The WSOP on ESPN: Makiievskyi Thrives on Day 7; Sands & Moutinho Fall
On Tuesday night, the 2011 World Series of Poker coverage on ESPN continued with two new episodes of the Main Event. We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there aren’t that many more before the final table in November. Last week, Day 7 kicked off throughout the coverage, and Erick Lindgren, David Bach, and Tony Hachem were among the players eliminated. This week, Day 7 continued with 34 players remaining, each looking to secure a spot in the coveted November Nine.
Benba Versus Barnhart: At the secondary feature table, Ben Lamb opened for 260,000 with K♣10♣ and watched as action folded all the way around to Sam Barnhart in the big blind. The Arkansas native made the call with Q♠J♠ and then checked the Q♣7♠8♠, slow-playing his top pair and flush draw. Lamb obliged with a continuation bet of 320,000, Barnhart check-raised to 620,000, and Lamb laid down his hand. With that, Barnhart was up to 4.2 million.
Double Up for Bounahra: Badih Bounahra of Belize was all-in preflop for 1,605,000 with A♠A♦ and dominating Johnny Demers' Q♠Q♦. With 3.375 million in the pot, the flop came down K♥2♣4♣, keeping Bounahra firmly in the lead. The 3♠ on the turn changed nothing and left Demers looking for one of the two remaining queens on the river. Much to the delight of Bounahra and his supporters, that didn’t come to fruition as the harmless 9♠ appeared.
What’s Up, Doc?: On the feature table, John Hewitt opened for 255,000 and watched as action folded all the way around to David “Doc” Sands. The online pro thought for a moment before moving all-in for 2,255,000. If Hewitt called, he would risk 45 percent of his stack, and that is exactly what he did.
Showdown
Sands: J♣10♦
Hewitt: A♥J♥
Sands picked the wrong time to shove, because Hewitt was a 72 percent favorite; however, the Q♣Q♦A♠ flop was fairly kind to Sands. “Got more outs than we started with,” he said, referring to his straight draw to a king. Unfortunately for him, the 7♦ turn and Q♥ river were no help. Sands was eliminated from the Main Event in 30th place, taking home $242,636, and exited after giving his girlfriend, Erika Moutinho, who was also seated at the table, a good luck hug and kiss.
An International Affair: With 29 players left, ESPN showed a stat that proved the Main Event was truly a worldwide affair:
Counties Represented by the Remaining Players
| Country | Players Remaining |
|---|---|
| United States | 14 |
| Canada | 2 |
| Germany | 2 |
| Great Britain | 2 |
| Russia | 2 |
| Australia | 1 |
| Belize | 1 |
| Costa Rica | 1 |
| Czech Republic | 1 |
| Ireland | 1 |
| South Africa | 1 |
| Ukraine | 1 |
Beware the Ukrainian: Action folded to Anton Makiievskyi on the button and he put in a raise to 240,000 with {J}4♣, no doubt looking to pick up the blinds and antes; however, Bryan Devonshire decided to defend from the small blind with Q♠10♠. The big blind got out of the way and the flop came down 3♦8♣6♣, which Devonshire checked.
Makiievskyi continued his aggression with a bet of 350,000, but Devonshire grabbed a stack of purple T100,000 chips and made it 1,000,000 to go. Not to be outdone, Makiievskyi slide out a three-bet to 2.4 million, which prompted a snap-folded from Devonshire. Needless to say, the Ukrainian has got some moves.
Barnhart vs. The Brit: Sam Barnhart opened for 265,000 from early position with J♦J♣and almost cleared the field; however, JP Kelly woke up with A♥K♠ in the big blind and played back to the table’s elder statesman, with a three-bet to 720,000. Barnhart wasted little time in moving all-in for 3,355,000, Kelly called the additional 2,635,000, and it was off to the races.
“All low cards,” Barnhart whispered as he rubbed his hands together. The 6♥10♣8♦ flop was exactly what he had in mind, as was the 7♠ turn. The 9♣ river ended up putting a straight out on the board, but Barnhart’s pair turned into a jack-high straight and he took the 6.89 million pot.
Last Woman Standing Succumbs: Matt Giannetti opened for 260,000 with K♦J♠ and was met with an all-in three-bet to 1.79 million by Erika Moutinho from the small blind. Andrew Hinrichsen then woke up with a four-bet shove of his own, pushing Giannetti out of the pot.
Showdown
Hinrichsen: A♠Q♥
Moutinho: Q♣10♣
The situation was reminiscent of Doc Sands’ demise, as Moutinho was all-in and dominated. Unfortunately, she was unable to catch the cards she needed as the board ran out Q♦5♦4♠7♦J♣, and the last woman remaining in the 2011 WSOP Main Event was eliminated in 29th place ($242,636), following her boyfriend out the door.
“It’s pretty cool that I’m last woman standing. Hopefully it will show other women they can play and they won’t be afraid, you know, to play with the guys,” Moutinho said in her post-elimination interview with Kara Scott.
Redraw: With the elimination of Philipp Gruissem in 28th place, the remaining 27 players redrew seats. Here is a look at the top chip counts at that point:
Three Table Redraw Counts
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Matt Giannetti | 16,005,000 |
| 2nd | Khoa Nguyen | 14,850,000 |
| 3rd | Ryan Lenaghan | 13,560,000 |
| 4th | Eoghan O’Dea | 13,280,000 |
| 5th | Aleksandr Mozhnyakov | 13,055,000 |
| 6th | Andrey Pateychuk | 10,440,000 |
| 7th | Anton Makiievskyi | 9,395,000 |
| 8th | Ben Lamb | 9,380,000 |
Age is Just a Number: Norman Chad made a keen observation when just 26 players remained — that there were only two players remaining in the field over the age of 35: Sam Barnhart and Badih “Bob” Bounahra.
No-Limit Texas Holden: Action folded to the curly-haired Sam Holden on the button, and he raised to 320,000 with A♦Q♦. It may have looked like a steal attempt, which is probably why Greg Kaplan moved all-in from the big blind with 6♠6♦. Holden had just 2.6 million total and quickly called off his stack.
It was a race, but not after the flop came down Q♥7♣9♥, giving the young Brit a pair of queens. The 3♦ turn was a blank as far as Kaplan was concerned, and so was the 5♠ river. The online grinder lost 40 percent of his stack, while Holden doubled to 5.62 million.
Kelly Bounced: On the only outer table left in the Amazon Room, JP Kelly got his last 1,115,000 in preflop with J♦10♥ and was in big trouble against Andrey Pateychuk's A♠A♦. The 2♦J♠3♠ flop paired Kelly’s jack, but he still needed a bit more help. The 5♦ turn was not what he had in mind, and the Q♠ river sent him home in 26th place for $302,005. Interestingly, Kelly was the only multiple bracelet winner left in the field.
Huge 20,000,000 Pot: Anton Makiievskyi opened for 400,000 with K♦J♠ and found a caller in Chris Moore, who held the superior A♥J♦. Unfortunately for the latter, the flop came down K♠J♣J♥, giving him a huge hand, but second best to Makiievskyi's full house. The Ukrainian led out for 400,000, Moore responded by making it 1.1 million, Makiievskyi three-bet to 2 million, Moore four-bet 2.9 million, and Makiievskyi moved all-in for 9,595,000. Moore called and suddenly there was a 20,410,000 pot on the line.
Moore, would be left with just 12 big blinds if he lost. He desperately needed an ace to overcome what would otherwise be a major cooler. Both players looked on as both the 6♠ turn and 4♥ river failed to change the Moore's fate. Makiievskyi, the youngest player remaining in the Main Event, was suddenly in the chip lead while Moore was crippled.
End of Day 7 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Anton Makiievskyi | 21,045,000 |
| 2nd | Eoghan O’Dea | 19,050,000 |
| 3rd | Khoa Nguyen | 16,435,000 |
| 4th | Andrey Pateychuk | 16,245,000 |
| 5th | Ben Lamb | 14,690,000 |
| 6th | Phil Collins | 13,805,000 |
| 7th | John Hewitt | 13,265,000 |
| 8th | Ryan Lenaghan | 10,415,000 |
To be Continued: Day 7 came to a close, which meant there was only one more day of action before the final table was set. Next week, Day 8 will get under way as the march to the November Nine continues with just 22 players remaining. Be sure to either check your local listings or come back next week for our recap of the action.
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