Heads-up on a board of 9♦A♠8♣10♦, Giuseppe Calio in the hijack saw his 540,000-chip stack being called by Takanao Fukita in the big blind.
Giuseppe Calio: A♦8♥
Takanao Fukita: 8♦7♣
The 5♣ river kept Calio in the lead and he doubled up.
Heads-up on a board of 9♦A♠8♣10♦, Giuseppe Calio in the hijack saw his 540,000-chip stack being called by Takanao Fukita in the big blind.
Giuseppe Calio: A♦8♥
Takanao Fukita: 8♦7♣
The 5♣ river kept Calio in the lead and he doubled up.
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.
These are the latest chip leaders, according to the WSOP LIVE app.
Level: 20
Blinds: 10,000/20,000
Ante: 20,000
120 players survived the first two levels of the day and are on a 15-minute break.
Martin Kabrhel checked the 4♣9♦7♠ flop from the big blind, and Simon Brandstrom bet 40,000 in middle position. Jessica Perez then announced all in on the button, and Kabrhel shoved his covering stack.
Brandstrom got out of the way, and the cards were revealed.
Jessica Perez: Q♣9♣
Martin Kabrhel: 10♣8♠
Perez turned over top pair, but Kabrhel hit the J♦ turn to make a straight. The 7♦ river changed nothing, as Perez was sent out while Kabrhel collected more chips.
Franco Spitale opened from under the gun. Ron Fetsch on the button moved all-in for 94,000 and Spitale called.
Ron Fetsch: 8♦8♥
Franco Spitale: A♠J♣
Fetsch flopped a set on 10♦8♣7♦, then improved into a full house with the 7♠9♣ runout to double up.
Max Steinberg opened to 30,000 before Mohamad El-Rais moved his short stack all in. Mitchell Garshofsky replied by shoving his larger stack, and Steinberg let his hand go.
Mohamad El-Rais: K♥Q♣
Mitchell Garshofsky: A♠A♣
Garshofsky turned over his pocket aces, and remained ahead after El-Rais found a pair on the 4♣Q♠J♥ flop. El-Rais improved again on the K♦ turn before making a full house on the K♣ river.
Garshofsky was left in disbelief, as El-Rais cracked aces to stay alive with the double-up.
Kenny Hallaert in middle position raised to 30,000, Xoan Miguez Coto in the hijack three-bet to 70,000 and Hallaert called.
Miguez continued for 50,000 on the 7♥Q♦K♦ flop. Hallaert check-called and checked the 10♠ turn.
Miguez fired a second barrel to 60,000 but Hallaert check-raised all-in. Miguez checked his card and folded.