World Poker Tour Five Diamond Classic Day 5: Rousso & Esfandiari Highlight Stacked Final Table
The World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic resumed Tuesday for Day Five as the remaining 15 players played down to the televised final table of six.Anotnio Esfandiari had been among the chip leaders throughout the tournament and entered the day with 2.68 million, good enough for the chip lead. Others still in contention included John Racener (1.9 million), Andrew Robl (1.75 million), Kia Mohajeri (1.694 million), Sorel Mizzi (1.38 million), Andrew Lichtenberger (915,000), Vanessa Rousso (888,000), and Amit Makhija (756,000). By the end of the day, nine players had hit the rail and the remaining six players comprised what could be considered one of the most stacked final tables in WPT history.
The day began with the elimination of Danny Fuhs, who moved all in for his last 225,000 with 7♠5♠ and was called by Rousso’s A♥K♦. The board ran out 6♦3♠2♣9♦9♠ and Fuhs became the 15th-place finisher ($42,231). Charles Caris was the next to go (14th-$42,231) followed by Makhija (13th-$42,231), Chris DeMaci (12th-$42,231), and Luis Velador (11th-$42,213). When down to ten, the players redrew seats and were combined to a single table:
Seat 1: Antonio Esfandiari – 950,000
Seat 2: Vanessa Rousso – 3,700,000
Seat 3: Ted Lawson – 640,000
Seat 4: Kia Mohajeri – 1,650,000
Seat 5: Andrew Lichtenberger – 2,250,000
Seat 6: John Racener – 1,750,000
Seat 7: Ray Dehkharghani – 340,000
Seat 8: Kirk Morrison – 2,550,000
Seat 9: Sorel Mizzi – 600,000
Seat 10: Andrew Robl – 2,900,000
The first to go from the unofficial final table was short-stack Dehkharghani (10th-$50,677) followed by Mizzi (9th-$59,123). In his final hand, Mizzi found himself all in preflop with pocket queens against the pocket kings of Rousso. He needed to improve but help never arrived as the board ran out A♠10♠6♥8♣9♣. Meanwhile, Rousso eliminated a tough opponent and moved into the chip lead with 4.2 million.
It took a couple more hours of play for the next player to hit the rail and it happened after Rousso raised to 110,000, Lichtenberger made it 285,000 from the small blind, and Rousso called. The flop fell A♠10♦6♠ and Lichtenberger bet 300,000. Rousso wasted little time in moving all in and Lichtenberger called for his tournament life.
Rousso: A♥6♥
Lichtenberger: A♣Q♦
Lichtenberger was behind Rousso’s two pair and needed to catch on the turn or river. Unfortunately for him, the 4♣ and 9♣ ran out. He was knocked out in eighth place and received $67,570 for his efforts while Rousso took a commanding chip lead with 6 million in chips.
Soon after Lichtenberger’s exit, Morrison was under the gun and raised to 150,000. Robl opted to reraise to 280,000 and Morrison made the call as the flop came down 10♣9♦7♥. Both players checked to the 2♠ and Morrison check-called a bet of 300,000. Robl then moved all in for 955,000 when the 4♠ hit the river, Morrison tank-called, and Robl showed Q♠Q♣. Morrison mucked, dropping to 2.6 million, while Robl doubled to 3.23 million late in the day.
The table was looking for just one more elimination before the final table was set and it came after Ted Lawson raised to 225,000 from the cutoff, Mohajeri moved all in from the button, Racener moved all in over the top, and Lawson folded.
Racener: A♠K♦
Mohajeri: A♥Q♠
It was a bad spot for Mohajeri and he was looking for a queen. The 6♣6♥2♥ flop was no help and neither was the 9♣ turn. He would need to hit the river to stay alive, but couldn’t do it as the 10♠ appeared. Mohajeri was eliminated in seventh place for $97,131 while the final table was set:
Vanessa Rousso - 5,830,000
John Racener - 3,235,000
Andrew Robl - 3,210,000
Kirk Morrison - 2,650,000
Antonio Esfandiari - 2,105,000
Ted Lawson - 635,000
The WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic has a history of stacked final tables and this year is no different. Action is set to resume at 4 p.m. PDT as the televised final table will play down to a winner and crown a new WPT champion. Check back with PokerNews to find out who emerges victorious.
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