action folds to Bao Dao (pictured) on the button. Dao thinks for a minute, then announces he's all in. Java asks for an exact count, which turns out to be 920,000. Java then calls and turns over . Dao shows , and the players are in a coinflip. The board runs out , missing both players completely, and Java wins the pot with his pocket tens. Dao is eliminated in 6th place for $44,395.
Nipun Java - 3,200,000
Bao Dao - Eliminated
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 4:37 PM Local Time
Level: 29
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 10,000
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 4:21 PM Local Time
Shane Schleger is under the gun and raises the action up to 150,000. Action trickles all of the way around to Bao Dao and he calls out of the big blind. The two take a flop of and Dao checks. Schleger opts to check it back which allows the to turn. Dao check-calls a bet of 150,000 on this street.
The river is the and Dao comes out swinging for 210,000. Schleger wastes little time firing out a raise to 450,000. This sends Dao deep into the tank. Ultimately, he moves out a call and mucks his cards after seeing Schleger's for two pair.
Shane Schleger - 3,105,000
Bao Dao - 800,000
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 4:13 PM Local Time
Bao Dao raises to 105,000 from the button. Danny Illingworth is in the small blind, and he gathers a messy stack of chips in each hand and pushes them forward for a raise. Nipun Java is next to act in the big blind, and he asks for an exact count of the raise, which turns out to be 370,000. Illingworth had only left himself about 200,000 behind. Java then goes all in, and Dao reluctantly folds.
Illingworth:
Java:
The board runs out , and Illingworth scores a double up with his ace-king.
Danny Illingworth - 1,250,000
Nipun Java - 2,500,000
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 4:03 PM Local Time
Nipun Java raises to 105,000 and finds a single call from David Chase in the cutoff. The two see a flop of and Java check-calls a bet of 150,000. The hits the turn and puts two pair on the board. Java checks again and Chase kunckles the table back.
The river is the and Java checks for a third time. Chase fires 500,000 and this bet sends Java into the tank for about two minutes. Eventually, he opts to call but mucks his hand after looking at Chase's for fives full of nines.
David Chase - 3,620,000
Nipun Java - 2,900,000