First Limped Pot
In a tournament where aggression is the norm, a limped pot is a rare sight—but that's exactly what unfolded. Xiaohu Liu limped from middle position, Quan Zhou followed suit, and both blinds came along, with Umesh Babusukumar completing from the small blind and Benjamin Williams checking his option.
The flop arrived with A♠Q♦Q♣, a board that rarely rewards passive play unless someone’s been slow-playing a monster. Surprisingly, the action checked all the way around.
The 5♥ hit the turn, and once again, no one bit—check, check, check, check.
On the river 6♦, Babusukumar took a stab and bet out 500,000, and everyone folded except Liu, who made the call and flipped over the winning hand with A♥10♥ for two pair aces and queens. Umesh Babusukumar showed 5♦3♣ for two pair queens and fives.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
13,850,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
7,930,000
1,630,000
|
1,630,000 |
|
4,300,000
590,000
|
590,000 |
|
3,500,000
1,800,000
|
1,800,000 |