Monday, May 7, 2018 7:33 PM Local Time
Players are now on a 15 minute break.
Monday, May 7, 2018 7:14 PM Local Time
Clayton Jiang folds the button and it's on to Blake Whittington in the small blind. Whittington bets 16,000 and Jonathan Gilliam calls from the big blind.
The flop is and Whittington bets 25,000. Gilliam calls.
The turn is the and Whittington checks. Gilliam moves all in for about 100,000. Whittington snap-calls.
Whittington shows , but Gilliam tables for two pair, queens and tens. The river is the and Gilliam doubles up.
Blake Whittington - 480,000 (80 bb)
Jonathan Gilliam - 275,000 (45 bb)
Monday, May 7, 2018 6:53 PM Local Time
Level: 18
Blinds: 3,000/6,000
Ante: 1,000
Monday, May 7, 2018 6:48 PM Local Time
Clayton Jiang opens to 10,000 from the button and Blake Whittington calls from the small blind. It's on to John Richards (above) in the big blind and he raises to 55,000. Jiang folds, but Whittington moves all in and Richards calls.
Whittington is the biggest stack, but Richards is all in for about 200,000.
Whittington:
Richards:
The board runs out and Whittington's pocket jacks hold up. Richards is eliminated in fourth place, cashing for $11,100.
Blake Whittington - 534,000 (106 bb)
John Richards - Eliminated in 4th place ($11,100)
Monday, May 7, 2018 6:42 PM Local Time
From under the gun, Clayton Jiang raises to 10,000. Blake Whittington calls on the button and Jonathan Gilliam calls from the big blind sending three to the flop.
The flop is and everyone checks.
The turn is the and Gilliam bets 12,000. Jiang raises to 35,000 and it's over to Whittington who takes some time, but eventually flicks his cards into the muck. Gilliam calls.
The falls on the river and Gilliam checks. Jiang bets 100,000 and Gilliam tanks for a moment before folding a straight face up. Jiang tables a as the dealer pushes the pot toward him and Whittington says he folded , which would have been a full house.
Clayton Jiang - 370,000 (74 bb)
Blake Whittington - 345,000 (69 bb)
Jonathan Gilliam - 160,000 (32 bb)
Monday, May 7, 2018 6:26 PM Local Time
Jonathan Gilliam opens with a raise to 12,000 from the cutoff and Joe McKeehen (above) goes all in on the button for about 90,000. The blinds quickly fold and Gilliam insta-calls.
McKeehen:
Gilliam:
McKeehen and Gilliam have similar stack sizes, but Gilliam has the slight edge, so it's McKeehen whose tournament life is at stake on the bubble.
The board runs out and Gilliam will knock out McKeehen with a pair of kings.
Jonathan Gilliam - 210,000 (42 bb)
Joe McKeehen - Eliminated
Monday, May 7, 2018 6:05 PM Local Time
Level: 17
Blinds: 2,500/5,000
Ante: 500
Monday, May 7, 2018 5:45 PM Local Time
Joe McKeehen raises from under the gun to 9,000 and Blake Whittington calls on the button. From the small blind, John Richards moves all in for 93,500. The big blind quickly folds, as does McKeehen, but Whittington snap-calls.
Richards:
Whittington:
The board runs out and Richards will double up with his pocket aces.
John Richards - 205,000 (51 bb)
Blake Whittington - 195,000 (48 bb)
Joe McKeehen - 248,000 (62 bb)
Monday, May 7, 2018 5:35 PM Local Time
The action folds all the way around to Blake Whittington in the small blind. Alex Rocha, in the big blind, suggests Whittington fold so he can get a walk, but Whittington moves all in.
Rocha, who has just about six big blinds left, calls.
Whittington:
Rocha:
It's a race, but Whittington hits the flop and improves to a pair of queens. The turn is the and the river is the , both no help to Rocha, who is eliminated in 6th place.
Blake Whittington - 276,500 (69 bb)
Alex Rocha - Eliminated
Monday, May 7, 2018 5:25 PM Local Time
Level: 16
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 500
Monday, May 7, 2018 5:22 PM Local Time
Players are now on their first 15 minute break of the day.
Monday, May 7, 2018 5:21 PM Local Time
Clayton Jiang opens with a raise to 6,000 and after Blake Whittington folds, Duane Hunton moves all in for 53,000. Alex Rocha then folds and it's on the Justin Liberto who also moves all in for 86,000. Action folds back around to Jiang and he insta-calls having both Hunton and Liberto covered.
Jiang:
Liberto:
Hunton:
The flop is and Hunton's pocket queens are still best.
But the turn is the giving Jiang additional outs to a flush. Liberto is left looking for a jack on the river to double up.
The falls on the river, giving Jiang the ace-high flush and knocking out Hunton and Liberto in the process. With the massive pot, Jiang is the chip leader heading into the first break.
Clayton Jiang - 295,000 (98 bb)
Justin Liberto - Eliminated
Duane Hunton - Eliminated
Monday, May 7, 2018 5:14 PM Local Time
Joe McKeehen opens to 7,000 from middle position and action folds around to the button where Justin Liberto three-bets to 20,500. Once the blinds fold, McKeehen goes all in for 118,500. Liberto calls.
Liberto:
McKeehen:
The board runs out and McKeehen will scoop this pot with a flush.
Joe McKeehen - 245,500 (81 bb)
Justin Liberto - 86,000 (28 bb)
Monday, May 7, 2018 4:51 PM Local Time
Clayton Jiang opens with a raise to 6,000 from the cutoff before John Moore moves all in for 40,500 on the button. Action is over to Blake Whittington in the small blind and he moves all in for more than 200,000
The big blind quickly folds, as does Jiang, and Whittington and Moore are heads up.
Whittington:
Moore:
The board runs out and Whittington's aces are best, eliminating Moore in ninth place.
Blake Whittington - 267,000 (89 bb)
John Moore - Eliminated
Monday, May 7, 2018 4:36 PM Local Time
John Richards moves all in for 44,200 from under the gun. John Moore calls from the hijack and the two are heads up with Richards' tournament life at stake.
Richards:
Moore:
The board runs out and Richards' pocket nines hold up for him to earn a full double.
John Richards - 97,400 (32 bb)
John Moore - 66,000 (22 bb)
Monday, May 7, 2018 4:29 PM Local Time
Level: 15
Blinds: 1,500/3,000
Ante: 500
Monday, May 7, 2018 4:28 PM Local Time
Play has slowed down once the final table began, but Justin Liberto continues to lead the field.
The action folds around to Liberto in the hijack and he raises to 4,800. Clayton Jiang calls in the big blind and the two see a flop. Jiang checks and Liberto bets 4,200. Jiang calls.
The turn is the and Jiang checks. Liberto bets 15,800. Jiang tanks for a moment, but folds and Liberto will scoop another.
Justin Liberto - 242,000 (100 bb)
Clayton Jiang - 97,000 (40 bb)
Monday, May 7, 2018 3:54 PM Local Time
Level: 14
Blinds: 1,200/2,400
Ante: 400
Monday, May 7, 2018 3:53 PM Local Time
Players have redrawn for seats at the final table and their seats are as follows:
Seat 1: Justin Liberto - 194,000
Seat 2: John Richards - 42,500
Seat 3: Jonathan Gilliam - 180,000
Seat 4: Joe McKeehen - 148,700
Seat 5: Clayton Jiang - 125,000
Seat 6: John Moore - 125,000
Seat 7: Blake Whittington - 151,000
Seat 8: Duane Hunton - 52,200
Seat 9: Alex Rocha - 69,900
Monday, May 7, 2018 3:45 PM Local Time
John Moore opens with a raise to 4,000 on the button. Action folds to
Neil Liptak in the big blind and he moves all in for 21,300. Moore
snap-calls.
Moore:
Liptak:
The flop is and while Liptak has hit an ace, Moore has
improved to a set of fives. The turn is the and the river
completes the board, eliminating Liptak.
With this hand, the field is down to nine and players are redrawing for final table seating.
John Moore - 125,000