Errol Massey found himself in another all in situation shortly after, and this time, his hopes of winning the bracelet came to an end. From the cutoff, Massey came in with a raise. Mack Lee tank-folded from the small blind, Brandon Ageloff reraised from the big blind, Massey four-bet his remaining crumbs in and Ageloff called.
Errol Massey:
Brandon Ageloff:
The dealer fanned out to seal Masseys' fate and he parted in 10th place ($13,091).
"Good player, very good," Denny Axel complimented Massey as he made his way off the feature table.
Tammer Ilcaffas moved all in for 65,000 and Kate Hoang min-raised to 105,000. Brandon Ageloff in the big blind asked if it was a legit raise and called. The flop came and Ageloff bet, Hoang folded.
Tammer Ilcaffas:
Brandon Ageloff:
Ilcaffas needed running cards for a straight, and got some hope with the turn, however the river was a blank and Ilcaffas was eliminated in 9th place for $16,832.
For Denny Axel, his 11th cash at the World Series of Poker has become one of $21,977 after finishing in 8th place. The former owner of CardPlayer magazine was all in for his last few bets and both Kate Hoang and William Kopp went after him.
Hoang and Kopp were building a side pot as the board ran out . On the river, Hoang checked, Kopp bet, and Hoang took over a minute before folding.
Denny Axel:
William Kopp:
Axel's hand was second best and he graciously shook everyone's hand before walking off the stage.
Brandon Ageloff raised first to act and Rafael Concepcion called all in for 90,000 from the small blind.
Rafael Concepcion:
Brandon Ageloff:
The board came and Concepcion won the high pot with a flush, Ageloff received the low pot with the ace-seven.
Hand #2:
Julien Martino raised it up and Concepcion called for one big bet on the button, Ageloff called in the big blind. The two remaining active players checked down the board of and Concepcion showed the . Martini won the high pot with and Ageloff had for the trey-deuce low.
Concepcion was eliminated in 7th place for $29,128
Chad Eveslage raised and Kate Hoang three-bet from one seat over, Eveslage called. On the flop, Eveslage checked and subsequently check-raised, which Hoang called. Eveslage only had 40,000 behind and moved all in as soon as the fell on the turn, Hoang called.
Chad Eveslage:
Kate Hoang:
Eveslage needed a four, deuce or club to improve for the high hand, or a trey to chop it with the wheel. Instead, the blank on the river ended Eveslage's hour-long short stack grind in 6th place for $39,182.
"You have my admiration," Hoang said just before shaking hands with Eveslage and moved into contention for the lead with five players remaining.
After folding his big blind in the previous hand, Brandon Ageloff was left with a little over one big blind. In the small blind, he thought for a bit before shoving.
Before calling, Kate Hoang raised her glass and toasted with Ageloff.
"Cheers. I hope I beat you," Ageloff quipped.
Brandon Ageloff:
Kate Hoang:
The dealer fanned out and Hoang caught her ace on the turn to eliminate Ageloff. After finishing 3rd in a $1,500 event last year ($161,844), Ageloff finished in 5th this time and received $53,482.
After three days of ten hours each, four players are still vying for the coveted bracelet and the first place prize of $239,771 in Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better. An extra, unscheduled day is needed to decide who will be the fourth bracelet winner of the 2018 World Series of Poker.
Eight out of nine players at the final table may have been representing the United States, but the chipleader going into the final day is the lone non-American, Julien Martini from France. It's Martini's seventh cash at the World Series of Poker, and finishing third or better in this event would top his 8th place in a $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Event ($53,569) from last year.
Omaha Hi-Lo is a notoriously swingy game, and while Martini bagged a substantial lead with 3,720,000, he started the final table as one of the short stacks and was at risk early. Martini was all-in with a set of fives against Hoang's straight and low draws, and the river bricked to double Martini up. After the double, the Frenchman worked himself quickly back up and took the lead after scooping a big five-way pot. Holding ace-six on a board containing two sixes, Martini collected the full pot after all low draws busted.
Following Martini is Kate Hoang, who sits in second place with 2,250,000. The immaculately dressed Hoang certainly stands out at an average poker table, but looks can be deceiving as she's no slouch when it comes to Omaha Hi-Lo. Last year, Hoang final tabled the 10K PLO/8 for $44,738, and the year before she finished runner-up in the $3K PLO/8 for $182,281. A third major cash in three years awaits the American, who was born in Vietnam, and a bracelet would be a crowning achievement.
Rounding out the final four are short stacks William Kopp (440,000) and Mack Lee (425,000). Both players will come back with just two big bets and will need to spin it up when they return. Kopp is a WSOP circuit ring winner, born in Ohio, while Lee is a high-stakes mixed game aficionado who's a regular sight at the WSOP.
Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Day 3 Chip Counts
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Bets
1
Mack Lee
United States
425,000
2
2
Kate Hoang
United States
2,255,000
11
3
William Kopp
United States
440,000
2
4
Julien Martini
France
3,720,000
19
Position
Player
Country
Prize(USD)
5
Brandon Ageloff
United States
$53,482
6
Chad Eveslage
United States
$39,182
7
Rafael Concepcion
United States
$29,128
8
Denny Axel
United States
$21,977
9
Tammer Ilcaffas
United States
$16,832
Day 3 action
Day 3 started off with 36 hopefuls who were all guaranteed at least $5,605. Within one hour, the field lost ten players, with Frank Muir first to go. The first hour also ended Mike Leah's run. After two levels, 21 out of 36 were remaining and action slowed down after that, with subsequent bustouts going in much slower fashion.
Missing out on the final table were bracelet winner Mike Wattel (21st - $6,764), Swedish poker legend Chris Bjorin (17th - $8,296) and Chris Roth (15th - $10,340). Final table bubble was James Pursley (11th - $13,091), who busted together with November Niner Jeff Shulman (12th - $13,091) against Mack Lee. Lee held pocket aces and turned a full house to send both players to the rail.
At the final table, Martini made his aforementioned double and subsequent rise before Tammer Ilcaffas busted in 9th ($16,832). Ilcaffas lost with ace-queen-seven-four against Brandon Ageloff, who had flopped top set with pocket kings. He was followed to the rail by former CardPlayer magazine owner Denny Axel, who finished 8th for $21,977. Axel's ace-king-ten-three couldn't defeat Kopp's aces with king-four.
Longtime chipleader Rafael Concepcion had a terrible final table and finished in 7th place ($29,128) after tumbling down the leaderboard in multiple hands. Chad Eveslage (6th - $39,182) followed him when Hoang made a wheel to claim both high and low. The last bustout of the night was that of Brandon Ageloff (5th - $53,482), who also fell to Hoang. Ageloff was down to just one big blind when he lost his final hand with queen-ten-ten-seven against Hoang's ace-queen-jack-nine. An ace on the turn sealed it for Hoang.
The four remaining players will return on Sunday, June 3, at 2 p.m. local time, to play until a winner has been crowned. They'll return in level 31 with blinds at 50,000/100,000 and limits of 100,000/200,000. PokerNews will be on the floor as we crown the latest WSOP bracelet winner.