Under the gun, Ramana Epparla opened to 76,000, and Ryan Waddell three-bet shoved from the button. It was just 122,000 total, and Epparla quickly called the remainder to put Waddell at risk. It was a flip.
Showdown
Waddell:
Epparla:
The flop was a good one if you like drama. Waddell flopped his set, but Epparla flopped top pair and the gutterball. Waddell needed to dodge a six for the time being. The turn came the to give Epparla two pair, and the sweat got a little more intense for Waddell. Now he needed to fade the sixes, sevens, and eights left in the deck to stay alive.
River:
The table and the gallery reacted in unison shock as Epparla goes runner-runner to fill up and knock Waddell out. He'll earn the first five-figure payday of this event, pocketing $10,858 for his efforts here this week.
Epparla is now nearly back to his starting point today, working his count up to 1.73 million with that knockout.
First in from the button, Ari Engel opened to what looked like 86,000. These flag-less chips are awfully hard to count, though. In any event, Kenny Nguyen three-bet shoved for 361,000 from the big blind, and Engel made the call to put him to the test.
Showdown
Engel:
Nguyen:
Nguyen paired up on the flop, and the turn and river kept him safe. The king-ten earns Nguyen the double up to 777,000, knocking Engel down to 430,000 in the process.
"Super Tuan is back!" Nguyen said as he stacked the pot.
Under the gun, Robert "Action Bob" Hwang shoved in for the 238,000 he had left. Ari Engel reshoved from the cutoff, and the two men were heads up with Hwang's tournament life at risk.
Showdown
Hwang:
Engel:
Hwang flopped top pair on the flop, but Engel had a gutshot straight draw to work with. The turn was a blank, though, and so was the that dropped on fifth street. Hwang's best hand holds up, and he's doubled back to 571,000.
That knocks Engel down to just about 190,000, and it's the second time he's given back-to-back doubles as well.
In early position, Sean Knitter limped into the pot, and Robert Scott came along from the small blind as well. In the big, Robert Hwang shoved all in over the top of both players, and Knitter called all in for 449,000 total. Scott got the message and surrendered, and Knitter was at risk as the cards were tabled. He had it, though:
Knitter:
Hwang:
the board ran , and Knitter's full house earns him the big double. He's all the way up to 973,000 now, and Hwang has given all those double-up chips right back. He's left with just about 90,000 with which to try and mount a comeback.
In early position, Ramana Epparla raised to 80,000, and Robert Scott called from the cutoff. On the button, Robert Hwang moved all in for 87,000 total, and Sean Knitter cold-called from the big blind. Epparla and Scott called as well, and Hwang had a chance at the quadruple up.
The flop came , and Scott was the first one to fire at the pot, putting out 250,000. That folded the other two, and the cards were shown down. The news was not at all good for the at-risk Hwang:
Scott:
Hwang:
It was a case of Groundhog Day for Hwang as his ace-five had once again run up against two red aces. The turn left him drawing dead, and the river has ushered him out the door in 7th place. That's good for $13,790, and that's not too shabby for three days' work.
Under the gun, Ramana Epparla raised to 81,000, and Ari Engel defended his big blind with a call.
Heads-up, the flop came , and Engel used the ol' stop-and-go. He shoved in for 185,000, and Epparla called to put Engel at risk.
Showdown
Engel:
Epparla:
Epparla was ahead as the cards lay, but Engel was actually a slight favorite to win the pot and stay alive. He needed to pair up or catch a diamond, but the on the turn was the wrong shade of red. The river did the job, however, improving Engel to kings up and securing his double.
He's back to 582,000, having an up-and-down day of his own. Epparla falls back to about 1.3 million after donating that double.
Engel shoved the next two hands as well, and folds from the rest of the table allowed him to pick up another 90,000 each time.
We haven't said Ed Cotter's name very much today, and now there's little reason to anymore. Just a moment ago, Ramana Epparla raised to 100,000, and Ed Cotter was the lone caller, joining the fun from the small blind. It'd be his last hand of the day.
The dealer gave them a flop, and Cotter shoved in for about 230,000 total. Epparla snap-called, and once again those crazy made another appearance on the felt. Cotter could only show for top pair, and he needed some help to stay afloat.
The turn was the blank , and Cotter could not find any help from the river, either. His day is done in 6th place, good for $17,799.
Epparla has squeezed back into the chip lead with 1.75 million.
Under the gun, Ramana Epparla opened to 100,000 and Sean Knitter called out of the small blind. In the big, Ari Engel squeezed in a raise, all in for about 700,000. Epparla and Knitter folded in turn, and Engel added a couple stacks of gray to his pile.
On the next hand, Sean Knitter opened to 100,000 from the button, and Engel three-bet shoved again. He had Knitter covered this time, putting him to the decision for 652,000 more chips. Knitter considered for a couple long minutes, staring up at the clock and doing some match before surrendering his cards.
Engel was under 100,000 not that long ago, but he's back to about 1.1 million now and drawing ever close to the leaders.
In a battle of the blinds, Ramana Epparla raised to 110,000 from the small, and Kenny Nguyen three-bet to 260,000 from the big. Epparla called, and the flop came out . When Epparla checked, Nguyen shoved in for 287,000, coaxing a fold from his opponent.
"Super Tuan" flashed his as he dragged the pot, increasing to 832,000 with that win.
![[user66118]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop was a good one if you like drama. Waddell flopped his set, but Epparla flopped top pair and the gutterball. Waddell needed to dodge a six for the time being. The turn came the 
to give Epparla two pair, and the sweat got a little more intense for Waddell. Now he needed to fade the sixes, sevens, and eights left in the deck to stay alive.
and river 
kept him safe. The king-ten earns Nguyen the double up to 777,000, knocking Engel down to 430,000 in the process.
flop, but Engel had a gutshot straight draw to work with. The turn 
was a blank, though, and so was the 
, and Knitter's full house earns him the big double. He's all the way up to 973,000 now, and Hwang has given all those double-up chips right back. He's left with just about 90,000 with which to try and mount a comeback.
, and Scott was the first one to fire at the pot, putting out 250,000. That folded the other two, and the cards were shown down. The news was not at all good for the at-risk Hwang:
has ushered him out the door in 7th place. That's good for $13,790, and that's not too shabby for three days' work.
, and Engel used the ol' stop-and-go. He shoved in for 185,000, and Epparla called to put Engel at risk.
for top pair, and he needed some help to stay afloat.
, and Cotter could not find any help from the 