2012 World Series of Poker

Event 23: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Six-Handed
Day: 2
Event Info

2012 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
66
Prize
$567,624
Event Info
Buy-in
$3,000
Prize Pool
$2,522,520
Entries
924
Level Info
Level
28
Blinds
25,000 / 50,000
Ante
5,000
Players Info - Day 2

Event 23: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Six-Handed

Day 2 Completed

Metalidi Wins the Day; Several Big Names Still in Contention

Level 20 : 4,000/8,000, 1,000 ante
Artem Metalidi - looking for his first World Series of Poker bracelet
Artem Metalidi - looking for his first World Series of Poker bracelet

Aaaand just like that – another action-packed day of six-handed No Limit Hold’em is in the books. Out of the original 141 who began Day 2 in hopes of landing a World Series of Poker gold bracelet – only 18 will return for a third and final Day 3. Artem Metalidi will come into tomorrow as chip leader with a monstrous 1,523,000 stack. Behind him is the only other player to break a milly during Day 2, Luis Rodriguez, who bagged up 1,005,000.

As is always true in poker, where there are winners, there must be losers. Among those who didn’t survive into Day 3 include Jason Mercier, David Benyamine, Dan O’Brien, Galen Hall, Liv Boeree, Will Failla, Brad Booth and Gavin Smith. William Reynolds also fell by the wayside, but in notably brutal fashion as he was outdone by one of No Limit Hold’em’s prominent cooler situations.

As noted, our remaining players will be chasing after Artem Metalidi, who found himself with a massive chip late into Day 2 after winning a couple of key pots. There is still plenty of notable talent still in contention, however, including bracelet winner and 2008 November Niner Scott Montgomery, World Poker Tour champion and bracelet-winner Eugene Katchalov, online tournament phenom Andrew Lichtenberger and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – whose live tournament earnings exceed $8,400,000.

Here are the final chip counts going into tomorrow:

PlayerChip Count
Artem Metalidi1,523,000
Luis Rodriguez Cruz1,005,000
Foster Hays679,000
Joseph Urgo572,000
Damien Lhommeau511,000
Bertrand Grospellier487,000
Freddy Deeb425,000
Taylor Paur424,000
Simon Charette405,000
Eddie Blumenthal395,000
Craig Bergeron375,000
Scott Montgomery288,000
Thiago Nishijima272,000
Andrew Lichtenberger246,000
Alexander Nudin245,000
Toan Trinh224,000
Ryan Fair199,000
Eugene Katchalov84,000

Join us here tomorrow at 1:00 PM local time as our final 18 combatants return to battle down to an eventual champion. Until then, we wish you a good night!

Final Level Recap

Andy Lichtenberger raised to 16,000 on the button, Scott Montgomery moved all-in from the small blind and Lichtenberger folded.

Eugene Katchalov moved all-in and nobody took up his offer.

Simon Charette got two streets of value from Foster Hays betting on a {10-Diamonds} {8-Hearts} {6-Hearts} {Q-Diamonds} {A-Diamonds} board. Charette moved up to 405,000 and Hays dropped to 500,000.

Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier raised on the button, Andy Lichtenberger three bet to 39,000 from the big blind and ElkY forced him down with a 77,000 four bet.

Thiago Nishijima raised to 18,000 in first position and Craig Bergeron closed him out of the action with a 56,000 three-bet from the button.

Ryan Fair got it all-in with the short-stack Scott Montgomery. Montgomery was ahead with {A-Spades} {10-Hearts} versus the {A-Diamonds} {8-Diamonds} of Fair and it stayed that way. Montgomery moved up to 300,000 and Fair was reduced to 180,000.

Taylor Paur gained some chips from Foster Hays. Hays raised from under the gun and Paur called in the hijack. The board ran out {Q-Spades} {J-Diamonds} {8-Hearts} {9-Spades} {2-Spades} and Paur won 45,000 chips after calling a c-bet on the flop; his river bet of 60,000 was not taken up by Hays.

Eugene Katchalov moved all-in and everyone folded and then Alexander Nudin moved all-in from the small blind and Katchalov folded.

Last but not least our chip leader Artem Metalidi won a juicy pot from Toan Trinh. We joined the action on a flop of {Q-Clubs} {J-Clubs} {8-Clubs} in a three-bet pot. Metalidi check-calling a 20,000 Trinh flop bet. The turn was the {9-Spades} and both players checked before the {2-Diamonds} popped up on the river. Metalidi bet 38,000, Trinh called and Metalidi won the pot with {Q-Diamonds} {J-Diamonds} for two pair. The disappointed Trinh showing {K-Clubs} {K-Diamonds}.

Player Chips Progress
Artem Metalidi ua
Artem Metalidi
1,500,000 100,000
Foster Hays us
Foster Hays
WSOP 1X Winner
450,000 -140,000
Simon Charette ca
Simon Charette
WSOP 1X Winner
405,000 55,000
Scott Montgomery ca
Scott Montgomery
WSOP 1X Winner
300,000 183,000
Toan Trinh us
Toan Trinh
260,000 -170,000
Ryan Fair us
Ryan Fair
180,000 -165,000

Deeb and ElkY Having Blind Fun

The action folded around to Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier in the small blind and he made up the additional juice whilst Freddy Deeb checked. The flop was {A-Clubs} {5-Spades} {4-Hearts} and ElkY bet 10,000. Deeb quickly raised to 25,000 and ElkY just called. That was the end of the action as both players checked down the {5-Hearts} and {6-Diamonds} and ElkY won the pot with {A-Spades} {3-Diamonds}.

"You are lucky a deuce didn't come on the turn," said Deeb.

"Why we would have chopped. I had ace-three," said ElkY.

"But I had six-three," said Deeb.

"Oh sh&t," said ElkY.

Player Chips Progress
Bertrand Grospellier fr
Bertrand Grospellier
380,000 80,000
Freddy Deeb lb
Freddy Deeb
WSOP 2X Winner
355,000 -35,000

Tags: Bertrand GrospellierFreddy Deeb

Charette's Queens Cripple Katchalov

We caught up with the action just as a huge pile of chips were being passed on to Simon Charette. It appeared that Charette and Eugene Katchalov had gotten into a preflop raising war with Charette getting all in for his last 173,000 against Katchalov, who had him covered.

Katchalov: {9-}{9-}
Charette: {Q-Hearts}{Q-Spades}

The {10-Diamonds}{10-Diamonds}{10-Spades}{8-Diamonds}{A-Diamonds} board did not improve Katchalov's hand and Charette doubled through.

Charette is back up to 300,000 while Katchalov is down to his last 90,000.

Player Chips Progress
Simon Charette ca
Simon Charette
WSOP 1X Winner
350,000 -100,000
Eugene Katchalov ua
Eugene Katchalov
90,000 -225,000

Tags: Eugene KatchalovSimon Charette

Artem Metalidi is Crushing

Artem Metalidi the dominant force
Artem Metalidi the dominant force

Artem Metalidi has his shades on whilst he quietly fingers away at his iPad. Just inches away from his body rests a perfect sandcastle stack containing 1.4 million chips. Yes…that was not a typo… he has 1.4 million chips. So how the hell did he manage to accrue such a chip stack?

Well in the not too distant past there was a chip leader called Scott Horowitz and he occupied the two seat at the Metalidi table. Horowitz went a little bit crazy in a hand with Metalidi that went a little bit like this:

Metalidi found {A-} {A-} in the hijack and he raised to 12,000. Horowitz was seated on the button and he three-bet to 32,000 holding {8-} {8-}. Metalidi - with all the confidence that aces gives you - popped it back up to 67,000 and Horowitz called. The flop was {J-} {10-} {4-} (two spades), Metalidi bet 75,000 and Horowitz moved all-in for around 250,000 and Metalidi called.

That left a vacant spot at the table and it was taken by the confident looking Scott Montgomery. He really did have a swagger about him that now just looks like an ice cold stare of anger and disbelief. That stare is borne out of the fact that he has just shipped the majority of his stack to Metalidi baby flush over baby flush. We didn't catch the action but the board was showing {6-Spades} {3-Clubs} {7-Spades} {8-Diamonds} {J-Spades}, Montgomery had made a big bet on the river for a couple of hundred thousand holding a {5-Spades} high flush and the pot was won by Metalidi holding a {8-Spades} high flush.

Player Chips Progress
Artem Metalidi ua
Artem Metalidi
1,400,000 300,000
Scott Montgomery ca
Scott Montgomery
WSOP 1X Winner
180,000 -430,000

Tags: Artem MetalidiScott HorowitzScott Montgomery

Level: 20

Blinds: 4,000/8,000

Ante: 1,000