On Sunday, five more tournaments played out around the Rio on Day 29 of the 2012 World Series of Poker. In Event #41: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em the final table was halted with two players remaining — Jackie Glazier and Greg Ostrander. Oleksii Kovalchuk was crowned the winner of Event #42: $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Split 8-or-Better. Event #43: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em, played down past the money to the final 20 players. Event #44: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em played until the money bubble burst and the prestigious Event #45: $50,000 Poker Players Championship had just one bust-out through five levels of play.
Event #41: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em
There were 30 players still in the hunt for the bracelet at the beginning of Day 3 on Sunday. Among them was chip leader Joseph Chaplin, with 1,085,000. Right behind him, the only other player starting the day with over one million chips, was Aussie Jackie Glazier, who was attempting to be the second woman to win a bracelet this year and the first in an open event since 2008. After 13 hours of play, there were just two players remaining, Glazier and Greg Ostrander, who agreed to halt play and return on Monday to see who would be walking away with their first gold bracelet.
There were many notable pros in Sunday’s starting field who were eliminated before the final table was decided. Shannon Shorr was the first out, in 30th place. Also eliminated earlier in the day were Dan Shak (28th), Daniel Buzgon (20th), Scott Montgomery (176th) , and Elio Fox (16th), Jason Koon (14th), and Fabrice Soulier (13th).
It took over nine hours before the official final table; the field remained at 10 players for four hours before someone finally busted. JP Kelly had been one of the biggest stacks, but he doubled up Kyle Frey when he called Frey’s all-in shove holding pocket queens. Frey was in trouble with ace-seven, until an ace fell on the turn. Kelly then tried for his own double-up, moving all-in for his last 635,000 from middle position. Action folded around to Dylan Hortin, who called from middle position. Kelly had 
but was behind Hortin’s 
and stayed behind as the board ran out 
, eliminating Kelly and making the official final table.
Action sped up when the table became nine-handed. Hortin called Paul Vas Nunes’ all-in and was ahead 
versus 
. Hortin stayed ahead after the 
flop, but had to fade even more cards when the 
fell on the turn. But it was the that did Hortin in, sending him home in ninth place.
Vas Nunes came from behind to knock out the next player as well. He shoved from the small blind with 
and likely was unhappy to see Kyle Frey call out of the big blind with a dominating . Frey was poised for the double up, until the board ran out 
and gave Vas Nunes the winning flush. Frey took home $68,121 for his eighth place finish.
After start-of-the-day chip leader Joseph Chaplain went out in seventh place, Darryl Ronconi went for a double-up with 
. Greg Ostrander called him with 
and the dealer put out the flop. In the window was the queen, but then the rest of the flop was revealed 
. The 
turn and the river filled Ostrander up and Ronconi was the sixth place finisher.
Roger Fontes was then eliminated by Glazier after moving all in from the big blind holding pocket deuces. Glazier called with 
and it was off to the races. The board was unforgiving to the small pair, coming 
, counterfeiting Fontes’ deuces and eliminating him in fifth place.
Van Nunes had built up a huge chip lead, having half the chips in play at one point. Everything seemed to be going his way, especially after the hand where he eliminated Danish pro Morten Mortensen. Vas Nunes had tried to put the squeeze on Mortensen, moving all-in after action folded around to him in the small blind. But Mortensen called and was poised for a double up. Van Nunes had shoved with 
and Mortensen called with 
, giving him a 64 percent advantage. But the board ran out 
, pairing Vas Nunes’ three on the river to send Mortensen to the rail in fourth place.
But just as quickly as Vas Nunes had a dominating chip lead, it was cut down. Glazier opened to 130,00 from the small blind and Vas Nunes called from the big blind to see a 
flop. Glazier bet 275,000, Vas Nunes re-raised to 750,000, Glazier moved all-in for about 1.6 million total and Vas Nunes called. Neither had a made hand. Glazier tabled 
for the nut-flush draw and Vas Nunes turned over for an open-ended straight draw. Glazier hit her draw on the turn and she rocketed to second in chips while Vas Nunes saw most of his lead evaporate.
Ostrander took over the chip lead from Vas Nunes after the two went at it with the board reading 
. When the river brought the , Vas Nunes bluffed at the pot holding 
for a busted flush draw. Ostrander called and turned over for a rivered pair of kings and scooped the huge pot.
Vas Nunes got the rest of his chips in good against Glazier with {10h) versus Glazier’s , but the board ran out 
giving Glazier a turned flush and Vas Nunes was out in third place. Going into heads-up play, Glazier had nearly 7.5 million chips, Ostrander had just over 5 million. When they reached 10 levels of play, they were entitled to suspend action, but at first the two agreed to continue playing. They had a change of heart shortly after and decided to bag up the chips for the night and return at 1300 PDT (2100 BST) to finish the match. Going into the final day of play, Glazier has the chip lead with 9,480,000, while Ostrander will come in with 3,070,000. If she can finish Ostrander off, Glazier will be the first woman to win an open event since 2008 and will be $742,072 richer.
Here’s a look at the payouts from the Event #41 final table thus far:
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | ?? | $742,072 |
| 2nd | ??? | $458,996 |
| 3rd | Paul Van Nunes | $290,407 |
| 4th | Morten Mortensen | $210,793 |
| 5th | Roger Fontes | $155,498 |
| 6th | Darryl Ronconi | $116,452 |
| 7th | Joseph Chaplain | $88,481 |
| 8th | Kyle Frey | $68,121 |
| 9th | Dylan Hortin | $53,126 |
To see out all the Day 3 action, including bust-outs we did not include here, and to follow the final heads up match, make sure you check out the live reporting blog.
Event #42: $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Split 8-or-Better
Day 3 of this event had a remaining field of 22 players returning to battle it out for the gold bracelet. The chip leader was Jeffrey Lisandro, who was looking for his sixth bracelet. Not far behind, in third place, was popular ESPN commentator Norman Chad. But there were many experienced pros vying for the gold and it was expected to be a long, hard-fought battle. When the dust settled, Oleksii Kovalchuk came out on top, winning his second gold bracelet in as many years.
Lisandro was knocked out in 10th place, during a hand of Omaha 8-or-better. He had raised preflop, the two blinds, Kovalchuk and Mark Gregorich, called. After the flop came , Kovalchuk checked, Gregorich bet, and Lisandro raised all-in. Kovalchuk called, Gregorich re-raised, and Kovalchuk called and the fell on the turn. Gregorich bet and Kovalchuk mucked. Lisandro turned over 
and Gregorich showed . The river gave Gregorich as scoop and Lisandro was eliminated.
About six hours after play began the official final table was decided after the elimination of Brandon Guss in ninth place. The remaining eight players were led by Gregorich with 677,000. Chad was second in chips with 590,000, and at his first WSOP final table.
Tim Burt was the first to hit the rail from the final table, eliminated in a hand of stud 8-or-better by Danny Ratigan after having his stack decimated earlier by Yuval Bronshtein. Wing Wong followed Burt out in seventh place during a hand of Omaha 8-or-better when his turned trip aces lost to George Danzer’s rivered flush.
Norman Chad went out next, but not without a little levity. After chip leader Mark Gregorich raised from under the gun, and action folded to Chad, he checked his cards, then one by one Chad set out a Visa credit card and his AAA card. "This one has a $50,000 limit," he noted, pointing at the credit card. He then pushed his chips forward and quipped, "I’m betting these, plus another $15,800." The table laughed, the blinds folded, and the players tabled their cards. Gregorich had 
and Chad showed . The board ran out 
and Gregorich scooped with a flush and the nut low, the commentator was off to collect his sixth-place prize money.
With Chad’s elimination, Bronshtein was the short stack at the table. He immediately doubled through Kovalchuk in a hand of stud 8 right after Chad was eliminated, but he could not keep up the momentum. He put his tournament life on the line with a pair of queens in stud 8, and Ratigan had him at risk with a monster draw. Ratigan made a straight and a low on sixth street, which held as seventh street missed Bronshtein and the field was down to four.
Kovalchuk crossed the million-chip mark after a big stud 8 pot against Ratigan, then eliminated Ratigan in fourth place a few hands later when he hit a wheel on sixth street during a stud 8 hand. Three handed, Danzer and Kovalchuk fought for the chip lead while Gregorich lost traction. He was eliminated in a hand of Omaha 8 when he committed the rest of his chips in after a flop of 
, and Kovalchuk called. Gregorich showed for bottom pair and needing runner-runner low cards. Kovalchuk was ahead with . The board ran out and Gregorich was out in third place.
Heads-up, Kovalchuk had nearly 1.9 million in chips and Danzer held just over 1 million. Danzer managed to pull to even after a three straight Omaha 8 hands went his way and then took the lead after his aces up were good enough for a scoop during a hand of stud 8. Danzer extended his lead to nearly 2:1, but then Kovalchuk took down three hands of Omaha 8 and took back the chip lead. After a brief lead change, Kovalchuk moved back in the lead for good.
Kovalchuk raised from the button, Danzer called, and the flop came . Danzer checked-raised, Kovalchuk called and the turn brought the . Another check, raise, call brought a river . Kovalchuk led this time and Danzer reluctantly called. Kovalchuk quickly turned over 
for the nut flush and Danzer folded.
Danzer battled back during the stud 8 round, but he could not survive the Omaha 8 round. In their final hand, Danzer got it all in preflop with and was called by Kovalchuk holding . The board ran out and two pair was good for the win. Danzer was denied his first bracelet in his third final table appearance. But Oleksii Kovalchuk added another bracelet to his collection, following last year’s win in the $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em 6-max.
Event #42 Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Oleksii Kovalchuk | $228,014 |
| 2nd | George Danzer | $140,825 |
| 3rd | Mark Gregorich | 490,829 |
| 4th | Danny Ratigan | $65,812 |
| 5th | Yuval Bronshtein | $48,387 |
| 6th | Norman Chad | $36,093 |
| 7th | Wing Wong | $27,313 |
| 8th | Tim Burt | $20,966 |
To see all the bust-outs and battles from this final day of play, check out thePokerNews live reporting blog.
Event #43: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em
There were 320 players returning on Sunday to play down to the money and then down toward the final table. Going into Day 2, Sam Barnhart was in the lead with 169,300 chips. But there were plenty of notables left in the field, including Randy Lew, Pius Heinz, Chino Rheem, Tommy Vedes, Cherish Andrews, Andy Frankenberger, Carter Phillips,and Marvin Rettenmaier. By the end of the day, only one of these players would be among the 20 remaining to battle it out for the gold on Monday.
Only the top 297 finished in the money. One player, Dylan Wickerson was cited for stalling as the bubble loomed and had the clock called on him in two successive hands. The second time, he was in late position and was stalling after an opening raise. He finally raised to 3,800, leaving him just 300 behind. Kellie Brown moved all-in from the small blind and James Casey called from the big blind having both of them covered. Wickerson committed his remaining chips and the cards were revealed. It turned out Wickerson was stalling with pocket aces. Brown had moved all-in with pocket queens, and Casey called with pocket kings. The aces held, Wickerson tripled up, Casey took a small side pot and Brown was out.
Wickerson held on long enough for a min-cash. Also sent to the payout window shortly after the bubble burst were Amir Lehavot, Angel Guillen, Steve Brecher, Pius Heinz, Phillippe Boucher, Tommy Vedes, Cherish Andrews, Andrew Lichtenberger, Alex Outhred, Jordan Morgan, Frankenberger and Matt Affleck.
One player living a charmed life was Zach Clark. He was all-in three-handed with pocket queens against Daniel Fisher’s ace-king off-suit and Shankar Pillai’s pocket aces. The board ran out and Clark shot up to be among the tournament leaders.
Carter Phillips looked poised to make a deep run, perhaps even win his second bracelet of the summer, until he ran up against Clark late in the day. Preflop, the two had a raising war until Phillips five-bet shoved for over 500,000 and Clark called. Phillips had but was up against Clark’s . The board ran out and Phillips was cut down just before the end of the day.
At the end of the day, Zach Clark was the chip leader moving on to Day 3 with 1.342 million in chips. Right behind Clark is Balazs Botond with 1.32 million and Neil Channing with 1.319 million. James Mackey and John Nelson are the only other players with over seven figures. Also still in the running are Jesse Yagninuma, Henry Lu, Mark Ketteringham and Randy Lew.
Action will resume at 1300 PDT (2100 BST) on Monday where the 20 remaining players will attempt to play down to a winner.
To make sure you don’t miss a single hand, make sure you check out the live reporting blog.
Event #44: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em
A field of 2,949 players entered Sunday’s event, with the top 297 finishing in the money. With such a large field, there were destined to be many well-known players taking part. Kathy Liebert, Liv Boeree, Carlos Mortensen, John Cernuto, Greg Raymer, Jeff Madsen, Amanda Musumeci, and Faraz Jaka, all entered the event, but were busted out throughout the day.
As the money bubble approached, Maya Antonius, whose husband was playing the $50K Poker Players Championship, was all in from the small blind with and was called by a player in mid-position holding . But the board ran out safely for Antonius, 
, and she managed to escape. Also outlasting the bubble was Erik Seidel who had it all-in with pocket jacks which held against his opponent’s .
At the end of 10 levels of play, 297 players remained. Everyone who comes back on Monday is in the money and guaranteed a minimum of $1,937. Chip leader at the end of Day 1 is Tony Welds with 131,900 chips. Also coming back with above average stacks are Amnon Filippi, Jude Ainsworth, Blair Hinkle, Keven Stammen, Jonathan Little, and Justin Young. All have their eyes on the top prize of $464,464 and the gold bracelet.
To follow all the Day 1 action, make sure you check out the live reporting blog.
Event #45: $50,000 Poker Players Championship
There are three events that will attract the most attention this year — the $1 million buy in One Drop event, the Main Event, and this, the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. The event is often referred to as the poker marathon, requiring skill in 2-7 triple draw, limit hold’em, Omaha 8-or-better, razz, stud, stud 8-or-better, pot-limit Omaha, and no-limit hold’em. Traditionally attracting the top pros, the winner gets not only the gold bracelet but the David “Chip” Reece memorial trophy, named after the event’s first winner.
Last year, Brian Rast defeated a field of 128 to take home the top prize. Rast returned to defend his title along with a who’s who of poker notables. In all, 104 players entered the field on Sunday. The packed field resulted in some interesting table match-ups. Recent 8-game mix bracelet winner David “ODB” Baker tweeted about his starting table, “Favorite event of yr. 50k 8 game table is ridiculous! @BrettRichey , me, @EugeneKatchalov , @RealKidPoker, @shawnbuchanan1, benyamine!”
ODB’s counterpart, David “Bakes” Baker, had his own packed table, with Brian Hastings, Doyle Brunson, John Monnette, Tom Chambers and John Esposito. Another table boasted Richard Ashby, 2010 winner of this event Michael Mizrachi, David Grey, Allen Cunningham, Barry Greenstein, David Singer, and Bruno Fitoussi.
Starting with 150,000 chips, there was not likely to be many bust outs the first day. Indeed, Singer was the first and only player to be eliminated on Day 1. Singer went all-in on the turn of a 
board and Bruno Fitoussi insta-called. Singer had trip aces with but Fitoussi had the nut straight with . Singer could still pair the board to win, but the river was the and he was heading to the rail.
At the end of five levels of play, everyone but Singer was bagging up their chips to return on Day 2. Registration will remain open at the beginning of the day, so the field might even expand. Chip leader at the end of Day 1 was Matt Glantz who had more than doubled his starting stack, ending with 310,700. Just behind him is Ali Eslami with 286,900. Also returning in the top 10 are Lyle Berman, Andy Bloch, Alexander Kravchenko, recent bracelet winner David “ODB” Baker, Jeff Lisandro, Jon Spinks, and Joe Cassidy.
Play will resume at 1400 PDT (2200 BST) on Monday and the remaining players will play another 5 levels and the field begins to thin.
Don’t miss out on any of the action from this impressive field, check out the live reporting blog.
On Tap
On Monday, Event #41: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em will finish its final table with Glazier and Ostrander battling it out for the bracelet. In Event #43: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em, the remaining 20 players will play down to a winner.
Event #44: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em will play down towards the final table. The 103 remaining players in the five-day Event #45: $50,000 Poker Players Championship will continue in the march to the gold. Meanwhile, Event #46: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em will get started at 1200 PDT (2000 BST).
To make sure you don’t miss any of the action on Monday, check out the live reporting blog throughout the day.
Video of the Day
Lynn Gilmartin caught up with a few of the pros before the start of the $50,000 Player’s Championship including a tanned Daniel Negreanu, recent 8-game mixed runner-up Greg Mueller, a rested Mike Sexton, slightly injured Betrand Grospelier, and birthday boy Brett Richey.
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