Event 14: $15,400 $5 Million Guaranteed WPT World Championship Day 4 | 2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open

04-25-2014 11:50 UTC-4

Day 4 of the Season XII WPT World Championship Set to Start

[user253757]

Eric Afriat leads the way with 18 players left in contention for the WPT World Championship

After two starting flights and two days of combined field play, the Season XII WPT World Championship at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa is set to kick off any moment now, and for two consecutive days the chip leader coming in is Eric Afriat. Afriat, just joined the WPT Champions Club last week at the tour's penultimate stop in Hollywood, Florida, ended Day 3 with 2.029 million chips after another active day of chip movement.

The French-Canadian’s biggest hand came in Level 19, when Blake Bohn five-bet shoved for over 50 big blinds with and Afriat snapped him off with . The pocket rockets held up, and Afriat added to his already monster stack.

Afriat is the only player with over two million chips, but four players joined him in the seven-figure club; Abraham Korotki (1.616 million), Tony Gregg, (1.499 million), Ryan D’Angelo (1.369 million), and Curt Kohlberg (1.097 million). Korotki, the winner of the 2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship Event, eliminated 2012 WSOP Main Event runner-up Jesse Sylvia in a big cooler in Level 19. Sylvia open-shoved with top two pair on the turn, and Korotki called with bottom set. The river was a brick, and Sylvia was eliminated.

Gregg, like Afriat, is a member of the WPT Champions Club, winning the Parx Open Poker Classic in Season XI. He too was on the positive side of a cooler, eliminating Scott Eskenazi with aces against kings in Level 19.

Also among the final 18 players are Justin Young, Byron Kaverman, Keven Stammen, Brock Parker, and WPT Raw Deal Analyst and Champions Club member Tony Dunst.

Yesterday started with 68 players left in contention, and the bust outs were fast and furious as the money bubble approached. Among the players who exited with no money were NFL free agent wide receiver Miles Austin and 13-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth. Austin found himself in a three-way all in with pocket fives against George Kelly’s pocket kings – Austin wasn’t fortunate enough to hit a two-outer – and Hellmuth ran into Kaverman’s .

Right as the dinner break was starting, the bubble burst in a very unique way. There were 38 players still alive – 36 would earn a minimum of $30,085 – and most of the players were exiting the room to wine and dine for 75 minutes. While they were filing out, Nick Schulman and Michael Lavoie were eliminated at the exact same time on two different tables. Some short-stacked players, like Cathy Dever, were elated the find out they were in the money after the surprise, concurrent eliminations.

After dinner break, it only took three hours for the field to halve from 36 to 18. Among the post-dinner, in-the-money causalities were Athanasios Polychronopoulos (34th, $30,085), Brian Yoon (33rd, $30,085), Jason Koon (32nd, $30,085), Matt Stout (30th, $30,085), Loni Harwood (29th, $30,085), Jonathan Tamayo (28th, $30,085), Cathy Dever (24th, $33,967), Club WPT winner David Daggett (22nd, $33,967), Scott Seiver (21st, $33,967), and Jeff Madsen (19th, $33,967).

Tamayo, who won his way into the WPT World Championship thanks to DraftKings.com and a game-winning home run from New York Mets backup catcher Anthony Recker, lost a race with against the of Ray Qartomy.

The final two tables are ready to play down to an official final table of six. PokerNews will be on hand for all of the updates, so be sure to keep it here throughout the day.

Tags: Eric Afriat

04-25-2014 12:32 UTC-4

David Grandieri Eliminated in 18th Place ($41,488)

[user101598]

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante

Chris O'Rourke raised to 35,000 in early position, Abraham Korotki called near the button, and David Grandieri re-raised to 185,000, leaving just 6,000 behind. O'Rourke moved all in, Korotki folded, and Grandieri tossed in his remaining chips.

O'Rourke:
Grandieri:

It was your classic race situation for Grandieri's tournament life, but unfortunately for him he found no help from the runout. He'll take home $41,488 for his efforts, while O'Rourke is nearing a million chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Chris O'Rourke	980,000 310,000	310,000
David Grandieri	Busted

Tags: Abraham Korotki Chris O'Rourke David Grandieri

04-25-2014 12:54 UTC-4

Kohlberg Sets Up Young

[user101598]

Level 21 : 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante

Justin Young opened to 45,000 from under the gun, Curt Kohlberg called out of the small blind, and Bobby Oboodi called in the big blind. The trio all checked on a flop of , and the turn was the . Kohlberg checked, Oboodi tossed out 40,000, Young called, and Kohlberg check-raised to 220,000. Oboodi quickly got out of the way, and Young tanked for a bit before calling.

The river was the , Kohlberg sat quietly for a minute or so before tapping the felt, and Young pushed forward three towers of gray T5,000 chips with a few checkers on top. The bet was 330,000, and after another few minutes of tanking, Kohlberg called.

Young rapped the felt, signifying he was beat, and turned over air; . Kohlberg revealed for a flopped set of fours, and instead of raking in the pot, he got out of his seat and starting walking around. Evidently overcome with emotion, he continued to pace back and forth, breathing deeply as the dealer prepared for the next hand.

He eventually took his seat, but continued to concentrate on his breathing for several minutes after the hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
Curt Kohlberg	1,975,000 878,000	878,000
Bobby Oboodi	726,000 -65,000	-65,000
Justin Young	465,000 -528,000	-528,000

Tags: Bobby Oboodi Curt Kohlberg Justin Young

04-25-2014 13:08 UTC-4

Glen Lafaye Eliminated in 17th Place ($41,488)

[user253757]

Level 21 : 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante

Byron Kaverman opened to 45,000 sitting in the hijack, and Glen Lafaye flatted out of the small blind. Eric Afriat tried to play the bully once again - as he has all tournament - three-betting to 120,000 in defense of his big blind.

Kaverman was unimpressed though, and he four-bet to 245,000 after his usual routine of taking a minute or so to think. Lafaye suddenly sprung to life, five-bet jamming for the rest of his stack (right around 330,000 total). Afriat got out of the way and Kaverman called the bet after committing himself with the previous four-bet, tabling as he did so.

When he saw Lafaye reveal Kaverman quietly told the table "I guess that's the hand I wanted to see," as his jack-high hand was actually flipping rather than dominated.

Flop:

When the flop came down talk of a big sweat circled the table, as Kaverman had picked up eight additional outs with his up-and-down straight draw. The turn was a swing and a miss, however, coming .

River:

Just like that Kaverman had caught up to cross the finish line first in his race against Lafaye, making his straight to send the latter home in 17th place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Byron Kaverman	1,270,000 296,000	296,000

Glen Lafaye	Busted

Tags: Byron Kaverman Eric Afriat Glen Lafaye

04-25-2014 13:17 UTC-4

Gregg Over Two Million

[user101598]

Level 21 : 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante

Bryn Kenney raised to 45,000 from under the gun, Tony Gregg called in the cutoff, and Curt Kohlberg called out of the small blind. The dealer spread a flop of , Kohlberg checked, and Kenney continued for 80,000. Only Gregg called.

The turn was a repeat eight - the - and both players checked.

The river was the , Kaverman slid out 265,000, and Gregg went into the tank. The 2013 WSOP One Drop High Roller winner rechecked his cards before cutting out enough chips to make the call. He set them aside, then placed them on top of his stack, then grabbed them again.

Gregg ultimately committed the stack, and Kaverman showed for kings and eights with an ace kicker. The "End Boss" revealed for a ten-high flush, however, and was awarded the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Tony Gregg	2,100,000 750,000	750,000
Byron Kaverman	850,000 -420,000	-420,000

Tags: Byron Kaverman Curt Kohlberg Tony Gregg

04-25-2014 13:20 UTC-4

Hans Winzeler Eliminated in 16th Place ($41,488)

[user101598]

Level 21 : 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante

Hans Winzeler open-shoved for what looked like 170,000 in the cutoff, and Byron Kaverman called in the big blind.

Winzeler:
Kaverman:

Winzeler was dominated, and failed to improve as the board came .

Player	Chips	Progress
Byron Kaverman	1,040,000 190,000	190,000

Hans Winzeler	Busted

Tags: Byron Kaverman Hans Winzeler

04-25-2014 13:33 UTC-4

Black Jacks Down

[user253757]

Level 21 : 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante

Tony Dunst has always been a ladies man, but he likes them a little more after a recent double

Tony Dunst opened for the standard raise from under the gun, and next to act Ray Qartomy three-bet to 90,000. Qartomy had to pull that bet out from a pile of chips dragged in from the last hand, and although we weren't there to catch the action, table talk afterward suggests Qartomy held two black jacks and found one of their red brothers on the turn.

In any event, he made the three-bet to force folds around the table, leaving Dunst to four-bet shove for 390,000. Qartomy made the quick call and tabled, of all hands, .

Dunst rolled over to find himself in a great spot to score a double, and the final board rolled out to leave his ladies in the lead.

"Two black jacks in a row..." said Qartomy to himself after the hand. "Unbelievable."

Player	Chips	Progress
Ray Qartomy	1,380,000 425,000	425,000
Tony Dunst	834,000 212,000	212,000

Tags: Ray Qartomy Tony Dunst

04-25-2014 13:58 UTC-4

Chris O'Rourke Doubles

[user253757]

Level 21 : 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante

Chris O'Rourke is called "The Mute" by his pals

Chris O'Rourke was on life support with just a few big blinds left, so he shoved all in for 73,000 from the cutoff and asked for a call.

The action folded around to Ryan D'Angelo in the big blind, and he responded by telling the table "I don't think I can fold anything here."

After taking a peek at his cards D'Angelo winced and exhaled, obviously displeased that he would be forced to battle with a ragged hand, but he stayed true to his word, calling the bet and tabling the lowly .

O'Rourke - who has been dubbed Chris the Mute by his good friend James "Big Show" Calderero - lived up to the nickname, talking his way through the hand and calling for cards. The final board came down and with that O'Rourke got back up off the mat. On the very next deal he loudly announced himself all in once more, and the table folded dutifully around

Player	Chips	Progress
Ryan D'Angelo	1,100,000 -146,000	-146,000

Chris O'Rourke	235,000 120,000	120,000

Tags: Chris O'Rourke Ryan D'Angelo

04-25-2014 14:22 UTC-4

Of Course He Has Clubs

[user101598]

Level 22 : 12,000/24,000, 4,000 ante

Before the break, Keven Stammen raised to 42,000 from early position, Abraham Korotki called in middle position, and Ray Qartomy defended his big blind.

The dealer fanned a flop of , Qartomy and Stammen checked, and Korotki bet 125,000. Only Qartomy called.

The turn was the , both players checked, and the river was the . Qartomy led out for the first time, firing 200,000, and Korotki quickly announced that he was all in.

Qartomy went deep into the tank as the time melted off of the break clock, and eventually folded "two pair" according to him.

"You have clubs?" he asked Korotki.

"Of course," the 2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open Champion responded, tabling .

Player	Chips	Progress
Abraham Korotki	2,482,000 866,000	866,000
Ray Qartomy	717,000 -663,000	-663,000

Tags: Abraham Korotki Ray Qartomy

04-25-2014 14:30 UTC-4

Justin Young Eliminated in 15th Place ($52,163)

[user272102]

Level 22 : 12,000/24,000, 4,000 ante

Justin Young was down to just over ten big blinds after the break and moved all in, finding no callers. He decided to try it again moments later and this time found a taker in Brock Parker.

The remaining players folded and Young turned over . Parker turned over and Yound nodded his head and said "fair enough."

The board would run out eliminating Young in 15th place. The consummate professional congratulated the rest of the table and headed off to do his exit interview with the World Poker Tour cameras.

Player	Chips	Progress
Brock Parker	900,000 308,000	308,000
Justin Young	Busted

Tags: Brock Parker Justin Young