Thursday, June 6, 2019 4:07 PM Local Time
Bronshtein Four-Bets Chabra
The final hand before the break saw button Yuval Bronshtein raise to 36,000 and big blind Ajay Chabra three-bet to 118,000. Back to Bronshtein, who moved all in, counting his own chips for Chabra - 870,000. This won the pot there and then for Bronshtein, who's evening up the chip stacks.
| Ajay Chabra | 1,950,000 | 50,000  |
| Yuval Bronshtein | 1,010,000 | 90,000 |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 4:02 PM Local Time
Jerry Wong Eliminated in 3rd Place ($39,986)
Jerry Wong jammed for 190,000 from the button and Ajay Chabra had the count verified before throwing in one chip, callling.
Chabra patted and Wong changed one, tabling a wheel draw.
Wong:
Chabra:
"Seven, eight, nine, or a ten," Wong observed.
Then he looked down at his new card and peeled it. "Pair," he said, flipping a before shaking hands with Chabra and Yuval Bronshtein.
Wong was rewarded with $39,986 as he finally notched a top-three finish at a WSOP event.
| Jerry Wong | 0 | -320,000  |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 3:50 PM Local Time
Even the Best Gotta Get There Sometimes
So say Jerry Wong's rail, cheering on their short-stacked friend through the final table. Wong just doubled up through Ajay Chabra, moving all in for the third time in five hands for 150,000. This time big blind Chabra made the call and both players drew a card. Their hands:
Chabra:
Wong:
"Made it," said Wong, to cheers from the rail.
| Jerry Wong | 320,000 | 125,000 |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 3:44 PM Local Time
Every Pot Crucial for Wong
Jerry Wong has been nursing his short stack, and every hand has a significant impact on his stack. There hasn't been a single draw in the last few orbits.
Wong was already down to last 107,000 but then he shoved from the small blind and the price was still too high for Ajay Chabra to call. The very next hand saw Wong move all in again and his shove got through one more time.
These two hands helped Wong nearly double his stack, but he still has a mountain to climb.
| Jerry Wong | 195,000 | -105,000 |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 3:30 PM Local Time
Steven Tabb Eliminated in 4th Place ($27,477)
A monster pot just went to Yuval Bronshtein, busting Steven Tabb in the process. Tabb, first to act four-handed, moved in for 323,000. Button Jerry Wong made the call, then small blind Bronshtein called all-in too for 305,000. This came as an unwelcome surprise for Tabb, who elected to draw two cards now; Wong and Bronshtein stayed pat.
The pat hands: (Wong) and (Bronshtein).
Tabb had kept . His first drawn card was a potentially game-changing . His second, however, was the and he hit the rail in fourth place.
| Yuval Bronshtein | 920,000 | 630,000 |
| Jerry Wong | 300,000 | -170,000 |
| Steven Tabb | 0 | -325,000 |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 3:22 PM Local Time
Level 23 started
Level: 23
Blinds: 8000/16000
Ante: 24000
Thursday, June 6, 2019 3:21 PM Local Time
Chabra Takes from Wong
Jerry Wong made it 35,000 in the cutoff and Ajay Chabra fired 105,000 from the button. Wong matched the bid and changed one. Chabra patted and both players tapped the felt. Chabra opened and Wong couldn't beat that.
The following hand saw Wong call Chabra's 32,000-raise and they peeled one apiece. Wong check-called 64,000 but Chabra had him again, showing .
| Ajay Chabra | 1,900,000 | 600,000 |
| Jerry Wong | 470,000 | -215,000 |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 3:18 PM Local Time
Michael Sortino Eliminated in 5th Place ($19,313)
It folded to Michael Sortino on the small blind, who raised to 50,000. Big blind Ajay Chabra peered across the dealer at Sortino's stack, and set him in for just over 300,000. Sortino riffled a stack of thousand and five thousand chips together while giving Chabra the staredown and then called.
Both players drew a card, and it would be the last card for Sortino. His drew a jack, while Chabra made .
| Ajay Chabra | 1,300,000 | 0 |
| Michael Sortino | 0 | -350,000 |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 3:05 PM Local Time
Bronshtein Wins a Minor One
The play has slowed down in the recent minutes with the vast majority of the pots being taken down by the initial raise.
An exception occurred when Yuval Bronshtein defended big blind, calling Steven Tabb's 26,000-raise. Both players peeled one and then they checked. Bronshtein opened and narrowed the gap between his and Tabb's stack. They are currently maneuvering the two shortest stacks at the table.
| Steven Tabb | 325,000 | -15,000 |
| Yuval Bronshtein | 290,000 | 30,000 |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 3:02 PM Local Time
Level 23 started
Level: 23
Blinds: 10000/20000
Ante: 30000
Thursday, June 6, 2019 2:58 PM Local Time
Wong vs. Bronshtein
Every pot that involves a called raise at this blind level is a significant one. Just now Yuval Bronshtein called Wong's 30,000 open from the big blind. Both players stood pat. Bronshtein checked and Wong bet 40,000. Bronshtein called, looked at Wong's and mucked his hand.
| Ajay Chabra | 1,300,000 | 0 |
| Jerry Wong | 685,000 | 210,000 |
| Michael Sortino | 350,000 | -85,000 |
| Steven Tabb | 340,000 | -80,000 |
| Yuval Bronshtein | 260,000 | -205,000 |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 2:45 PM Local Time
Chabra Doesn't Mess Around
Steven Tabb made it 32,000 in the cutoff, Jerry Wong called on the button, and Ajay Chabra eyed their stacks. Then he slid in a tower of the 25,000-value chips, declaring he was all in for an effective 500,000 or so. Tabb gave up and Wong followed suit.
| Ajay Chabra | 1,300,000 | 60,000 |
| Jerry Wong | 475,000 | 5,000 |
| Steven Tabb | 420,000 | 20,000 |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 2:40 PM Local Time
Three in a Row for Tabb, One Bigger One for Bronshtein
Steven Tabb took down three pots in a row - raising under the gun to 32,000 with no caller, getting a walk from Yuval Bronshtein, and raising from the small blind to 40,000 and taking Jerry Wong's big blind.
The next hand, Ajay Chabra spotted an exposed on the deal that was meant for Bronshtein and it was taken as the burn. "If it was a king, I wouldn't see it!" Chabra joked. Then he made it 24,000 to go under the gun, called by his neighbour Bronshtein. Both players drew one card. Chabra check-called Bronshtein's 55,000 bet and was shown a winning .
| Yuval Bronshtein | 465,000 | 87,000 |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 2:30 PM Local Time
Sortino Cold Four-Bet Shoves
Steven Tabb opened to 27,000 and Jerry Wong re-raised to 80,000 from the button before Michael Sortino woke up with a hand in the small blind. Sortino announced he was all in and Wong asked for a count, learning that it was exactly 300,000.
Wong thought for a bit but he eventually waived the white flag.
| Jerry Wong | 470,000 | -160,000 |
| Michael Sortino | 435,000 | 85,000 |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 2:25 PM Local Time
Bjorn Geissert Eliminated in 6th Place ($13,892)
After being involved (on the winning side) of most of the action in the first fifteen minutes, Bjorn Geissert is suddenly on the rail, illustrating the fickle nature of the no limit poker gods.
From the second position, Jerry Wong raised to 25,000, button Ajay Chabra made it 65,000 and then Geissert moved his stack across the line once more. The bet was around 295,000. Chabra made the call and both players stood pat.
Geissert:
Chabra:
"Headline: Ajay nit rolled..." said Jerry Wong, as Geissert shook hands with all of his erstwhile opponents. There was some good-natured discussion on the amount of time a decision has to take to count as a nit-roll, and then play continued five-handed.
| Ajay Chabra | 1,240,000 | 300,000 |
| Bjorn Geissert | 0 | -310,000 |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 2:18 PM Local Time
Northbound Trend for Geissert
Bjorn Geissert made it 27,000 in the first position and his neighbor Steven Tabb called. They peeled one a piece and Geissert checked to Tabb who fired a bet of 100,000. Geissert called and Tabb rolled over for a pair of eights. Geissert tabled and eclipsed 300,000 in chips.
| Steven Tabb | 400,000 | -122,000 |
| Bjorn Geissert | 310,000 | 150,000 |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 2:15 PM Local Time
Early Double for Geissert
Bjorn Geissert three-bet all in on the button over a raise to 24,000 from Ajay Chabra.
"That's seventy, right?" asked Chabra, before making the call. Geissert stood pat with what turned out to be while Chabra drew one to . The one he drew was an ace; Geissert doubles up.
"All you gotta do is keep winning all-ins," his tablemate said. "Did he apologise?"
This was in reference to Geissert's doubling repeatedly in the wee hours of the morning as Day 2 played to six handed. He tended to apologise for keeping his opponents up - and in return they didn't begrudge him his boosts in chips.
| Ajay Chabra | 940,000 | -91,000 |
| Bjorn Geissert | 160,000 | 100,000 |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 2:09 PM Local Time
Geissert Down to a Nub
Jerry Wong raised to 30,000 under the gun and Bjorn Geissert called in the small blind. Geissert drew one and Wong stood pat. Geissert let Wong fire 40,000 and called after about 30 seconds.
Wong turned up and Geissert mucked his hand. Geissert continued with his last 60,000.
| Jerry Wong | 630,000 | 95,000 |
| Bjorn Geissert | 60,000 | -110,000 |
Thursday, June 6, 2019 2:04 PM Local Time
Play Underway
Cards, five to each player every hand (sometimes more), are back in the air as the six-handed final table starts its journey towards awarding a Deuce to Seven WSOP bracelet.
Thursday, June 6, 2019 10:45 AM Local Time
Chabra Leads the Final Table as Wong Chases His First Podium
It has taken 21 hours of play to find out the final six-handed lineup in the Event #13: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw which emerged from the 296-entry field, the largest for this event and buy-in level at the World Series of Poker. The remaining finalists have one thing in common; they are vying for the first bracelet of their respective careers. It's now time to find out who will take the $96,278 top-prize and join the ranks of WSOP champions.
Ajay Chabra holds over a third of the chips in play (1,031,000) and that alone would be enough to make him an early favorite. If that wasn't enough, Chabra's advantage might be emphasized by his precision which was observed by Frank Kassela, former champion of this tournament who called Chabra "Ajay, The Deuce Machine".
Chabra proved his talent for the game when he executed a savage bluff against Jerry Wong in a battle of two final table big stacks, putting his tournament life on the line.
Former November Niner Wong finished with a solid stack himself (535,000), and while Chabra has nearly twice as many chips, Wong's experience with tough final tables both live and online immediately puts him among the prime candidates for the win.
There is one thing that needs to be sorted between WSOP and Wong, though. "I have the second-most final tables without a top three finish," Wong told the table yesterday. He found out about that when he was following the story of Dan Zack who had the same trouble with the finishes at World Series until this week. Zack erased his curse by winning the $2,500 mixed triple draw and Wong will surely try to follow in his stride at the eighth attempt.
Final table seat order and chip counts:
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|
| 1 | Ajay Chabra | United States | 1,031,000 |
| 2 | Yuval Bronshtein | Israel | 378,000 |
| 3 | Bjorn Geissert | Germany | 170,000 |
| 4 | Steven Tabb | United States | 522,000 |
| 5 | Jerry Wong | United States | 535,000 |
| 6 | Michael Sortino | United States | 350,000 |
The final table also features Circuit grinder Steven Tabb who has already improved his 10th place finish from last year. Tabb led the tournament not only after Day 1 but also through a significant portion of Day 2. He enters the final day with 522,000.
The bottom half of the leaderboard includes seasoned veterans Yuval Bronshtein (378,000) and Michael Sortino (350,000) along with Bjorn Geissert from Germany, the only non-American player at the final table. Geissert is in possession of the shortest stack with 170,000.
It's certainly a fine mix to watch so come back to PokerNews at 2 p.m. local time to follow more live updates from the dynamic event which is about to crown its champion.