$5,000 Main Event
Day 5 Completed
2017 PokerStars Championship Bahamas
$5,000 Main Event
Day: 5
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2017 PokerStars Championship Bahamas
Buy-in
$5,000
Prize Pool
$3,376,712
Players
738
Level
31
Blinds
80,000 / 160,000
Ante
20,000
Michael Gentili Leads Final Six into PokerStars Championship Bahamas Main Event Final Table
Level 27
: 30,000-60,000, 10,000 ante
After five levels of play, the final six players were reached in the inaugural PokerStars Championship Bahamas Main Event, with Canadian player Michael Gentili going into the final day holding a marginal chip lead over Christian Harder.
With 16 players starting Day 5, every player was keen to challenge for a final table stack. There were inevitable casualties, and two of the first three players to be eliminated were probably the best known in the room. Former WSOP Main Event winner Ryan Riess was desperately unlucky to bust to Michael Vela when his dominating ace was outrun post-flop and then missed a flush draw on the river.
PokerStars Team Pro Jason Mercier was out in 14th when he was all in and dominated. Not the ideal situation, even for one of the best, and Mercier couldn’t catch up, joining the rail only an hour after sitting down. He was quickly followed by Alan Schein, Marcin Kapkowski and Michael Bartholomew, who ran pocket nines into Harder’s pocket aces preflop to bust.
Harder, who finished seventh at the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $200,000 in what was his first major live cash, could yet outdo that result with a win here in the Bahamas nine years on. In that time, he has added another $3.5 million of live cashes to his name and built a reputation as consistent performer on the live circuit.
It was Harder who took over following Bartholomew’s bust out. Pocket aces gave him a crucial pot against Argentinian player Rodrigo Cordoba, who then fell in tenth and sent the players to a single table when he lost a race to Harder. That gave him over 5.2 million chips and the overall lead when the tables combined.
Having reached the WSOP final table in 2016, Cliff Josephy had largely enjoyed a quiet day of survival rather than any dramatic confrontations, but he managed to climb off the bottom of the leaderboard each time he looked in trouble. The same couldn’t be said for the other two short stacks.
Nadya Magnus finished in ninth place when she lost a race against Michael Vela, and she was followed out of the card room shortly afterwards when former PCA Main Event winner John Dibella, whose victory in 2012 was marked by a $1,775,000 payday, left the tournament. Dibella lost a race when his pocket nines couldn’t hold against Harder’s aces.
Seven players remained in the tournament for a long time before the lower four players became a little marooned in terms of stack sizes. Someone needed to make a move from the bottom section to try and work their way back into the reckoning, and that someone was Brock Allison. Allison picked the wrong time to do it, however, with his pocket fours running into the pocket nines of Gentili, who in winning the hand became chip leader for the final table.
Can Gentili become the first PokerStars Championship Main Event winner? Every other player at the final table believes they can stop him, but he has a crucial lead when the players return.
Here's how things stack up when play resumes on Saturday:
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Vela | United States | 1,755,000 |
| 2 | Christian Harder | United States | 5,985,000 |
| 3 | Rasmus Glæsel | Denmark | 1,560,000 |
| 4 | Aleksei Opalikhin | Russia | 4,590,000 |
| 5 | Cliff Josephy | United States | 1,240,000 |
| 6 | Michael Gentili | Canada | 6,175,000 |
Play begins at Noon local time, but our coverage will be spoiler-free, so check in with us right here on PokerNews for live coverage and the live stream beginning at 1 p.m. local time (7pm CET).
Chip Counts for the Final Six (full)
Level 27
: 30,000-60,000, 10,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
6,175,000 | 1,130,000 |
|
|
||
|
5,985,000 | -420,000 |
|
|
||
|
4,590,000 | -540,000 |
|
|
||
|
1,755,000 | 545,000 |
 |
||
|
1,560,000 | 225,000 |
|
|
||
|
1,240,000 | 45,000 |
 |
||
Brock Allison Eliminated in 7th Place ($76,400)
Level 27
: 30,000-60,000, 10,000 ante
Brock Allison moved all-in preflop for his final 1,065,000 chips and he was called by Michael Gentili, Once the cards were on their backs, Allison was in horrible shape to win the hand.
Brock Allison: 
Michael Gentili: 
The flop of 
saw Gentili move to 95% favorite to win the hand, and the turn of 
saw that become 100%. Allison (pictured) was shaking hands by the river of 
ending play for the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,045,000 | 600,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
Michael Gentili vs. Christian Harder
Level 27
: 30,000-60,000, 10,000 ante
Christian Harder raised to 135,000 from the hijack and Michael Gentili defended his big blind to see the 
flop.
Gentili check-called a bet of 105,000 and then both players checked the 
turn as well as the 
river. Gentili rolled over the 
for aces and deuces, which prompted Harder to muck.
Level: 27
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 10,000
Players Now on 30-Minute Break
Level 26
: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante
The final seven players have been sent on a 30-minute break.
Check out what Cliff Josephy had to say.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,305,000 | 610,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
4,810,000 | 220,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
4,445,000 | -155,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,400,000 | -890,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,335,000 | 305,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,215,000 | -60,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,195,000 | -225,000 |
|
|
||
Harder and Gentili Getting the Chips
Level 26
: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante
The pace of the final table has slowed considerably in the last level, but the two biggest chip stacks continue to grow.
Michael Gentili improved his stack when he bet the turn on a board of 
to steal around 250,000 from Aleksei Opalikhin.
Christian Harder (pictured) maintained his chip lead, however, when shortly afterwards, he won at showdown after he, Cliff Josephy and Gentili had all checked down a board of 
. Harder had 
and took it down.
Rasmus Glæsel Doubles Through Aleksei Opalikhin
Level 26
: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante
Action folded to a short-stacked Rasmus Glæsel in the small blind and he moved all in for 500,000, which Aleksei Opalikhin snap-called from the big.
Opalikhin: 
Glæsel: 
Glæsel was ahead, but Opalikhin was drawing to two live cards. Fortunately for Glæsel, the board ran out a clean 
and he shipped the double.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,590,000 | -550,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,030,000 | 455,000 |
|
|
||
Rasmus Glæsel Getting Shorter
Level 26
: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante
Rasmus Glæsel raised to 115,000 from the cutoff and Michael Gentili called from the big blind. Gentili then check-called a bet of 100,000 on the 
flop before both players checked the {8} turn.
When the 
appeared on the river, Gentili led out for 285,000 and Glæsel folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,600,000 | 380,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
575,000 | -335,000 |
|
|
||