Arce Takes Chiplead Off Lakhov In Final Hands

In one of the last hands of the day, a gigantic pot between Alexander Lakhov and Francisco Arce saw the latter take the chiplead off the former.

A player raised to 2,500 from middle position and Arce called on the button. In the blinds, Lakhov put in a three-bet to 11,000 while saying "six". The dealer told Lakhov it was a raise to 6,000 due to the verbal announcement, but Lakhov claimed he was talking about the "six position" with another player.

The floor got called over and ruled the verbal announcement as binding. Getting a great price, both the player in middle position and Arce called the raise to see a flop.

The flop came and all players quickly checked. On the turn, Lakhov checked, the player in middle position bet 12,500, Arce called, Lakhov check-raised to 35,000, and only Arce called the raise.

The river was the and Lakhov moved all in without hesitation. Arce, with a healthy stack of 120,000 behind, suddenly had a decision for his tournament life. The Spanish pro seized up his opponent, considered it for twenty seconds, then flicked in a call.

Alexander Lahkov:
Francisco Arce:

Arce made a huge call with just a weak pair of aces and got rewarded, as Lakhov had turned his pocket queens into a bluff. With the gigantic pot, Arce will end the day as the chipleader.