Over on the outer table, Asaf Berman pushed all in from late position for around 3.6 million and Timothy Adams on the button asked for a rough count, then opted to call.
"Now I have a sweat," Benjamin Pollak with even fewer chips in the big blind said and peeked at his cards. He mucked the face up and the following showdown took place.
Asaf Berman:
Timothy Adams:
"Now I have a really good feeling about this," Berman said in table chat. He picked up a gutshot on the flop, but the turn and the river were both blanks to send the businessman from Switzerland to the rail in 14th place for €49,951.
Christian Rudolph raised to 850,000 from the hijack and Jean-Noel Thorel called in the small blind with . Rainer Kempe shoved in the big blind for 4,225,000. Rudolph looked at his cards again and decided to call while Thorel quickly folded.
Rainer Kempe:
Christian Rudolph:
The flop came to not help Kempe much.
The turn was the so Kempe only had the aces left as an out but the on the river wasn't that as he was sent to the payout desk in 13th place before he could pick up a pay jump.
Christian Rudolph raised to 800,000 from under the gun and action folded all the way to Vladimir Troyanovskiy in the big blind who shoved for 3,925,000. Rudolph snap-called.
Vladimir Troyanovskiy:
Christian Rudolph:
The flop came for Troyanovskiy to pair of aces to jump ahead.
The turn was the for Troyanovskiy to stay ahead but the gave Rudolph the set of kings to eliminate Troyanovskiy in 12th place for €59,176.
He's not there just yet. But it would take something miraculous to deny Shaun Deeb the WSOP Player of the Year title.
Mathematically these things are never certain. But with only two other players in the current top ten travelling to Rozvadov for the WSOP Europe - the closest of whom being Anthony Zinno almost 2,500 points behind - it's fair to say that it's going to take something extraordinary to deny Deeb the title.
With over $6m in lifetime earnings, $4.2m which has come at the WSOP, Deeb says that he always thought he had a chance of making it every year that he's played the WSOP.
“When you look at the last six to eight years and the people that have won, three or four are my closest friends and most of my buddies are near the top of the leaderboard year on year. It’s a small group of players that have a good shot every year. Most of us play together, we’ve dealt with each other day in day out, so it’s just fun to finally join them. It’s still not going to sink in until I see the picture.”
Deeb doesn’t strike you as a player motivated by an oversized banner on the wall of the Rio, but the more you talk to him about the Player of the Year race you realise that it’s the culmination of a career spent honing his skills at mixed game tournaments.
“The banner is important,” reiterates Deeb. “I was given a threat by Frank Kassela. Basically, when I was second or third he said that no matter where I finished, he was going to get a banner with my eventual place on it. And if I didn’t win he was going to put it up at his house all summer.
“And Frank doesn’t do anything small! So when he says he’s going to buy a banner, I imagine one that would cover his entire house. And if I didn’t win he’d have gotten this banner and every day when I got home [Deeb stays at Kassela’s house] I’d have seen this ginormous banner with ‘Shaun Deeb – WSOP POY Third Place’ written on it.”
Having played every WSOP since he turned 21 – he’s 32 now – is 2018 Deeb’s most successful summer?
“Yes and no,” he says. “This year it’s my first year where I’ve played zero hands of cash. After a week or two I just decided I wanted to put up a really good tournament year so I did. People who try to juggle both get no sleep, they’re exhausted, they skip tournaments you want to play and cash games you definitely shouldn’t miss. So it’s important to focus on one or the other because it’s a struggle to do both and you just end up hurting your equity a lot.”
And the consequence of no cash? Deeb’s most successful summer, at least when it comes to tournaments.
“I’ve had summers where I’ve won more money playing Open-Faced Chinese and winning the One Drop satellite, but two bracelets are more than I’ve won in any other year, and they were two really good ones as well so I enjoyed it.
“I mean they’re two events that I have a very low edge in – if any – but things fell my way. Just having a very good table draw and coming across fortuitous situations throughout the whole tournament.
“And they were huge payouts - $800,000 and $1.4m – so I know I’m very lucky to win events that pay so much and yet have a smaller field size.”
There are many instances of players and Players of the Year winning multiple tournaments in one year, so does Deeb think that a second is on the cards if a player wins a first.
“It depends on whether you’re a fish or a top guy,” says Deeb. “Once you win one, you’re going to want to play more events and there were definitely some spots where people were like ‘Oh shit, this guy just won $1.4m. He’s not going to care; he’s going to bluff me and call me and whatever’. So I got away with some spots because of that.
“But people who knew me from before know that I’m going to be playing similar to that no matter what. I’m not old and washed up; I mean I am, but not as bad as some may think.”
Are there any regrets from a successful summer?
“There’s always a sour point for a mixed game player and that’s the $50,000 Players Championship. I got 10th in an insanely tough field. But the year before I final-tabled and finished sixth. It’s just the event you want to do well in as a mixed game player – it’s our Main Event! Looking back on the summer and how I wish it could have gone better, it’s that event.”
The race involved several big names that are consistently competing for the WSOP Player of the Year title and Deeb says that although it was a lot of fun keeping tabs on one another’s performances, he’s glad to have all but won it.
“So often in tournaments, people are disappointed because they’re losing. But obviously, the people going for Player of the Year had a very profitable summer, having won a bunch of high buy-in tournaments. We’re all upbeat and happy and well aware that it’s a statistical anomaly.
“I know we’ll all look back and remember fondly on this year. I’ve had friends win it in the past and I’ve seen their banners for winning Player of the Year and laughed because back then I played most of the events and I played better than them.
Christian Rudolph raised from the cutoff and Jean-Noel Thorel called in the big blind.
The flop came , Thorel check-called the 1,000,000 continuation-bet of Rudolph.
The turn was the , Thorel now check-shoved on the 2,000,000 continuation-bet of Rudolph for 8,375,000 and Rudolph called.
Jean-Noel Thorel:
Christian Rudolph:
Rudolph had turned the full house, Thorel needed the queen to split the pot but the river was the for Thorel to be eliminated in 11th place for €59,176.
Benjamin Pollak has been grinding one of the shorter stacks ever since the final two tables were formed. He found one double up when he picked up aces and he was looking for another one. Pollak opened to 1,000,000 from under the gun and Matthias Eibinger shoved all in from the big blind. Pollak thought for a moment and then called off his stack of 7,700,000.
Benjamin Pollak:
Matthias Eibinger:
The flop came and Pollak still held a dominating lead with his ace-high. The on the turn left Eibinger drawing dead to the on the river as Pollak doubled his way back into contention.
Over on the outer table, Timothy Adams raised to 1,200,000 in the cutoff and Matthias Eibinger on the button three-bet all in for nearly 12,000,000. Benjamin Pollak in the small blind gave it some consideration, checked the stacks of both opponents and called. Adams snap-called all in for 10,600,000 and a three-way showdown emerged with the biggest pot of the tournament so far.
Timothy Adams:
Matthias Eibinger:
Benjamin Pollak:
Adams was poised to triple up, but the flop was a disaster for the Canadian. Pollak spiked the one-outer to take the lead with a set of kings, and he held onto it with the turn and on the river.
"Sorry Tim," Pollak immediately said. Adams was eliminated in 10th place and Eibinger had to settle for 9th, both receive €71,821 for their efforts. There will now be a short break to set up the official eight-handed final table.
The action folded to Manig Loeser in the small blind who looked down at the . Loeser shipped all in for 9,300,000 and Winfred Yu woke up with in the big blind. Yu quickly made the call and Loeser was at risk.
The flop came to give Yu top pair and Loeser a straight draw. The turn brought the and the river was the . The chip counts were verified and Yu barely had Loeser covered to send the German home in eighth place.
Christian Rudolph opened to 1,300,000 in the cutoff with and James Romero looked down at in the big blind. Romero was on the short stack and shoved all in for 7,800,000 which was snap-called by Rudolph.
Rudolph was in a dominating position heading to the flop of . The on the turn gave Romero a straight draw but the on the river knocked the American out in seventh place.
Benjamin Pollak raised to 1,600,00 from the hijack with and was called by Christian Rudolph in the cutoff and Winfred Yu on the button.
The flop came down , Pollak checked, Rudolph bet 2,600,000, and Yu contemplated his options for about a minute before raising to 8,500,000. Pollak folded and Rudolph put Yu all-in and Yu called for the 14,900,000 he had behind.
Winfred Yu:
Christian Rudolph:
Rudolph had flopped the set and Yu was sitting on the flush draw.
The turn was the which gave Yu the straight draw too now but the on the river didn't help Yu at all as eh was sent away in sixth place for €147,642.