Taylor von Kriegenbergh bet 6,500 on the flop. Jonathan Jaffe raised to 14,800 and then von Kriegenbergh reraised all in for 53,900. Jaffe called and tabled the for a flush draw. Von Kriegenbergh held the for trip nines.
The on the turn quickly ended things as von Kriegenberg made quads and Jaffe was left drawing dead. The river completed the board with the .
Jonathan Jaffe opened to 4,500, and Michael Pesek three-bet to 20,300 total. These three-bets have been big today, and Jaffe couldn't call this one. He folded, sending the chips to Pesek.
Taylor von Kriegenbergh raised before the flop, and only Jonathan Jaffe came along with him to the flop.
It brought and a check from both men, and the landed on fourth street. Jaffe took the lead now with a bet of 6,400, and von Kriegenbergh made the call to see one last card.
It was the , and Jaffe announced an all in for 45,400. Von Kriegenbergh took about two minutes to consider before he made the call, and it was an incorrect one. Jaffe turned up , turning a flush after flopping a monster.
With that double, Jaffe is back over 110,000, while Von Kriegenbergh falls back to the short stack.
Jason Mercier opened the pot to 4,800 before Taylor von Kriegenbergh three-bet shoved for about 70,000. The action wasn't done there yet, though, as Eugene Katchalov called all in for 59,400, folding Mercier and putting the two men heads-up with Katchalov at risk. He had it.
Showdown
Von Kriegenbergh:
Katchalov:
Von Kriegenbergh had his man covered, but not by much, and the flop was a swing and a miss. Von Kriegenbergh has a robust cheering section here today, and they were all huddled around the TV screen in the corner of the room pleading for a five.
Turn:
Bing! Von Kriegenbergh found his unlikely high five, tripping up and putting Katchalov one card from the door. He'd need to catch one of the two remaining aces to stay alive.
River:
Oh, bing again! It's the ol' suck-resuck for Katchalov as he goes from ahead to behind to ahead once again. That timely ace on the river has kept Katchalov alive, doubling him up to about 130,000 and crushing von Kriegenbergh back to just about 15,000.
From under the gun, Michael Pesek raised to 5,300. Taylor von Kriegenbergh was all in for 13,000 from the big blind and Pesek made the call.
Pesek:
Von Kriegenbergh:
The board ran out and von Kriegenbergh was eliminated in fifth place. He took home $40,000 for winning his first table and two $2,000 bounties for a total of $44,000.
With the elimination of Taylor von Kriegenbergh in fifth place, the only two players alive contending in the race for the most bounties are Jason Mercier and Eugene Katchalov, both Team PokerStars Pros. As it stands right now, Mercier has six bounties and Katchalov has four. If Mercier can pick up one more bounty, he'll have seven and lock up the $20,000 prize for earning the most bounties. An entry to the next North American Poker Tour Bounty Shootout also comes as a prize, but the next stop is still unannounced.
Katchalov will need to bust all three of his remaining opponents in order to win the bounty race. If Jonathan Jaffee or Michael Pesek eliminate one another, Katchalov will have to bust the last two players then in order to claim the title after play gets to three-handed.
Our very own Sarah Grant caught up with Jason Mercier on the last break to discuss how the final table is going so far. Check out what the defending champion of this event had to say about his day so far.
Jason Mercier raised to 4,800 from the cutoff and Jonathan Jaffe called from the big blind.
Flop:
Jaffe led out 6,100 and Mercier responded with a raise to 15,500. A call from Jaffe brought the turn which he quickly checked. Mercier checked behind and the hit the river. Jaffe bet 15,000, sending Mercier into the tank for a few minutes before ultimately folding.
We estimate that Jaffe upped his stack to about 120,000 while Mercier slipped to about 80,000.