A field of 152 players started in Event 12, the $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em. Making Wednesday's Day 2 was what it took to make the money and 32 players did just that. From there, three rounds of matches were played and when all was said and done, only four players survived to have a shot at capturing the World Series of Poker gold bracelet tomorrow.
Among the players that were eliminated in the round of 32 were Scott Baumstein (29th), Tommy Vedes (28th), Kevin Saul (26th), Eric Froehlich (25th), Andrew Lichtenberger (23rd), Mark Radoja (21st), Richard Lyndaker (19th), and Darren Elias (18th). They each earned $10,966.
Those who fell in the sweet 16 and collected $20,674 include Antonio Esfandiari (16th), Jonathan Jaffe (13th), Paul Volpe (12th), and Vanessa Selbst (9th).
Following them out the door with losses in the elite eight worth $56,380 were Michael Drummond (8th), Andrew Robl (7th), Jeffrey Gross (6th), and Chris Moore (5th).
Here are the players who will be returning tomorrow, along with their respective Day 2 paths to the final four:
Player
Round of 32 Opponent
Round of 16 Opponent
Round of 8 Opponent
Tommy Chen
Eric Froehlich
Antonio Esfandiari
Chris Moore
Brian Hastings
Tommy Vedes
Amritraj Singh
Jeffrey Gross
Jason Mo
Serkan Kurnaz
Eevert Kokkonen
Andrew Robl
Brock Parker
Mark Radoja
Douglas Polk
Michael Drummond
Play resumes Thursday at 1:00pm local time with Tommy Chen vs. Brian Hastings and Jason Mo vs. Brock Parker. Make sure to keep it here for live updates throughout the day to see who becomes the next WSOP champion!
A flurry of big hands in a 10-minute span told the tale of the final match to end in the round of eight.
Chris Moore limped on the button and Tommy Chen raised to 95,000 from the big blind. Moore re-raised to 300,000 and Chen moved all in over the top. Moore called all in for just a little bit more and showed . Chen was ahead with , but was unable to hold through the board.
Shortly thereafter, Chen shoved on the button for a tad less than 300,000 with . Moore called from the big blind with , but once again the favored hand failed to hold. The board ran out to double Chen right back up. Keep in mind, Moore had used both lammers while Chen still had both at his disposal.
A few hands later, Moore opened to 40,000 on the button and Chen re-raised to 105,000 in the big blind. Moore four-bet shoved with the bigger stack and Chen called all in for 564,000 with . Moore slightly trailed with and even through the flop didn't help him, he became a slight favorite to win the hand. However, the turn and river were no help.
Down to about 200,000, Moore called all in with after Chen raised for more on the button with . The final board of Day 2 ran out as Chen hit the straight on the river to earn a spot in the final four.
In just two hands it was all over for Jeffrey Gross who came up short against Brian Hastings. On the first hand Gross raised to 32,000 and Hastings made the call. The flop came down and both players checked. The turn was the and Hastings bet 42,000, Gross called. The river was the and Hastings checked. Gross bet 50,000 and Hastings decided to check-raise to 150,000. Gross moved all in and Hastings called for a total of 455,000. Hastings showed for the nut flush and he doubled up to around 1,058,000 with one extra lammer left behind.
On the final hand Gross moved all in from the button for 468,000 and Hastings snap-called with . Gross showed and the board ran out giving Hastings the win and a spot in the Final Four. He will play against the winner of the match between Chris Moore and Tommy Chen.
On the final hand of the short match between Andrew Robl and Jason Mo we caught the action on the flop reading . Mo bet 70,000 and Robl opted to make the call. The turn was the and Mo bet 185,000 after which Robl called once again. On the river the Mo moved all in quickly and after some tanking Robl made the call. Mo tabled for trip queens and Robl mucked his cards.
Within 30 minutes the match was over and Jason Mo will be playing Brock Parker in the Final Four, his match ended in almost exactly the same hand.
Brock Parker is one step close to winning his third WSOP gold bracelet after he just defeated Michael Drummond in seventh place. After Drummond had limped the button Parker decided to raise it up to 35,000. Drummond was down to 175,000 chips and moved all in after which Parker made the call.
Brock Parker turned over and he was up against to seal the deal. The board ran out giving Parker a set of nines and the win in this match up. Parker will be back tomorrow for his Final Four match against Jason Mo.
Brian Hastings built up his lead in chips, leading to Amritraj Singh using his lammers before Hastings closed out the match.
Following a flop, Hastings checked to Singh who bet 28,000. Hastings popped it to 75,000 before Singh moved all in for his remaining 210,000. A call from Hastings revealed for a flush draw, trailing Singh's for top pair and a smaller flush draw.
The turn improved Hastings' chances a bit and sure enough the hit the river, giving Hastings trips to win the pot and advance to the Elite Eight.
He awaits the winner of Vanessa Selbst vs. Jeffrey Gross.
Alexander Venovski got his stack of about 200,000 into the middle with after three-bet shoving from the big blind, but slightly trailed the of Michael Drummond who called.
The board rolled out , ending Venovski's run while sending Drummond through to the next round where he will face Brock Parker.
From the button Jonathan Jaffe just raised to 17,000 after which Andrew Robl moved all in. With this move he put Jaffe to the test who had around 170,000 left behind. Jaffe called and showed , flipping with Robl's . The board fell , ending Jaffe's run.
Andrew Robl moves on to face Jason Mo in the Elite Eight.
Jason Mo has just won himself a spot in the round of eight beating Eevert Kokkonen. From the button Kokkonen raised to 16,000 and Mo decided to make it 47,000 to go from the big blind. Kokkonen wanted to play for it all and moved all in for around 220,000 chips. Mo called.
Kokkonen turned over and he was up against the of Mo who was looking for the knock out. The board ran out and Mo moved on to the round eight.
Brock Parker made a nice call at the beginning of the match getting Douglas Polk to use his final rebuy lammer and he never looked back. On the final hand Polk raised to 12,000 and Parker opted to three-bet to 35,000 from the big blind. Polk moved all in for right around 150,000 and Parker called.
Parker showed against Polk's and the board ran out giving Parker the win. Brock Parker will face off against the winner of the match between Alexander Venovski and Michael Drummond.
. Chen was ahead with 
, but was unable to hold through the 
board.
. Moore called from the big blind with 
, but once again the favored hand failed to hold. The board ran out 
to double Chen right back up. Keep in mind, Moore had used both lammers while Chen still had both at his disposal.
. Moore slightly trailed with 
flop didn't help him, he became a slight favorite to win the hand. However, the 
turn and 
. The final board of Day 2 ran out 
and both players checked. The turn was the 
for the nut flush and he doubled up to around 1,058,000 with one extra lammer left behind.
. Gross showed 
and the board ran out 
. Mo bet 70,000 and Robl opted to make the call. The turn was the 
and Mo bet 185,000 after which Robl called once again. On the river the 
for trip queens and Robl mucked his cards.
turn improved Hastings' chances a bit and sure enough the 
, ending Venovski's run while sending Drummond through to the next round where he will face Brock Parker.
