Viacheslav Zhukov and Kirill Gerasimov were heads up with the board reading . Gerasimov check-called a bet from Zhukov, and the turn brought the . Again, Gerasimov check-called a bet. The river was the , Gerasimov check-called one last bet, and Zhukov opened up for an ace-high flush.
Gerasimov mucked, and is now dangerously short-stacked.
Steve Billirakis raised to 50,000, and Kirill Gerasimov called all in for his last 18,000. Nobody else wanted to tangle, and Gerasimov was fighting heads-up for the 67,000-chip pot.
Billirakis:
Gerasimov:
The flop was a good sweat for both players, and Billirakis grabbed a big lead on the turn. Gerasimov needed to pair his king or the deuce or nine to scoop the pot, but the river was a swing and a miss.
Unable to take even half, that's the end of the road for Gerasimov. He'll leave with $33,172 as a consolation prize.
Our final ten players are now huddled around one table after the final redraw of the event. Here's how the field stacks up one elimination away from the official final table:
Guillaume Rivet opened with a raise, and he found calls from Mack Lee, Richard Ashby, and Jason Steinberg, the latter coming along out of position from the big blind.
The four men took a flop, and action checked to Lee. He put out the bet, and only Rivet called to see another card. The turn came the , and Rivet check-called another bet. That action repeated on the river, and the cards were turned up.
Lee showed for aces full of queens, and it was good. Rivet flashed two cards, the , and his inferior full house means his chip stack will fall to about 775,000. Lee climbs just above that with 780,000 thanks to that pot.
Richard Ashby opened under the gun, and Jason Steinberg flatted in middle position.
The flop came , and Ashby continued out with a bet. Steinberg raised, and Ashby called the extra bet to see the turn card. It was the , and Ashby knocked the table. Steinberg bet, having less than a bet behind, and Ashby tanked for over a minute before putting him all in. Steinberg called.
Steinberg:
Ashby:
The river was the , giving Steinberg a flush, and three-quarters of the pot.
Josh Arieh limped into the pot for the minimum, and Todd Barlow raised all in for 43,000. George Lind called from the button, and Arieh called the remainder to go three ways to the board.
It ran out , and the two live players checked it all the way down. Barlow showed up , and it was clearly good. That's a triple up and then some for Barlow, moving him all the way up to 167,000.
Steve Billirakis limped in from early position, and he was followed into the pot by Mack Lee. Richard Ashby was in the big blind, and he took a free flop that came . Ashby led out with a bet, Billirakis called, and Lee ducked out of the way.
Heads-up now, Ashby check-called a bet on the turn and another one after the river.
Billirakis turned over , and Ashby didn't like it. He triple-checked his cards, then showed ... and then with a frustrated open-muck. He had flopped the joint, but Billirakis rivered Broadway to scoop the pot.
"Nut flush draw, too?" Ashby asked after a moment. Billirakis nodded, and Ashby acknowledged the better hand. Billirakis' hand improved all the way through, and he's up to 735,000 with that pot while Ashby falls back to about 775,000.
From middle position, Todd Barlow opened with a raise, and Steve Billirakis three-bet from the small blind. Barlow called, getting short on chips now.
The flop came , and Billirakis bet. Barlow raised all in for another 5,000 on top, and Billirakis called with . Barlow's had flopped trips, and the turn and river secured his double. He's back to 190,000 and back in the game.