![[user76023]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
4,330,000 | 180,000 |
|
3,605,000 | 905,000 |
|
3,420,000 | 20,000 |
|
1,305,000 | -1,245,000 |
Level: 27
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 5,000
Our remaining four players are just restarting now. Dmitry Vitkind is the short stack and needs to double up soonish with a little over twenty big blinds. However with short-handed poker, things can change very rapidly...
Dmitry Vitkind opened to 130,000 from the button, and presumably when he did so did not imagine the can of reraising worms that he thus unleashed. In the small blind, Arnaud Mattern tanked up for a while in the small blind. He re-popped to 320,000.
Over to Konstantin Bilyauer, who paused only very briefly before announcing, "One million," in his rather charming Russian accent and pushing two stacks of orange T25,000 chips across the line. He sounded as though he enjoyed saying it, and who wouldn't? - remember, this is only the young player's second ever live tournament, and he didn't cash in the first one so presumably he has never had an opportunity to bet one million chips at a real love poker table before today.
Anyway, his seven-figure four-bet produced very speedy folds from both his opponents, and he grinned broadly as he stacked up the chips and increased his lead to 4.7 million.
Arnaud Mattern took a 320,000 hit on that last hand against Vitkind and Bilyauer, but got it back the very next hand as he raised from the button and got a call from Kevin Stani in the big blind.
Stani check-called 160,000 from Mattern on the 
flop, but check-folded to another 320,000 bet from Mattern on the 
turn.
Current standings - Mattern 3.5 million, Stani 3.3 million.
Konstantin Bilyauer opened to 140,000 on the button, Kevin Stani called from the small blind and Dmitry Vitkind called in the big.
The flop was 
and Stani checked, Vitkind fired out 300,000 leaving himself around 750,000 behind. Bilyauer folded and Stani thought for a moment before moving all-in. Vitkind sighed and called off the rest of his stack.
Stani: 
Vitkind: 
The Russian was behind but had any four, five or six to secure him a double up but the 
turn was a brick, as was the 
river and we're down to a three-way battle.
After a short pause in play to discuss the sorts of things that players discuss when they're three-way at an EPT final table, the poker resumed and Kevin Stani (button) quickly got involved with Konstantin Bilyauer (big blind).
They sneakily restarted play while no-one was looking so no media at all were around at the start of the hand, but it looked as though Stani had raised and Bilyauer called, before they both checked the 
flop. Bilyauer bet out 250,000 on the 
turn and Stani flat-called. The river was the 
and both players checked.
Stani turned over 
- and no-one was more surprised than he was to discover that he had made a full house. "Oh," he said. His face was a picture. "I thought I had ace-eight."
They chuckled about it for a while, but Stani was most likely very sad not to have extracted more value from that. Bilyauer seemed delighted. Nevertheless, that pot put Stani slightly in the lead on 5 million.
Although they couldn't help him read his hand in that last encounter with Konstantin Bilyauer, the poker gods are being pretty good to Kevin Stani right now.
Konstantin Bilyauer made it 140,000 from the button and Stani called in the big blind before check-calling 170,000 from Bilyauer on the 
flop and another 260,000 on the 
turn. Stani checked a third time on the 
river and this time Bilyauer checked behind, before announcing, "Ah, come on," with a grin on his face, then, "Feck." Stani had turned over 
for a flush draw which had turned into two pair on the river; Bilyauer's own 
was no longer ahead and Stani took the pot.
Arnaud Mattern check-called a bet of 225,000 from Konstantin Bilyauer on a flop of 
before both players checked the 
turn and river. Bilyauer showed but it was no good against Mattern's 
.
Next hand saw Mattern open the small blind to 150,000 but fold when Bilyauer made it 365,000.
A couple of hands later and Kevin Stani limped in the small blind, Mattern checking his option. Stani fired out 75,000 on a flop of 
and then 175,000 on the turn. Mattern called both these bets to see a 
river, Stani checked this time and now Mattern bet 320,000 putting Stani into the tank, but the Norwegian folded and another pot went to the Team PokerStars Pro.
Mattern opened the small blind in the next hand to 165,000 and Bilyauer attempted to reraise but accidentally made a string bet and it was counted as a call. Mattern now fired 220,000 on the 
flop and Bilyauer, still rueing his mistake folded once again.
The Frenchman looks to be slowly edging back towards the chip lead.
Arnaud Mattern raised to 150,000, and Konstantin Bilyauer called in the small blind. They both quickly checked the 
flop and the turn. Bilyauer checked a third time after the river, but this time, Mattern decided to bet 160,000. Bilyauer tossed out the call with a shrug but folded when he saw Mattern's 
.
