Welcome to PokerNews' Day 5 coverage of the 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event. The starting field of 987 players is down to just 21 hopefuls, each with his eye on the $1,859,000 first-place prize. Leading the way into Day 5 is Dimitar Danchev with 4.08 million.
Danchev spent Day 4 steadily building his stack and by the time it was announced that three more hands would be dealt before bagging and tagging for the day, Danchev was third in chips before the biggest pot of the tournament took place. Danchev and start-of-Day-4 chip leader Patrick Kelly tangled in a roughly 4 million chip pot with Danchev emerging victorious to seize the chip lead.
A talented group is hot on his heels, though, as Owen Crowe (2.5 million), Ryan Fair (2.496 million), Yann Dion (2.296 million), and Robert Mizrachi (1.99 million) have exceptional poker résumés to their names and complete the top five chip counts.
Play is set to resume at noon local time, about 20 minutes from now, so be sure to keep it here throughout the day as we play down to a final table!
Guillaume Rivet has become the first casualty here on Day 5. He fell at the hands of fellow Canadian Jonathan Roy.
Roy opened with a raise to 48,000 before Rivet reraised all in for approximately 350,000 from the hijack seat. Roy made the call and tabled the . Rivet held the .
A board of ensured the win for Roy and knocked Rivet out in 21st place.
The next two eliminations on Day 5 belonged to Anthony Borde and Olivier Busquet. Both were eliminated on the same hand against Ryan Fair, and here's how it went down.
Busquet raised to 50,000 from under the gun before Fair reraised to 132,000 from the next seat. Action then folded to Borde in the cutoff seat, and he moved all in for approximately 750,000. After action folded back to Busquet, he called all in for around 510,000. Fair then called and put both players at risk.
Busquet was the shortest stack of the three and held the . Borde was also at risk, and he held the . Fair had both of them crushed with both chips and hand, holding the .
The board provided no help, and Fair sent both Busquet and Borde out the door. Both earned $56,000 while Fair increased to 3.7 million in chips.
Eddy Sabat opened to 48,000 from the cutoff and it folded around to Darren Elias in the small blind. Elias three-bet to 132,000 and action came back to Sabat.
"I'll go all in," said Sabat.
Elias snapped him off and tabled which was racing with Sabat's .
The flop brought no help for Sabat as it fell . The rolled off on fourth street meaning Sabat needed an ace or a king on the river to stay alive. The river was the and he was forced to settle with a 17th place finish. Sabat has made the top 40 in this event three years in a row and this 17th place is his best finish here. He'll collect $56,000 for his winnings.
Falling in 16th place was Manig Loeser, and it was Joao Nogueira who sent him to the rail.
From early position, Robert Mizrachi raised to 49,000. Nogueira called from middle position, Mikal Blomlie called from the hijack seat, and then Loeser reraised to 202,000 in the cutoff seat. Mizrachi folded, Nogueira reraised all in, and Blomlie folded. Loeser made the call to put himself at risk for approximately 900,000.
Nogueira held the , and Loeser held the . Nogueira had the most chips, meaning Loeser was at risk in the flip.
Dimitar Danchev raised to 60,000 from under the gun, and Matthew Reed reraised to 140,000 from the next seat. Jerry Wong reraised to 230,000 from the hijack seat, and action folded back to Danchev. He folded, then Reed went all in for around one million. Wong called.
Wong held and was up against Reed's . After the board came , Reed was out the door in 14th place. He won $80,000, and Wong climbed to 3.5 million in chips.
Joao Nogueira opened from the cutoff seat with a raise to 62,000. Mikal Blomlie called on the button, then Darren Elias, the 2012 WCOOP $10,300 High Roller champion, three-bet to 210,000 from the small blind. After Nogueira folded, Blomlie moved all in. Elias called and put himself at risk for 1.18 million.
Blomlie held the , and Elias had the .
On the flop, Blomlie took the lead. He held from there after the landed on the turn and the completed the board on the river. Elias finished in 13th place, and earned $80,000 for his finish.
Mikal Blomlie opened to 63,000 and it folded to Joel Micka who three-bet to 155,000 from the cutoff. Action came around to a short-stacked Robert Mizrachi who flat called from the small blind. Blomlie got out of the way and the two saw .
Mizrachi wasted no time immediately shipping his last 242,000 all in. Micka shrugged and tossed out a call.
Mizrachi:
Micka:
Mizrachi was ahead at the moment but needed to fade an ace, jack, or queen. He did exactly that when the fell on fourth street. His hopes of staying alive in the tournament were dashed, however, when the dropped down on the river, ensuring him a 12th place finish. Mizrachi will collect $95,000 for his efforts.
donpeters
George Clyde-Smith (Day 4) -- 11th Place
George Clyde-Smith raised to 80,000 from under the gun, and Dimitar Danchev called from the button. The dealer put out the flop, and Clyde-Smith bet 120,000. Danchev raised to 280,000, then Clyde-Smith moved all in for around 900,000. Danchev called.
Danchev held the , and Clyde-Smith had the . On the turn, the landed, which left Clyde-Smith needing a queen or a club on the river to stay alive.
It wouldn't be, as the hit the felt on fifth street, pairing the board and eliminating Clyde-Smith from the tournament in 11th place. He earned $95,000 for his finish.
Immediately after his last double up, short-stacked Mikal Blomlie was once again all in before the flop. Joel Micka flatted the necessary 115,000 from the button and the blinds released.
Blomlie:
Micka:
The board fell and Blomlie's pair of tens were able to secure him another double up. After this hand he held roughly 315,000.
The next hand he was all in before the flop once more, this time holding . Micka called him yet again and showed . The two were off to the races.
The flop brought and Micka jumped out into a tremendous lead. Blomlie was suddenly in need of a trey to stay alive in the tournament. The turn was the and the river the and Blomlie was officially our 10th place finisher.
With the elimination of Blomlie, the field has now reached its unofficial final table of nine. The players are combining on the main stage and we will have a full seating draw complete with chip counts momentarily.
. Rivet held the 
.
ensured the win for Roy and knocked Rivet out in 21st place.
. Fair had both of them crushed with both chips and hand, holding the 
.
board provided no help, and Fair sent both Busquet and Borde out the door. Both earned $56,000 while Fair increased to 3.7 million in chips.
.
. The 
rolled off on fourth street meaning Sabat needed an ace or a king on the river to stay alive. The river was the 
, and Loeser held the 
, Reed was out the door in 14th place. He won $80,000, and Wong climbed to 3.5 million in chips.
, and Elias had the 
.
flop, Blomlie took the lead. He held from there after the 
completed the board on the river. Elias finished in 13th place, and earned $80,000 for his finish.
landed, which left Clyde-Smith needing a queen or a club on the river to stay alive.
. Micka called him yet again and showed