Al Barbieri Eliminated in 2nd Place ($158,647)
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Stud 8/b
Barbieri: 
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Puchkov: 
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The end came swiftly and brutally for Al "Sugar Bear" Barbieri. Down to fewer than 600,000 chips, Barbieri had only one good hand left in his stack. In the stud split round still, Konstantin Puchkov caught the bring-in and decided to complete in his own right. Barbieri raised, and Puchkov made the call.
Fourth street paired Puchkov. He checked to Barbieri, who bet. Puchkov called and then checked again on fifth street. Barbieri bet, leaving himself 150,000 behind. Puchkov raised him all in, taking the players to their first all in after three-and-a-half hours of heads-up play. Barbieri saw that he was behind, a pair of fours up against sevens and deuces, but he had some chances to make something happen. All of those chances vanished on sixth street, where Barbieri bricked and Puchkov made deuces full of sevens. Barbieri, with no low draw, was drawing dead.
Barbieri played with pluck for three days. His reward is a runner-up finish and $158,647 in prize money.