Mark Castaldo Eliminated in 3rd Place ($18,708)
![[user253757]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Holding the button, Mark Castaldo opened for 34,000 and Joseph Stiers defended his big blind by flatting.
The flop rolled out 
and Stiers tapped the table, prompting Castoldo to c-bet for 45,000. Stiers wasted little time in using his big stack to bully, and he announced all in with authority in his voice.
When he heard Castaldo snap-call, Stiers was resigned to his fate and flipped up his 
expecting to have run into a higher straight. At the sight of Castaldo's 
, Stiers perked up just a bit, as he realized his draws were still live.
Turn: 
Just like that one of those draws was delivered, and Stiers' two pair put Castaldo on the brink. The river blanked off with the 
, and despite waking up with the best preflop hand in Hold'em, Castaldo was sent to the rail with a 3rd place finish.
Stiers now holds an overwhelming chip lead entering the heads-up contest against Brian Cavaliere.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,190,000 | 381,000 |
|
Busted |