Action folded to Philipp Gruissem in the hijack seat, and he raised to 500,000 to put the pressure on all of the short stacks left to act behind him. Play then folded to Winfred Yu in the small blind. With about 325,000 in chips, Yu called all in. Everyone else folded.
Yu showed the and was up against the for Gruissem.
On the flop, Gruissem didn't hit, but he became a favorite as the fell. With straight and flush draws, plus two overcards, Gruissem needed to hit a jack, spade, ace or ten to win the pot.
The turn was the , putting Yu one more card closer to the double up. The river was black, but it wasn't a spade. Still, it was the and that gave Gruissem a better pair to eliminate Yu in ninth place.
With only eight places paying, Yu became the official tournament bubble boy, andeEveryone remaining has locked up a minimum of €115,000.
From early position, Richard Yong opened with a raise to 80,000. Action then folded to David Benefield on the button, and he reraised all in for 220,000. When play got back to Yong, he quickly tossed in the chips to make the call.
Yong held the and was in a dominating position to knock out Benefield who held the . On the flop, both players paired when the fell, but it was Yong's kicker that kept him in front. From there, the turn brought the and river the to finish things off.
Benefield was eliminated in eighth place, but did earn €115,000 for his finish.
John Juanda raised to 60,000 pre flop, and Steve O'Dwyer moved all in over the top for right around 450,000. The action was folded back to Juanda who made the call.
Showdown:
John Juanda:
Steve O'Dwyer:
The flop brought , putting O'Dwyer in great shape to double up. Unfortunately for him the hit the turn, and now he was looking to catch a ten or a jack in order to survive. The river brought the , and O'Dwyer's tournament run was over. Just six players remain, as Juanda extended his chip lead.
John Juanda raised to 125,000 on the button, then Philipp Gruissem reraised all in for 950,000 from the small blind. In the big blind, Tobias Reinkemeier tanked for a bit. Eventually, he called all in for less at 615,000. Juanda was back up, but he decided to lay his hand down after a minute of thought, leaving the two Germans to do battle.
Gruissem showed the and was crushing Reinkemeier's . On the flop, Gruissem struck gold when the fell to give him a Broadway straight. The turn was the and river the , eliminating Reinkemeier in fifth place for €200,000.
Philipp Gruissem raised to 125,000 from the button and Mike Watson three-bet from the small blind to 335,000. Gruissem tanked for a bit and then moved all in for right around 1.7 million chips. Watson called almost immediately.
Showdown:
Philipp Gruissem:
Mike Watson:
The board ran out , and Gruissem was knocked out. Just three players remain right now, and Watson has a big chip lead.
After Mike Watson folded from the button, Richard Yong raised all in from the small blind for 385,000.
"Sh*t, this is a really bad hand," said John Juanda when he looked at his cards. "How much more is it?"
Juanda got the count of how much more, then said, "I guess I have to," and tossed in the call.
Juanda held the and was up against the for Yong.
On the flop, the fell, and Juanda added a pair of jacks. Yong wasn't out of it yet, as he picked up a straight draw.
The turn brought the , which left Yong needing just a nine on the river to double up. One last burn card, then the landed and officially eliminated Yong in third place. He earned €400,000 for his finish while Watson and Juanda were left to battle for the title.
And that's a wrap here at the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe for the €50,000 Majestic High Roller. Emerging victorious from the 60-entry field is Mike Watson for a cool €1 million!
This field attracted 49 players with 11 rebuys being added to the prize pool. A buy-in of €50,000 was required for each entry, and a prize pool of €2.88 million was generated. With the top eight spots set to pay out, Day 3 was not only going to see a winner crowned, but also the bubble burst.
Nine players came back for Day 3, but unfortunately for Winfred Yu, he would be the last one leaving empty-handed. On his final hand, Yu lost with pocket eights versus Philipp Gruissem's thanks to a ten on the river. With the final eight all guaranteed at least €115,000, it was time for eliminated players to hit the payout desk.
First to go was David Benefield, then Steve O'Dwyer, Jani Sointula and Tobias Reinkemeier in that order. After Reinkemeier headed out the door, fellow German Gruissem hit the rail before play continued for a little bit longer three-handed and the players went on a 75-minute dinner break. At the break, Watson held the chip lead with John Juanda in second place and Richard Yong in third.
The food must have had some extra spice in it for Yong as he came back from dinner in a fury. Within a few hands, Yong had the chip lead and was mashing away. But then, he picked up ace-king on back-to-back hands and doubled up both of his opponents, one after another; first Watson, then Juanda. That left Yong as the short stack once again and he was bounced from the tournament shortly thereafter.
When heads-up play began, Juanda had 4.83 million in chips to Watson's 4.17, making things fairly close. Juanda inched out at first, but then a massive collision of stacks occurred. Juanda held the versus Watson's dominated , but a jack on the turn gave Watson just the ingredient he needed for the double up. With that pot, Watson took a huge lead and knocked Juanda to under ten big blinds. Things didn't last long from there.
On the final hand, Watson put Juanda all in with the , and Juanda called with the . The flop, turn and river ran out and Watson had done it. He secured the victory while Juanda was left with a not-so-shabby payday of €600,000 for second place.