Action folded to David Tuthill in the cutoff seat, and he opened the action with a raise to 13,000. After RJ Sullivan called from the button and Joe Ebanks called from the big blind, the dealer spread out the flop. Ebanks checked, Tuthill continued with a bet of 18,000, and Sullivan called. Ebanks folded.
The turn was the , and Tuthill stayed on the gas by betting 31,000. Sullivan called again, and this time the river paired the board with the . Both players checked.
"You got it," was the announcement from Tuthill to Sullivan. In response, Sullivan rolled over the for two pair, aces and kings, and Tuthill mucked his hand.
On the very first hand of the final table, Ryan Franklin opened with a raise from under the gun, and Andy Seth reraised all in for 69,500 from the next seat. Action folded back to Franklin, and he made the call to put Seth at risk.
Franklin tabled the for a classic race situation against the at-risk Seth's . The flop, turn, and river ran out , and Seth's queens held up to give him the double.
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Day 3 of the 2013 PPC Aruba World Championship $2,500 Main Event. Just nine competitors remain in the battle for the title, and they are all in the money and guaranteed at least $5,000. With $68,000 up top and a PPC Aruba champion to be crowned, today plans to be an exciting day of poker.
[Removed:65] leads the way by a big margin, with over 200,000 chips more than RJ Sullivan has in second place. Rounding out the top three is World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner Joe Ebanks.
While [Removed:72], Sullivan, and Ebanks boast the largest stacks returning to play, all eyes are on one man — Joe Serock.
For all of the results and accolades that Serock has, it was here in Aruba just one year ago that he earned his first live tournament victory. Last year, Serock bested a field of 31 entries to win $40,594. While Serock has fired four bullets into the event this year, he's made it to the money and has a chance to grab back-to-back wins. Only eight players stand in the way of Serock and that accomplishment, and the former World Poker Tour Player of the Year seems poised and ready for the challenge.
Other notables at the final table include former WSOP Circuit Main Event champion David Tuthill, Ryan Franklin, and Andy Seth. Seth will be bringing up the rear with the short stack of 70,000 in chips, but the 2009 World Poker Challenge champion is just one double up away from being right in the mix.
Final Table Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Chips
1
[Removed:65]
559,000
2
RJ Sullivan
351,000
3
Joe Ebanks
281,000
4
Sterling Savill
276,000
5
Ryan Franklin
261,000
6
Joe Serock
222,500
7
David Tuthill
137,500
8
Stephen Sindler
72,000
9
Andy Seth
70,000
Last night, it was Sullivan that sent Arun C. home in 10th place as the tournament bubble boy. Sullivan got there with the against Arun's by rivering trip fives, but many saw this as Sullivan simply returning the favor because right before that, Arun cracked Sullivan's kings with the .
Play is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. local time at the beautiful Radisson Aruba Resort, Casino & Spa and won't end until a winner is crowned. Stay tuned right here to PokerNews for live coverage in just a bit.