Win a WSOP Main Event and the run-good kinda sticks with you. Chris Moneymaker held top pair and a flush draw on the turn when the money went in and needed help on the river to best David Oppenheim's two pair. Money800 got the necessary club to move on to the semis. There he will face the current WSOP champion, a young man who won nearly $9 million in November thanks in part to the boom sparked by Moneymaker. Duhamel out-turned Olivier Busquet in the quarterfinals to advance.
After a 20 minute break, we'll return with the last two quarterfinal matches:
Vanessa Selbst v. Erik Seidel
David Benyamine v. Andrew Robl
Cards are in the air for the Hearts/Diamonds quarterfinals. Vanessa Selbst, during her pre-match on-air interview with Leeann Tweeden, offered this prognosis on her match with Erik Seidel:
"I'm pretty much drawing dead, considering Erik wins every $25K-plus tournament he plays."
It is very, very quiet on the set for this second group of quarterfinal matches. None of these players are known for being especially chatty but they're playing in total silence right now.
Erik Seidel has a small chip lead on Vanessa Selbst. Andrew Robl just dragged a pot with kings-up at showdown to take the lead against David Benyamine.
Sitting with the big blind, Vanessa Selbst raised pre-flop and was called by Erik Seidel on the button. Selbst continued for 12,000 on a two-diamond flop, . Seidel raised to 30,000. Selbst paused, broke down her stack, counted her chips and then moved all in. That move gave Seidel pause. He peeked at his cards one time while resting his chin on his hand and then folded.
Each of these four players is playing for a first-prize of $750,000. The downside of that -- and it's a big one -- is that they are missing the biggest Sunday Major in the history of online poker. To celebrate five years of the "Sunday Million" tournament on PokerStars, the online poker behemoth guaranteed today's prize pool would be at least $5,000,000. With late registration still open in the tournament, more than 46,000 players already have registered, creating a prize pool of more than $9 million and a first prize that will be significantly bigger than the $750,000 today's NBC Heads-Up winner will receive.
Vanessa Selbst's body language right now betrays that she's in a tough spot in a tough match against a tough opponent. Erik Seidel has what looks to be a 3-1 or 4-1 chip lead at the front table. Selbst's shrinking stack is leaving her with fewer and fewer options.
Neither table has produced a called all-in yet, but blinds are up to 4000-8000; it can't be long. David Benyamine just dragged a sizable pot against Andrew Robl to bring their stacks close to level, although it appears Robl still has a small lead.
Vanessa Selbst was showing signs of frustration in her slow battle with Erik Seidel. She was down to 125,000 when she and Seidel raised and reraised their way all in preflop.
Selbst: and at risk
Seidel:
The wasn't of much assistance, but the on the turn added an open-ender to her overcards. With one card to come, Selbst had 14 outs. She stood up to leave. "Too many outs, too many outs," she said. But it was just the right number of outs. The on the river gave her top pair and the chip lead in the match. She's up to 250,000 to Seidel's 150,000.
![[user140525]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
. Seidel raised to 30,000. Selbst paused, broke down her stack, counted her chips and then moved all in. That move gave Seidel pause. He peeked at his cards one time while resting his chin on his hand and then folded.
and at risk
wasn't of much assistance, but the 
on the turn added an open-ender to her overcards. With one card to come, Selbst had 14 outs. She stood up to leave. "Too many outs, too many outs," she said. But it was just the right number of outs. The 
on the river gave her top pair and the chip lead in the match. She's up to 250,000 to Seidel's 150,000.