Before the start of play PokerNews presenter Melissa Castello caught up with Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson to chat about his strategy for the day ahead. The plan is working so far for Nelson as he has progressed his stack up to about 70,000 and is eyeing off another cash result.
Another miracle for Melvin
Melvin Matibag has made some amazing plays and found some incredible fortune during this tournament so far, and once again he has proven to the world why they call him "The Miracle."
This time it was at the expense of young gun James Obst. In a battle of the blinds, Matibag fired out 14,000 on a flop of before Obst shoved all in over the top sending Matibag into the tank with a decision for his tournament life.
After several minutes of thought, Matibag announced a call. Obst tabled for a big overpair as Matibag sighed and revealed a meager .
The turn was the and as the crowd gathered around everyone was in shock when the peeled off on the river as the cheers of "MIRACLE!" went up from Matibag and his supporters. As Matibag continued to shout "Miracle!" Obst counted out the additional 38,000 chips to send the 100,000 chip pot to Matibag. Obst maintained a wry smile on his face but had to be burning up inside as his first-ever live cash result is now in danger as he falls to 28,000 chips.
Hyoungjin Nam
Donny Morris is in critical condition. He got all in against Korea's Hyoungjin Nam holding on a board of . Nam asked for a count of how much he had to call (his whole stack) before calling and tabling , prompting several players at the table to describe his actions as "a dirty slowroll." Morris did not fill up on the river.
That loss left Morris with just 400 chips. He was all in three hands in a row, winning all of them to chip up to 12,600. With blinds at 1,000 and 2,000 and a 300-chip ante, Morris is still very short, but he can afford to be more selective than just pushing any two cards now.
William Te Jr.
William Te Jr. opened with a raise from middle position before Jong Sung Kim bumped it up an additional 14,500 from the button. The blinds folded and Te Jr. went into the tank for a long time before committing all of his last 30,200. With so much in the pot already, Kim made a crying call.
Kim:
Te Jr.:
The board fell giving Te Jr. a huge double-up and a 100,000-chip pot, as Kim slipped back to 25,000.
Celina Lin
Celina Lin has been quiet all day, not able to do much with her stack. She moved all in from the big blind for 24,400 after Victor Torres raised the button to 6,000. Torres debated for about a minute before calling.
Lin:
Torres:
"What?" asked a surprised Lin. "You call me with a queen-three? I call that impressive."
The flop gave Lin a good sweat, but she survived when the turn and river came and . She has doubled up to about 50,000.
Donny Morris was unable to complete an impressive comeback from just 400 chips. He found himself all in against Anthony Phillips. Phillips was in the lead with , but Morris had a decent chance with . The first card in the window was the , but the dealer spread the rest of the flop to reveal the and the as well. Morris never improved on the turn or river and has been eliminated.
James Obst
Patrick Carron opened with a shove for his last 12,900 from under the gun and Van Marcus made the call in early position. The action folded around to James Obst in the big blind, who announced he was all in for 65,000 in total.
"I should've known you were going to do that!" exclaimed Marcus before folding pocket sixes face-up.
Obst showed to be in good shape against Carron's . The board fell and although Carron paired up on the flop, Obst caught a queen on the river to take down a nice pot. Obst is now back on track and sits with close to 80,000 chips.
Former Miss Earth, Priscilla Meirelles
Another player who has been very quiet today is Priscilla Meirelles. She's been nursing a short stack but finally decided to move them into the middle with , only to run into an opponent's .
However she spiked an ace on a board of to double up to about 20,000 chips.
Tasha Ellis must have felt good about her chances, getting all in against a much shorter stack with on a board of . Ellis' opponent held for top pair. The on the turn gave Ellis almost half the remaining deck to draw at, but she missed when the fell on the river.
before Obst shoved all in over the top sending Matibag into the tank with a decision for his tournament life.
for a big overpair as Matibag sighed and revealed a meager 
.
and as the crowd gathered around everyone was in shock when the 
peeled off on the river as the cheers of "MIRACLE!" went up from Matibag and his supporters. As Matibag continued to shout "Miracle!" Obst counted out the additional 38,000 chips to send the 100,000 chip pot to Matibag. Obst maintained a wry smile on his face but had to be burning up inside as his first-ever live cash result is now in danger as he falls to 28,000 chips.
on a board of 
. Nam asked for a count of how much he had to call (his whole stack) before calling and tabling 
, prompting several players at the table to describe his actions as "a dirty slowroll." Morris did not fill up on the 
river.
, but Morris had a decent chance with 
or river 
, only to run into an opponent's 
to double up to about 20,000 chips.
on a board of 
for top pair. The 
on the turn gave Ellis almost half the remaining deck to draw at, but she missed when the 
fell on the river.
