Matthew McEwan moved all in for around 200,000 and Bernard Larabi called.
Matthew McEwan: 
Bernard Larabi: 
McEwan flopped the 
, but it was followed by the 
as Larabi made a pair of aces. The turn and river came 
and McEwan became an early post-bubble casualty.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
750,000 | 260,000 |
|
Busted |
On the Day 7 dinner break of the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, just 20 players remained from the 6,650-entry field. Each was guaranteed $241,800 in prize money, but each was aiming to claim the $8 million top prize and to etch their name in poker history.
Among the contenders was a trio of gold bracelet winners – Chance Kornuth, Mitchell Halverson, and Chase Bianchi. Of those, Bianchi found himself in the best position sitting fourth in chips with 28.7 million.
The 34-year-old married family man – he and his wife have two foster children aged five and seventeen months – previously won the 2016 WSOP Event #17: $1,000 NLH for $316,920, which comprises a big chunk of his $872,718 in lifetime earnings according to The Hendon Mob.
Bianchi currently lives just north of Boston but made the trip in Vegas to play just one tournament, this year’s $10,000 Main Event. No matter where he finishes, it will mark his first cash since December 2019.
Like many others, Bianchi is a product of the “Moneymaker Boom” when he learned to play with baseball teammates in the Seattle area.
“The junior varsity team,” Bianchi told PokerNews with a smile. “We’d get together and the moms would joke that I had a summer job because I’d always beat [the players] in their $5 and $10 buy-in poker games. This was the Chris Moneymaker era, like 2004.”
From there, Bianchi honed his game online. He still dabbles at the virtual felt, even doing some Twitch live streaming in the past, but nowadays he plays primarily live cash games when he can. His poker playing is limited these days after he got into software development.
For more on Bianchi, follow him on Twitter @Chase_Bianchi.
Level: 21
Blinds: 12,000/24,000
Ante: 24,000
Before the hand-for-hand process could even begin, there was one last hand being played out that involved Paul Jager from the button and two others which included the big blind who as all in preflop.
The 
flop was checked to the turn where the player from early position led out for 40,000 and Jager called to see the 
complete the board on the river.
Both players checked and Jager rolled over 
to win the pot with a king-high straight, leaving the remaining 47 players in the money.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
400,000 | 150,000 |
Ali Imsirovic and Conrad De Armas saw the turn on a board of 
. Imsirovic bet around 100,000 and De Armas called. Both players checked the river, and Imsirovic turned over 
for a pair of nines to win the pot.
Imsirovic was still stacking his chips from that pot when he raised preflop the next hand then called an all-in shove. The all-in player had 
, while Imsirovic had 
.
Any suspense of the coin flip was removed when the flop came 
, giving Imsirovic top set. The board ran out 
and Imsirovic brought the field one closer to the money.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
950,000 | 740,000 |
|
200,000 | -30,000 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Bernard Larabi and Dario Sammartino went heads-up to the turn on a board showing 
. Larabi bet 18,000 and Sammartino called.
The river came the 
and this time Larabi put out a big bet of 126,000. That sent Sammartino deep into the tank. After more than five minutes the clock was called and the tournament floor began counting down 30 seconds.
The clock ran out on Sammartino and his hand was declared dead. Larabi raked in the chips in a pot that took up most of the level.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
490,000 | 90,000 |
|
230,000 | -120,000 |
Level: 20
Blinds: 10,000/20,000
Ante: 20,000
There was heads-up action between the player under the gun and Thomas Boivin from the hijack.
The board read 
and a series of raises saw Boivin call off his 246,000 stack.
Thomas Boivin: 
Opponent:
Boivin was ahead after turning top pair and the 
river secured his double-up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
600,000 | 445,000 |
Dan Fleyshman raised to 16,000 from under the gun and Abhinav Iyer three-bet to 50,000 next to act.
Action folded back to Fleyshman who four-bet jammed for 312,000 and Iyer called.
Dan Fleyshman: 
Abhinav Iyer:
Iyer had Fleyshman dominated but the 
flop did give him a flush draw.
The turn didn't come a heart but the did fall to put Fleyshman in the lead and the river secured his double-up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
630,000 | 498,000 |
|
200,000 | -310,000 |
