Brett Richey raised to 40,000 from middle position, and Greg Merson moved all in next to act for 481,000. As soon as action got back to Richey he made the call, and the defending champ was in need of a lot of help.
Merson: 
Richey 
The flop brought plenty of action, coming down 
. Merson had managed to pair his deuce, but Richey also paired his kicker. The one diamond meant that Merson could catch runner-runner diamonds or also catch a runner-runner straight for a chop, but the 
on the turn got rid of those possibilities. Merson would need a deuce and a deuce only to keep his shot at back-to-back titles alive, but it wasn't meant to be, as the 
hit the river.
Merson shook hands with Richey before he grabed his bag, wished everyone luck, and headed out of the Mothership. Merson had the deepest run for a defending champion in the Main Event since 2009, where Peter Eastgate finished 78th in his title defense. His elimination means that we will have a new champion, and also means that Steve Gee is the last remaining member of last year's Octo-Nine.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,095,000
417,000
|
417,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
. Ylitalo showed 
, and it was a coin flip. The flop came 
, giving Ylitalo a pair of kings and the lead. The turn was the 
, and the river the 
, both bricks, and Ylitalo doubled up.
flop, giving Buckenmayer the lead, and he remained ahead as the 
completed the board, however, as Lam made a full house.
, as Reiss bet out another 40,000 which was called. The 
on the river, to give George a much needed triple up, keeping him in the event.
. Pollak shook his head, and continued to do so as the board ran out 
to knock out Yang and give Nakladal the pot.
board would ensure him the double to 1.8 million as Buckenmayer was crippled to just 26,000 in chips.
completed the board, Morgenstern opted to check, and Walthaus used two hands to slide out 300,000. Morgenstern tanked for a bit, then flicked his cards into the muck.
to pair Collopy. The 
river secured the double up for Collopy.
flop kept George in the lead, but the 
