The bubble has burst here on the first hand of hand for hand play. As tables around the room were being instructed to hold up after this hand, action was brewing at another table.
After a series of raises, Greg McCurry moved the rest of his stack in against Emmit Humphrey on a board that read . Humphrey called it off and showed for top pair. McCurry, however, was leading with for top-top.
The turn was the , keeping McCurry in the lead. The river, however, brought the , securing the highest two pair for Humphrey and allowing him to win the hand. A visibly upset McCurry quickly exited the tournament area while Humphrey stacked his new chips. He's now sitting on about 415,000.
Ari Engel opened to 11,500 from the button and the small blind folded. John Short peered down at his cards from the big blind and cut out a three-bet to 30,000.
Action was back on Engel and he eventually opted to move out a four-bet, making it 55,500 to go.
"Is that the only way you can win?" asked Short.
Short ended up giving up his hand and awarding Engel the pot. Engel is now sitting on roughly 200,000 in chips.
On a flop of , Mark Maletic led out with a bet of 18,500. Patricia Pate made it 37,000 to go only to have Maletic come back over the top with an all in bet. Pate thought for about thirty seconds before calling off her tournament life.
Maletic:
Pate:
The turn and river brought the and the , allowing Maletic's kings to hold and sending Pate packing. Maletic is now sitting on 360,000 in chips.
Action folded to Aaron Massey who popped it up to 12,000 from the button. The player in the big blind went into the tank and that's when Massey began talking. Although Massey admitted afterward that he was trying to talk him into folding, his opponent moved all in for not too much more.
Massey let out a sigh followed by a laugh, looked at the clock to make sure he did his math right, and then announced a call. Massey showed and was live against his opponent's .
The board came down and Massey's pair of queens ended up as the best hand. His opponent solemnly walked toward the payout desk while Massey stacked chips. He's now sitting around 265,000.
We got to the table to see Matthew Colvin all in before the flop against big-stack Nathan Bjerno. Colvin held and was ahead of Bjerno's .
The flop brought and Bjerno jumped into the lead by pairing his jack. The turn paired the board with the and the board completed with the , ensuring that Bjerno finished with the best hand. By eliminating Colvin, Bjerno is now sitting on about 600,000 in chips and is the big stack in the room.
The flop read and Michael Sanders bet an unknown amount. Josh Pender flat called to see the drop down on fourth street. Sanders slowed down with a check and Pender took this opportunity to bet 35,000. Sanders replied by announcing that he was all in, which was actually a bet for all of Pender's stack. Pender called it off only to find that he was behind.
Pender:
Sanders:
The river brought the and Pender was eliminated from play. Sanders, on the other hand, now has roughly 480,000 in chips.
Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler has been eliminated from play.
We missed his final moments, but he was kind enough to recap the action. In the first hand he opened from the button holding . The player in the big blind three-bet all in and Kessler called. His opponent showed and Kessler did not improve.
Not long after, Ari Engel opened before the flop and Kessler moved in his last 65,000. Engel called and showed which was ahead of Kessler's . Kessler did not improve and he was sent to the rail.
. Humphrey called it off and showed 
for top pair. McCurry, however, was leading with 
for top-top.
, keeping McCurry in the lead. The river, however, brought the 
, securing the highest two pair for Humphrey and allowing him to win the hand. A visibly upset McCurry quickly exited the tournament area while Humphrey stacked his new chips. He's now sitting on about 415,000.
, Mark Maletic led out with a bet of 18,500. Patricia Pate made it 37,000 to go only to have Maletic come back over the top with an all in bet. Pate thought for about thirty seconds before calling off her tournament life.
and the 
, allowing Maletic's kings to hold and sending Pate packing. Maletic is now sitting on 360,000 in chips.
.
and Massey's pair of queens ended up as the best hand. His opponent solemnly walked toward the payout desk while Massey stacked chips. He's now sitting around 265,000.
.
and the board completed with the 
, ensuring that Bjerno finished with the best hand. By eliminating Colvin, Bjerno is now sitting on about 600,000 in chips and is the big stack in the room.
drop down on fourth street. Sanders slowed down with a check and Pender took this opportunity to bet 35,000. Sanders replied by announcing that he was all in, which was actually a bet for all of Pender's stack. Pender called it off only to find that he was behind.
. Kessler did not improve and he was sent to the rail.