Two hands after making a big fold on the river leaving himself with only 120,000 in chips, Qinghai Pan raised from the button and both Nick Guagenti in the small blind and George Chen in the big blind called.
The flop of 8♠9♥10♥ saw all three players check. All three players also checked the turn Q♦.
The river fell the 4♣ and Guagenti bet. Chen got out of the way and Pan shrugged and motioned to the 20,000 left in front of him before calling for less.
Qinghai Pan: K♠2x
Nick Guangenti: 9♣6♣
Guagenti's pair of nines was good to scoop the pot and eliminate Pan from the tournament.
Bradley Carter was left with only a fraction of what he started the day with when his pair of fours was bested by the pair of fives of Juha Helppi in a postflop war.
There was a whisper of hope for him when he tripled up from the small blind shortly after.
Just one hand later:
Three ways to the the turn reading 2♦J♦6♠6♦, Joseph Brodsky checked, Juha Helppi bet, and Carter put a raise in. Brodsky made it three bets and both opponents called. Carter was just short of the third bet.
The river peeled the 7♥. Helppi called one last bet but was shown the bad news when Brodsky showed the K♦10♦ for a flush.
Carter showed the 7♦8♦ for a worse flush and was sent to payouts.
Juha Helppi raised from early position and was called by George Chen in the big blind. The flop scrolled across A♠7♠6♥ and Chen checked but quickly raised when Helppi bet. Helppi folded.
Hand 2:
Helppi raised from under the gun and it folded to Chen in the small blind, who called. Joseph Brodsky in the big blind folded.
The flop peeled A♥9♦Q♠; this time both players tapped the table.
The turn brought the 6♣ and Chen checked, then called a bet from the two-time bracelet winner.
Chen checked and called on the A♣ river, but was shown the bad news when Helppi rolled over 9♥9♣ for nines-full.
Today, six players return to the World Series of Poker, Event #9: $1,500 Limit Hold’em to lay it all on the line for their shot at a WSOP bracelet at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Play resumes today at 1 p.m. in the Horseshoe Event Center and is sure to be exciting.
Leading the pack is WSOP bracelet winner Nick Guagenti with 2,800,000 in chips, nearly a million more than the rest of the field. Next in chips, Joseph Brodsky from Florida, has 1,885,000 after a day of heavy fluctuation in position yesterday. Close behind, Qinghai Pan holds 1,845,000 in chips. Meanwhile, Bradley Carter and George Chen find themselves tied for fourth in chips with 1,645,000. Finnish pro and two-time WSOP winner Juha Helppi is still fighting for a stack at the back of the pack with 1,285,000.
Final Table Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Bets
1
Nick Guagenti
United States
2,800,000
28
2
Joseph Brodsky
United States
1,885,000
19
3
Qinghai Pan
United States
1,845,000
18
4
Bradley Carter
United States
1,645,000
16
5
George Chen
United States
1,645,000
16
6
Juha Helppi
Finland
1,285,000
13
Yesterday saw the departure of WSOP bracelet winners Ryan Hansen and Matt Grapenthien. Among the notable action from the day was plenty of back and forth battling between Qinghai Pan and Domenico Denotaristefani including the hand that eliminated Denotaristefani from the tournament.
Qinghai Pan
The event restarts today at Level 26, with blinds set at 25,000-50,000 and betting limits of 50,000-100,000, with the remaining players guaranteed at least $19,400. However, their vision remains focused on the top prize of $121,074 and the prestigious gold bracelet for the victor.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Payout
1
$121,074
2
$80,717
3
$54,708
4
$37,880
5
$26,807
6
$19,400
Be sure to follow PokerNews to see who will accomplish the dream of winning the coveted WSOP gold bracelet and prize money, plus more action from the 2024 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
