Jake Balsiger had the button, and raised to 1.6 million. Jesse Sylvia defended his big blind, and the dealer fanned . Sylvia checked, Balsiger tossed out 2 million, and Sylvia tanked for a minute before check-raising to 5.6 million. Balsiger tank-called.
The turn was the , the crowed "oooooohhhhhh'ed," and Sylvia checked. Balsiger slid out 6 million in red T500,000 chips, and Sylvia called.
The completed the board. Sylvia sat for a few minutes, then fired 10.2 million. The crowd went wild at the site of the eight-figure bet.
Balsiger tanked for less than a minute, then folded.
Jesse Sylvia had the button, and opened to 1.2 million. Jake Balsiger three-bet to 3.5 million from the small blind, Greg Merson folded, and Sylvia tanked before four-betting to 7.2 million. Balsiger moved all in for 28.3 million, and Sylvia immediately called.
Sylvia:
Balsiger:
"Jack! Jack! Jack!" Balsiger's rail chanted.
There was no jack on the flop, but the flop missed Sylvia. The former chip leader did have a backdoor heart draw, however.
The turned, and the crowd "ohhhhhhh'ed." It too did not give Sylvia a set, however, and he was down to three cards to knock out Balsiger.
The completed the board, and Balsiger's rail went wild. The 21-year old successfully doubled, and now has just under 60 million chips.
Greg Merson started the hand with the button, and opened to 1.2 million. Jake Balsiger three-bet to 3.5 million from the big blind, and Merson called.
The dealer fanned , Balsiger led out for 3 million, and Merson raised to 7 million. Balsiger tank-folded, and Merson is now over 100 million chips - which is more than half of the chips in play.
Today is the day, folks! It's the day everyone in poker has been waiting for, and the day we crown a World Series of Poker Main Event champion!
The excitement in the air is absolutely unrivaled by anything in the industry, and you can feel the buzz pumping through your veins. Just walking into the Penn & Teller Theatre here on this Tuesday evening in Las Vegas, the fans are donning their appropriate attire in support of each of the three remaining players, and the chants have already begun. The only question left is: Will it be Greg Merson, Jesse Sylvia or Jake Balsiger walking away with the gold?
Each of the three remaining players has their own story. Sylvia entered the final table with the chip lead, but only Jonathan Duhamel was able to turn the chip lead into a victory since the inception of the final table delay. Greg Merson could become WSOP Player of the Year and complete the full 180 degree turn of his life after falling into a drug addiction. If Balsiger wins, he'd become the youngest Main Event champion since Joe Cada took the title in 2009. Each have a story, and each are hoping to successfully write the final chapter.
Merson will take the chip lead into three-handed play today, as he bagged up 88.35 million last night. Nearly all of that was thanks to Andras Koroknai in what some would call and early Christmas present. Sylvia sits in second place with 62.75 million, and Balsiger will be bringing up the rear with 46.875 million, but this is really anyone's ball game.
The blinds will start at 300,000/600,000/75,000, so all three remaining are still fairly deep. That means we'll probably be here for awhile, so hunker down and get ready for some amazing poker action. The cards are in the air at 5:45 PM local time, so stay tuned!