It really was unlucky thirteen for Jeff Sarwer as he was eliminated after his aces were cracked.
He raised to 26,000 from the hijack before Jani Sointula three-bet to 47,000 from the button. Sarwer paused and four-bet to 125,000 and snap called off the 300,000 or so he had back when the Finn shoved after some serious thought.
Sointula:
Sarwer:
The board ran to make Sointula a set. He seemed embarrassed by his victory but Sarwer acted as the true gent he is and said. "It's okay, it's okay. Don't worry."
Raigo Aasmaa is the only player who can do some serious damage to Ronny Kaiser's stack and he has already begun chipping away at it. Aasmaa raised under the gun and Kaiser, next to act, three-bet. Aasmaa called and it was heads-up to the flop. Both players checked on the flop but when the appeared on the turn Aasmaa lead out with a 72,000 chip bet, a bet that Kaiser was not willing to call.
It could be the start of a very interesting battle between the pair, especially because between them they have more than a third of the chips in play.
Rolands Norietis had already been all-in without challenge and then lost around 50,000 in a blind battle gone wrong with Stuart Fox when his fatal blow was delivered. His executioner was Jeff Sarwer who now has 410,000 chips as a result of the Norietis elimination.
Norietis moved all-in for 88,000 and Jeff Sarwer asked for a count from the big blind before calling.
Norietis
Sarwer
"Only queens," sighed Sarwer.
An ace in the window quickly changed Sarwer's mood however.
Board:
Arvi Vainionkulma owes Sarwer a pint because after that elimination, he has won the Skrill last longer challenge, and will have his tournament entry of €4,250 returned turning his tournament into a freeroll.
Vojtech Ruzicka lasted two more hands after being crippled. He called all-in for 15,000 after Arvi Vainionkulma raised to 25,000. Grzegorz Cichocki also called from the small blind but folded when Vainionkulma bet on the flop.
Vainionkulma:
Ruzicka:
The board ran out and Ruzicka's extended elimination was complete.
Wow, what a hand! We now have another player past 1,000,000 chips!
Joining the hand on a flop reading , Raigo Aasmaa bet 62,000 from the small blind only to see Vojtech Ruzidka raise to 135,000 from the button. Aasmaa looked at his opponent before moving all in and Ruzidka snap-called.
Aasmaa:
Ruzicka:
The dealer burned a card and put the out on the turn, improving Aasmaa to the nut flush. The river was the and Ruzicka was crippled. The dealer counted out Aasmaa's chips, 513,000, and it looked like Ruzicka could have been busted but he was left with just 16,000 chips, whilst Aasmaa soars past 1,000,000.
Stuart Fox is the last Brit standing, or sitting as the case may be, in this tournament and he has just picked up another 50,000 chips. The action folded to him in the small blind and he opted to just complete. Rolands Norietis was not going to let Fox see the flop cheaply and he made it 25,000 to play. Fox then announced that he was all in, which seemed to puzzle Norietis and it sent him into the tank.
The rest of the table left to go for their 15-minute break whilst Norietis was contemplating what to do. When they return they will discover that he folded.
Lari Sihvo just emptied the clip on Raigo Aasmaa but couldn't force him off second pair.
Sihvo raised preflop and bet 26,000, 52,000 and 104,000 on a board. He was called all the way but could only muster at showdown. Aasmaa breathed a sigh of relief and tabled .