Thursday, June 17, 2010 9:40 PM Local Time
Joerg Engels has survived a few all-in situations today, but his good fortune in those spots has finally run out.
Engels open-raised to 110,000 from the button, and Michael Greco called from the big blind. The flop came . Greco checked, Engels pushed his remaining stack of approximately 260,000 in the middle, and Greco quickly called.
Greco
Engels
Greco's trip sixes put him well ahead of Engels. The turn was the , giving Greco a boat. And the river was the , sending Engels to the rail.
That hand puts Greco a little over a million in chips, good for second with four players left.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 9:32 PM Local Time
After that flurry of activity, we had a hand in which Miguel Proulx was not involved. Short stack Joerg Engels managed a double-up through L.J. Klein, pushing back up to 360,000. Klein slips back to 688,000.
Klein is still in second, but way, way behind Proulx now who has more than 2.4 million in front of him.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 9:27 PM Local Time
A hand after Miguel Proulx eliminated Trevor Pope, Karl Gal moved all in for his last 200,000 after a preflop raise and was instantly called by Proulx.
Gal:
Proulx:
Gal was ahead and actually improved to a flush when the flop came . Proulx had flopped two pair and was looking to hit a jack or queen. The on the turn was no help, but the on the river sent reactions of shock and awe through the rail.
Proulx, who has been on a roll, is up over two million while Gal was eliminated from the tournament in sixth place ($54,736).
Thursday, June 17, 2010 9:22 PM Local Time
Trevor Pope opened with a raise to 100,000 from under the gun, and it folded to new chip leader Miguel Proulx who reraised the pot. It folded back to Pope, and he committed his last 220,000 or so to make the call.
Pope had a nice starter -- -- and was looking for the community cards to cooperate versus Proulx's . But the board didn't work out for Pope, coming , and he's out.
Proulx adds to his already big stack, pushing out over 1.9 million.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 9:14 PM Local Time
Miguel Proulx raised to 100,000 from the cutoff and was called by L.J. Klein from the button and Karl Gal from the big blind.
The flop came and Gal checked. Proulx bet 200,000 and Klein made the call. After Gal got out of the way, Proulx checked the on the turn and Klein bet 250,000.
Proulx raised all in, creating a pot over one million. Klein seemed frustrated and folded, leaving himself with 848,000. Meanwhile, Proulx is distancing himself as the chip leader with 1.6 million
Thursday, June 17, 2010 9:07 PM Local Time
Jorge Engels was down to just 100,000 -- in the form of four green 25,000 chips -- when the big blind (now 40,000) reached him. Stephane Tayar called from the button, and Trevor Pope called also from the small blind. Engels tossed his remaining chips into the middle, Tayar called the raise, then Pope pushed all in from the BB. Tayar got out, and the cards were tabled.
Pope
Engels
The board ran out , meaning Engels ended with a full house. He'd tripled to 300,000 on that one. Pope slips to 344,000. And Tayar has 310,000.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 9:01 PM Local Time
Joerg Engels, who has been nursing a short stack, raised to 135,000 in early position and Stephane Tayar called from the big blind.
When the flop came , Tayar bet out 296,000. Engels only had 100,000 remaining but opted to fold. Tayar is up to 605,000 while Engels only has four green 25,000 chips remaining.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 8:58 PM Local Time
Here are the counts as we begin Level 26:
L.J. Klein -- 1,358,000
Miguel Proulx -- 735,000
Michael Greco -- 688,000
Stephane Tayar -- 450,000
Trevor Pope -- 404,000
Karl Gal -- 366,000
Joerg Engels -- 234,000
Thursday, June 17, 2010 8:53 PM Local Time
Miguel Proulx and L.J. Klein are our chip leaders at the moment. The pair are sitting side by side and between them have won the majority of the pots this level. They've mostly stayed out of each other's way, although just now we saw a hand in which they butted heads.
Proulx opened for 65,000 from UTG, and Klein was his only caller. The flop came , and Proulx continued with a bet of 120,000. Klein quickly called.
The turn brought the and a check from Proulx. Klein promptly pushed out 200,000, and Proulx folded.
Klein jumps back in front, moving to 1.15 million, while Proulx now has 780,000.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 8:46 PM Local Time
Michael Greco raised to 60,000 from the button and Stepaane Tayar made the call from the big blind.
The flop came and both players checked. Tayar bet 30,000 when the came on the turn and Greco called. Tayar then checked the on the river and Greco bet 155,000. Tayar mucked, dropping his stack to 480,000. Meanwhile, Greco is up to 673,000.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 8:40 PM Local Time
Miguel Proulx raised to 65,000 from late position, and Tommy Le called from the big blind. The flop came , Le pushed the rest of his short stack in the middle, and Proulx called.
Le showed and was looking for help against Proulx's . The turn was the and river , and Proulx's set of fives was best.
Le is swiftly out in eighth, while Proulx improves to 835,000.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 8:31 PM Local Time
L.J. Klein once again raised to 65,000 from early position, and it folded around to Trevor Pope who called from the small blind. Joerg Engels also called from the BB.
The trio ended up checking down all three streets, with the board ultimately showing . Pope tabled -X-X. He'd checked his queens full on the end but got no takers. The others mucked, and Pope took the pot.
"Pope! Pope! Pope! Pope!" yelled his cheerleaders, still fill of energy following dinner.
Pope has 594,000 now.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 8:23 PM Local Time
The table folded around to Tommy Le who raised pot to 105,000 from the button, and it folded to Stephane Tayar in the big blind. Tayar thought about it, then made the call.
The flop came , Tayar bet enough to put Le all in, and Le let it go.
Le has quickly fallen all of the way down to 127,000 and last place, losing most of his stack to Tayar over the last half-hour. Tayar is now at 570,000.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 8:15 PM Local Time
The last five hands have seen Miguel Proulx raise three times (to 65,000) and take the blinds, and L.J. Klein do the same twice (for the same amount).
Some space has opened up between Klein and the field now, following that rapid transfer of chips from Tommy Le to Stephane Tayer right after dinner. Klein is up to 1.02 million, with Michael Greco his closest foe with 663,000. Proulx is in third with 625,000.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 8:08 PM Local Time
Once again Tommy Le raised preflop to 75,000 and Stephane Tayar moved all in for 265,000. Action folded to Le and he made the call.
Le:
Tayar:
The flop was quite interesting when it came , giving Tayar top set but providing Le with a flush draw. The on the turn gave Le even more outs with a straight draw. In fact, Le supporters could be heard calling out cards for the river that would give him the win.
When the came on the river Tayar and his supporters erupted in celebration. Tayar went from the short stack to 575,000 while Le drops to 307,000 and is the new short stack.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 8:02 PM Local Time
Tommy Le has come back from the dinner break in the same aggressive frame of mind with which he concluded the previous level. He opened the first three hands with raises. On the first Trevor Pope reraised and forced a fold. Le took the blinds the second time.
Then, on the third hand, Le raised to 75,000 from middle position, and Stephane Tayar reraised all in for his last 110,000. It folded around and Le called.
Tayar
Le
The board went , and Tayar doubled up to 265,000. Le now has 572,000.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 6:55 PM Local Time
Play has slowed tremendously as of late, with preflop raises usually being enough to take down the pot.
Players are now on a one hour dinner break. We'll have to wait and see if any strategies change when they return.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 6:38 PM Local Time
We're seeing a lot of raise-and-take-it happening here as we approach the dinner break that is scheduled for the end of this level. It has been L.J. Klein and Tommy Le doing most of the raising and taking, with Klein having crept up past Le and into the chip lead.
Klein is pushing up close to the one-million chip mark at present, while Le is around 820,000.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 6:26 PM Local Time
As expected, it wasn't long after that hand with Trevor Pope that Stephane Tayar was all in with his short stack. And he survived. As expected.
Tayar was all in with against L.J. Klein's , and the board meant we still had a table of eight.
Tayar is still short with 162,000, while Klein is in second (behind Tommy Le) with 760,000.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 6:16 PM Local Time
Yet another double-up from a short stack to report. Seems more often than not since we've gone nine-handed we've seen the little guys making what they need to stay alive.
In this case, Trevor Pope was the short one, up against Stephane Tayar. They'd built a pot already by the time the came. Then Tayar bet, and Pope called with the last of his stack. Pope had and Tayar .
The turn was the and the river the , and Pope's aces held. Pope's cheering section -- including Annette Obrestad -- gave a gleeful roar of excitement following their man's triumph.
Pope's up to 556,000 while Tayar is way down under 100,000 now.