In what was initially a multi-way pot, hijack Mike Sexton reduced the contest to just two runners with his bet of 5,000 on the flop. Shaun Deeb was the lone caller.
The turn was the , and Deeb check-called one more time, with Sexton pricing the river card at 15,000. The hit the felt, and Deeb checked yet again. Sexton looked at his cards, letting Deeb know what he thought.
"All right, you're probably good," Sexton said.
"I think so," replied Deeb, rolling over his for a flopped set.
There was a limp for 1,000 from under the gun before Barny Boatman raised to 3,000. Gordon Vayo called in the big blind, and the under-the-gun player came along.
There was no further betting until the river of the board, where the under the gun player bet 4,000. Boatman had a hard think about this. He had around 17,000 behind, so it was a tough decision. Boatman called, Vayo mucked, and his opponent said, “Nice call.”
Boatman showed , and his pair of queens took the pot.
Brandon Shack-Harris' table broke quite a while ago. Since then, Shack-Harris has been sitting a few yards away, accompanying Igor Yaroshevskyy.
So far, the relocation seems to suit Shack-Harris. While a major collision between Shack-Harris and Igor Yaroshevskyy wasn't spotted, one can deduce what has happened at the table based on the chip flow.
Yaroshevskyy, who was one of the tournament leaders on dinner, is now down to 30,000. Shack-Harris, on the other hand, climbed up to roughly 200,000, pushing his name toward the top ten.
With an under-the-gun limp for 1,000, Alberto Fonseca called next to act, as did two more players. Martin Kabrhel, in the big blind, was getting short on chips, and he announced, "Pot," for 6,000. Fonseca was the only caller.
“Cost Rica versus Czech Republic,” Fonseca grinned wolfishly.
The flop was , and Kabrhel bet 4,000, which Fonseca called.
The turn was the , and Kabrhel check-folded to a bet of 8,000 from Fonseca.
“Do you think you’re winning? Two queens?” Kabrhel asked.
Fonseca showed him for a made straight and a straight-flush draw, while Kabrhel insisted he folded aces.
Jason Mercier was in second position, raising to 4,200. He received two calls before small blind Andjelko Andrejevic three-bet to 10,600. The action returned to Mercier, who pushed all in for 21,700 total, earning two folds and a call from Andrejevic.
Jason Mercier:
Andjelko Andrejevic:
The board brought a sweat, but Mercier ultimately didn't get there on the river, departing at the beginning of the ninth level. Andrejevic is now closing on 200,000 chips.
While the tournament staff is yet to confirm the exact numbers, including the prize pool, it's already safe to say that this year's $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship drew the biggest field in history.
The screens are currently showing 428 entries, while the previous largest turnout had been 418 runners back in 2014, with Pat Walsh taking home the bracelet.
Putting the successful debut of the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Championship into context, it seems that the interest of WSOP players in the four-card game has been growing at the high-buy-in level.
The final numbers and payouts should follow in the upcoming hour.
The payouts for the record-breaking $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship have been released. The 428-player field created a $4,023,200 prize pool, which will be divided between the top 65 positions.
The eventual winner will bank a whopping $938,732 first prize along with the elusive bracelet, while the min-cash has been set at $14,930. Click the "Payouts" tab above to see the full payout structure.