Cooler for Lai Heralds Bubble; Bursts Immediately

Two quick back-to-back bust outs have brought the 63 remaining players into the money spots. It proved to be a sickening cooler for Hong Kong's Darwin Lai, with Wei Ran Pu the man to benefit from Lai's demise.

Lai was the man to raise first, opening for 12,000 from middle position, with Pu three-betting to 33,000 from one seat over. Lai gave Pu the staredown before deciding to pull the trigger for 162,000 and was beaten into the pot by Pu - a sure sign that he was in trouble.

Darwin Lai:
Wei Ran Pu:

It was a dream spot for Pu and a nightmare for Lai, especially this close to the bubble. The runout saw Lai's Cowboys shotdown in a hail of bullets and he headed for the rail while Pu stacked up to 480,000.

There was no time for hand-for-hand with another hand playing out immediately afterward that saw all 63 remaining players make the money. With the hand coming so soon after Lai's demise, we missed the player in question's bust out but were relayed the details after, courtesy of the winner of the hand, Day 1b chip leader Zhang Chao.

The unfortunate bubble boy moved in pre-flop from mid position with five-six suited and was looked up by Chao with pocket fives, with the case five coming in on the flop, guaranteeing the 63 survivors an HKD 27,900 (~$3,500) payday.