Apologies as again we're already at the river stage as we pick up the action. It's a blind battle and the two players involved are Theo Jorgensen in the small blind and Shaun Deeb in the big blind.
The board reads and when Jorgensen checks, Deeb asks how much there is in the pot. When he hears there's 54,600 in the pot he bets 54,500.
Jorgensen sit's there for a while and then says "My instincts tell me to call." That's exactly what he does, but isn't happy to see Deeb's for the nuts.
Not long after this, news reaches me that Jorgensen doubled up through Deeb a few hands later. That puts Jorgensen on about 78,000 and Deeb on 165,000.
Chip leader Jason Mercier has eliminated Ville Wahlbeck and Robert Williamson III from the tournament in back-to-back hands and now holds a commanding lead over the rest of the field.
In the first hand, Wahlbeck, Sami Kelopuro and Mercier all checked the flop and saw the hit on the turn. Wahlbeck then bet the pot (13,200), Kelopuro folded and Mercier made the call. The fell on the river and Wahlbeck fired again -- this time making it 15,000 to go. Mercier then opted for a raise, kicking it up to 45,000 and subsequently putting Wahlbeck all in. After some considerable thought, Wahlbeck made the call and Mercier tabled for the nut straight to send Wahlbeck packing.
On the very next hand, Mercier tangoed with Williamson on a board strangely reminiscent of the hand prior: . Williamson passed the first option to Mercier on the flop, who led out with a 10,500 bet. Williamson then check-raised with a pot-sized bet and Mercier just called. The turn brought the and Williamson open-shoved for his last ~16,000 in chips. Mercier made a quick call, announcing, "King-high flush," as he turned over the ( ).
Far from dead, Williamson flipped over a pair of aces and pleaded for help on the river:
"Pair the board for once in my life!" he said.
The river did not comply. When the dealer flipped over the -- a losing card for Williamson -- he rapped the table and wished his now former tablemates good luck.
Mercier's successive eliminations skyrocketed him to ~340,000 in chips and he's now far and away the tournament chip leader.
Theo Jorgensen min-raises to 2,400. Andy Bloch and Markus Golser make the call before Ville Haavisto reraises the pot from the small blind to 22,200. Jorgensen thinks for a bit before pushing all in for around 43,900 total. Andy Bloch folds and Golser calls the all-in. Haavisto with only a few thousand left also calls all in.
Haavisto:
Jorgensen:
Golser:
On seeing Golser also has aces, Jorgensen declares, "Suddenly I like my hand a bit more!" Andy Bloch says that he passed .
The board runs out and Jorgensen's flush wins him a 110,000 pot. Haavisto is out, and Golser is crippled.
I arrive late at the table and the board is already out showing .
Shaun Deeb is involved, but his hand has already been mucked. Erik Friberg is his happy opponent and is still showing .
By the way, the dealer is counting Friberg's stack; I think all the money went in preflop. Anyhow, 48,000 has left Deeb's stack and now belongs to the Swede.
Dave 'Devilfish' Ulliott has been knocked out early on today. The board read and Markus Golser quickly made the call saying, "I think I have you in bad shape."
"I don't think you do, I have three kings," retorted the Fish flipping over . Golser showed for the wrap and flush draw.
"Pair the board one time please baby," pleaded Devilfish, but the poker gods were apparently out at a picnic or at a friend's wedding or something since the turn brought the and the river was a non-pairing .
Day 2 has just started here in the back room at the Empire Casino, London. 45 players remain and the first step for them is to reach the top 18 and secure a payday. After that, the next step is to make the final nine, so they can come back for tomorrow's final table. With the caliber of the field here today, though, such milestones won't really enter their heads. For most, their goal will be to put themselves in a position to win a bracelet.
It will be fascinating. Let's shuffle up and deal!