Matthew Zambanini raised to 250,000 in the cutoff and Mustapha Kanit three-bet to 1,700,000 on the button. Zambanini announced all in and Kanit called off the remaining few chips in front of him.
Mustapha Kanit: A♠9♣
Matthew Zambanini: J♣J♦
The flop came A♥Q♥9♥ and Kanit picked up two pair to take the lead. The 6♣ on the turn was a brick but the J♥ hit the river to give Zambanini a set and eliminate Kanit.
Renji Mao opened to 240,000 from the cutoff. Benoit Fiasson, on the button, three-bet to 1,350,000. Thomas Muehloecker, in the small blind, called and made Mao fold.
The dealer fanned a flop of 5♠3♣K♠. Muehloecker bet 125,000 and Fiasson called off his last 40,000.
Benoit Fiasson: 4♥4♦
Thomas Muehloecker: Q♣Q♠
Fiasson ran into queens and despite having his rail asking for a four, the 7♥2♠ runout was no help for him and he was eliminated.
Niall Farrell raised to 240,000 on the button and Renji Mao shipped all in for 1,880,000 in the small blind. The big blind folded and Farrell snap called to put Mao at risk.
Renji Mao: A♠8♣
Niall Farrell: Q♣Q♦
The Q♥10♦7♠ flop put Farrell miles ahead with a set of queens. The 5♦ on the turn left Mao drawing dead to the 9♥ on the river and he was eliminated in ninth place.
Thomas Boivin raised to 955,000 from the cutoff. Andjelko Andrejevic in the big blind three-bet to 1,720,000 and Boivin waited for more than five minutes for the action to conclude at the other table to call off his last 40,000.
Thomas Boivin: A♦6♦
Andjelko Andrejevic: K♥8♥
Boivin was ahead, but his hopes were dashed by Andrejevic's flopped flush on 6♥7♥3♥Q♦3♠. After the break, the seven remaining players will move to one of the feature tables for the final table.
Marius Gierse opened to 320,000 from the hijack, Niall Farrell on the button three-bet to 900,000 and Gierse made the call.
Farrell continued for 800,000 on the 6♥6♦4♣ flop and Gierse check-called, then Farrell fired a second barrel of 1,800,000 on the 8♦ turn. Gierse didn't call this time but check-raised all-in. Farrell snap-called, being the player at risk for 3,880,000.
Niall Farrell A♦A♠
Marius Gierse: Q♣Q♦
Farrell had a little sweat with the J♦ on the river, but it changed nothing and he secured a double-up.
Matthew Zambanini opened to 325,000 in the hijack and Niall Farrell just flat-called in the cutoff. They went heads-up to a flop of 4♣3♣2♦ and Zambanini continued with a bet of 225,000 which Farrell called.
The turn brought the 8♦ and Zambanini sized up a bet of 1,350,000. Farrell still called and the 7♣ peeled off on the turn. Zambanini checked this time and Farrell thought for a minute before opening his mouth.
"I probably win this one but I'm just gonna check," Farrell said before rapping the table. Zambanini announced ace-high and Farrell showed his Q♥Q♣ to win the pot.
"I'm over here s***ing my pants with queens. It's the final table curse," Farrell joked as he stacked even more chips.
Heads-up on a flop of 5♦10♠3♠, Thomas Muehloecker in the hijack bet 375,000 and Matthew Zambanini check-called from the big blind.
Muehloecker fired a second barrel of 1,150,000 on the 3♦ turn, but Zambanini check-raised all in. Muehloecker went deep into the tank and called for a total of more than 4,000,000.
Thomas Muehloecker: A♦10♥
Matthew Zambanini: K♣3♣
Muehloecker called with two pair but ran into trips. The 4♦ river changed nothing and he was eliminated.
Marius Gierse opened to 425,000 in the cutoff and Matthew Zambanini three-bet to 1,200,000 on the button. Adrien Delmas four-bet shoved all in for 3,955,000 from the big blind which got a quick fold from Gierse. Zambanini asked for a count and then called to put Delmas at risk.
Adrien Delmas: A♠K♥
Matthew Zambanini: 8♥8♦
It was a coin flip but Gierse mentioned that he folded ace-queen to his rail. The flop came A♣Q♥J♥ and Delmas took the lead with a pair of aces. The 6♠ on the turn and the Q♠ on the river was no help to Zambanini who passed over a double-up.
The action folded around to Marius Gierse in the small blind who was left on the short stack. He shoved all in for just under 3,000,000 and Matthew Zambanini quickly called from the big blind.
Marius Gierse: K♣6♦
Matthew Zambanini: A♣9♦
The flop came A♦Q♠5♣ and Zambanini moved way in front with a pair of aces. The 6♣ on the turn gave Gierse some life but the 10♥ on the river ended his run in sixth place.
Event #62: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em is known to be one of the most anticipated tournaments of the World Series of Poker by six-handed specialists. Out of a field of 1,168 entrants which generated a total prize pool of $5,372,800, only the five best players are still in contention for the WSOP gold bracelet and the first-place prize of $855,515.
Day 3 started with 54 remaining players all hoping to reach one of the seats around the final table at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas. Among them was Matthew Zambanini, who hit a lucky river to eliminate Robert Ashelm (14th - $49,539) and take the chip lead. He never left it since then, sending Mustapha Kanit (11th - $63,642), Nicholas Grippo (12th - $49,539) and Thomas Muehloecker (7th- $110,234) to the rail to reach 20,775,000 for 83 big blinds.
Final Five Seating and Chip Counts
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big blinds
1
Brandon Sheils
United Kingdom
13,900,000
56
2
Matthew Zambanini
United States
20,775,000
83
3
Niall Farrell
United Kingdom
10,475,000
42
4
Adrien Delmas
France
8,475,000
34
5
Andjelko Andrejevic
United States
4,775,000
19
Second in chips is Brandon Sheils with 13,900,000, closely followed by Niall Farrell, the only bracelet winner still in play, who bagged 10,475,000 after doubling up with aces during the first hands of the final table.
Adrien Delmas was one of five French players who returned on Day 3, but Ludovic Uzan (23rd - $39,201), Erwann Pecheux (16th - $49,539), Arnaud Enselme (15th - $49,539) and Benoit Fiasson (10th - $63,642) were eliminated one after the other after the redraws, so only Delmas remains representing France on the final table. Same as Farrell, he doubled up during the last levels of the night to end the day with 8,475,000, a bit more than 30 big blinds.
Play is set to resume at 1 p.m. local time and will finish when a new WSOP champion is crowned. Play will restart at Level 31 with blinds at 100,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante. Levels will still be 60-minutes long and all of the remaining players have already secured a minimum cash prize of $148,548.
Final Table Results/Remaining Payouts
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
-
-
$855,515
2
-
-
$570,284
3
-
-
$398,409
4
-
-
$282,471
5
-
-
$203,292
6
Marius Gierse
Austria
$148,548
Be sure to keep up with the PokerNews team to follow the final day of the $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em!
