Two players were eliminated from table 11 and that included Jamie Gold as well as Anton Smirnov.
According to Bob Mather and other players, Gold got it in with ace-king and his previous nemesis Andrei Boghean won the flop with pocket queens. Mather was then responsible for the knockout of Smirnov and leaped to half a million in chips.
The money bubble is drawing closer as just 86 players remain in contention. Among the latest casualties was also soccer striker Sergio Aguero alongside Takashi Ogura and Tom-Aksel Bedell.
Level: 17
Blinds: 5,000/10,000
Ante: 10,000
Lewis Spencer opened to 20,000 from middle position and Andrei Boghean defended from the big blind.
The flop came 9♣5♠3♦. Boghean checked, Spencer fired a 21,000 continuation bet, Boghean check-raised to 55,000 and Spencer made the call.
Boghean checked the A♠ turn and Spencer bet 85,000. This time Boghean opted to fold and Spencer took down a healthy pot without showdown.
Mir Gaskari was down to around eleven blinds when he found a pair and went with it. The 5♦5♥ were utterly crushed by Emilien Pitavy with the A♠A♣ and he found no help on the J♠8♥4♥9♣A♥ runout.
"Good hand," Gaskari said on the way out. Maxime Manzone followed soon after as the field was reduced to the last 82 contenders. Floor staff told players that hand-for-hand mode may come early again similar to Day 1a.
In a battle of the blinds, the flop showed 7♠7♦5♥ and there were around 75,000 in the middle. Alexandra Botez bet 30,000 out of the small blind and Eyal Revah raised to 65,000. Without any hesitation, Botez moved all-in and Revah asked for a count.
The shove was for 176,000 and Revah talked it through for half a minute.
"My hand is okay ... this hand is better," Revah motioned and then placed his cards above the ones of Botez, sliding them to the dealer right away.
Stephen Song raised to 30,000 on the button and Emilien Pitavy called out of the big blind, then nearly grabbed his cards to flip them over before he was warned by other players.
"Yeah don't do it ... actually never mind, just show them," Song joked. The A♥7♠6♣ flop came with a min-bet of Pitavy and Song called for the 3,000 he had kept behind.
Stephen Song: K♥Q♥
Emilien Pitavy: A♣9♦
The Q♦ turn gave Song some hope and he flicked his cards closer to the board. However, the J♣ river was a blank and Song bowed out just shy of the money.
Floor staff then told the dealers to stop after their current hand as they broke a table and verified the open seats. With now confirmed 80 players remaining and 78 set to advance, the tournament will continue in hand-for-hand mode.
In the second hand during hand-for-hand mode, Rui Sousa raised for Milos Petakovic and Tudor Bartha Lazar to call. They headed to the A♣K♥8♠ flop on which Sousa checked, Petakovic bet 25,000 and Bartha Lazar called before Sousa folded.
After the A♦ turn, Petakovic check-raised from 41,000 to 105,000 with 185,000 behind and Bartha Lazar called once more.
That brought them to the 6♣ river on which Petakovic bet 175,000, keeping one big blind behind. Bartha Lazar pondered about it for a few seconds and then moved all-in with the covering stack.
Petakovic smirked and shook the head while a small rail had already gathered around the table. He eventually called all-in and Bartha Lazar tabled the A♥J♥, after which a very relieved Petakovic flipped over A♠J♣ to chop it up. They bumped fists and the next hand kicked off.
Rui Sousa had opened from early position only for Luuk Gieles to move all in for 61,000 from the small blind. Sousa made the call to put Gieles at risk.
Luuk Gieles: A♠A♣
Rui Sousa: J♥10♦
Gieles was in excellent shape to secure a double up and was very far ahead with an overpair on the 8♣6♦3♥ flop. The 10♠ turn gave Sousa some outs to crack the aces, one of which came through on the J♦ river. Sousa's two pair was good at showdown and Gieles was sent to the rail just two spots away from making the money.
Following an open raise over on table nine, Chanwoo Lee three-bet to 60,000 on the button. Vitor Dzivielevski then cold four-bet shoved out of the small blind and the initial raiser folded. Lee tanked for a short while and let go, too.
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