Event #5: $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em

Event #5: $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em is in the books after nine hopefuls played down to a winner Friday night. It looked to be a relatively short day 3, that is, until heads up began. After two grueling levels of back-and-forth action, it was Nick Jivkov who would take home the coveted WSOP gold bracelet.

Day 1 began with a healthy field of 639 players. We had no shortage of poker pros in attendance, to be sure. Among those who showed up for day 1 included Daniel Negreanu, Jonathan Little, Barry Greenstein, Shaun Deeb, Gavin Smith, Antonio Esfandiari, John Juanda, Nam Le and none other than Phil Ivey – who made his return to this year's WSOP after being absent for all of 2011's WSOP.

Of those players, only Negreanu, Le, Juanda and Esfandiari would survive into day 2. Esfandiari, who is commonly referred to as "The Magician," came in as chip leader and looked to make a deep run. Eliminations ran rampant and of the 71 players who started day 2, only 22 remained within the first six levels of play.

Esfandiari was unable to work his magic this time, as he busted in 44th place. Action slowed considerably as the final three tables fought their way to day 3, however, just nine would remain after Thom Werthmann busted in 10th place on the very last hand scheduled for play. Other notable eliminations on day 2 included Terrence Chan (38th), John Juanda (18th) and Nam Le (16th).

All eyes were on Negreanu going into day 3, who would come into the final table 6th in chips. Joining him were notable pros Tommy Vedes, Jonathan Aguiar and day 2 chip leader Bryan Pellegrino.

When the final table began, seven of the nine remaining players had under 20 big blinds, which made early all-ins inevitable. Even chip-leader Bryan Pellegrino, who began the day with 790,000, could be considered relatively short-stacked with 50 big blinds.

Keanu Tabali would be the first victim after finding himself all in with    preflop against the    of Pellegrino. Pellegrino paired up on the flop and would spike two-pair on the river to seal Tabali's fate and eliminate him in 9th place.

Next to go was John Eames, who found himself all-in preflop with    against the    of Nick Jivkov. It was a grim situation for Eames, who was nearly a 19-1 underdog going to the flop. No miracle occurred for Eames and he was eliminated in 8th place.

Busting out in 7th place was Brant Hale. Hale was unable to get any momentum going and he quickly found himself critically short-stacked. His fate was sealed when he opted to get all-in blind against Vedes. Hale's    would lose out to Vedes'    and he was sent to the rail.

Mike Allis was scrappy, to say the least. He was able to double through his opponent's several times before finally succumbing the Jivkov on a failed bluff. With a board reading    , Allis shoved all in over a bet from Jivkov with    and was snapped off by Jivkov's   . The turn and river were no help to Allis and he was eliminated in 6th place.

The man of hour, none other than PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu had to settle for a 5th place finish when his    could not hold up against Jivkov's    all in preflop. Jivkov would spike a straight on the river to eliminate Negreanu as the board ran out      .

Tommy Vedes met his end after getting all in on a     flop with    against Jivkov's   . Jivkov spiked a   on the river to seal Vedes' fate – knocking him out in 4th place.

When three-handed play began, Aguiar and Pellegrino would take turns taking chips from each other as Jivkov sat back and watched. Pellegrino would cripple Aguiar after his    held up against Aguiar's   . Shortly after, Jivkov delivered the finishing blow when his    won a race against Aguiar's   , eliminating Aguiar in 3rd place.

Jivkov enjoyed a near 3-1 chip lead going into heads-up play after steamrolling much of the final table, which included five eliminations on his own. However, Pellegrino would not go down without a fight. Pellegrino fought his way up to as much as 900k against Jivkov's 2 million after doubling through him early in level 26. In the end, however, Livkov would not be denied. Down to his last 300k, Pellegrino decided to make a stand with    by going all in preflop after Jivkov raised from the button. Jivkov's held    and it held up as the board ran out       – eliminating Pellegrino in 2nd place.

Congratulations to Nick Jivkov, who will take home his first WSOP bracelet and a cool $189,818 for his efforts.

Event #5 Final Table Payouts

Bryan Pellegrino is almost down to the felt now.

Nick Jivkov	2,500,000	280,000
Bryan Pellegrino	275,000	-385,000

Nick Jivkov raised it up to 120,000, and Bryan Pellegrino called. The flop came down    , and Pellegrino led out for 150,000. Jivkov went into the tank, going back and forth with the chips from his stack to the table and back, before ultimately putting out a raise to 300,000. Pellegrino snap folded, and Jivkov took down the pot.

Nick Jivkov	2,450,000	140,000
Bryan Pellegrino	410,000	-125,000

Nick Jivkov completed from the button and Bryan Pellegrino checked his option.

Both players checked the     flop. When a   fell on the turn, Pellegrino led out for 75,000 and Jivkov called. The river brought the   and Pellegrino fired again - this time for 190,000. Jivkov called again and Pellegrino mucked. Jivkov revealed    for a turned set and scooped the pot.

Nick Jivkov	2,250,000	250,000
Bryan Pellegrino	600,000	-260,000

Bryan Pellegrino has been down throughout the heads-up play - but don't count him out yet.

In a recent hand, Nick Jivkov completed from the button and Pellegrino checked his option to see a flop, which came    . Both players checked and the turn brought the  . Pellegrino bet 50,000 and Jivkov made the call.

When an   landed on the river, Pellegrino counted out a 150,000 bet and slid it into the middle. Jivkov thought it over and eventually called.

Pellegrino turned over    for a rivered straight and Jivkov mucked his hand.

Pellegrino is back up to 550,000.

Nick Jivkov	2,350,000	-150,000
Bryan Pellegrino	550,000	200,000

So close....but no cigar for Nick Jivkov. That's all that can really be said at the moment, as Bryan Pellegrino just caught a miracle river to double through Jivkov. Jivkov called on the button, and Pellegrino made it 150,000 to go. Jivkov called, and the flop came down    . Pellegrino bet the rest of his chips, about 250,000, and Jivkov quickly made the call.

Jivkov:   
Pellegrino:   

Jivkov was miles ahead with middle pair, as Pellegrino could only catch a five for a straight, or running pairs to double up. The turn came the  , giving Jivkov trips, though it didn't really change much, as Pellegrino still needed a five. Pellegrino leaned down to take a very close look at the bracelet on the table, likely thinking "this is as close as I'm getting to this". But.....

The river:  

Jivkov was stunned in his seat, while Pellegegrino let out a huge sigh of relief. Pellegrino doubled up to 900,000, but he still has a ways to go to make the comeback.

Nick Jivkov	2,000,000	-500,000
Bryan Pellegrino	900,000	440,000

Jonathan Aguier was first to act, and he announced pot, which was most of his chips. Nick Jivkov was in the small blind, and he too announced a pot sized raise. Bryan Pellegrino quickly folded, and Aguiar committed the rest of his chips.

Aguier:   
Jivkov:   

The flop was safe for Jivkov, coming down    . Jivkov wanted the hand to end, so he called for a nine, and sure enough, the dealer obliged, bringing the   on the turn. It couldn't have been better for Jivkov, as the river brought the  , but it was no good for Aguiar, who takes home over $76,000 for his efforts.

Jonathan Aguiar

0

-250,000

Bryan Pellegrino has been card dead ever since we restarted, folding nearly every hand, showing the occasional six three offsuit. He was down to his last 100,000 when he put it in the middle on the button. Jonathan Aguiar made the call in the small blind, and Nick Jivkov folded his big blind. The cards were flipped, and Aguiar was out in front.

Aguiar:   
Pellegrino:   

The flop kept Aguiar out in front, coming down    . However, Pellegrino spiked the   on the turn to give him the lead. The river was the  , and Pellegrino doubled up to 200,000, which is still extremely short at the moment.

Jonathan Aguiar	795,000	45,000
Bryan Pellegrino	200,000	-50,000