Kenny Hallaert bet 60,000 from under the gun on a flop of 4♣9♥3♠ and Tomas Szwarcberg called on the button.
The turn was the K♠ and Hallaert bet another 170,000. Szwarcberg again called and the 2♥ fell on the river.
Both players slowed down and checked, and Szwarcberg showed A♠7♠. Hallaert mucked and Szwarcberg took the pot with ace-high.
Carmino Argiero opened to 40,000 from under the gun and He Zhou called from a couple of seats over. Colin Robinson three-bet to 150,000 on the button and Argiero took a minute before folding. Zhou took well over a minute and decided to call.
The flop fell 8♠4♣2♠ and Zhou checked to Robinson who took nearly two minutes before firing out a bet of 90,000. Zhou took another minute and check-raised to 180,000 which prompted a much quicker fold from Robinson.
"I'm gonna start clocking you guys," Yuriy Boyko said at the table. "I want to play some hands too. That took way too long."
In a massive pot of 1,200,000, Kohei Arai and Yulian Bogdanov were heads up on a flop of 8♥8♠4♣. Arai fired a bet of 240,000 from early position, which Bogdanov called on the button.
The K♦ turn saw Arai size up slightly to 300,000. Bogdanov spent some time in thought, but he eventually mucked his cards to forfeit the pot to Arai.
Alessandro Predaroli raised to 40,000 in the cutoff . Stephen Chidwick looked down at his cards in the big blind, opting to defend.
Predaroli continued for 40,000 on the K♦10♠Q♠ flop, which Chidwick check-called. The 2♠ turn saw Predaroli size up to 100,000. Chidwick check-called again, revealing the 6♣ river.
Chidwick checked for a third time. Predaroli moved his remaining stack of 300,000 over the line for an all-in bet.
Chidwick spent about a minute in thought before calling off, but his Q♣J♥ for one pair was no match for the flush of Predaroli, who tabled K♠J♠ for the winning hand.
The action was picked up on the K♥K♦5♦9♣ turn on which Jeremy Kottler checked. Pedro Padilha bet 160,000 and Kottler called as they headed to the Q♥ on the river with Kottler checking. Padilha now upped his sizing to 430,000 and Kottler folded before they headed into the break.
Players are now on a 20-minute break. There are a total of 464 players left in contention. Blinds will resume at 10,000/25,000.
Below are some highlights from Level 20.
In the 906th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Kyna England, and Mike Holtz are back at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas to discuss the latest news and highlights from the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP), including Daniel Negreanu suggesting that poker players shouldn't hesitate to call the clock on other slow-acting players.
Other stories include Will Kassouf being back in the poker spotlight, for better or worse, as well as how the PokerNews Podcast crew did in the 2025 WSOP Main Event. Hint: Kyna, who is now representing Tilted Compass, did an interview with Jeff Platt while Chad got pulled up on the PokerGO live stream. They also highlight Shaun Deeb capturing his seventh bracelet and setting himself up to win POY, Nick Ahmadi taking down the PokerNews Deepstack Championship, PokerGO founder Cary Katz claiming his first bracelet, and Chris Moneymaker winning another Moneymaker Tour title.
Finally, Maria Ho talks about releasing Pokerriculum (viewers/listeners have a chance to win a free copy of the game), and an update on the PokerNews Podcast Fantasy League between Mike, Chad/Kyna, Joey Ingram, and Christina Gollins.
A new PokerNews Podcast will drop twice a week during the 2025 WSOP every Thursday and Sunday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!
Level: 21
Blinds: 10,000/25,000
Ante: 25,000
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