Emil Patel kept up his aggressive ways with another opening raise, this time from the cutoff seat and to 24,000. Juha Vilkki called from the button and Elie Payan called from the big blind. With three players in action, the dealer slid the 
flop across the middle of the felt. Payan fired straight out for 42,000. Both of his opponents folded and Payan won the pot.
Action folded to Emil Patel on the button and he raised to 24,000. Rafe Kibrit called out of the big blind and the flop came down 
. Both players checked to see the 
fall on the turn. Kibrit bet the pot for 54,000 and Patel folded.
Picking up the action on the 
flop, Emil Patel bet 16,000 before Juha Vilkki put in a raise to 46,000. Patel made the call and the turn brought the 
. Patel checked fourth street and Vilkki bet 75,000. Patel made the call.
The river was the 
and Patel led for 200,000. Vilkki made the call and was shown the absolute nuts by Patel, who tabled the 
for a straight flush. Vilkka mucked.
Straight flushes have been a common occurrence for Patel throughout this tournament, as he made two yesterday, including a royal flush on the river to crack his opponent's full house.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,010,000 | -225,000 |
|
700,000 | 382,000 |
![[user197301]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
In one of his first hands since recently taking his seat, Elie Payan fired a bet of 22,000 into the middle after the flop fell 
. This forced his opponents to muck and after the four-way limped pot, Payan reacquired any chips he may have lost due to his failure to show up on time.
Fresh off of his recent double-up, Emil Patel raised to 24,000 before the flop and picked up Jeff Sarwer and Roland Israelashvili. The flop fell 
and all three players checked
The turn came 
and Sarwer led out for a bet of 32,000. This forced Israelashvili to muck but Patel was persistent and made the call. The 
was the river card and the action was checked around.
Sarwer announced "two-pair" but was discouraged to see Patel flip up his for a rivered straight. The chess master began to needle Patel for his perceived luck throughout the tournament, saying "nice river... nice catch, once again." Sarwer was spotted shaking his head a full two minutes after the beat while Patel simply stacked his new chips in silence.
Finally, Elie Payan has arrived at the final table and taken his seat. He missed a little over one orbit.
Through the first handful of hands at the final table of Event #22, there was barely any action. Three walks occurred and other than that, a simple preflop raise from one of the players took down the blinds. That all changed soon enough though.
Emil Patel raised from middle position to 24,000. Action folded to Stephen Wolfe on the button and he made the call. Cody Munger also called from the small blind and then Jeff Sarwer folded out of the big blind, leaving three players in to see the flop.
The flop came down paired and with a few draws present with the 
. Munger was first to act and he checked to Patel, the preflop raiser. Patel bet 84,000. Wolfe raised to 240,000 and Munger folded. Patel called and was all in for 117,000 total. Hands please.
Patel: 
Wolfe:
The turn was the 
and kept Wolfe in front with trip eights. Patel was able to find luck on the river card when the 
came in and gave him a straight to win the hand. Patel doubled to 318,000. Wolfe was knocked back to 382,000.
With the tournament director introducing the audience to our final table members, one player is conspicuously absent from the proceedings. Elie Payan (545,000) has not arrived to the final table arena as of yet and play has resumed without him. Perhaps Payan is taking a page out of Phil Hellmuth's book and is planning to take his seat fashionably late, but something tells us that this is not the case.
We will be sure to keep you updated on Payan's absence throughout the day, and will let you know if and when the Frenchman makes his first appearance at this final table.
The cards are in the air and the final table of Event #22: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha is officially underway.
Level: 20
Blinds: 6,000/12,000
Ante: 0
