$1,000 Mini Main Event (Event #69)

Hand #51: Jeremy Saderne shoved all in from the small blind and Andres Korn folded the big blind.

Hand #52: Saderne shoved all in again on the button and once again picked up the blinds and ante.

Hand #53: Yi Ma shoved all in from the small blind and Koji Takagi folded the big blind.

Hand #54: Takagi completed the small blind and Lula Taylor checked her option. The flop was     and Takagi checked, Taylor bet 5,000,000, Takagi check-raised to 19,000,000 and Taylor folded.

Hand #55: Takagi shoved all in for 17,000,000 on the button and Jeremy Saderne called all in from the big blind.

Koji Takagi:   
Jeremy Saderne:   

The     flop brought nothing for Saderne to work with and the   turn kept Takagi in the lead. The river   changed nothing and Takagi doubled up.

Lula Taylor	100,000,000	-3,000,000
Andres Korn	72,000,000	0
Jeremy Saderne	65,000,000	-3,000,000
Yi Ma	54,000,000	8,000,000
Koji Takagi	40,000,000	-4,000,000

Hand #48: Andres Korn pushed his stack forward from the cutoff and won the blinds and antes.

Hand #49: Yi Ma moved all in for 44,000,000 on the button, but no call followed.

Hand #46: Yi Ma raised to 8,000,000 from under the gun and Andres Korn three-bet shoved 58,000,000 from the small blind. Ma looked up towards the ceiling, contemplating what to do. He counted out his stack, gave it some more thought, then folded his hand.

Hand #47: Lula Taylor raised to 10,000,000 from middle position and Ma called from the big blind. The flop was     and Ma checked. Taylor bet 9,000,000 and Ma folded.

Lula Taylor	103,000,000	14,500,000
Andres Korn	72,000,000	14,000,000
Yi Ma	46,000,000	-21,000,000
Jeremy Saderne	44,500,000	0
Koji Takagi	44,000,000	0
Stefan Widmer	21,500,000	-7,500,000

Hand #40: Koji Takagi raised to 6,000,000 and Lula Taylor called from one seat over. Jeremy Saderne spent some time in the think tank and three-bet all in for effectively 57,500,000, as that's what Takagi as the bigger stack had left.

Takagi folded and Taylor made the call.

Lula Taylor:   
Jeremy Saderne:   

Both Taylor's and Saderne's rail started shouting in support as the cards were turned over. Nothing changed on the     flop, and Taylor improved to a straight on the   turn. The French rail asked for a ten, but the   river came a blank and Taylor doubled for 37,000,000 and gave Saderne a hug while her stack was counted out.

"I love you, Anthony," Taylor said to the dealer and added, "well, that was exciting".

Lula Taylor	99,500,000	56,500,000
Koji Takagi	51,500,000	-6,000,000
Jeremy Saderne	51,000,000	-43,000,000

Hand #28: Philip Gildea shoved all in for 7,400,000 from middle position and Jeremy Saderne called on the button.

Philip Gildea:   
Jeremy Saderne:   

The crowd got on their feet in anticipation of what was about to unfold. The flop     kept Gildea ahead with his queens. The   on the turn added a flush draw to Saderne's aces.

It was Saderne's original out, the  , that landed on the river and a boisterous French rail exploded in celebration. Gildea received $92,686 for his deep run.

Jeremy Saderne	101,200,000	26,100,000
Yi Ma	67,400,000	0
Koji Takagi	53,300,000	0
Andres Korn	49,700,000	-15,100,000
Lula Taylor	36,500,000	0
Stefan Widmer	23,600,000	-4,800,000
Philip Gildea	0	-7,400,000

Hand #26: Yi Ma raised to 5,200,000 and Ben Alloggio moved all in for the last 6,500,000 in the big blind, which Ma called.

Ben Alloggio:   
Yi Ma:   

The     flop gave Alloggio top pair while Ma had a gutshot straight draw. Nothing changed with the   turn, but Ma once again spiked magic with the   river to eliminate Alloggio in 8th place for $71,199.

Yi Ma	67,400,000	10,100,000
Ben Alloggio	0	-8,900,000

Hand #18: Yi Ma raised to 5,300,000 and Koji Takagi three-bet to 15,300,000 from one seat over. The action folded back to Ma and he sent his cards into the muck.

Hand #19: Takagi limped in from middle position and Andres Korn checked his option in the big blind. The flop brought     and Korn checked, Takagi made it 4,000,000 to go and that ended the hand right there.

Hand #20: Korn open-shoved out of the small blind for effectively 26,400,000, as that's what Stefan Widmer in the big blind had left. Widmer gave it some consideration and folded.

Hand #21: Lula Taylor raised to 5,000,000 and found no resistance, her rail started clapping as the chips were pushed over.

Hand #22: Ma raised to 7,000,000 from the small blind and Takagi forfeited his big blind and big blind ante.

Andres Korn	74,900,000	-100,000
Jeremy Saderne	64,000,000	0
Yi Ma	57,300,000	-5,300,000
Koji Takagi	54,300,000	10,300,000
Lula Taylor	36,500,000	6,000,000
Stefan Widmer	23,400,000	-5,000,000
Philip Gildea	12,400,000	0
Ben Alloggio	8,900,000	-5,000,000

While Day 1a of the most prestigious poker event of the year, the elusive and highly anticipated $10,000 WSOP MAIN EVENT, is about to kick off, eight players will shortly determine a new champion at the 2019 World Series of Poker in Event #69: $1,000 Mini Main Event.

Taking place for the very first time, the tournament drew a staggering 5,521 entries in a Freezeout format and the final eight will return to their seats on the Amazon feature table at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino at noon local time to secure as big a portion as possible of the $4,968,900 prize pool.

All remaining hopefuls have parlayed their initial investment of $1,000 into a payday of $71,199 already, but all eyes are firmly set on the top prize of $628,654 and the coveted WSOP bracelet that comes along with it.

One of the final eight already has a WSOP bracelet to his name and Andres Korn will also be the chip leader heading into the final showdown after claiming 75,000,000 to his name. Close behind are France's Jeremy Saderne with 64,000,000 and Yi Ma from China with 62,600,000.

Koji Takagi may become the third player ever from Japan to claim WSOP gold and enters the final day with a stack of 44,000,000, while Lula Taylor continues her standout performance in the event and has 30,500,000 to her name. The final table line-up is completed by Stefan Widmer (28,400,000), Ben Alloggio (13,900,000) and Philip Gildea (12,400,000).

Event #69: $1,000 Mini Main Event Final Table

The action recommences with 17 minutes remaining in level 41 at blinds of 1,000,000/2,000,000 and a big blind ante of 2,000,000. Saderne has the button with a dead small blind and Alloggio as the single big blind, and the 30-minute level structure will certainly provide plenty of action in the hours to come.

Stay tuned to find out who joins the WSOP bracelet winner circle, as the PokerNews team provides hand-for-hand updates until a champion is crowned. You can also follow the live stream on CBS All Access as of 1 p.m. local time.

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