Upeshka Desilva has a growing group of supporters directly behind in on the rail, and they celebrated even after their boy lost the previous pot.
Desilva had raised it up from the small blind, and Jeffrey Hagen defended his big blind, bringing on a flop of .
Having led out for 160,000, Desilva went deep into the tank following Hagen's reraise to 400,000. After three minutes of intense contemplation, during which Desilva stared the impassive Hagen down directly, the floor was called to countdown the clock.
Desilva waited until the last possible moment before tossing his cards into the muck, and while Hagen's friends celebrated his victory, Desilva's supporters yelled out "nice laydown Pesh!"
Michael Bennington stands out as one of the older competitors left in the field, but he recently crippled Rodger Johnson, showing that he still has some spring in his step.
Playing from under the gun, Bennington shoved all-in for 1.49 million, and Johnson returned the favor with an all-in move of his own.
The two tabled their hands, and Johnson's put him ahead of Bennington's .
Flop:
With the arrival of a jack on the flop, Bennington took the lead, and blanks on the turn and river left Johnson's big slick as the losing hand.
This loss crippled Johnson, and soon after he was dismissed by Upehska Desilva, but he will collect $82,205 for his deep run here tonight.
Benny Chen moved all-in from the big blind, shipping his last 2 million chips with , and Chris Hunichen made the call from the button with .
The two players were flipping coins for a chance to win a million dollars, and Chen called it correctly when the flop fell . Hunichen needed a jack to arrive on the turn or river, but the and came instead.
With the loss, Hunichen's chip leadership has been lost, but both players still have above average chip stacks as the last level of Day 3 soldiers on.
From the hijack, Robert Mcveigh opened for 150,000 and Justin Liberto three-bet to 410,000. This prompted Liberto to four-bet the action to 1.15 million, and Liberto responded in kind with a five-bet shove.
Action of this sort typically suggests monster hands will be tabled, and this occassion was no exception.
Showdown:
Liberto:
Mcveigh:
The classic cooler put Liberto in great shape to double, and when a third king came on the flop, he surged to an overwhelming lead in the hand. Mcveigh was drawing dead when the turned, and the on the river was irrelevant.
First to act from under the gun, Benny Chen popped it to 125,000, and he called the three-bet to 280,000 made by Chris Hunichen out of the small blind.
On the flop, Hunichen continued his line with a bet of 150,000, and Chen came along to see the turn card. After the arrived, Hunichen slowed down and tapped the table, to which Chen responded with a bet of 320,000.
After some thought, Hunichen called Chen down and we were off to fifth street, which came .
Another check by Hunichen elicited a big bet of 880,000 from Chen, an amount large enough to force him into the tank for at least five minutes. Finally, Hunichen surrendered the hand and Chen took down a huge pot to move over the 5 million chip mark.
Having managed a short stack effectively throughout Day 3's later levels, scoring a few fortunate double-ups from behind along the way, Jeffrey Hagen seemed destined to at least be among those returning for play tomorrow afternoon. Unfortunately, a misread with 20 minutes remaining to play tonight ended his tournament prematurely.
The action started when Hagen opened for 150,000 out of the cutoff, a bet which Jonathan Gray bumped to 400,000 from the button. Hagen flat called and the dealer spread a flop of across the felt.
When Hagen opted to check, Gray shoved all-in for 1.06 million, a bet which forced Hagen to a decision for his tournament life. It didn't take much thought for Hagen to decide his was good, but when Gray tabled the he found out that his read was off base. The turn of offered no help to Hagen, and the on the river sealed his demise. He will take home $82,205 for weaving his way through this massive field.
The final ten players have redrawn for the unofficial final table, and during the first five hands of play, Dan Kelly claimed three small to medium sized pots.
Kelly has built his stack to just over 5.6 million making these moves, giving the young pro a bit of momentum entering Day 4 action tomorrow.
Joe Kuether's min-raise to 120,000 from early position was met with a flat call by Benny Chen, and the dealer fanned a flop of . After Kuether tapped the table, Chen fired 175,000 into the middle, a bet which was called bu Kuether.
The turn card came and both players opted to slow down, bringing the on the river. This time, Kuether was not content to check, and he led out for 175,000.
Chen eventually raised the bet to 625,000 and Kuether looked him up, but found Chen's to be the stone nuts.
.
, and Chris Hunichen made the call from the button with 
.
. Hunichen needed a jack to arrive on the turn or river, but the 
and 
came instead.
flop, he surged to an overwhelming lead in the hand. Mcveigh was drawing dead when the 
turned, and the 
on the river was irrelevant.
flop, Hunichen continued his line with a bet of 150,000, and Chen came along to see the turn card. After the 
.
across the felt.
was good, but when Gray tabled the 
. After Kuether tapped the table, Chen fired 175,000 into the middle, a bet which was called bu Kuether.
to be the stone nuts.