Doyle Brunson raised to 13,000 from under the gun. He got calls from Farzad Bonyadi in the next position, and Paul Volpe in the cutoff. John Hennigan was in the small blind and three-bet to 80,000. Brunson and Bonyadi called, with Volpe folding.
Hennigan stood pat and both Brunson and Bonyadi drew one.
Hennigan checked and Brunson counted out his stack and moved all in for 95,500. He got a quick call from Bonyadi and Hennigan passed.
"Seven," said Brunson, tabling for a number four.
"Seven?" said Bonyadi, showing for a number five.
"You had me," said Hennigan, as Brunson raked in his chips. "I almost made it 180,000 to go"
"I wasn't going anywhere," said Brunson, who has chipped up to almost double average with the money bubble approaching.
Ray Dehkharghani raised to 12,000 and James Alexander three-bet all in from the small blind for 53,600. Brian Rast was in the big blind and four-bet all in and Dehkhagharni folded.
Alexander stood pat and Rast drew one.
James Alexander:
Brian Rast:
"High card please," said Alexander. Rast peeled his card and turned over a meaning Alexander doubled up.
"The cockroach refuses to die!" he said, while humming 'La Cucaracha' to himself.
"Everybody fold," said short-stacked Max Kruse in the big blind. Shawn Sheikhan had other ideas, however. He raised to 16,000 from under the gun. Mike Wattel was on the button and three-bet to 45,000. The blinds both folded and action was back on Sheikhan.
He plonked out a big stack of oranges and four-bet.
"How much is it? I call," said Wattel. It was 171,000, and after the bet was counted out both players stood pat.
"Look at me," said Sheikhan as he pondered his decision post-draw. "I'm all in."
"I call," said Wattel.
"Eight-six," said Sheikhan.
"EIght-six-five-three-deuce," shot back Wattel, tabling exactly that:
The third time was not the charm for Max Kruse as the field is now in the money. Kruse moved all in for about 75,000 and Shawn Sheikhan put him at risk.
Kruse tanked for a moment debating what to do with his hand, ultimately deciding on drawing one card. That turned out to be the wrong choice as Sheikhan stood pat and tabled a .
Kruse claimed to have broke a ten turning over an draw. The dealer gave Kruse a and ended his run one off the money.
Mike Wattel raised to 25,000 and Ben Yu three-bet all in for around 145,000. Wattel called and stood pat. Yu took his time before opting to draw one.
Mike Wattel:
Ben Yu:
Yu turned over a to show he had broken a jack to draw one. He picked his card up and showed an to be the first elimination in the money, receiving $14,691.
The remaining 14 players are redrawing around two tables.
Paul Volpe put his short stack at risk shoving from the button and Robert Mizrachi looked him up from the small blind. Mizrachi stood pat and Volpe decided to draw two.
Mizrachi tabled a with Volpe drawing live to an . Volpe would peel a and a and was eliminated in 14th place for $14,691.
Robert Mizrachi raised to 20,000 and Farzad Bonyadi called. Mike Wattel three-bet to 120,000. It folded back to Mizrachi who four-bet all in for 220,000. Bonyadi folded and Wattel called.
Both players stood pat. Mizrachi showed a -low, but Wattel sent him to the rail with a pat -low.
Todd Brunson open-jammed under the gun and the action folded all the way around to Illya Trincher in the big blind who called all in for less.
Both players stood pat and showed a ten. Brunson's, however, was best, tabling a and Trincher mucked, finding his way to the payout desk to collect $14,691 for 12th place.
Billy Baxter, Phil Hellmuth, Todd Brunson, Doyle Brunson
Day 2 of Event #23: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship was all about one player: Doyle Brunson. Announcing his final return to tournament poker earlier today, and then his subsequent retirement to spend more time with his wife, Brunson enjoyed his moment in the spotlight and showed that he is still a force to be reckoned with at the felt.
“Deuce to seven has always been my favorite game,” the WSOP Hall of Famer said at the start of the day. “And today is just an opportunity.”
Brunson was joined by his son Todd, and together the pair forged a path; at one stage the pair were first and second in chips. Towards the latter stages of the day, the pair were seated first at the same table, and then side by side - father and son.
Just eleven players remain in the tournament including Doyle, and the ten-time bracelet winner is by no means the shortest heading into the final day. A total of 24 bracelets have been won by the remaining eleven players, with just four players — Shawn Sheikhan, Galen Hall, Dario Sammartino and James Alexander — yet to achieve poker's biggest goal.
The chipleader is Mike Wattel, who scooped some vital pots to be the only player bagging over one million, well clear of his nearest competitor. The seating and chip counts as players head into the final day is as follows.
Seat
Table
Name
Country
Chip Count
Table
Name
Country
Chip Count
1
439
Brian Rast
United States
477,000
447
Dario Sammartino
Italy
394,000
2
439
--empty--
447
John Hennigan
United States
87,000
3
439
--empty--
447
James Alexander
United States
21,000
4
439
Farzad Bonyadi
United States
440,500
447
--empty--
5
439
Mike Wattel
United States
1,293,000
447
Todd Brunson
United States
185,000
6
439
Shawn Sheikhan
United States
645,500
447
Doyle Brunson
United States
470,500
7
439
Galen Hall
United States
517,000
447
Ray Dehkharghani
United States
195,500
There was a veritable selection of poker royalty at the start of the day; in addition to the Brunsons, Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Ben Yu, Brian Rast, Robert Mizrachi, James Obst and Matthew Ashton all joined the field. In fact, the final eleven players are made up of five players who registered at the start of Day 2.
Doyle Brunson and WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel
Doyle Brunson formed, quite rightly, the center of attention at the start of the day. He eliminated Cary Katz and Nick Schulman before the first level to establish a foothold in the tournament and moved on to head the chip counts; a sight that will remain in the memory of everyone who followed and tracked Brunson last-ever WSOP tournament over the course of the day.
Once entry closed at the start of the day, the payouts were confirmed. A total of 15 players would be in the money, with a min-cash worth $14,691. The winner would take home $259,670.
Play would reach the final three tables of 21 players relatively quickly, by the second break, with defending champion John Monnette finishing in 21st place. Monnette was looking good after standing pat with a , but Farzad Bonyadi drew one to a and peeled a to complete a better nine-seven and send Monnette to the rail.
It wasn't smooth sailing for the other Brunson the entire day; Paul Volpe would double through him, and four-time bracelet winner John Hennigan would apply pressure as well, leaving him in need of a chip up. And he got it.
After raising to 13,000 from under the gun, Brunson got two calls from Bonyadi and Volpe, before Hennigan three-bet to 80,000. Both Brunson and Bonyadi called, with Volpe getting out of the way. Hennigan stood pat and both other players drew one.
Hennigan checked and Brunson counted out his stack and moved all in for 95,500. He got a quick call from Bonyadi and Hennigan passed.
Brunson tabled for a seven-six, a very strong hand, and only just beat Bonyadi's - the next best hand.
This double meant that Brunson held a sizeable chip advantage heading into the all-important bubble portion of the day. Mike Wattel and Shawn Sheikhan weren't in any danger of busting, but that didn't stop them going to war with two pat eights, with Wattel soaring into the chip lead in the outcome.
There were doubles and triples for Illya Trincher, Ben Yu and Max Kruse, but in the end, it was German soccer star Kruse who would succumb to Sheikhan.
After the bubble burst, three players would hit the rail with Yu, Volpe and Robert Mizrachi eliminated, all netting themselves a $14,691 payday.
Play resumes at 2 p.m. local time tomorrow, with Doyle's final WSOP tournament live-streamed on PokerGO. His status as a poker legend is assured, but can he write one final chapter in his long and storied career here at the World Series of Poker?
for a number four.
meaning Alexander doubled up.
and ended his run one off the money.
to be the first elimination in the money, receiving $14,691.
