Kyle Cartwright just walked by our desk and informed us of his elimination. It came after he got all in preflop in a five-bet pot holding against . We assume an hit somewhere to send the defending champ to the rail.
The good news is that because Cartwright didn't play Day 1a (he was busy winning his fourth WSOP Circuit gold ring in Event #10), he has the option to rebuy at the start of Day 2. He'll be starting with just a 20 big-blind stack, but it's better than nothing. The title defense is over for tonight, but will begin anew tomorrow.
A big-stacked player in the hijack opened for 2,000 and was quickly met with an all-in three-bet to 9,000 by Drazen Ilich on the button. The blinds cleared out and the original raiser hesitated. "You don't have anything?" Ilich asked.
His opponent shook his head but made the call nonetheless.
Showdown
Ilich
Opponent
It was off to the races as the dealer burned and put out the flop . . . . It was a good flop for Ilich, though the did give his opponent a flush draw to go with the overs. Luckily for him, the river was of no consequence and he lived to play another pot.
With 15,000 in the pot and a board reading , Paul Harris checked from the cutoff and his opponent on the button did the same. The river saw Harris casually put out a bet of 6,500, which put his opponent in the tank for about 60 seconds.
"Take it down," the button finally said. "Nice hand." Harris, who as we mentioned before host the Final Table Radio Show right here in St. Louis, quietly slide his hand to the muck and raked in the healthy pot.
We didn't catch all the action but stumbled across Table 41 just in time to see Tim Vance fire out a bet of 18,000 from the cutoff after his opponent in middle position had checked. There was about 12,000 in the pot and a board reading , but the MP player decided it wasn't worth going to the river and conceded the hand.
Nelly has been eliminated from the tournament. We missed the hand but Richard Harrington, the gentleman that busted him, gave us some details.
It was all in preflop with Nelly holding offsuit and Harrington held pocket nines. The board bricked for both players and Harrington sent the recording artist to the rail.
Stephen Friedel, winner of Event #8. *Photo courtesy of the WSOP.
Again, a snippet from Nolan Dalla's official report shall suffice to recap the action from Event #8 here in St. Louis:
Stephen Friedel made his case today as the best poker player in his court. The criminal prosecutor from Vandalia, IL not only persuaded all who were witnesses, he also swung an impartial jury of 52-cards in his favor, ending up with a final verdict in the amount of $33,664.
The 41-year-old attorney also ended up with an additional settlement in the form of his first World Series of Poker Circuit gold ring.
The trial took place over a two-day period at the Harrah’s St. Louis Riverboat Resort and Casino. There was plenty of evidence in Friedel’s favor when it came to earning his first major tournament victory. However, the final verdict was uncertain until the closing final argument, when Friedel managed to win with an ace-high against a very tough defendant named Michael Sanders.
Indeed, Sanders looked like he might prevail at one point. He enjoyed the chip lead during much of the trial’s final stages. But his objections to Friedel’s motions were repeatedly overruled by the deck, resulting in what some may consider a surprising final verdict.
Another player of note was Drew Woodke, who went on trial at the final table for the second time in three days. He didn’t win his case, but did manage to move into serious contention in the “Best All-Around Player” race for the Harrah’s St. Louis series.
Also of note was Dennis Phillips’ seventh-place finish. The region’s most famous poker player broke once the national scene four years ago during his third-place finish in the 2008 WSOP Main Event Championship (he was chip leader during much of the finale). This time, Phillips ended up finishing in seventh place.
WSOP Circuit Harrah’s St. Louis Ring Event #8 No Limit Hold’em
As we passed by AP Phahurat's table, he informed us of a nice little comeback. Apparently he was down to just 1,500, but after admitting to getting it bad and coming from behind numerous time, Phahurat has managed to run it up all the way to 25,000.
The man just finished as runner up in Event #10, so he certainly knows how to go deep in a big tournament.
. It was a good flop for Ilich, though the 
did give his opponent a flush draw to go with the overs. Luckily for him, the 
![[user196975]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, Paul Harris checked from the cutoff and his opponent on the button did the same. The 
, but the MP player decided it wasn't worth going to the river and conceded the hand.
offsuit and Harrington held pocket nines. The board bricked for both players and Harrington sent the recording artist to the rail.