Rick Whitesell raised to 45,000 from middle position and in the hijack, Benjamin Nguyen three-bet to 150,000. Action folded to Mateo Catini who moved all in for 315,000. Action folded back around to Nguyen who called.
Mateo Catini: A♥Q♥ 
Benjamin Nguyen: J♥J♦
The board ran out 7♠5♦2♦J♠K♠ and the set of jacks was good for Nguyen to take down the pot.
Lionel Dehondt opened to 40,000 from middle position and was looked up by Peter Ball in the big blind.
The players checked down the 4♦5♠9♠ flop and 9♦ turn to see the K♣ peel off on the river.
Ball led out for 50,000 on the river only for Dehondt to raise to 130,000. Ball thought for a while before he mucked his cards to send the pot to Dehondt with no showdown.
Oswaldo Sandoval Mazon raised to 45,000 on the button and in the big blind, Nischal Colluru moved all in for 240,000 and Mazon called.
Nischal Colluru: 2♠2♥
Oswaldo Sandoval Mazon: 7♠7♥
The board ran out K♥10♠5♠4♦8♠ and the sevens held up to eliminate Colluru from the tournament.
In the 982nd episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow are joined by Matt Savage at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas.
There, they talk about Shaun Deeb's recent bracelet win and whether or not that will be enough to put him over the edge for the Poker Hall of Fame. It certainly was enough to put him back on top of the 2026 WSOP Player of the Year standings. Speaking of the Poker Hall of Fame, Savage shares whether he feels snubbed for not making the list of nominees and who he thinks has the best shot of getting in.
From there, the crew turns its attention to the Tournament Directors Association (TDA) Summit XII, which recently wrapped up at PokerGO Studio. Savage shares a little history about the TDA, his big takeaways, and then Chad shares a highlight video catching up with some of the bigger tournament directors in the game to get their thoughts on this year's summit.
Finally, the crew thanks sponsor Think Jerky, which you can order here.
Find out all about those stories and more in this week's episode of the PokerNews Podcast! Oh, and be sure to check out the audio version of the PokerNews Podcast that is available on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud.
Level: 21
Blinds: 10,000/20,000
Ante: 20,000
Sergiu Cornea raised to 30,000 on the button and Michael Starek called in the big blind.
The flop rolled out 2♣9♠2♦, and Starek check-called a bet of 25,000 from Cornea.
Starek checked the turn 2♠ to see Cornea size up to 45,000, prompting Starek to call.
On the river 3♠, Starek checked a third time and Cornea bet to the tune of 150,000. Starek thought for a bit before opting to fold, and Cornea showed the A♣ as he raked in the pot.
Action was picked up on the flop of 8♣7♥6♠ with a pot of about 70,000. Jason Blodgett was in the cutoff and moved all in for 335,000, and Stephen Wangler called from the big blind with the superior stack.
Jason Blodgett: 9♠9♣
Stephen Wangler: 5♠4♣
Wangler was ahead with the bottom end of the straight heading to the turn, which was the 2♦, and the river 2♥ did not help Blodgett, who was eliminated.
The action was picked up when the board showed 2♦J♣4♠9♣10♠. Alexander Massman decided to go all in with his remaining stack of 160,000. Smith Collins took a bit of time but decided to call.
The minute Collins turned over his cards A♠K♠, Massman stood up, mucked his cards and left the table.
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