Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Alex Lynskey |
40,100,000
-2,750,000
|
-2,750,000 |
Antoine Labat |
32,950,000
1,350,000
|
1,350,000 |
Martijn Gerrits |
22,725,000
725,000
|
725,000 |
Yueqi Zhu |
20,050,000
650,000
|
650,000 |
|
||
Tony Miles |
12,225,000
1,275,000
|
1,275,000 |
Alexander Haro |
11,300,000
800,000
|
800,000 |
Ming Xi |
9,725,000
-1,175,000
|
-1,175,000 |
2018 World Series of Poker
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Aram Zobian |
35,100,000
3,600,000
|
3,600,000 |
|
||
Nicolas Manion |
32,450,000
-50,000
|
-50,000 |
|
||
Artem Metalidi |
31,575,000
-3,525,000
|
-3,525,000 |
Ryan Phan | 11,500,000 | |
Joe Cada |
10,075,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
|
||
Frederik Brink |
8,875,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
Sylvain Loosli |
5,725,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
Level: 33
Blinds: 150,000/300,000
Ante: 50,000
While he may be missing his three dogs back home in Michigan, Nicolas Manion is sure to be bringing home the puppy chow from his Vegas trip and unbelievable Main Event run that started out as a freeroll.
Friends with the SolveForWhy guys, especially Jordan Young who also hails from Michigan, there was an offer a few months back to freeroll Manion in a couple $2,175 Main Event satellites and give him 50 percent of the action in Main if he were to qualify. Manion snap-called, and was content to just hang out in Vegas and play some cash if it didn’t work out.
That wouldn’t be necessary though, as Manion got through in both satellites to even pocket a little extra cash, for the Main Event freeroll of his life.
Manion may be a small-stakes grinder per usual, but hey — so was Ryan Riess. Manion has mostly built up his tournament chops playing smaller online events, but has very little live tournament experience and only a few small results on Hendon Mob. He talked to PokerNews after bagging the ninth biggest stack of the remaining 26 players on Day 6.
“Recently I’ve just been doing really well, playing well, and running even better. And that’s what’s been going on in the Main Event. So it’s been great.”
Main Event Journey
Though it’s a very big spot for the small-stakes grinder, Manion hasn’t really felt the full effects of the pressure grinding a short stack for much of the tournament.
“The craziest thing about this tournament is I really haven’t had many chips to have to have big decisions. So it’s either, I’m going with my hand or I’m not. And now that I’ve got chips, I’m a little bit more nervous, but I think I’m playing well so it kind of cancels that out.”
Manion started Day 6 as one of the shorter stacks of the final 109 players with 23 big blinds and was just bleeding off, getting no hands to work with, but that all changed in the second level of the day. Down to eight big blinds in the big blind, Manion got pocket sevens in against ace-king and hit a seven on the river to stay alive.
Manion proceeded to chip up from there for the remaining few levels of the day, and made a huge laydown with pocket kings preflop at the very end of the night to preserve his stack and finish the day ninth in chips. Oh, and the fold was correct. He filled us in on his thought process after the hand.
“I’ve shown nothing but nut hands today, and he shoved all in for 16 million. To me, that’s just one hand and one hand only, so I’m not going to put my tournament life on kings when I’m 99 percent sure he has aces.”
Now it’s Day 7, the day the elite and elusive final table will be determined. Manion started with a respectable 17.63 million chips and through the first level of the day, has nearly doubled that to jockey into a top-five stack. The big hand that got him there? Pocket kings.
Manion is on top of the world, and his SolveForWhy buddies are understandably also elated for his deep Main Event run.
“They can’t believe it either.”
While his good buddy and top poker pro Jordan Young only found his first cash in the Main Event this year after nine years of playing the event, the fact that Manion will be cashing it in a big way on his first shot at it is cause for some friendly needles.
“He’s just like, ‘I play for nine years before getting a cash; You come out here and play your first time and you’re possibly going to make the final table,’” Manion laughed, enjoying his amazing ride on the biggest poker tournament stage in the world.
Hand #43: Frederik Brink opened to 675,000 on the button and Aram Zobian calls in the big blind.
The flop is and both players check to see the on the turn. There, Zobian checked again. Brink put out a bet of 700,000 and Zobian folded.
Hand #44: Action folded around and Joe Cada took a walk in the big blind.
Hand #45: Action folded to Aram Zobian on the button and he raised to 675,000 and Nicolas Manion three-bet to 2,000,000 from the big blind. Zobian folded and Manion scooped the pot.
Hand #46: Nicholas Manion was in the small blind and he raised to 700,000. Sylvain Loosli called from the big blind.
The flop was and Manion put out a bet of 425,000. Loosli folded allowing Manion to take down the pot.
Hand #47: Artem Metalidi opened to 650,000 from early position and everyone folded allowing Metalidi to take down the pot.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Nicolas Manion |
34,400,000
1,950,000
|
1,950,000 |
|
||
Aram Zobian |
33,400,000
-1,700,000
|
-1,700,000 |
|
||
Artem Metalidi |
32,000,000
425,000
|
425,000 |
Ryan Phan |
11,000,000
-500,000
|
-500,000 |
Joe Cada |
10,200,000
125,000
|
125,000 |
|
||
Frederik Brink |
9,800,000
925,000
|
925,000 |
Sylvain Loosli |
4,600,000
-1,125,000
|
-1,125,000 |
|
Hand #40: John Cynn opened to 650,000 and Konstantin Beylin called in the big blind.
The flop landed and both players checked to see the on the turn. Beylin bet out 1,000,000 and Cynn called as the river fell the .
Beylin checked, Cynn bet 1,480,000, and Beylin folded.
Hand #41: The action folded to Konstantin Beylin, and he limped in from the small blind. Paulo Goncalves raised to 900,000 from the big blind.
Beylin opted to jam all in for 5,900,000 and Goncalves folded.
Hand #42: Michael Dyer opened to 600,000 from the cutoff and Hari Bercovici called in the big blind.
The flop landed and Dyer bet 525,000 and Bercovici check-folded.
Hand #43: From the cutoff, Konstantin Beylin ripped all in for 7,050,000 and collected the blinds and antes.
Hand #44: Konstantin Beylin opened to 800,000 from the hijack and Paulo Goncalves three-bet to 2,000,000 from the cutoff.
The action folded back to Beylin, and he sent his cards to the muck.
Hand #45: From under the gun, Michael Dyer raised to 600,000. Konstantin Beylin called next to act, and Hari Bercovici called in the cutoff as Kao Saechao called in the big blind.
The flop landed and Saechao checked to Dyer who continued for 925,000. Beylin folded, Bercovici called, and Saechao mucked.
The turn landed the and and Dyer checked to Bercovici who bet 1,500,000. Dyer mucked, and Bercovici scooped the pot.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
John Cynn |
29,400,000
1,450,000
|
1,450,000 |
|
||
Michael Dyer |
22,700,000
-850,000
|
-850,000 |
|
||
Paulo Goncalves |
21,300,000
225,000
|
225,000 |
Hari Bercovici |
12,900,000
2,175,000
|
2,175,000 |
Kao Saechao |
11,600,000
-875,000
|
-875,000 |
Konstantin Beylin |
6,400,000
-1,250,000
|
-1,250,000 |
Ivan Luca |
3,800,000
-750,000
|
-750,000 |
|
Hand #49: Alex Lynskey raised to 800,000 in the small blind and Yueqi Zhu called. The flop came and Lynskey bet 550,000. Zhu called. On the turn, Lynskey check-called 1 million. He came back to life on the river with a bet of 3,250,000. Zhu called.
Lynskey showed for an airball and Zhu had for the straight.
Hand #50: Antoine Labat opened for 700,000 second to act and Ming Xi called in the big blind. Xi check-called 500,000 without much though after flopped. The brought another four-straight board and Xi fired out 1.2 million. That convinced Labat to surrender.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Alex Lynskey |
34,600,000
-5,500,000
|
-5,500,000 |
Yueqi Zhu |
26,500,000
6,450,000
|
6,450,000 |
|
||
Ming Xi |
11,400,000
1,675,000
|
1,675,000 |
Hand #48: First to act, Artem Metalidi raised it up to 700,000 and Ryan Phan called out of the small blind. On a flop of , Phan checked and Metalidi checked behind to see the appear on the turn. Both players checked once more and the river completed the board.
Phan now bet 1,700,000 and Metalidi released his cards into the muck.
Hand #49: Frederik Brink limped the small blind and Metalidi checked his big blind option, the flop came . No betting action took place and the turn, Brink bet 500,000 and was called by Metalidi. The river brought a bet of 1,200,000 by Brink and Metalidi raised it up to 4,000,000. Brink gave it some thought and elected to fold.
Hand #50: Phan opened the action from the cutoff with a raise to 625,000, and he picked up a call by Metalidi in the small blind. On the flop, both players checked and Metalidi also checked the on the turn. Phan bet 850,000 and that won the pot without further resistance by Metalidi.
Hand #51: Brink raised to 675,000 in the cutoff and Joe Cada came along from the big blind. The flop went check, check, and the on the turn triggered a bet of 1,200,000 by Cada. Brink folded and dropped to 22 big blinds as a result.
Hand #52: Aram Zobian raised to 700,000 on the button and Nicolas Manion called in the big blind. There was no betting action on the flop and Manion checked the turn, Zobian bet 525,000 and that forced a fold from Manion.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Aram Zobian |
33,900,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
|
||
Nicolas Manion |
33,500,000
-900,000
|
-900,000 |
|
||
Artem Metalidi |
32,800,000
800,000
|
800,000 |
Ryan Phan |
13,300,000
2,300,000
|
2,300,000 |
Joe Cada |
11,000,000
800,000
|
800,000 |
|
||
Frederik Brink |
6,600,000
-3,200,000
|
-3,200,000 |
Sylvain Loosli |
4,400,000
-200,000
|
-200,000 |
|
Hand #46: John Cynn raised to 650,000 from the button, Kao Saechao three-bet to 1,700,000 from the small blind and Cynn four-bet to 3,850,000. Saechao tanked for about two minutes before he called.
They checked to the turn of a board where Cynn bet 2,700,000. Saechao mulled it over briefly before he folded.
Hand #47: Michael Dyer limped from the small blind and Konstantin Beylin checked his option.
The flop came down , Dyer led for 325,000 and Beylin called. Dyer bet 700,000 on the turn and Beylin folded.
Hand #48: John Cynn opened to 650,000 from the hijack and Michael Dyer called from the button.
The flop came down and Cynn continued for 500,000. Dyer raised to 1,175,000, Cynn folded and Dyer won the pot.
Hand #51: Alexander Haro opened to 700,000 from middle position and Tony Miles called from the big blind. The flop came and Miles check-called a bet of 500,000 from Haro. The turn brought the and Miles checked again. Haro tossed in another bet of 1,000,000 and Miles still called. The river was the and both players tapped the table. Haro showed but Miles hit an ace on the river with to claim the pot.
Hand #52: Alex Lynskey raised to 650,000 from the hijack and everyone folded.
Hand #53: Miles raised to 650,000 on the button and Haro defended his big blind. The flop fell and both players checked to the on the turn. Haro led out for 550,000 and Miles stuck around to see the on the river. Haro checked this time and Miles slid in a bet of 1,300,000. Haro thought for a moment and then mucked his cards.
Hand #54: Lynskey opened to 650,000 from under the gun and Antoine Labat three-bet to 2,150,000 on the button. Haro four-bet shipped all in for 8,125,000 from the small blind and Lynskey folded along with Labat.
Hand #55: Haro raised to 700,000 on the button and was called by Martijn Gerrits in the small blind and Lynskey in the big blind. The flop came and it was checked around to the on the turn. The blinds checked again and Haro put in a bet of 1,200,000. Gerrits called and Lynskey got out of the way.
The river brought the and Gerrits checked for the third time. Haro tossed in a bet of 2,000,000 and Gerrits quickly called. "Flush," Haro said even though that was not possible. He tabled for a missed draw and Gerrits showed for two pair.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Martijn Gerrits |
28,800,000
6,075,000
|
6,075,000 |
Alexander Haro |
7,600,000
-3,700,000
|
-3,700,000 |