The matches seem to be ending pretty quickly now up here in the Shadow Bar. Will "The Thrill" Failla just dispatched of his opponent, and Phil Hellmuth busted his opponent as well.
Hellmuth recounted the hand to us, letting us know he limp-raised on the button with four-five suited, and his opponent made the call. The flop was and T. Augdal moved all- in, with Phil quickly making the call. Augdal held and would need some help to stave elimination.
An on the turn would give Augdal more outs, but the river was a brick and Hellmuth advanced to the round of 64.
Rick Salomon just entered the chip Danger Zone and leaped back out again in two hands vs. Juha Helppi. Already in the lead, Helppi extended it to near breaking point when Salomon check-called a 3,500 bet on the turn of a board leaving himself 6k behind. This Helppi duly bet on the river but Salomon passed, opting instead for the double through (well, that sounds like it was voluntary but the cards were on their backs vs. Helppi's at one point).
Jason Mercier can finally get some sleep - a flurry of aggression saw him go all in on the river with only king-high. We're not sure whether there was an ace or similar on the board, but either way Brandon Adams' was good enough to secure him a spot in the second round.
A volatile match indeed ended abruptly just now when Dan Smith, taking his turn on the see-saw of the shorter stack, got it in preflop with , and a bit of a head-nod wince when he saw Mori Eskandani's . The whole 12,700 was on the line and then in Eskandani's stack after the board came down to give him a full house and a break until 10pm tonight when the second round will kick off.
Huck Seed has triumphed over Vanessa Rousso - we'll be seeing the former in around three hours, while the latter will have to wait until the Main Event for another shot at a bracelet.
Meanwhile EPT Deauville winner and Skype emo smiley lookalike Jake Cody has lost his match against Sondre Svanevik.
November Niner Joseph Cheong is getting on just fine against Harrison Kaczka, who came second at the PCA heads-up PLO event.
The flop read when Kacka bet out an indeterminate amount (these dealers are fast) with 10,300 left to his name. Cheong paused only slightly before making the call, and they saw a turn. This time Kaczka tanked up for a little while before checking. Cheong bet 2,600, Kaczka folded, and they moved on to the next hand, Kaczka at a huge chip disadvantage.
As we type, Kaczka is down to 7,000 and has a rather sour expression on his face.
Brandon Adams had taken a sizable lead over the exhausted, WCOOP-winning Jason Mercier, but Mercier is not a player to mess with, even without any sleep, and he's now fighting back admirably.
The flop read when Adams bet out 1,500 - but Mercier immediately made it 4,000 to go and Adams laid it down without a fuss.
Adams - drops a shade to 35,000
Mercier - clawing his way back up to 25,000
![[user141292]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
and T. Augdal moved all- in, with Phil quickly making the call. Augdal held 
and would need some help to stave elimination.
board leaving himself 6k behind. This Helppi duly bet on the 
river but Salomon passed, opting instead for the double through (well, that sounds like it was voluntary but the cards were on their backs 
vs. Helppi's 
at one point).
, and a bit of a head-nod wince when he saw Mori Eskandani's 
. The whole 12,700 was on the line and then in Eskandani's stack after the board came down 
to give him a full house and a break until 10pm tonight when the second round will kick off.
turn. This time Kaczka tanked up for a little while before checking. Cheong bet 2,600, Kaczka folded, and they moved on to the next hand, Kaczka at a huge chip disadvantage.
when Adams bet out 1,500 - but Mercier immediately made it 4,000 to go and Adams laid it down without a fuss.