Event #16: $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Day 2 | 2013 World Series of Poker

06-08-2013 22:25 UTC-7

Bonomo vs Radoja and Sulsky vs Nguyen in Semifinals

Josh_Cahlik

Level 6 : 15,000/30,000, 0 ante

Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky Heads to Semifinals

Another exciting day of heads up no-limit hold'em is in the books here in the Amazon room at the 2013 World Series of Poker. To begin the day, 32 players showed up looking to play and win three matches in order to final themselves seated in the illustrious semifinals of this unique event. In the end, though, the four to rise to the top included Justin Bonomo who will be taking on Mark Radoja in the semifinals and Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky who will battle with Don Nguyen.

Players sat down today needing to only win one more match in order to catch. Unfortunately for half of the field, that means that they would be leaving play empty handed. This exit without money happened to several notable players including Jason Mercier, AP Phahurat, Brock Parker, Ali Eslami, Justin Smith, Keven Stammen, Sam Trickett, and Sam Stein.

Following the first severing of the field, sixteen players returned for their second match of the day. Each player here was guaranteed a payday of at least $26,237 and that was all the likes of Marc-Andre Ladouceur, Melanie Weisner, Craig Bergeron, Bryan Pellegrino, Davidi Kitai, Warwick Mirzikinian, and Alexander Venovski. The final player eliminated during this round was Phil Galfond, who was engaged in the longest heads up battle of the round with online legend Sulsky. After several double ups for both players, Galfond finally got it all in before the flop holding against Sulsky's . Neither player connected on the board and Sulsky's king-high punched his ticket to the round of 8.

In the final round, Bonomo made quick work of Russell Rosenblum and Nguyen did the same to Sean Winter. Randy Lew was also unable to get on the winning side of hands and he eventually fell to fellow online-grinder Sulsky. The final match was between Phil Hellmuth and eventual winner Radoja. The rail grew a few spectators deep as Hellmuth's colorful table talk and demeanor grew more and more bombastic. Radoja continuously applied pressure against Hellmuth, showing several bluffs along the way. In the end, Radoja shipped all in with and Hellmuth called off his tournament life with . Radoja held and he locked up the final seat in the semifinals, defeating the 13-time WSOP bracelet winner in the process.

Semifinals

Player	vs.	Player
Ben Sulsky	-	Don Nguyen
Mark Radoja	-	Justin Bonomo

Play will resume for the semifinals at 2:00 PM PST on Sunday and we will play down until the newest bracelet winner is crowned. Be sure to stay tuned to all of the live updates here on PokerNews as this exciting event reaches its conclusion!

Tags: Ben Sulsky Don Nguyen Justin Bonomo Mark Radoja Phil Hellmuth

06-08-2013 22:09 UTC-7

Phil Hellmuth Eliminated in 5th Place ($54,024)

[user101598]

Level 6 : 15,000/30,000, 0 ante

Hand #33: Mark Radoja open-shoved for effectively 310,000, and Phil Hellmuth called, putting himself at risk.

Radoja:
Hellmuth:

Radoja held as the board came , and Hellmuth was eliminated.

"Honey he woke up with king-queen," Hellmuth called over to his wife after the hand. "You played well, though."

Radoja muttered something about getting hit in the head by the deck, and Hellmuth was off to cage to collect his $54,024.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mark Radoja	1,920,000	671,000
Phil Hellmuth	Busted

Tags: Phil Hellmuth Mark Radoja

06-08-2013 21:53 UTC-7

Hellmuth Busts a Bullet Then Doubles

[user101598]

Level 5 : 12,000/24,000, 0 ante

Hand #12: Phil Hellmuth folded on the button.

"I've never lost to someone who raises every button," the 13-time bracelet said.

Hand #13: Mark Radoja raised to 48,000 on the button, and Hellmuth folded.

Hand #14: Hellmuth folded on the button.

Hand #15: Radoja limped in, Hellmuth moved all in for around 450,000, and Radoja called.

Radoja:
Hellmuth:

The board came , and Hellmuth cashed in his last lammer.

Hand #16: Hellmuth limped in on the button, Radoja checked, and the flop fell . Radoja led out for 24,000, Hellmuth called, and the turn brought the . Radoja led out for another 77,000, and Hellmuth folded.

Hand #17: Radoja asked Hellmuth for a count.

"You don't know?" Hellmuth snapped at him, moving his arms. "Come on go all in. I haven't looked yet."

Radoja obliged, open-shoving for effectively 272,000, and Hellmuth checked his cards. He grinned, then called.

Radoja:
Hellmuth:

The board came , and Hellmuth doubled.

Hand #18: Hellmuth raised to 48,000, Radoja called, and then Radoja check-folded to a 25,000-chip bet on a flop of .

Hand #19: Radoja folded his button.

Hand #20: Hellmuth raised to 60,000 on the first hand of the new level, and won the big blind.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mark Radoja	1,249,000	-176,000
Phil Hellmuth	671,000	176,000

Tags: Mark Radoja Phil Hellmuth

06-08-2013 21:32 UTC-7

Radoja Doubles

[user101598]

Level 5 : 12,000/24,000, 0 ante

With only one match remaining, we will now provide you with hand-for-hand coverage.

Hand #1: Mark Radoja raised to 40,000 on the button, Phil Hellmuth called, and the flop came . Hellmuth checked, Radoja fired out 30,000, and Hellmuth said, "Raise it a hundred."

There was a dispute as to whether or not this meant 100,000 or 130,000, and the floor ruled that it was the latter. Radoja folded.

Hand #2: Hellmuth limped in on the button, Radoja checked, and the flop fell . Both players checked. The turn was the , Radoja led out for 20,000, and Hellmuth clicked it back, raising to 40,000. Radoja called. The completed the board, Radoja checked, and Hellmuth fired out 100,000. Radoja folded.

Hand #3: On the first hand of Level 5c, Radoja open-shoved for 180,000 on the button. Hellmuth assembled enough chips to call, thought for a moment, then committed them.

Radoja:
Hellmuth:

Hellmuth was dominated, and Radoja held as the board came . He doubled to 360,000, and still has one lammer behind.

Player	Chips	Progress
Phil Hellmuth	1,240,000	-40,000
Mark Radoja	680,000	40,000

Tags: Mark Radoja Phil Hellmuth

06-08-2013 21:23 UTC-7

Hellmuth Roundhouses Radoja

[user253757]

Level 4 : 1,000/20,000, 0 ante

Phil Hellmuth is All Smiles After Dodging Mark Radoja's First Bullet

After both players connected on a flop of , Phil Hellmuth and Mark Radoja each got the last of their original 320,000 starting stack into the middle without further delay.

Showdown:

Hellmuth:
Radoja:

Hellmuth had flopped top pair with a good kicker, while Radoja found a flush draw to work with. The young Canadian pro lived up to his country's reputation for kindness as he wished the "Poker Brat" good luck.

The turn brought the , giving Hellmuth two pair and stripping two of the spades Radoja held as outs from the deck.

River:

Radoja made his flush on the river, but as Hellmuth brusquely reminded the room, the card also gave him a full house.

With that, the first bullet Radoja fired was a blank, and he is now working with his second 320,000 stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Phil Hellmuth	1,280,000	296,000
Mark Radoja	640,000	-296,000

06-08-2013 21:15 UTC-7

Sean Winter Eliminated in 7th Place ($54,024)

Josh_Cahlik

Level 4 : 1,000/20,000, 0 ante

Don Nguyen opened with a raise to 40,000 from the button. Sean Winter announced all in for 452,000 total and Nguyen asked for a count. About twenty seconds after getting a full count, Nguyen announced a call and showed .

"Really?" Winter asked, showing and questioning why Nguyen tanked with such a big hand.

Winter was behind and needed help heading to the flop. He did not find it as it fell and the turn brought nothing either with the . Winter needed to pair on the river but ultimately came up short as the completed the board. Winter will collect $54,024 in prize money for his deep run in this event.

Player	Chips	Progress
Don Nguyen	1,920,000	442,000
Sean Winter	Busted

Tags: Sean Winter Don Nguyen

06-08-2013 21:09 UTC-7

Lew Busts Two Bullets

[user101598]

Level 4 : 1,000/20,000, 0 ante

Randy Lew found himself all in and at risk for his first bullet with against the of Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky. The flop gave Sulsky a leading pair of kings, and they held as the turn and river bricked , respectively.

Lew then cashed in his second lammer, only to lose that bullet a few hands later. Lew moved all in preflop with and Sulsky called with . The board came , leaving Lew with just 320,000 chips.

Sulsky has 960,000 chips plus two lammers.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ben Sulsky	1,600,000	674,000
Randy Lew	320,000	-674,000

Tags: Ben Sulsky Randy Lew

06-08-2013 21:05 UTC-7

Nguyen Seizes Control

Josh_Cahlik

Level 3 : 8,000/16,000, 0 ante

Don Nguyen had the button and popped it up to 32,000. Sean Winter came over the top with a three-bet to 80,000 straight and Nguyen brought heat right back by making it 150,000 to go. Winter announced a five-bet shove and Nguyen called.

Nguyen:
Winter:

The board ran out and Nguyen's jacks were able to hold, securing him victory over this hand. He currently has 1.478 million with 320,000 in the form of an unused add-on. Winter was forced to cash in his final lammer and now has about 442,000 in chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Don Nguyen	1,478,000	838,000
Sean Winter	442,000	-838,000

Tags: Don Nguyen Sean Winter

06-08-2013 21:04 UTC-7

Hellmuth Making Laydowns

[user253757]

Level 3 : 8,000/16,000, 0 ante

Phil Hellmuth is Attempting to Small Ball His Way to a Historic 14th WSOP Bracelet WIn

Phil Hellmuth's patient style of play has become synonymous with his burgeoning poker brand, as the "Poker Brat" has mastered the art of small ball poker.

He recently told his young opponent "I have a weird style ... it's like the anti-internet. I've read all your books, studied your moves, and its like Matrix Reloaded ... I just mix it all up on you."

Radoja simply smiled in response, but a recent hand showed that Hellmuth's ability to find the fold button may just be what separates him from the new generation of players raised on a steady diet of five-bet barrels and stone cold bluffs.

The action began with a preflop min-raise to 32,000 from Radoja which Hellmuth called. Before the flop of hit the table Hellmuth had already checked dark, prompting Radoja to fire a bet of 21,000 forward.

Checking in the dark once more, Hellmuth watched Radoja bet 61,000 after the dropped on the turn. He called to see the arrive on the river, and after a third check by Hellmuth, Radoja moved all-in for his last 163,000.

Hellmuth's pained expression suggested he had a piece of the board, but he mucked his cards and lived to fight another day, rather than play the hero and run face first into trip sevens or a rivered flush.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mark Radoja	1,080,000	-35,000
Phil Hellmuth	840,000	35,000

06-08-2013 20:53 UTC-7

"I Think This Will Be Over Soon"

[user101598]

Level 3 : 8,000/16,000, 0 ante

Mark Radoja min-raised to 32,000 on the button, Phil Hellmuth defended, and then the 13-time bracelet winner check-min-raised Radoja to 40,000 on a flop of . Radoja called.

The turn was the , Hellmuth led out for 32,000, and Radoja called.