button in SafariFeng's Aces Cracked on River to Bust at WSOP Main Event Final Table
Han Feng went home at the WSOP Main Event final table in one of the most brutal ways.
The hand occurred with five players remaining after Jamie Shaevel, a Southern California cash game pro, lost his short stack to the chip leader, Lucas Jumalon. Feng, one of the most accomplished players at the final table, had a shot to make a run at the $10 million first-place prize. But Lauri Saaskilahti — actually, the cards — had other plans for him.
Brutal River Card
Feng, who has $3.5 million in live tournament cashes, was one of six players trying to somehow catch up to Jumalon, who hasn't squandered his chip lead. He was down to just eight big blinds and picked up the dream hand — pocket aces.
Even better for Feng, he got some action when the bigger-stacked Saaskilahti, called with pocket nines. Greg "FBT" Mueller made a brilliant fold, sending pocket jacks into the muck.
Feng had nearly locked up the hand on the 10♦3♦8♦ flop, given that he held the A♦. Saaskilahti, however, would pick up some help with the J♥ turn, which gave him an open-ended straight draw. But he couldn't hit any diamond on the river to eliminate a player.
The dealer paused for TV before turning over the Q♠, one of seven outs that would ship Saaskilahti the pot. In doing so, it sent Feng to the rails in fifth place for $2,250,000.
Day 1 of the WSOP Main Event final table had just two eliminations in six hours, leading to some criticism of the play from the viewers on social media. But it's been a stark contrast on Tuesday, with numerous juicy hands and two bustouts through the first two hours.
A winner will be crowned on Wednesday. Livestream coverage on ESPN begins at 10:30 p.m. ET.
