Monday, November 20, 2017 5:51 PM Local Time
Fernando Galvan opens to 160,000 in middle position, and Melanie Banfield (pictured) three-bet shoves for about 1,450,000 next to act. Galvan quickly calls when the action returns, putting her at risk.
Galvan:
Banfield:
"Oh wow," Banfield stands from her chair as she sees the bad news.
A moment later, though, the flop comes , giving her the nuts right out of the gate. "Oh wow," she says again. Banfield drops back down into her chair, suddenly poised to double up.
The on the turn provides a sweat, though, as Galvan picks up outs to a full house.
Sure enough, the river is the , and the chip leader runs down aces full of deuces to win the pot, after all. Banfield is eliminated in sixth place, wishing the table luck as she departs.
"Last ace," Bruce Kramer sums it up.
Galvan now has well over half the total chips on the table with five players left.
Fernando Galvan - 9,125,000 (114 bb)
Michelle Banfield - Eliminated
Monday, November 20, 2017 5:46 PM Local Time
Ali Imsirovic opens to 175,000 under the gun, but he's not a factor beyond that. Chris Tham three-bets to 475,000 on the button, and Mark Ioli (pictured) four-bet shoves for about 1,150,000 in the big blind. Imsirovic quickly folds, Tham quickly calls, and Ioli is at risk.
Tham:
Ioli:
The flop comes , and Ioli sinks in his chair. Tham flops the lead, and he maintains it through the turn and river. He wins the pot, eliminating Ioli in seventh place.
Chris Tham - 3,575,000 (45 bb)
Mark Ioli - Eliminated
Monday, November 20, 2017 5:39 PM Local Time
Ali Imsirovic raises to 175,000 from the hijack and Chris Tham defends his big blind.
The flop comes and Tham checks. Imsirovic thinks for a moment and checks back. The turn is the and both players check to the on the river. Tham checks, Imsirovic bets 555,000 and Tham tank-calls.
Ismirovic tables for two pair and scoops the pot.
Ali Ismirovic - 3,350,000 (41 bb)
Chris Tham - 1,850,000 (23 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 5:20 PM Local Time
Fernando Galvan has surged into a big chip thanks to a series of two hands against Ali Imsirovic.
The first one was fairly small, a battle of the blinds with two streets of betting in which Imsirovic flopped second pair of queens against Galvan's top pair of aces. The river went check-check, and Galvan earned the small increase.
One hand later, Imsirovic opens the button to 175,000, and Galvan calls in the small blind. The flop is . They both check there, then again on the turn. The river is the , and Galvan leads out for 355,000. Imsirovic raises to 1,200,000, and Galvan calls.
Imsirovic shows , which is unlikely to be good on that board. It's not. Galvan shows for a pair of kings, and his big call gives him another big boost at Imsirovic's expense.
Fernando Galvan - 7,100,000 (89 bb)
Ali Imsirovic - 2,725,000 (34 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 5:08 PM Local Time
Ali Imsirovic raises to 175,000 from middle position and last woman standing Melanie Banfield moves all-in for 580,000. Imsirovic snap-calls.
Banfield is at risk with , well behind Imsirovic's . Much to her relief, the flop comes and she makes two pair. The turn is the to give her a full house and the river is the .
Melanie Banfield - 1,300,000
Ali Imsirovic - 4,900,000
Monday, November 20, 2017 5:01 PM Local Time
Ali Imsirovic opens to 175,000 under the gun, and Danny Elmore (pictured) defends his big blind.
The flop is . Elmore checks, Imsirovic continues for 225,000, and Elmore calls. That action repeats on the turn, with Elmore check-calling a bet of 575,000. The river is the , and Elmore leads out for 600,000 on his own. He has about 975,000 chips behind, and Imsirovic raises him all in.
Elmore quickly calls to put himself at risk, showing for aces up. It's no good, though.
Imsirovic tables , having flopped a seven-high straight. He wins the pot to move into the chip lead, sending Elmore to the rail in eighth place.
Ali Imsirovic - 5,400,000 (68 bb)
Danny Elmore - Eliminated
Monday, November 20, 2017 4:43 PM Local Time
Level: 30
Blinds: 40,000/80,000
Ante: 10,000
Monday, November 20, 2017 4:35 PM Local Time
The final eight players are on a 15-minute break at the end of Level 29. Here's how they'll stack up when they return for the new level with an 80,000-chip big blind:
Seat 1: Danny Elmore - 2,100,000 (26 bb)
Seat 2: Ali Imsirovic - 3,530,000 (44 bb)
Seat 3: Fernando Galvan - 3,575,000 (45 bb)
Seat 4: Melanie Banfield - 940,000 (12 bb)
Seat 5: Chris Tham - 2,785,000 (35 bb)
Seat 6: Bruce Kramer - 1,550,000 (19 bb)
Seat 7: Mark Ioli - 1,200,000 (15 bb)
Seat 8: Corey Hochman - 1,250,000 (16 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 4:30 PM Local Time
Chris Tham opens to 140,000 in middle position, and Ali Imsirovic defends his big blind.
The flop is . Imsirovic checks, Tham continues for 165,000, and Imsirovic calls. Both players check through the turn. The river is the . Imsirovic bets 405,000, and Tham quickly calls.
Imsirovic shows , winning the pot with queens up.
Ali Imsirovic - 3,565,000 (59 bb)
Chris Tham - 2,790,000 (47 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 4:24 PM Local Time
Mark Ioli raises to 130,000 from under the gun and Corey Hochman pauses before three-betting to 300,000 with just 225,000 behind. Ioli calls.
The flop comes and Ioli checks. Hochman moves all-in for 225,000 and Ioli calls.
Hochman tables , up against Ioli's .
The turn is the and the river is the to give Hochman a double-up.
Corey Hochman - 1,200,000 (20 bb)
Mark Ioli - 1,200,000 (20 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 4:17 PM Local Time
Chris Tham opens to 140,000 under the gun, and Danny Elmore calls in the hijack. From the small blind, Neil Scott (pictured) three-bets to 475,000, which looks like exactly half of his remaining stack. Tham shoves, Elmore folds, and Scott calls all in for about 950,000 to put himself at risk.
Tham:
Scott:
Scott's rail celebrates early, and the runout is a disaster. It comes , and Tham finds both of the remaining kings to win the big pot and move back into the chip lead.
With his aces cracked, Scott is eliminated in ninth place.
"All right, where's my money?" he demands. Gracious in defeat, Scott and the table share a laugh, he wishes them luck, and off he goes.
Chris Tham - 3,850,000 (64 bb)
Neil Scott - Eliminated
Monday, November 20, 2017 3:54 PM Local Time
Danny Elmore opens the hijack to 140,000, and Sunny Gandham (pictured) three-bet shoves for 770,000 in the cutoff. Elmore asks for the count, then calls to put Gandham at risk.
Elmore:
Gandham:
The board runs out in Elmore's favor, coming . He wins the big pot, eliminating Gandham in 10th place.
Danny Elmore - 2,585,000 (43 bb)
Sunny Gandham - Eliminated
Monday, November 20, 2017 3:40 PM Local Time
Mark Ioli moves all in for 935,000 in early position, and Sunny Gandham calls a few seats over, committing about half his remaining stack to do so.
Ioli:
Gandham:
The board runs out , and Ioli wins the pot with queens up. He doubles up.
Mark Ioli - 1,995,000 (40 bb)
Sunny Gandham - 975,000 (20 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 3:35 PM Local Time
Level: 29
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 10,000
Monday, November 20, 2017 3:28 PM Local Time
Action folds to Danny Elmore in the cutoff and he raises to 115,000. Ali Imsirovic defends from the small blind and Fernando Galvan mucks his big blind.
The flop comes and both players check to the on the turn. Imsirovic leads out for 125,000 and Elmore calls.
The river is the . Imsirovic bets 700,000 and Elmore goes into the tank. After about 30 seconds he slides some chips forward, indicating a call. Imsirovic excitedly tables for trip sevens and Elmore mucks his cards.
Ali Imsirovic - 2,705,000 (54 bb)
Danny Elmore - 1,325,000 (26 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 3:24 PM Local Time
Action begins on Corey Hochman under the gun, and it freezes for a couple long minutes. Eventually, Hochman moves all in for 400,000, and the rest of the table quickly folds. That moves him up to 525,000.
The next hand, Melanie Banfield opens to 125,000 in middle position, and Hochman three-bet shoves for 520,000 in the big blind after paying the ante. The dealer announces the amount correctly, and Banfield calls with two live cards, aiming for the knockout.
Banfield:
Hochman:
The board runs out , and Hochman wins the pot with a pair of aces.
There is an issue during the accounting process, though, and Hochman's stack is incorrectly determined to be 440,000 on the second count. It takes a couple minutes to rearrange the pot before everyone settles on that number. He's paid out that much, and he and the rest of the table seem to agree that it's finally correct.
Hochman doubles up—almost, at least.
Corey Hochman - 930,000 (19 bb)
Melanie Banfield - 1,375,000 (28 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 3:03 PM Local Time
Chris Tham opens to 110,000 from middle position and Danny Elmore calls from the cutoff. Fernando Galvan is in the big blind and moves all-in for 770,000. Tham folds and Elmore asks for a count. After about a minute, he opts to call.
Galvan tables , up against Elmore's for a flip.
The flop comes to give Galvan some more outs to win the pot. The turn is the and Galvan pulls ahead, pairing his queen. The river is the and Galvan doubles through.
Fernando Galvan - 1,700,000 (34 bb)
Danny Elmore - 2,200,000 (44 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 2:55 PM Local Time
Bruce Kramer opens to 100,000 in middle position, and Sunny Gandham calls in the small blind.
The flop is . Gandham checks, Kramer continues for 200,000, and Gandham check-raises all in with the larger stack.
Kramer needs a couple minutes to think. He cuts down his stack to reveal he has just less than 900,000 chips in front of him, then stacks it back up into one tower. He puts a hand behind the chips as if preparing to move them forward, takes a deep breath... then glances back over his shoulder at the payouts scrolling on the clock. A moment later, he sighs and folds, showing the .
Gandham collects the pot, flashing the as he does so.
Sunny Gandham - 2,175,000 (44 bb)
Bruce Kramer - 895,000 (18 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 2:41 PM Local Time
For the second consecutive hand, Fernando Galvan opens with a raise to 100,000, this time from the hijack. Next door in the cutoff, Neil Scott three-bet shoves for 955,000 total. When it folds back around to Galvan, he calls, committing just over half his remaining stack to put Scott at risk.
It's the classic coin flip.
Galvan:
Scott:
Scott's horse runs faster as the board comes out . He doubles up, taking a big bite out of Galvan's stack in the process.
Neil Scott - 2,035,000 (41 bb)
Fernando Galvan - 800,000 (16 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 2:39 PM Local Time
Fernando Galvan opens the cutoff to 100,000, and Chris Tham defends his big blind.
The flop is , and Tham check-calls a continuation bet of 110,000 from Galvan. They both check through the turn, and the river is the . Tham bets 165,000, and Galvan folds.
That one was a minor setback, but Galvan is involved in the next pot, too, and this one will hurt a bit more.
Chris Tham - 3,130,000 (63 bb)
Fernando Galvan - 1,760,000 (35 bb)