Not long ago, Aidan Tam cracked the pocket aces of Brandon Meyers in an all-in preflop situation. The hand gave Tam the chip lead and left Meyers, who began the day as chip leader, on a shorter stack. Unfortunately for Meyers, he was unable to recover after that bad beat.
In what would be his last hand, action folded to Meyers on the button and he moved all in for his last 130,000. The small blind folded, and fittingly, Tam made the call from the big.
Tam:
Meyers:
The flop paired Tam's ace, but it also gave Meyers a flush draw. The turn gave Meyers even more outs, but he'd miss them all when the appeared on the river. Meyers made a hasty exit from the tournament floor while Tam increased his chip lead.
As Paul Newey was being eliminated at one table, a big hand was taking place between Kyle Cheong and Aidan Tam at the other.
When we arrived, there was around 250,000 in the pot and a board reading . Cheong had just bet 92,000, and Tam responded by moving all in. Cheong had around 300,000 behind and wasted little time in calling it off.
Cheong:
Tam:
A fortunate flop allowed Tam to crack Cheong's aces, but more importantly — and much to the dismay of Cheong — it held as the blanked on the turn followed by the on the river.
The elimination occurred before the final table redraw, which means just eight players will be at the final table.
Vladimir Troyanovskiy opened for 65,000 from the under-the-gun position and action folded to Paul Newey on the button. Newey looked as his stack, eyed the clock, and then announced that he was all in for roughly 600,000. The blinds folded and Troyanovskiy shrugged before making the call.
Troyanovskiy:
Newey:
Newey, a regular on the high roller circuit seeking his first major score, was on his feet even before he saw the flop come down . Troyanovskiy found a jack and Newey was crestfallen. He realized he had outs to either a queen or ten, but he would find neither as the appeared on the turn followed by the on the river.
Newey composed himself enough to shake hands with Troyanovskiy and then made his way over to his friends Senh Ung and Rob Schiffbauer for consolation. Newey's elimination meant just nine players remained, so it's time for the final table redraw.
Brandon Meyers raised to 61,000 from the button and then called when Jonathan Karamalikis three-bet to 147,000 from the small blind. It was heads-up action to the flop, and Karamalikis led out for 132,000. Meyers, who had less than 400,000 back, opted to preserve his stack with a fold.
Any hope of a member of Team PokerStars capturing the title has just come to an end as Eugene Katchalov was just eliminated from the tournament.
It happened when he and Jonathan Karamalikis, who won this very event last year, raised back and forth preflop until Katchalov was all in for roughly 580,000.
Katchalov:
Karamalikis:
It was a bad spot for the Team Pro, and his best chance to survive was to catch an ace. The flop was no help, and neither was the turn. Katchalov was up out of his seat, and just as soon as the useless fell on the river, he made a beeline for the exit. With that, Karamalikis vaulted up to two million in chips.
Vladimir Troyanovskiy opened for 43,000 from the button only to have a short-stacked James McCarty, who you may recognize as a former Red Dragon winner, move all in from the small blind for 210,000. Troyanovskiy made the call, but likely regretted it upon seeing the cards.
Troyanovskiy:
McCarty:
The board ran out a clean and McCarty received a welcomed double.
Not long ago, Paul Newey doubled through Jeff Rossiter. Well, he just did it again.
We picked up the action with around 125,000 in the pot and a flop of . It appeared Rossiter had checked and Newey moved all in for 350,000. Rossiter made the call with the and didn't seem thrilled to discover that he was behind Newey's .
The turn gave Newey trips and officially left Rossiter drawing dead. The meaningless was run out on the river for good measure and then Newey was shipped the double.
flop paired Tam's ace, but it also gave Meyers a flush draw. The 
turn gave Meyers even more outs, but he'd miss them all when the 
appeared on the river. Meyers made a hasty exit from the tournament floor while Tam increased his chip lead.
. Cheong had just bet 92,000, and Tam responded by moving all in. Cheong had around 300,000 behind and wasted little time in calling it off.
blanked on the turn followed by the 
on the river.
appeared on the turn followed by the 
flop, and Karamalikis led out for 132,000. Meyers, who had less than 400,000 back, opted to preserve his stack with a fold.
turn. Katchalov was up out of his seat, and just as soon as the useless 
fell on the river, he made a beeline for the exit. With that, Karamalikis vaulted up to two million in chips.
and McCarty received a welcomed double.
and didn't seem thrilled to discover that he was behind Newey's