The WSOP on ESPN: Day 8 Sees Makiievskyi Lead Charge to the November Nine
The march to the 2011 World Series of Poker November Nine continued Tuesday with two new Main Event episodes on ESPN. Last week, Day 7 came to a close with Anton Makiievskyi leading the remaining 22 players. Joining him are Player of the Year contender, Ben Lamb; son of a poker great, Eoghan O’Dea; and one-time chip leader, Ryan Lenaghan.
Here’s a look at the top chip counts at the start of Day 8:
Start of Day 8 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 |
Let’s Get It Started: With blinds at 100,000/200,000 with a 30,000 ante, Martin Staszko raised to 400,000 from the small blind with A♣J♥, and John Hewitt called from big blind, holding K♠6♠. Both players checked the 8♥Q♦8♦ flop, as well as the Q♣ turn. When the 4♣ appeared on the river, Staszko bet out 475,000, which Hewitt called. Staszko rolled over his hand for queens and eights with an ace kicker, which beat Hewitt’s king kicker.
Aces Cracked Send Bonding to the Rail: Lars Bonding looked down at A♠A♣ and opened for 455,000, which Khoa Nguyen called from the button with A♥J♠. Costa Mamaliadis came along for the ride with 4♠4♣ and action was three-handed to the 3♦4♦7♠ flop.
Mamaliadis checked with his set, opening the door for Bonding to bet 550,000. Nguyen got out of the way, Mamaliadis raised to 2.3 million, and Bonding moved all-in for 3,655,000. Mamaliadis snap-called and Bonding discovered the bad news. Neither the 9♦ turn nor 8♣ river help Bonding, and he made his exit from the Main Event in 22nd place ($302,005).
Cowboy Devonshire?: ESPN aired a feature starring Bryan Devonshire that showed him in Colorado, trap shooting, horseback riding, and engaging in general ranching duties. It was a unique look at the unassuming pro who tends to don San Francisco Giants gear.
Makiievskyi Gets Moore: Chip leader Anton Makiievskyi opened for 450,000 with A♠10♦ only to have Chris Moore, who held K♦K♥, make it 1,000,000 to go. Action folded back around to Makiievskyi and he glanced at his opponent, looked down at his chips, and moved all-in. Moore snap-called for 6.5 million and was a 71 percent favorite to win the hand.
Unfortunately for Moore, his opponent was running well and this hand was no different as the flop came down 8♣3♣A♣. Suddenly Makiievskyi was an 88 percent favorite. The 7♦ turn improved that number to 95 percent, while the Q♥ sent Moore to the rail in 21st place for $302,005.
Aces, Kings, and Queens: On the outer table, Alexadre Mozhnyakov raised to 420,000 and was called by Scott Schwalich. Pius Heinz then three-bet to 1,125,000 from the small blind, Mozhnyakov four-bet to 1.7 million, and Schwalich five-bet shoved for 5.42 million. Heinz double-checked his Q♠Q♣ before tossing them to the muck, and Mozhnyakov made the call.
Showdown
Mozhnyakov: K♠K♣
Schwalich: A♠A♦
It was a crazy hand preflop, but the post-flop board was fairly uneventful as it ran out 8♣10♦7♣4♦3♣. Schwalich survived the hand and doubled to 12,505,000 in the process.
Results Oriented:
WSOP Cashes of Remaining Players
| Lifetime WSOP Cashes | # of Players |
|---|---|
| 0 | 6 |
| 1 | 3 |
| 2-4 | 6 |
| 5-9 | 2 |
| 10-19 | 3 |
| 20+ | 0 |
Barnhart Dispatches Mozhnyakov: Sam Barnhart raised to 560,000 with A♠10♥ and was met with an all-in shove by Alexadre Mozhnyakov, who was left with just 1,525,000 after running his kings into aces. Barnhart asked for a count, made the call, and discovered he was ahead of Mozhnyakov’s K♥Q♥. Barnhart, the oldest player left in the Main Event, managed to hold as the board ran out 4♠3♠4♣J♦2♦. Mozhnyakov was eliminated in19th place ($302,005) as the first hour of broadcast came to a close.
Holden Sticks Around: Action folded to Ben Lamb in the small blind and he opened for 525,000 with A♠9♥. Sam Holden was in the big blind and shipped in his last 3.24 million holding A♦J♥, which Lamb snap-called. Holden was way ahead and stayed there as the board ran out 7♥8♥2♦J♣2♠. The Brit doubled to 6.75 million, which was good for the 13th biggest stack in the room.
Youth Movement:
Ages of the Remaining Players
| Age Range | Players |
|---|---|
| 21-29 | 13 |
| 30-39 | 3 |
| 40-49 | 1 |
| 50-59 | 1 |
| 60+ | 0 |
Shih Eliminated in 18th Place: Kenny Shih opened for 525,000 with 8♠8♣ and received a call from John Hewitt, who was in the big blind holding K♣J♣. The A♣6♠7♣ flop didn’t hit Hewitt directly, it did make him a 52 percent favorite; nonetheless, he checked. Shih fired out 700,000, Hewitt check-raised to 2 million, and Shih moved all-in for 3.645 million total. Hewitt snap-called, and Shih’s face dropped.
Seeing that his eights were ahead, Shih shot out of his chair and got excited; however, his enthusiasm was crushed when the 2♣ spiked on the river to give Hewitt the flush and leave him drawing dead. The inconsequential 7♠ was put out on the river as Shih was eliminated in 18th place ($378,796).
National Champion Down: Sam Barnhart, who won the 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit National Championship, opened for 550,000 only to have Pius Heinz three-bet all-in for 5,510,000. Barnhart called off for 4,025,000 and was in a bad spot.
Showdown
Barnhart: 9♠9♦
Heinz: K♠K♦
Barnhart had a tremendous 2011, concluding in a deep run in the Main Event, which ultimately came to an end in 17th place ($378,796) as the board ran out J♣3♥4♠10♥8♠. Ever the gentleman, Barnhart tipped his hat to the players and the crowd. Interestingly, Barnhart won more for his Main Event finish than he did for his National Championship win ($350,000).
Lenaghan Out the Door: Sam Holden opened for 400,000 only to have one-time chip leader Ryan Lenaghan move all-in for 4,635,000.
Showdown
Holden: A♠Q♠
Lenaghan: A♥8♥
Holden was a 68 percent favorite to win the hand, which improved to 89 percent on the 2♠7♣6♠ flop. The 8♠ turn paired Lenaghan, but unfortunately for him it was a spade. Holden hit his flush and left his opponent drawing dead. The 6♦ was put out on the river for good measure and Lenaghan shook hands with the table and exited the stage in 16th place ($378,796).
Pateychuk vs. Heinz: Andrey Pateychuk opened for 480,000 with K♥Q♣ and Pius Heinz looked him up from the big blind with A♥9♦. Both players hit the A♦Q♠9♥ flop, but opted to check. Heinz then checked the 3♣ turn, Pateychuk bet 655,000, and Heinz check-raised to 1,680,000. Pateychuk made the call and the players watched the 7♠ appear on the river. Heinz wasted little time in betting 2,725,000. Pateychuk called, and Heinz took down the 10.1 million pot. Pateychuk lost over half his stack in the hand.
Not long after, Pateychuk moved all-in for his last 4.3 million with A♣Q♠ and Heinz made the call with J♠J♥. It was a race, but Pateychuk couldn’t catch up as the board ran out 3♦6♠K♥9♦10♣. Pateychuk shook hands with Heinz and then made his exit in 15th place ($478,174).
To be Continued: The first half of Day 8 came to a close with 14 players remaining. Next week, the final two episodes of the 2011 WSOP will air, finally bringing us to the final table. Then, the following weekend, those nine players will reconvene in Las Vegas to play down to a winner! Be sure to either check your local listings or come back next week for our recap of the action.
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