On the 12th round of hand-for-hand play the field finally lost a player. John Popa moved all in for 35,000 and Mark Martin moved in over the top. The rest of the table folded and the cards were turned up.
Martin:
Popa:
The board ran - which counterfeited both players pocket pair, but Martin's jack played as a kicker to eliminated Popa from the tournament.
We saw a huge pile of chips in the middle with Tai Du and Judd Morris at the turn. The board was , Du moved all in for around 90,000 and Morris was in the tank. After a bit Morris tossed in a call and Du said, "Ah, I think you have me out-kicked."
Du:
Morris:
Du's instincts were spot on but the river came , giving Du two pair and the pot.
Judd Morris moved all in preflop holding pocket sevens and Chris Hooper called with pocket aces. The board ran , Morris was eliminated and Hooper stacked the pot.
Sherry Haney was eliminated at a different table, bringing the field to 26 players. At 27 players, the field does a redraw to three, nine-handed tables.