Rafael Lopez opened to 125,000 from under the gun and Jason Maeroff three-bet to 400,000 in the cutoff. Lopez four-bet shoved all in for 1,455,000 and Maeroff called.
Rafael Lopez: A♥Q♥
Jason Maeroff: Q♠Q♣
Maeroff was poised to build on his chip lead but the flop of A♠8♣3♣ gave Lopez the best hand. The 9♥ and 8♥ runout were clean for Lopez who doubled up.
PokerNews has been bringing you live reporting from the biggest poker tournaments for almost 20 years, and it's time for our latest addition to the live update product with the launch of PokerNews emojis.
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Carson Ray raised to 235,000 in the hijack, leaving just 5,000 chips behind. Cody Stanford reraised all in on the button and the blinds folded. Ray flicked in his last chip and the cards were tabled.
Carson Ray: 6♠6♣
Cody Stanford: 7♥7♣
Stanford had one pair higher than Ray, leaving the short stack drawing to just two outs. The board ran out 10♥9♣4♠J♠10♠ and Ray was unable to find any help on the board.
Marcus Paxton raised to 125,000 on the button and Papa Karn shipped all in for 260,000 in the small blind. The big blind folded and Paxton quickly called to put Karn at risk.
Papa Karn: 8♠8♦
Marcus Paxton: K♠K♣
Karn was in an uphill battle facing the pocket kings of Paxton. The board ran out A♦10♣10♦A♠3♦ and Karn was ousted in 13th place.
BJ McBrayer raised to 80,000 in middle position and Richard Coates shoved all in for 250,000 on the button. The action was back on McBrayer who quickly called to put Coates at risk.
Richard Coates: A♠10♥
BJ McBrayer: A♣Q♠
McBrayer was in a dominating position and the flop of 9♠9♦4♥ left it that way, despite Coates finding some chop possibilities. The 7♦ on the turn and the A♦ on the river was not enough for Coates who headed to the payout desk.
Carson Ray raised to 95,000 in the hijack and Josh Butler defended from the big blind. The flop fell A♥8♠5♥ and Butler check-called a bet of 115,000 from Ray.
The turn brought the 9♥ and Butler led out with a bet of 175,000. Ray thought for a minute but then decided to dump his cards into the muck, leaving himself on just 10 big blinds.
Richard Bolden raised it up from the hijack and Marlon Hammond announced all in from the small blind. The action was back on Bolden who called off his stack of around 500,000.
Richard Bolden: 10♠10♦
Marlon Hammond: K♥K♦
"He's standing up!" one player shouted. "He's trying to get all of the equity."
Bolden was on his feet for the J♦8♥7♣ flop that provided him with a straight draw. However, the A♠, A♥ runout changed nothing and Bolden was eliminated.
Chad Link raised to 90,000 in middle position and Cody Stanford flat-called on the button. Eric Salazar three-bet to 320,000 from the small blind and Link four-bet jammed all in for 1,045,000. Stanford quickly folded and Salazar called just as fast.
Chad Link: A♥K♣
Eric Salazar: Q♠Q♣
It was a classic coin flip for a huge stack this late in the tournament. The board ran out J♦9♥3♠2♦4♦ and Salazar's pocket queens held on to eliminate Link in 16th place.
Carl Masters opened to 80,000 in middle position and Rafael Lopez three-bet to 180,000 in the small blind. Masters called and they went to a flop of Q♥7♦3♦. Lopez continued with a bet of 110,000 and Masters quickly called.
The turn was the 9♠ and Lopez fired out another bet of 250,000. Masters still called and the 6♥ completed the board. Lopez splashed in a bet of 400,000 and Masters instantly called for nearly all of his stack. Lopez knuckled the tbale and Masters showed K♦Q♣ for the winner.