Wednesday, October 16, 2013 9:20 PM Local Time
Event 3 at the WSOP Europe was played out over eight frantic hours today and at the end, only two players remain.
The day was supposed to end with four remaining but there was so much time left in the day at that juncture, the final four decided to play the first round of heads up matches.
Dan O’Brien will take a substantial lead into tomorrow’s final with Darko Stojanovic after an amazing day that saw him win three huge pots, all with pocket kings.
Play will resume at midday CET when Stojanovic will look to overcome a 507,000 to 1,594,000-chip deficit.
O’Brien will be looking banish sour memories from last year’s WSOP Europe when he came second in the €3,000 NLHE Shootout event. He has the experience and the chips on his side to do it.
The two players will play out the final 54 minutes of level 21 before playing 30-minutes levels from there on in. Please the PokerListings blog team back here then.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 9:05 PM Local Time
The final hand of the day has played out!
It started with O’Brien opening the button to 20,000. Jason Mann three-bet all in for around 200,000 and O’Brien snapped it off.
O’Brien held (again), while Mann had shoved at the wrong time with
The board ran out with no help for Mann and with that it was all over.
It was always going to be tough for Jason Mann to come back from such a large chip deficit against Dan O’Brien, but he can be quite happy with a 3rd place finish.
Stay tuned for a recap of the day and to find out the plans for tomorrow.
Heads-up action before it was over
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 8:55 PM Local Time
The tournament was a board away from being in the final after Jason Mann got his chips in behind. He found a way out to double though.
Thee 888 Poker player raised 100,000 out of his 152,000 stack and called off the rest when Dan O’Brien shoved.
Mann:
O’Brien:
The board ran to make both players a pair. Mann had the better one.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 8:45 PM Local Time
One hand! That’s all it took to end one of our heads-up matches.
It’s not the one you might expect though – that being the giant stack of Dan O’Brien overcoming Jason Mann. No, it was the match between Noah Schwartz and Darko Stojanovic.
Stojanovic had the button on the first hand and moved all in, having Schwartz covered. Schwartz made the call and the cards were turned over.
Schwartz:
Stojanovic:
Schwartz was in good shape to double up and take a handy lead, but the board had other ideas and sent Schwartz home in 4th place.
We will now be watching Mann and O'Brien closely to see which one of them will go on and play Stojanovic in tomorrow's final.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 8:39 PM Local Time
The four players are back from their dinner break and the two heads-up matches have begun!
Once a winner is determined in each match, the day will be over and the two winners will fight it out for a bracelet tomorrow.
In the meantime, check this video out regarding one of the four players!
Poker pro Noah Schwartz has a stellar record in live poker tournaments and in his career he's racked up more than $3.5 million in earnings. He's also successful online and in live cash games.
But for Schwartz the money is important for more than just playing tournaments. Having grown up poor, and losing his father to lung cancer when he was a teenager, Schwartz is now working to organize a foundation that helps better the lives of other children in similar situations.
Schwartz is in Paris at the World Series of Poker Europe and tells PokerListings.com about his plans.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 7:09 PM Local Time
The chips have been counted and as per the schedule change, the remaining four will be going on a 75-minute dinner break before playing the heads-up semi-finals.
It’s the top chip stack versus fourth stack and second largest versus third largest.
The chip counting process was one of the biggest sweats of the tournament for Jason Mann and Noah Schwartz as their stacks were close. In the end, Schwartz just pipped Mann and therefore plays Darko Stojanovic instead of the monster stack of Dan Obrien.
Heads-Up Match One
Dan Obrien – 1,412,000
VS.
Jason Mann – 182,000
Heads-Up Match Two
Darko Stojanovic – 318,000
VS.
Noah Schwartz – 189,000
The players will be back at it from 8.30pm local time.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 7:07 PM Local Time
There was to be no comeback for Shannon Shorr after he ran into Dan O’Brien with another pair of kings.
The action folded to Shorr in the small blind and he moved all in. O’Brien look at his holding on the big blind and snapped him off.
Shorr:
O’Brien:
The board ran
O’Brien will take most of the chips in play through to the heads up rounds. Details of that draw and full couuts coming up.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 7:00 PM Local Time
Noah Schwartz was talking about how this tournament was torture equivalent to get a 200,000 Volt shock, due to his short satck He can enjoy a bit more now though after doubling through Jason Mann.
He moved all for 91,000 from the button and Mann called from the big blind.
Schwartz:
Mann:
The board ran
Schwartz flopped top set but had to fade the nut flush which he did. Mann dropped to 190,000.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 6:41 PM Local Time
Since Dan O'Brien moved his stack over 1 million, he has been applying a lot of pressure to the other four players. Considering the format of the mixed-max, it's in his best interest to take as many chips to heads-up as possible.
The WSOP Tournament Directors have recently been dicussing what would happen if O'Brien dealt a double elimination at this point in the tournament, therefore ruining the format of stopping at four players and playing a heads-up knockout format until the winner.
It seems like there is no official plan in the rule book for this rare situation and so far some of the ideas that have been thrown up seem to have a few holes. It's unlikely that a decision will have to be made on this, but of course, it's poker and so anything can happen.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 6:20 PM Local Time
Dan O’Brien was the first player to pass the million-chip mark after a four-bet pot against Darko Stojanovic.
O’Brien opened to 20,000 from the button and then four-bet to 140,000 after Stojanovic three-bet to 60,000 from the big blind. Stojanovic snapped off the four-bet.
The board ran out as both players checked to the river. After O’Brien was checked to a third time, he fired 130,000 at the pot and was called quickly.
He opened for Broadway and scooped as Stojanovic mucked to drop to 350,000 chips. O’Brien has more than half the chips in play with 1,125,000.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 6:04 PM Local Time
It was only a matter of time before Shannon Shorr got all his chips in the middle. He recently shoved all in from the small blind for 70,000 after Darko Stojanovic had opened to 16,000. Stojanovic called and the cards were turned over.
Stajanovic:
Shorr:
It was a flip for Shorr’s tournament life.
The board ran out and with that, Shorr had doubled up.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 6:00 PM Local Time
There have been many coolers today and another one just occurred to decimate Shannon Shorr’s stack down to 80,000.
He opened to 12,000 from the button before Dan O’Brien three-bet to 43,000. Shorr came back with a four-bet to 92,000 and called when O’Brien shoved for 357,000.
O'Brien:
Shorr:
The board ran
The players sat in respectful silence until O’Brien sympathetically said, “Sick spot.”
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 5:51 PM Local Time
The break is over, the players are back in their seats and the cards are in the air.
We are now commencing Level 20 (4,000/8,000-1,000).
The plan at this point is to get down to the final four, play the semi-final heads-up matches and stop for the night with two remaining.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 5:38 PM Local Time
Check out the approximate counts of the players while at the break.
Darko Stojanovic - 740,000
Jason Mann - 350,000
Shannon Shorr - 450,000
Dan O'Brien - 360,000
Noah Schwartz - 250,000
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 5:35 PM Local Time
The tournament is still locked at five players remaining. Time for tension to be relieved for a while with a 15-minue break
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 5:25 PM Local Time
Jason Mann flashed a four to Darko Stojanovic earlier after he four-bet him off a hand pre flop. Stojanovic had to wait a while but he just got his revenge.
He opened to 15,000 from the small blind before Mann three-bet to 39,000 from the big blind. Stojanovic then came back with a four-bet to 129,000.
Mann thought for around five minutes, flashed the and then folded. Stojanovic flashed the and raked in the chips to climb to 700,000. Mann dropped to 370,000.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 5:13 PM Local Time
Dan O’Brien has just taken down a handy pot against Noah Schwartz.
There was a board one the felt and around 60,000 in the pot when O’Brien led for 40,000 on the river. Schwartz had gone into the tank and eventually made the call.
O’Brien showed his good for a straight and Scwartz’s cards went into the muck.
The players are very deep and with at least twice as much money on the line if making the final four, it is no surprise that the action has slowed down after a rapid-fire start.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 5:05 PM Local Time
The quick progress of today’s play might mean that the semi-final heads-up matches may be played out today, leaving just the final to play tomorrow.
A lot will obviously depend on how long it’ll take to bust the next player. Discussions are ongoing and we’ll keep you posted on any developments.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 5:00 PM Local Time
Noah Schwartz has a shade under 400,000 after he made a set of queens on the river in a hand versus Shannon Shorr.
Schwartz raised from first position and Shorr peeled from the big blind to see a flop appear.
Schwartz continued for 16,000 and Shorr check-called before both checked the turn. On the river, Shorr led for 24,000 and his bet was raised to 64,000 by Schwartz.
Shorr thought long and hard before calling off the extra. Schwartz opened and Shorr mucked to drop to 460,000.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 4:42 PM Local Time
Since the five-handed table began there hasn’t been much action. These players clearly want to wait for their spots and make sure they secure a spot on the final day.
One of the final hands of Level 18 was once of the few hands that went to showdown.
It started with Noah Schwartz opening to 11,000 from under the gun. Jason Mann three-bet to 27,000 from the button, Schwartz called and the dealer turned over a flop. Both players checked here just as they did on the turn.
On the river, Schwartz led for 26,000 and Mann made the call. Schwartz tabled and that was enough to scoop up the pot.
“I had one less than that,” said Mann as he mucked his cards.