The hand was heads-up and the pot stood at approximately 57,000. Two players looked at a board that read A♣Q♦5♠4♠.
Maximiliano Gallardo in the small blind checked the action to Stephen Chidwick on the button. Chidwick placed a bet of 85,000 in the middle, sending Gallardo into the tank.
After spending nearly two minutes on his turn decision, Gallardo sent his cards to the muck.
Picking up the action on the river, Aaron Mermelstein in the cutoff was involved in a hand with Tobias Schwecht in the big blind. With the board reading Q♣9♦A♣K♠7♠ Schwecht checked. Mermelstein, after some deliberation, pushed 42,000 into the middle. Schwecht thought long and hard about his decision but eventually decided he was no good and tossed his hand into the muck. Despite losing the large pot, Schwecht still sits among the current chipleaders in the room.
Pedro Garagnani was heads-up from the button against James Chen, who was in the hijack. Garagnani already had 45,000 in front of him and James Chen reraised to 115,000. Garagnani then announced he was all in for 257,000 total.
"You mean business, huh?" Chen asked Gargnani, which received no reply.
Chen asked for a count and tanked for some time before deciding to let his hand go — conceding the pot to Garagnani.
Kyungtae Min open-shoved for his last 80,000 from the hijack and was called by Joey Weissman in the cutoff to put Min at risk.
Kyungtae Min: A♠J♠
Joey Weissman: 8♠8♦
It was a coinflip, but the 2♣J♣K♣ flop put Min in the lead with a pair of jacks.
The 10♣ turn and 6♦ river kept Min best and he doubled up.
At another table, Daniel Negreanu was eliminated shortly before break.
Alex Keating raised under the gun, Mike Matusow three-bet from the cutoff and Keating responded with a four-bet jam to put Matusow at risk. With his own raise out in front of him, Matusow felt priced in and made the call.
Mike Matusow: A♥10♣
Alex Keating: Q♥Q♠
The board ran out 7♣6♦J♣5♦7♠. Keating's queens held to eliminate Matusow.
Level: 15
Blinds: 3,000/6,000
Ante: 6,000
The remaining 108 players have been sent on their second 15-minute break of the day. They will return to blinds of 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante. With 83 players getting paid, the money bubble is starting to appear on the horizon and will likely begin to have a large impact on the pace of play in short order.
In a blind versus blind battle, the pot stood at approximately 50,000 as the full board read A♦K♣3♠J♦9♣.
Sam Soverel over-bet the pot, firing out for 80,000. In the big blind was Stephen Chidwick who responded with a raise to 200,000; enough to put Soverel all in. Soverel made a quick call for his tournament life.
Sam Soverel: J♥J♣
Stephen Chidwick: Q♠10♦
Soverel's set of jacks fell to the nut straight of Chidwick, sending him to the rail. Chidwick now solidified himself as one of, if not, the biggest stacks in the room.
Alex Keating opened to 13,000 from middle position and was called by Jerry Wong in the cutoff. Mike Matusow then moved all in for his last 46,000 on the button, getting a quick fold from Keating. Wong asked for a count before making what appeared to be a reluctant call.
Mike Matusow: K♠J♦
Jerry Wong: 8♣7♣
Matusow was ahead but Wong did have two live cards. The 2♥4♠6♥ flop gave Wong a gutshot but the K♣ turn pushed Matusow into a commanding lead. Nothing changed on the 3♦ river to send the pot to Matusow while putting a dent in Wong's stack.
On the latest PokerNews Podcast episode, Chad Holloway and Jesse Fullen continue The Chad & Jesse Poker Show straight from the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
In the penultimate show of the summer, Chad & Jesse welcome two guests to the show starting with Josh Arieh, who has won two bracelets this summer and was nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame. Arieh talked about the WSOP back in the late 1990s, his career resurgence, Poker Stake, and shares a fun story involving Ted Forrest and the late Layne Flack.
The other guest is 2004 WSOP Main Event runner-up David Williams, who was fresh of winning a Flip & Go. He talks about his history in that event, how his WSOP gold bracelet and diamond toothpick were stolen in a home robbery, and why he wouldn’t do Master Chef again.
Chad and Jesse then do a new "Calling the Clock" segment in which they offer quick two-minute dialogues for topics on “The Board.”
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