The final table for the 2013 PPC Aruba World Championship $2,500 Main Event has been set, but it didn't come without a bang. On the final hand of the night, RJ Sullivan cracked Arun C.'s pocket kings with the by rivering trips. Not only did Sullivan bust Arun, but he burst the bubble and officially set the final table.
Leading the way into Day 3 — the third and final day of play — will be [Removed:65]. He bagged up 559,000 in chips. Sullivan finished in second place with 351,000, and then Joe Ebanks bagged the third most chips with 281,000.
While there are a handful of notables at this final table, all eyes will be on reigning champion and former World Poker Tour Player of the Year, Joe Serock. Serock went deep into his pockets for this event, firing away four bullets. He'll need to place sixth or higher to turn a profit, but with a healthy stack of 222,500 in chips, Serock looks to be in very good shape to defend his title.
The remaining nine players have locked up at least $5,000 in prize money, but it's the $68,000 up top that they'll all be fighting hard for tomorrow. Play is scheduled to resume at 3 p.m. local time here in Aruba, so be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all the live coverage starting then.
Just about 15 minutes ago, Arun C. caught a lucky ace against RJ Sullivan's pocket kings to double up and stay alive on the bubble. Well, Sullivan got his revenge by returning the favor against Arun and cracking his kings, but this one was a little more on the dirty side.
David Tuthill raised to 10,500 from the hijack seat, and then Sullivan reraised to 26,500 out of the cutoff seat. On the button was Arun, and he reraised all in for 92,500. The two blinds folded, as did Tuthill, and then Sullivan went into the tank. His tanking lasted a couple of minutes while he counted out his stack and asked the dealer to pull in the 26,500 bets. Eventually, Sullivan made the call, but the hand he turned over dropped jaws around the table.
Arun confidently tabled the while shouting to his rail about how he looked at one king and then another. Sullivan tabled the for two suited, unpaired undercards.
Then, this happened...
The flop came down to give Sullivan a pair of fives. He was still behind Arun's kings, though, as the dealer dealt the on the turn. Sullivan now needed a nine, an eight, or a five to send Arun home as the bubble boy.
The dealer burned one final time, then ripped off the to deliver Sullivan with trip fives. Arun shot up out of his seat in disarray as he couldn't believe what just happened. The entire table seemed to get smile and get a laugh out of the situation, while Arun did a little bit of ranting about the beat he just took.
With that, the remaining nine players were all in the money and guaranteed $5,000. Official chip counts will be posted shortly after the players bag and tag.
From early position, Stephen Sindler raised to 10,000. Ryan Franklin called in middle position, the reigning champion Joe Serock called from the cutoff seat, and Arun C. called from the big blind.
The flop came down , and action checked around to see the land on the turn. After Arun checked, Sindler bet 22,500. Franklin folded, Serock called, and Arun folded.
The river paired the board with the , and both Sindler and Serock checked.
Sindler showed the for ace high, but it was Serock's for two pair that was the winner.
Joe Ebanks raised to 5,500 from early position, then play folded over to Antonio Storno in the cutoff seat and he moved all in for 13,900. Jimmy Peters made the call of Storno's shove from the button, the blinds folded, and then Ebanks reshoved all in to put the pressure on Peters.
With roughly 64,000 in chips behind, Peters tank-folded. He later claimed to have pocket eights and said, "I knew I should have reraised." Ebanks showed the and Storno had a dominated .
The board ran out , and Storno was eliminated. With that pot, Ebanks moved to 240,000 in chips and now has the chip lead.
Since returning for Day 2 with just 33,100 in chips, Andy Seth has shot up the leader board, and he's now on top of the field. Seth just busted late registrant Charles Pearson to take the chip lead and move over 200,000.
From the hijack seat, Seth raised it up. Pearson reraised on the button to 10,000, then action folded back to Seth. He put out a bunch of yellow T5,000 chips to set Pearson all in. Pearson called.
Seth:
Pearson:
The board ran out , and Pearson was out the door. Seth now has approximately 208,000 in chips.
Welcome back for PokerNews' Day 2 live coverage of the 2013 PPC Aruba World Championship Main Event. At time of writing, the field has grown to 86 entries. Charles Pearson has entered before the start of play today to make up the additional entry, and there might be a couple more people entering by the time the cards are in the air thanks to some last-minute satellites.
There are 29 players remaining, and it is Day 1a chip leader Stephen Sindler leading the way with 211,600 in chips. Rounding out the top three are Igor Merda with 195,600 and Sterling Savill with 178,600, and then it's reigning champion Joe Serock bringing up the rear with 21,400 in chips.
Outside of that bunch of players to advance, notables Hayden Fortini, David Tuthill, Steve Karp, Joe Ebanks, Ronnie Bardah, and Andy Seth all remain. Both Ebanks and Bardah are World Series of Poker gold bracelet winners, while Tuthill is a former WSOP Circuit Main Event champion.
As it stands right now, first place looks to be in the ballpark of $70,000-$75,000, but that figure will depend on the final number of entries in the field. Keep in mind that both Serock and Seth have fired four bullets in this event, so they'll need some very deep runs to earn a profit. The tentative plan for the day is to play down to the final table, where everyone left should be in the money.
Day 2 is set to begin at 3 p.m. local time, and hopefully the remaining competitors aren't too tired from some early afternoon fun in the sun. It's going to be a long and exciting day of poker here in Aruba, so be sure to stay tuned for all of the action coming your way shortly.
by rivering trips. Not only did Sullivan bust Arun, but he burst the bubble and officially set the final table.
while shouting to his rail about how he looked at one king and then another. Sullivan tabled the 
to give Sullivan a pair of fives. He was still behind Arun's kings, though, as the dealer dealt the 
on the turn. Sullivan now needed a nine, an eight, or a five to send Arun home as the bubble boy.
to deliver Sullivan with trip fives. Arun shot up out of his seat in disarray as he couldn't believe what just happened. The entire table seemed to get smile and get a laugh out of the situation, while Arun did a little bit of ranting about the beat he just took.
, and action checked around to see the 
land on the turn. After Arun checked, Sindler bet 22,500. Franklin folded, Serock called, and Arun folded.
, and both Sindler and Serock checked.
for ace high, but it was Serock's 
for two pair that was the winner.
and Storno had a dominated 
.
, and Storno was eliminated. With that pot, Ebanks moved to 240,000 in chips and now has the chip lead.
and was flipping for his tournament life with Ebanks' 
, and Fortini won the pot to move to 205,000 in chips. Ebanks was left with 129,000, which is still a very healthy stack.
