We've been watching several small battles between Eric Bergen and Eric Yilmaz, but most of them have fizzled out before they got serious. Not this one.
There was already some action in the pot before Yilmaz raised in position, and Bergen squeezed all in from the big blind. The rest of the table folded out of the way, and it was another 103,500 for Yilmaz to make the call. He spent a bit of time in the tank, eventually announcing that he had ace-king. "Do you still want me to call?" he asked, receiving a cautionary look from the dealer. Bergen did his part by keeping quiet, and Yilmaz eventually mustered the gumption to make the call.
Showdown
Yilmaz:
Bergen:
There was an ace on the flop, but it was Bergen with the best of it as it came rolling out . The turn wasn't a great card for him, however, opening up those two outs for Yilmaz. He needed to find an ace on the river to notch the knockout, but the landed instead. That's safe and clean for Bergen, and he's found his big double. This one skyrockets him toward the top of the counts with 255,000 or so, while Yilmaz drops down to about 185,000 with that loss.
The Ladies' Event began a couple hours ago in the far corner of the tournament room, and the turnout looks strong. And loud.
Our Main Event was just interrupted by a very loud, incredibly shrill celebration from the ladies' section. "Oh my GOD!" I flopped the joint! I FLOPPED THE JOINT! Oh my god!"
Pretty much everyone in the room was forced to turn their attention for a moment, and the lady was still shrieking. "I flopped the JOINT!"
We've only got one lady left in the Main Event, and we would be pretty surprised to hear Dorothy Vonsachsen celebrate like that. She's holding her own with about 130,000 chips right now.
Just a short while ago Matt Keikoan was well below the average stack, but things have turned around for the two-time WSOP bracelet winner. He just knocked out an opponent holding on a board. His opponent had an up and down straight draw when the money went in holding .
Glenn Martinez has just been the beneficiary of a big cooler of a knockout pot.
It began with a player in middle position opening to 7,500, and Martinez defended his big blind to see a heads-up flop. The dealer spread out , and Martinez check-raised from 11,000 to 30,000. The bettor reraised all in for 106,000 total, and Martinez made the quick call with his covering stack.
"Set over set again?!" the bettor lamented as he saw Martinez's . He tabled his inferior , and the turn added insult to his injury. The dropped to quad Martinez, and the river has ushered another player out the door.
With that big pot, Martinez is all the way up to 360,000 and in command of the biggest stack in the room.
Matthew Weber was down around 60,000 chips or so when he three-bet shoved with . His opponent took a few minutes to be sure, then made the covering call with .
Weber was not happy with the perceived slowroll, and he let fly with a string of profanity as he spun out of his chair and away from the table. "You're never folding queens there!" he finished.
The board ran out to miss Weber, and he made a bee-line for the rail.
A short-stacked player shoved all in from middle position, and Sam Barnhart followed suit by reraising all in for about 60,000 total. Not to be outdone, Matt Keikoan made the overcall, and we suddenly had two players at risk as the cards were turned over.
Showdown
Short stack:
Barnhart:
Keikoan:
Barnhart pleaded for an ace, while the short stack lamented his unfortunate predicament. "I'm in bad shape," he said, stating the obvious a bit.
In the end, neither of the two men could catch up to Keikoan, and the board has sent two players to the exit. It's a nice boost to his already big stack, moving him all the way up to 305,000. Plus another 500, if you want to get picky about it.
Keikoan is a former champion of this event from 2009, and he's quite possibly the best player left in the room -- a recipe for trouble for the rest of the field.
. The turn 
wasn't a great card for him, however, opening up those two outs for Yilmaz. He needed to find an ace on the river to notch the knockout, but the 
landed instead. That's safe and clean for Bergen, and he's found his big double. This one skyrockets him toward the top of the counts with 255,000 or so, while Yilmaz drops down to about 185,000 with that loss.
board. His opponent had an up and down straight draw when the money went in holding 
.
. He tabled his inferior 
, and the turn added insult to his injury. The 
dropped to quad Martinez, and the river 
. His opponent took a few minutes to be sure, then made the covering call with 
.
to miss Weber, and he made a bee-line for the rail.
board has sent two players to the exit. It's a nice boost to his already big stack, moving him all the way up to 305,000. Plus another 500, if you want to get picky about it.
