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Miguel Proulx got his 750,000 chips into the pot on the next hand, and Daniel Alaei called with a chance at the knockout.
Showdown
Proulx: 
Alaei: 
Alaei was ahead, and he stayed firmly in front on the flop of 
. The 
on the turn was the money card for Proulx, though, giving him two pair and putting him one card from the double up. The river 
was safe, and he's moved himself back up to 1.58 million chips.
Daniel Alaei limped from the button, and Miguel Proulx raised the pot from the small blind. It was 640,000, and Alaei made the call to see a flop.
It came 
, and both players checked. On the 
turn, Proulx checked again, and Alaei made a small bet of 300,000. Proulx called. He checked again when the 
filled out the board, and Alaei announced all in. Proulx tanked and shook his head and grumbled and sighed, and he eventually folded to save his last 750,000 chips for a better spot.
Miguel Proulx limped from the small blind, and Ville Mattila potted to 480,000 from the big. Proulx called.
Heads up, the flop came 
[2d}, and Proulx checked. Mattila bet the pot, 960,000, and Proulx tank-folded to the maximum bet.
Daniel Alaei limped from the button, Miguel Proulx folded his small blind, and Ville Mattila took a free flop in the big.
It came 
, and Mattila tried his luck with a 350,000-chip bet into Alaei. It was a bad idea. Alaei potted to 1.45 million, and Mattila could not call.
Alaei - 6.36 million
Mattila - 2.1 million
Level: 32
Blinds: 80,000/160,000
Ante: 0
Daniel Alaei limped in from the button, Miguel Proulx called from the small blind, and Ville Mattila knocked the felt for a friendly family flop.
It came 
and they all checked it around to the 
turn. Proulx checked again, and Mattila bet 360,000. Alaei proceeded to raise to 900,000 straight, and that earned him another little pot to bolster his chip lead.
Ville Mattila raised to 290,000 from the button, and Daniel Alaei called from the small blind. The flop came 
, and both players checked. Alaei led out with 400,000 chips on the 
turn, and that ended the hand and chipped him back up to about 5.4 million.
Ville Mattila (confused): "Wait, what are the blinds?"
Daniel Alaei: "The same they've been for the last 55 minutes."
Here's how the players stack up as three-handed play begins:
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
5,600,000 | 610,000 |
|
2,600,000 | -620,000 |
|
1,800,000 | 900,000 |
Ludovic Lacay open-shoved for his last 415,000, a nickel shy of a pot-sized raise. Daniel Alaei proceeded to make a quick call, and Miguel Proulx made a quick fold.
And now, once again, we came a to dead standstill at Ville Mattila. He couldn't seem to figure out how much the bet was despite the chips being tidily stacked out in front of him. He pointed to both piles of chips, asked a few questions, and fumbled with his chips. He asked Alaei if he would check it down with him. The dealer immediately stepped in and Alaei was the one who said, "You can't ask me that. Just play."
After about another minute, Mattila still couldn't figure out the bet, and the dealer tried her best to move things along, "Okay, you are the big blind. You have 120,000 out there. If you want to call, it's 295,000 more. You can give me 300,000 and I will give you 5,000 back."
No joke. Mattila still couldn't quite get it, and he once again asked how much the total bet was. Alaei and Lacay called the clock almost simultaneously, and Mattila began to get angry. He let the clock tick down to zero and slid his cards back to the dealer with a few words to his opponents and the floor man. In any event, Lacay was now at risk, and the cards were turned up:
Lacay: 
Alaei: 
The all-in player stood as the dealer sealed his fate with a board of 
(3h}.
Unable to improve, Ludovic Lacay has been eliminated in fourth place. He'll pocket more than a quarter-million dollars, but he sure would have preferred the bracelet that he came so tantalizingly close to. Things might have turned out differently if Lacay could have won any one of the five all ins that he lost this evening. 0-for-5. The featured table arena is now nearly empty with the exit of the French contingent.
