Round of 32: Andy Hwang Defeats William Punzo

We just watched Andy Hwang - having already notched a win in this best-of-three match - put William Punzo out his misery in a series of of three hands.

Punzo, holding about 10,000 of his original 20,000 starting stack, tried opening the pot for a raise of 2,000. Hwang just grabbed two of the baby blue T5000 chips and tossed them in, forcing Punzo to a decision for his tournament life - and forcing off of the hand as well.

Next, Hwang and Punzo played a small pot in which Hwang bet 400 with the board reading . Punzo called the bet, but insta-folded when Hwang bet the river.

Finally, in his last hand of the night, Punzo bet 1,500 on the flop, and Hwang flatted to see the fall on the turn. When Punzo announced himself all in, Hwang snapped him off and tabled for top two pair. Punzo was drawing dead when he revealed and he made his way from the tournament area in short order, congratulating Hwang for a job well done before making his ext.

Hwang will play in the Sweet Sixteen later on this evening, one night after final tabling and finishing in 3rd place in Event 10, and as the defending champion of this series' World Poker Tour Main Event his status as the favorite would be disputed only by Matt Stout - who is has built a 4-0 record so far.