Sunday, June 20, 2010 3:08 PM Local Time
Ayaz Mahmood opened to 33,000 from the button only to have Faraz Jake bump it to 83,000 from the big blind.
Mahmood made the call as the dealer spread the flop to see Jaka lead out for 80,000.
Mahmood moved all in and Jaka instantly-folded to see Jaka slip to 280,000 in chips as Mahmood climbs to 1,640,000.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 3:08 PM Local Time
The original plan was to start the semifinals at 7 p.m. local time -- a little under three hours from now -- although it sounds like they'll bump that up to 6 p.m. should our remaining two matches end relatively soon.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 3:06 PM Local Time
In one of the last hands of the previous level (5,000/10,000 blinds), Ernst Schmejkal opened with a raise to 22,000, and Vanessa Rousso called. The flop came . Rousso checked, Schmejkal bet 21,000, and Rousso called. Both then checked the turn.
The river was the . Rousso checked, and Schmejkal took his time before betting 60,000. Rousso called, tabling for the bottom end of the straight. Schmejkal had , though, and took the pot.
Schmejkal chips back to 820,000, still behind Rousso's 1.1 million.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:54 PM Local Time
With the board showing and about 100,000 in the middle, Vanessa Rousso bet 50,000, and Ernst Schmejkal called. The river brought the and another 50,000 bet from Rousso. Schmejkal thought a moment, then tossed two green (25,000) chips out for the call.
Rousso tabled , while Schmejkal showed . Schmejkal's hand was best, and he took the pot.
Rousso still holds the advantage, however, with 1.265 million to Schmejkal's 655,000.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:51 PM Local Time
On a board reading Ayaz Mahmood moved his last 559,000 into the pot of roughly 400,000.
"Why so much?" asked Jaka as he began cutting down the necessary chips to make the call.
A few more minutes went by before Jaka slid an assortment of chips into the pot to signify a call.
"Flush!" announced Mahmood as he tabled his .
Jaka mucked his hand and slipped to 287,000 as Mahmood climbed to 1,633,000 in chips.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:44 PM Local Time
Alexander Kostritsyn took the early advantage in his match with Ludovic Lacay. By the time the second half-hour level of play had begun, he'd already taken a better than 3-to-1 lead.
In the final hand, the pair had already built a pot before a flop. Lacay checked, Kostritsyn bet 65,000, and Lacay called. The turn brought the and a 153,000 bet from Lacay. Kostritsyn asked how much Lacay had left -- about 210,000 -- and raised enough to put Lacay all in. Lacay called.
Lacay
Kostritsyn
Aces and treys for Lacay, and a heart flush draw for Kostritsyn. The river was the , giving the Russian the hand and moving him into the semifinals. Lacay earns $92,580 for making it this far.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:44 PM Local Time
Ayaz Mahmood opened to 25,000 only to have Faraz Jaka three-bet to 75,000.
With the action back on Mahmood, he cut down a raise amounting to 250,000 to prompt an eventual fold from Jaka.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:41 PM Local Time
Ayaz Mahmood opened to 25,000 from the button and Faraz Jaka made the call to see a flop fall down.
Jaka checked and Mahmood fired out 30,000 which Jaka called before both players checked down the on the turn and the on the river.
Jaka tabled his , but it would be Mahmood's that would rake in the pot and see his stack grow to 815,000 as Jaka slips to 1,105,000 in chips.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:34 PM Local Time
Vanessa Rousso has chipped up to an advantage in her match with Ernst Schmejkal. Just now the pair were looking at a board of , a pot of about 120,000, and a river bet from Rousso of 100,000. Schmejkal thought for a while, but let it go.
Rousso has 1.165 million to Schmejkal's 755,000 now.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:34 PM Local Time
Jason Somerville opened from the button to 16,000 only to have Kido Pham move all in for his last 224,000.
Somerville instantly made the call and we were off to a showdown.
Pham:
Somerville:
The flop of gave Pham both a flush and straight draw, and after the turn landed the he would need to find one of the twelve outs in the deck to keep him alive.
Although he improved, it wouldn't be enough as the dealer burned and turned the on the river to send Pham to the rail in 8th place for a $92,580 payday as Somerville progresses through to the semi-finals and final four!
Now all he has to do is rest up for his 7:00 pm PST match up with either Faraz Jaka or Ayaz Mahmood.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:32 PM Local Time
Ludovic Lacay raised to 20,000, Alexander Kostritsyn reraised to 64,000, and Lacay called. The flop came . Kostritsyn checked, Lacay bet 72,000, and Kostritsyn called. The turn was the , and both players quickly checked.
The river brought the . Kostritsyn checked, and Lacay made a hefty bet of 156,000. Kostritsyn tanked, then made the call.
"Queen," Lacay said, showing . Kostritsyn wordlessly turned over a queen with a better kicker -- -- and took the pot.
Kostritsyn jumps ahead to 1.34 million to Lacay's 580,000.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:22 PM Local Time
On a board reading Jason Somerville fired out 80,000 only to be check-raised by Kido Pham to 530,000.
Somerville slowly replied the hand in his mind as he deliberated a decision.
Eventually - after roughly three minutes - Somerville made the call and tabled his for top set as Pham mucked his hand.
Somerville now holds a commanding lead with 1,919,715 to Pham's 285,000 in chips.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:18 PM Local Time
With about 90,000 in the middle and the board showing , Alexander Kostritsyn bet 64,000, then Ludovic Lacay raised to 177,000.
Kostritsyn contemplated the raise for about a minute, then finally made the call. Lacay tabled , but Kostritsyn had for two pair and took the large pot.
Kostritsyn jumps to a lead in this one, with 1.135 million to Lacay's 785,000.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:15 PM Local Time
Faraz Jaka entered the pot from the button with a raise to 17,000 only to have Ayaz Mahmood three-bet to 50,000.
Jaka deliberated for a few moments before sliding in a bet amounting to 122,000 to prompt an insta-muck from Mahmood.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:11 PM Local Time
Ernst Schmejkal raised to 16,000 from the small blind/button, and Vanessa Rousso called. The flop came . Rousso checked, Schmejkal bet 16,000, and Rousso called.
The turn was the . Rousso again checked, and this time Schmejkal bet 40,000. Rousso thought a moment, then let it go. Schmejkal showed his as he dragged the pot.
Schmejkal edges to a small lead here in the early going, with 980,000 to Rousso's 940,000.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:11 PM Local Time
Kido Pham opened to 24,000 from the button only to have Jason Somerville three-bet to 75,000.
Pham made the call to see a flop fall and a continuation bet of 85,000 follow from Somerville.
Pham took his time before folding as he slipped to 850,000 as Somerville raked in the pot to climb to 1,070,000 in chips.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:06 PM Local Time
Jason Somerville opened for a min-raise from the button to 16,000 and Kido Pham made the call.
The flop fell down and Pham check-folded to Somerville's 20,000-chip bet.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:03 PM Local Time
Here in the quarterfinals, players will each start with 960,000 chips.
They will be playing 30-minute levels, with the blinds going up according to the following schedule: 4,000-8,000, 5,000-10,000, 6,000-12,000, 8,000-16,000, 10,000-20,000, 12,000-24,000, 15,000-30,000, 20,000-40,000, 25,000-50,000, 30,000-60,000, 40,000-80,000, 50,000-100,000.
In addition to reporting on the action here in the blog, we'll be updating the "Chip Counts" page along the way as well to reflect where the players stand. (When consulting that page, remember who is playing whom to see how each match is going.)
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:00 PM Local Time
We are just a couple of minutes away from getting started. Our four quarterfinal matches are being played on the two feature tables here in the Amazon Room, with two matches per table.
On the main feature table, Vanessa Rousso and Ernst Schmejkal are playing on one end, while Alexander Kostritsyn and Ludovic Lacay
are battling down on the other.
Meanwhile, on the secondary feature table we find Jason Somerville and Kido Pham on one side, and Faraz Jaka and Ayaz Mahmood on the other.
The two winners at each table will be playing each other in the semis -- i.e., the Rousso-Schmejkal winner will face the Kostritsyn-Lacay winner, and the Somerville-Pham winner will take on the Jaka-Mahmood winner.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 1:55 PM Local Time
There is no easy road to the quarterfinals -- never mind the bracelet -- in the $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship. Here are the paths our elite eight took to get to this point:
Jason Somerville defeated Andrew Lichtenberger, Amit Makhija, Tobias Reinkenmeier, Julian Herold, and Martin Kabrhel.
Kido Pham defeated Brian Roberts, Brendan Murphy, Phil Ivey, Anton Kozlovskiy, and Gavin Smith.
Faraz Jaka defeated Olivier Busquet, Thomas McNamara, Michael Leah, Nicholas Rampone, and Phil Gordon.
Ayaz Mahmood defeated John Duthie, Nathan Doudney, James Collopy, Kevin Saul, and Brian Rast.
Alexander Kostritsyn defeated Bruno Fitoussi, Dario Minieri, Jeremy Coon, Keith Block, and Chris Moorman.
Ludovic Lacay defeated Rob Akery, Eric Sagstrom, Jordan Morgan, Timothy Adams, and Bertrand Grospellier.
Ernst Schmejkal defeated Nikolay Evdakov, Joao Barbosa, Juan Ramirez, David Williams, and Alexander Kravchenko.
Vanessa Rousso defeated Johannes Strassmann, Vadim Trincher, Terrence Chan, Melanie Weisner, and Vivek Rajkumar.