Sunday, January 31, 2016

UKIPT5 Series 3 Day 2: Level 13-31 updates (80,000 - 160,000, 20,000 ante)
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It's all over Elliot Panyi has won the UKIPT5 Series 3 and £16,590. Check out who's finished where here

11:18pm: Elliot Panyi wins the UKIPT Series (£16,590); Azarya Levy second (£10,540)
Level 31, Blinds 80,000 - 160,000 (20,000 ante)

It's all over and there was no miracle comeback for Azarya Levy. He moved all in for about five big blinds with [Jh][6c] and Elliot Panyi called him with [Kd][4c].

The [9c][9d][Td][Th][4d] board meant Panyi's king played and he won the hand and the tournament. He led for the vast majority of the final table and is worthy winner. As for Levy he put up a great performance, with what was almost always a short stack to finish as runner-up.

A recap of the final day's play will be forthcoming shortly.

11:16pm: Levy doubles, still in trouble
Level 31, Blinds 80,000 - 160,000 (20,000 ante)

Azarya Levy just doubled but he need another couple to get back in this. Elliot Panyi set him all in with [6c][2c] and Levy called all in for just 375,000 with [Kd][8s].

A [jh][ks][9c][5d][Ts] board meant he doubled to 5 big blinds.

11:15pm: All in and chop
Level 31, Blinds 80,000 - 160,000 (20,000 ante)

The first all in of heads-up play looked like it might end the tournament, then it turned into an almost certain double up, before ending in a chop.

Elliot Panyi set Azarya Levy all in and the Israeli said: "Let's go," and called with [7c][6c]. Panyi had him dominated with [9h][7d]. The [9s][2c][5s][8d][6h] board was as entertaining as they come when it comes to chopped pots.

11:10pm: Eight to one advantage for Panyi
Level 31, Blinds 80,000 - 160,000 (20,000 ante)

Elliot Panyi (6,200,000) has an eight to one chip lead over Azarya Levy (800,000) as heads-up play gets under way.

11:05pm: Kwokwah Man eliminated in third place (£7,900)
Level 31, Blinds 80,000 - 160,000 (20,000 ante)

Like London buses...

Kwokwah Man opened to 375,000 from the button and Elliot Panyi re-raised all in from the big blind. Man only started the hand with about 8-10 big blinds but he took his time before calling all in.

Man: [Ah][Tc]
Panyi: [8c][8h]

The [4d][Js][Ks] flop gave Man a gutshot to go with his over cards. The [7d] turn missed him. "Lower than a seven," said Elliot Panyi and he got his wish on the [2h] river.

10:55pm: William Funnell eliminated in fourth place (£6,390)
Level 31, Blinds 80,000 - 160,000 (20,000 ante)

Just before the first hand of level 31 started William Funnell asked Elliot Panyi if he wanted to look at numbers now the blinds had good up. Panyi declined and from what Funnell then said to Kwokwah Man it appears that it was the second time Panyi had said no to the option of a deal. It's unlikely that had any influence on his exit hand though as it was simply a cooler.

Panyi opened to 325,000 on the button, Funnell, who was in the small blind, counted his own stack and then three-bet to 825,000 total. Back on Panyi he shoved all in and after thinking about it for around 30 seconds Funnell called all in.

Panyi: [Qh][Qc]
Funnell: [Ah][Qs]

The [8s][Jh][9s] flop meant we now had some chopportunities. The [Js] turn gave Funnell flush outs but the [6h] river kept Panyi in front.

The stacks were incredibly close so they were counted down, Panyi had 1,985,000 to Funnell's 1,950,000 which means we lose William Funnell in fourth place.

10:50pm: No deal talk as yet
Level 30, Blinds 60,000 - 120,000 (10,000 ante)

Despite there only being 58.5 big blinds in play and the stacks all being quite similar, there's been no talk of a deal or indeed any desire to look at numbers from any of the four players left in.

10:45pm: Kwokwah Man doubles through William Funnell
Level 30, Blinds 60,000 - 120,000 (10,000 ante)

From the small blind William Funnell shoved all in to put Kwokwah Man and risk and he looked at his cards, thought for a bit and called all in for his last 760,000.

Man: [Kd][Jc]
Funnell: [Ah][4c]

The [Js][Ts][4d] flop hit Man and he held on the [Qh] turn and [6d] river. He's now back up to around 1,620,000 whilst Funnell is down to about 2,150,000.

10:35pm: Funnell takes the chip lead
Level 30, Blinds 60,000 - 120,000 (10,000 ante)

For the first time at this final table we've had a change of chip leader. It's Will Funnell who's taken the mantle as he won a pot against Azarya Levy to climb to about 2,800,000. Elliot Panyi has about 1,900,000 and is his closest challenger.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_william_funnell.jpg

Funnell's flying high

10:25pm: Funnell takes one from Panyi; top three almost even
Level 29, Blinds 50,000 - 100,000 (10,000 ante)

The top three stacks are all but even after William Funnell won a big pot (well relatively) against Elliot Panyi.

The latter limped from the small blind and Funnell checked his option. The [Qd][Jh][4h] flop checked through and the [Jc] hit the turn. Panyi check-called a bet of 130,000 and then called a further 275,000 on the river. Funnell showed [Jd][2c] and Panyi mucked.

That pot has boosted Funnell to about 1,800,000. Panyi has 1,900,000 and Azarya Levy about 1,800,000. Both Funnell and Levy have their chips stack in either one tower or multiple uneven towers making exact counts hard to come by.

10:15pm: Prizes
Level 29, Blinds 50,000 - 100,000 (10,000 ante)

A reminder of what's at stake:

1st: £16,590
2nd: £10,540
3rd: £7,900
4th: £6,390

10:10pm: Anyone's game
Level 29, Blinds 50,000 - 100,000 (10,000 ante)

There's only about 10 big blinds separating the chip leader (Elliot Panyi) and the shortest stack (Kwokwah Man). Indeed if Man were to double up he'd become the chip leader.

It's tight, very tight here between the final four.

10pm: Levy on the march
Level 29, Blinds 50,000 - 100,000 (10,000 ante)

It's been a good level so far for Azarya Levy, he's doubled through Elliot Panyi with pocket kings against Ace-Ten and won a pot against Kwokwah Man with [As][Qc] on a [Js][Ad][Jd] flop.

He's up to about 1,400,000.

9:52pm: Chip counts
Level 29, Blinds 50,000 - 100,000 (10,000 ante)

Below are the chip counts of the final four, Elliot Panyi still leads whilst Azarya levy has just 7.5 big blinds.

NameCountryChips
Elliott PanyiUnited Kingdom3,200,000
William FunnellUnited Kingdom1,755,000
Kwokwah ManUnited Kingdom1,330,000
Azarya LevyIsrael755,000

9:40pm: End of the level
Level 28, Blinds 40,000 - 80,000 (10,000 ante)

The four remaining players are now on a 10 minute break.

9:35pm: Post-flop poker
Level 28, Blinds 40,000 - 80,000 (10,000 ante)

After the rush to the exits this final table has settled down a bit and we've seen some post-flop poker. Elliot Panyi, William Funnell and Azarya Levy have all taken down pots on the flop. Kwokwah Man though is struggling, he's now the shortest stack with around 1,100,000.

9:25pm: William Funnell doubles through Elliot Panyi
Level 28, Blinds 40,000 - 80,000 (10,000 ante)

William Funnell hasn't had more than 15 big blinds all day. "I've been grinding hard," he told us a few moments ago.

Well he has now, as he just doubled through Elliot Panyi. The chip leader shoved from the small blind with [Jd][Tc] and Funnell called all in for 720,000 with [Ac][9h].

The [Ad][5c][3c][Kd] flop and turn meant Panyi could eliminate Funnell if he caught a queen on the river, but fifth street was the [9s].

Funnell is up to the dizzy heights of 1,500,000 whilst Panyi slips to 2,800,000. He's still the chip leader though.

9:15pm: Gerald Candy eliminated in fifth place (£5,040)
Level 27, Blinds 30,000 - 60,000 (10,000 ante)

Elliot Panyi went to fold his hand thinking he was under-the-gun but he was in fact the big blind. Not everyone saw this, which would perhaps prove crucial later to the outcome of the hand. It passed to Gerald Candy on the button and he shoved for 440,000.

He was one of the players who hadn't seen Panyi's action and after Levy folded Panyi got a count and then said: "I've got a hand that if it was a pip or two higher I'd have already called but with this I'm not sure." He then cut out the calling chips and put them over the line.

Candy: [Kd][2c]
Panyi: [Qs][Td]

"What a dream. I can't ask for more than that," said Candy. But it turned into a nightmare for him on the [Kh][3d][4h][Jh][9s] board.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_gerald_candy.jpg

Candy can buy plenty of sweet stuff with fifth place money

9:05pm: Michael Matar eliminated in sixth place (£3,850)
Level 27, Blinds 30,000 - 60,000 (10,000 ante)

PokerStars Qualifier Michael Matar has quite the ROI% from this event as he got in on the cheap and then cashed for £3,850.

His elimination was a two-parter. In part one of two he shoved from under-the-gun for around 400,000 with [9s][7s] and walked into William Funnell's [As][Kh]. The [Kc][6h][6d][3h][5d] board gave the pot to Funnell, who had started the hand with just 300,000.

So Matar was down to dust, yet he still got a walk from Azarya Levy on the next hand but it was just a temporary reprieve. On the next hand he shoved from the small blind with [Qd][2d] and Elliot Panyi called with [Ac][Qh]. He didn't even get a sweat on the [4d][Kh][9s][5s][9d] board.

Funnell is up to about 700,000, whilst Panyi continues to hold the chip lead.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_michael_matar.jpg

Michael Matar - out in sixth

8:55pm: Nicholas Case eliminated in seventh place (£2,830)
Level 27, Blinds 30,000 - 60,000 (10,000 ante)

Azarya Levy has been quietly building a stack but he's not going to fly under the radar any more as he's up to 1,600,000 after eliminating Nicholas Case.

The Israeli opened to 200,000 with [Ah][Kh] and called when Case moved all-in for around 700,000 with [Ad][Qs]. A [Tc][7s][6h][4c][7c] board kept Levy in front.

Six left.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_nicholas_case.jpg

Nicholas Case

8:45pm: Double up for Funnell
Level 27, Blinds 30,000 - 60,000 (10,000 ante)

Down to just 165,000 William Funnell moved all in from under-the-gun with [Qh][Qd]. It folded all the way to Nicholas Case in the big blind and with 60,000 in there he felt priced in to call with [4h][2d].

A [Qs][4s][Js][Th][8c] board kept Funnell in front and he doubled his micro stack to a short stack.

8:35pm: Dean Perry eliminated in eighth place (£2,088)
Level 26, Blinds 25,000 - 50,000 (5,000 ante)

Having raise folded on the previous hand, Dean Perry moved all in for 210,000 and got a call from Nicholas Case.

Perry: [Ah][Qh]
Case: [Ad][Kc]

Perry threw his head back when he saw that he was dominated and it didn't get any better for him on the [8h][3c][9s][6c][Kh] board and he was eliminated in eighth place.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_dean_perry.jpg

Dean Perry - out in eighth

8:25pm: Final table chip counts
Level 26, Blinds 25,000 - 50,000 (5,000 ante)

The final eight are in their seats and action has restarted

SeatNameCountryChips
1William FunnellUnited Kingdom224,000
2Kwokwah ManUnited Kingdom1,470,000
3Gerald CandyUnited Kingdom440,000
4Dean PerryUnited Kingdom435,000
5Azarya LevyIsrael905,000
6Michael MatarUnited Kingdom745,000
7Elliott PanyiUnited Kingdom2,140,000
8Nicholas CaseUnited Kingdom485,000

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_the_final_eight.jpg

The elite eight



8:15pm: Marco Erasmo eliminated in ninth place (£1,700)
Level 26, Blinds 25,000 - 50,000 (5,000 ante)

The final table is set!

Down to just 175,000 Marco Erasmo moved in from middle position holding [Ad][Th] and Kwokwah Man smooth called with [Ac][Jc]. The [8h][Jh][4c][2s][8d] board favoured the bigger stack and the Spaniard is out in ninth.

There's now a short break for final table photos, during which we hope to get official final table chip counts.

8:05pm: Still nine
Level 26, Blinds 25,000 - 50,000 (5,000 ante)

There have been no major pots at the unofficial final table as of yet. Any all in has gone uncalled and there's only been one showdown, which was a small pot between Elliot Panyi and Kwokwah Man

7:55pm: Unofficial final table line-up
Level 25, Blinds 20,000 - 40,000 (5,000 ante)

It's the 'photo bubble' the nine remaining players have made the unofficial final table, when one more player is knocked out the action will be paused and the official final table photos will take place.

SeatNameCountryChips
1Marco Erasmo Spain425,000
2William FunnellUnited Kingdom470,000
3Kwokwah ManUnited Kingdom830,000
4Gerald CandyUnited Kingdom320,000
5Dean PerryUnited Kingdom550,000
6Azarya LevyIsrael1,000,000
7Michael MatarUnited Kingdom455,000
8Elliott PanyiUnited Kingdom2,300,000
9Nicholas CaseUnited Kingdom555,000

7:45pm: Jen-Yue Chiang eliminated in 10th place (£1,430)
Level 25, Blinds 20,000 - 40,000 (5,000 ante)

Dean Perry shoved all in from early position with [Js][Ts] and Jen-Yue Chiang called all in for right on 225,000 with [7s][7h].

A [6h][8h][Qs][Jh][Ad] board gave the pot to Perry. He had just over 300,000 to start the hand and so Chiang is out in tenth place and the unofficial final table is now set.

Whilst he was losing that hand, William Funnell doubled through Elliot Panyi with [Ac][Qd] against [Ks][Qs]. Funnell had 235,000 to start the hand.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_Jen-Yue Chiang.jpg

Dragomir dominated the last event

Jen-Yue Chiang

7:35pm: Timothy Timotheou eliminated in 11th place (£1,430)
Level 25, Blinds 20,000 - 40,000 (5,000 ante)

Down to around eight big blinds Timothy Timotheou shoved all in from the small blind with [6c][5d] and Azarya Levy woke up with pocket queens in the big blind. The [7h][4s][Ks] flop gave Timotheou a straight draw, but he missed it on the [9d] turn and [Ac] river.

We're now on the unofficial final table bubble.

7:30pm: Samuel Hunt eliminated in 12th place (£1,260)
Level 25, Blinds 20,000 - 40,000 (5,000 ante)

Azarya Levy limped from mid position, Sam Hunt then shoved all in for about 350,000 and Levy made the call.

Hunt: [9s][7s]
Levy: [As][5s]

The [Ac][4d][8s][Kc][3s] board meant Levy's hand held and he just had Hunt covered.

7:30pm: Back at it
Level 25, Blinds 20,000 - 40,000 (5,000 ante)

Cards are back in the air.

7:25pm: Chip counts of the final 12
Level 25, Blinds 20,000 - 40,000 (5,000 ante)

As you can see below Elliot Panyi still has a big chip lead with more than three times his closest challenger. Everyone bar him and Kwokwah Man have under 20 big blinds. The final table may not be far off.

NameCountryChips
Elliott PanyiUnited Kingdom2,500,000
Kwokwah ManUnited Kingdom830,000
Nicholas CaseUnited Kingdom590,000
Michael MatarUnited Kingdom455,000
Marco Erasmo Spain425,000
Timothy TimotheouUnited Kingdom400,000
Samuel HuntUnited Kingdom390,000
Dean PerryUnited Kingdom380,000
Azarya LevyIsrael365,000
Gerald CandyUnited Kingdom320,000
William FunnellUnited Kingdom285,000
Jen-Yue ChiangUSA105,000

6:45pm: Dinner break
Level 24, Blinds 15,000 - 30,000 (4,000 ante)

The players are now on a 40 minute dinner break. Play will resume at 7.25pm.

6:40pm: Case can't rest yet
Level 24, Blinds 15,000 - 30,000 (4,000 ante)

Another double up to tell you about now, this time it was Nicholas Case who got a boost.

It folded to Gerald Candy on the button and he shoved for an effective 319,000 with [Qc][Ts], the small blind folded but Case called all in with [As][Jh]. The board came [3d][2h][Kc][4h][Ad] and Case doubled to around 650,000 whilst Candy dropped to about 350,000.

6:35pm: Panyi powers on
Level 24, Blinds 15,000 - 30,000 (4,000 ante)

Elliot Panyi has a ridiculously big chip lead at the moment. He's got almost two million more than his nearest competitor as he won a big pot against Samuel Hunt, who was the second biggest stack in the room. This is how the final 12 stack up, all counts are approximate. We'll be getting 100% accurate counts on the next break in 10 minutes.

NameCountryChips
Elliott PanyiUnited Kingdom2,600,000
Gerald CandyUnited Kingdom660,000
Kwokwah ManUnited Kingdom525,000
Dean PerryUnited Kingdom520,000
Timothy TimotheouUnited Kingdom420,000
Samuel HuntUnited Kingdom330,000
Azarya LevyIsrael325,000
Michael MatarUnited Kingdom280,000
William FunnellUnited Kingdom270,000
Nicholas CaseUnited Kingdom232,000
Jen-Yue ChiangUSA230,000
Erasmo Marco CrespoSpain200,000
UKIPT5_Series3_day2_timothy_timotheou.jpg
Timothy Timotheou

6:25pm: Double up for Candy
Level 24, Blinds 15,000 - 30,000 (4,000 ante)

Whilst Elliot Panyi is dominating proceedings on table 1, Dean Perry is doing likewise on table two. He bluffed Jen-Yue Chiang off a pot to climb to 850,000 but then lost some back to Gerald Candy. Perry opened to 75,000 with pocket nines, Candy shoved for 319,000 with [Kd][Qh] and Perry called it off.

The [6h][3c][Qd][Ad][Qs] board doubled Candy to 660,000 and amazingly that's good for second spot right now.

6:15pm: Payouts page
Level 23, Blinds 12,000 - 24,000 (3,000 ante)

We've just updated the prize pool and payouts page. Check it out here.

5:55pm: Elliot Panyi scores double knockout; now massive chip leader
Level 23, Blinds 12,000 - 24,000 (3,000 ante)

Oh boy. How'd you like to hear about a 1,500,000 chip pot? Thought so.

From under-the-gun Huy Nguyen opened to 55,000, Elliot Panyi then three-bet to 123,000 from under-the-gun+2 only for Krishna Nagaraju to four-bet all in for just over 500,000. Action passed pack to Nguyen, who had about 485,000 in total. He tanked for about five minutes before calling all in. Panyi, who had both players covered with about 850,000, took a look back at his cards and called.

Panyi: [Ah][As]
Nagaraju: [Kc][Kd]
Nguyen: [Jc][Jh]

"I don't even want these spots," said Panyi. "This is an ICM disaster, I'm not even favourite to win the hand."

What Panyi meant was that between the other two players they had as much equity as he did. He was wrong about that though as he still had 66% equity in the hand and held up on the [6c][7c][Ts][2c][2h] board to send two players out and climb to around 1,800,000. By virtue of having more chips Nagaruju finished 16th and Nguyen 17th.

Whilst that hand was playing out Andrew King (18th) was eliminated on the other table and Vincent Moses (19th) is also out.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_elliot_panyi2.jpg

Panyi has over 25% of the chips in play

5:45pm: Gordon's run ends in 20th place
Level 22, Blinds 10,000 - 20,000 (3,000 ante)

It's been a good first outing as a member of Team PokerStars LIVE at The Hippodrome Casino but it could've been even better had he managed to get there in a hand against Kwokwah Man. The latter opened to 45,000 from late position, Gordon three-bet shoved for 353,000 from the big blind with [As][Td] and Man called off with pocket kings.

The [4s][5s][Jh][5d][2s] board kept Man in front and left Gordon will less than a big blind. Despite getting a triple up on the very next hand, he couldn't repeat the trick and was eliminated a hand later in 20th place.

5:40pm: Sweeting's tournament soured
Level 22, Blinds 10,000 - 20,000 (3,000 ante)

Down to just 83,000 Alexander Sweeting moved all in with [Ks][4c] and Elliot Panyi gave him a spin from the big blind with [Ah][2c]. The [Qh][Ac][3c][8h][Kh] board kept Panyi in front and sent Sweeting to the rail in 21st place.

5:35pm: Samani out, Hunt over one million
Level 22, Blinds 10,000 - 20,000 (3,000 ante)

Jay Samani was the chip leader. I say was because he lost a huge pot to Samuel Hunt to all but bust and propel Samuel Hunt into the chip lead.

Hunt opened to 45,000 with [Qd][Qs], Samani shoved for 515,000 with [Ad][Tc] and Hunt called all in for 484,000 total.

The [3d][Ah][Qc][5c][Js] board gave Hunt a huge pot, left Samani short and he was out the next hand in 22nd place.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_samuel_hunt.jpg

Samuel Hunt - chip leader

5:25pm: Cagey stuff
Level 22, Blinds 10,000 - 20,000 (3,000 ante)

Despite the average stack being about 16 big blinds the action is still pretty cagey here. Any shoves aren't getting called and with the stacks quite bunched most pre-flop raises are getting the job done.

5:20pm: Expensive
Level 22, Blinds 10,000 - 20,000 (3,000 ante)

The price of poker has just gone up and the big blind is now the equivalent of what the starting stack was in this tournament.

5:15pm: Chip Funnell
Level 21, Blinds 8,000-16,000(2,000 ante)

William Funnell has been playing a short stack for most of the day and although he just got a much needed double up he's still in short stack territory.

Action folded to Jay Samani in the small blind and the chip leader moved all in for an effective 77,000 with [6d][2s]. Funnell had less than five big blinds so [Ad][6h] was more than enough to call with and his hand held on the [Kh][4h][Qc][As][Qh] board.

5:05pm: Orledge out in 23rd
Level 21, Blinds 8,000-16,000(2,000 ante)

We've lost the Day 1A chip leader as Sam Orledge just went out in 23rd. We missed the action but Chris Gordon told us that Orledge moved all in from early position for around 15-20 big blinds with [A][J] and Krishna Nagaraju called from the small blind with [K][Q].

The flop came king high, but all spades giving Orledge a flush draw. He missed it on the turn and river though. That left him with around three big blinds and he was out shortly after.

4:55pm: Chip counts
Level 21, Blinds 8,000-16,000(2,000 ante)

Below are the chip counts of the 23 remaining players. It's still Jay Samani who leads, he, Elliot Panyi and Samuel Hunt at this point are the other players who've cracked the 500,000 chip barrier. At the other end of the scale there are four players who've got sub 10 big blind stacks.

NameCountryChips
Jay SamaniUnited Kingdom618,000
Elliott PanyiUnited Kingdom530,000
Samuel HuntUnited Kingdom508,000
Andrew KingIreland475,000
Azarya LevyIsrael455,000
Timothy TimotheouUnited Kingdom448,000
Dean PerryUnited Kingdom375,000
Erasmo Marco CrespoSpain350,000
Huy NguyenUnited Kingdom339,000
Kwokwah ManUnited Kingdom316,000
Michael MatarUnited Kingdom305,000
Samuel OrledgeUnited Kingdom296,000
Christopher GordonUnited Kingdom263,000
Krishna NagarajuIndia255,000
Gerhard LillieUnited Kingdom234,000
Jen-Yue ChiangUSA230,000
Michael Cowper-JohnUnited Kingdom223,000
Vincent MosesUnited Kingdom208,000
Gerald CandyUnited Kingdom200,000
Daniel CarielloUnited Kingdom156,000
Alexander SweetingUnited Kingdom142,000
Nicholas CaseUnited Kingdom140,000
William FunnellUnited Kingdom78,000

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_jay_samani.jpg.

Jay Samani

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_chris_gordon2.jpg

Chris Gordon



4:47pm: We're off again
Level 21, Blinds 8,000-16,000(2,000 ante)

Players are back in their seat and action is back under way. The average stack is currently around 20 big blinds.

4:25pm: Break it up
Level 20, Blinds 6,000-12,000(2,000 ante)

Level 20 has just ended and the players are now on a 20 minute break.

4:15pm: Big blind special for Perry
Level 20, Blinds 6,000-12,000(2,000 ante)

On a [6c][Kh][3d] flop Vincent Moses bet 30,000, Jay Samani smooth called on the button only for Dean Perry to check-raise all in from the big blind for around 230,000. Moses tanked before folding and Samani released his hand straight away.

Perry showed [6s][3d] as he took the pot.

4:05pm: Panyi eliminates Crossan in 27th
Level 20, Blinds 6,000-12,000(2,000 ante)

It's always the river.

Elliot Panyi opened to 28,000 from early position, John Crossan then moved all-in and it folded back to Panyi. He asked for a count - the shove was for 88,000 - Panyi didn't seem to like the situation but knew well enough that he was likely priced in as he was getting around 2.5 to 1 on the call.

Call he did, "you're in front," he said as he showed [Jh][Th], Crossan did indeed have the best hand, [Ad][9h] to be precise. The [Qd][4c][7h][4s][Td] board meant Panyi spiked the river to eliminate Crossan and he's up to 540,000 as a result.

Cloudio DeVito is also out, he finished in 26th place and Phil Baker has gone in 25th place.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_elliot_panyi.jpg

Panyi is picking up plenty of pots

3:55pm: Down to 27
Level 19, Blinds 5,000-10,000(1,000 ante)

Just 27 players remain now in this UKIPT Series tournament. The latest players to exit are: Colin Couldrey (28th), Fotis Stoupis (29th), Tom Waterman (30th), Jamie Sanders (31st), Christian Juksch (32nd), James Millman (32nd), David Percik (34th) and Simon Brooks (35th).

The next player out will win £710.

3:45pm: Three (almost four) way all in!
Level 19, Blinds 5,000-10,000(1,000 ante)

Andrew King waved me over to his table and said: "I think this is going to be a good one." It was a solid read by the Irishman.

By this point a lot had already happened. Colin Couldrey had raised to 25,000 from under-the-gun, Christian Jucksch had re-raised all in for 126,000 from under-the-gun+1, King had shoved over the top of that for 140,000 and then Phil Baker had put both of them at risk by re-raising all in for about 250,000.

Action was now back on Couldrey who'd raised from a stack of about 18 big blinds and been shoved on in three spots! He tanked for ages, even flipping a coin, before folding what he said was pocket queens.

Jucksch: [Ah][Ks]
King: [Ac][Ad]
Baker: [Kd][Kh]

Three big hands had collided with King having the best of it. It only got better for him on the [Th][8d][As][Ts][Tc] board as he made a full house. He tripled up to about 480,000, Baker dropped to aroun d 100,000, Jucksch was eliminated in 32nd place and Couldrey lived to fight another day with a stack of 140,000.

3:30pm: Orledge and King still in
Level 19, Blinds 5,000-10,000(1,000 ante)

It's rarer than you'd think for both the Day 1A and Day 1B chip leaders to make the money, but that's what's happened here at The Hippodrome. Sam Orledge - who was the Day 1A chip leader - is still right at the top of the chip counts as he's got 560,000. However his Day 1B counterpart isn't doing as well. Andrew King has roughly 140,000.

3:20pm: New chip in town
Level 18, Blinds 4,000-8,000(1,000 ante)

A 25K chip was introduced at the break, it's a lovely yellow colour making it stand out from the red and blue chips that are also in play.

3:05pm: Out, but in the money
Level 18, Blinds 4,000-8,000(1,000 ante)

We're down to just 35 players now with the average stack at 200,500. The latest in the money finishers are: Seb Parsons (41st), Carlos Del Vigo Gonzalez (40th), Leslie Rycroft (39th), Pradyumna Chand (38th), John O'Donnell (37th) and Daiva Barauskaite (36th).

Parsons and Gonzalez min-cashed for £480, whilst the others picked up £540.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_Daiva_Barauskaite.jpg

Daiva Barauskaite

2:50pm: A few chip counts
Level 17, Blinds 3,000-6,000(1,000 ante)

Here are a few chip counts from around the room:

Chris Gordon - 120,000
Daiva Barauskaite - 58,000
Vincent Moses - 240,000
Timothy Timotheou - 275,000
Dean Perry - 93,000
William Funnell - 52,000

2:40pm: First in the money finishers
Level 17, Blinds 3,000-6,000(1,000 ante)

We've already had six in the money finishers in the opening 15 minutes of this level: Francis Hazelwood (47th), Tingjun Ye (46th), Robbie O'Brien (45th), David Buckley (44th), George Evans (43rd) and Mike Lee (42nd) have all cashed for £480.

2:30pm: Chips
Level 17, Blinds 3,000-6,000(1,000 ante)

We've just updated the chip counts page. It's Jay Samani - who burst the bubble - who leads with 570,000.

2:06pm: Break time
Level 16, Blinds 2,500-5,000(500 ante)

Right. Time to get our breath back. The players are on a 20 minute break.

2:05pm: Shane D'Moirah bubbles the UKIPT Series; O'Brien survives all in on same hand
Level 16, Blinds 2,500-5,000(500 ante)

Almost a double bubble here but Shane D'Moirah is the last player to leave empty handed but there were two all ins on different tables at the same time.

The first involved Robbie O'Brien, who with just 3,500 was forced all in from the big blind. Andrew King raised to 12,000 from early position and everyone else folded to leave them to it. They then had to wait an age for showdown as a big pot involving D'Moirah was brewing on another table.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_robbie_o'brien.jpg

Robbie O'Brien waits for his showdown

In that hand Elliot Panyi opened to 12,500, D'Moirah smooth called and Jay Samani then three-bet to 35,700 from the button. Panyi folded but D'Moirah called. On the [9s][Ad][7d] flop Samani c-bet 41,100 and D'Moirah check-called. The [8h] fell on the turn and D'Moirah moved all in for around 110,000 and Samani snap called.

Back to O'Brien's table as his showdown was first. He was all-in with [Jc][2c] and King held [Kc][8c] the [Jh][2s][Ad][7c][Js] board meant O'Brien made a full house to survive. The pressure was now on D'Moirah.

Samani was first to show, he had [Ac][Th] but was behind to D'Moirah's [9c][8c], which had turned two pair. "I've never wanted to bust someone so much," said Samani. The dealer then revealed the river card which was the [Td].

D'Moirah took the beat incredibly well and shook Samani's hand before leaving the table.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_shane_d'moriah.jpg

Shane D'Moirah (standing - left) watches on as his fate is dealt

1:58pm: Parsons, Timotheou and Crossan survive, Rees exit takes us to the bubble
Level 16, Blinds 2,500-5,000(500 ante)

So much action!

First Seb Parsons moved all in for 28,500 with pocket kings. A fine hand but Vincent Moses had the only one that could beat him - pocket aces. The [Kh][8d][9h][8c][6s] board meant Parsons stayed alive.

So there were still 49 players left when Timothy Timotheou three-bet all-in for 113,200. The action had been opened by Robbie O'Brien, who'd been called in two spots before Timotheou shoved. O'Brien re-raised all in and everyone else folded.

O'Brien: [Jc][Jh]
Timotheou: [Kh][Kd]

The kings held on the [4d][Qc][2h][3d][9d] board and O'Brien was left with just 4,000 and he had just one hand until he'd be forced all-in from the big blind.

Meanwhile though John Crossan had three-bet shoved for 73,800 with [8s][8h] and got a call from Tingjun Ye, who held pocket fours. A [6d][2h][Kh][7d][6s] board meant Crossan also survived.

However, George Rees would not be so lucky his [Q][J] flopped best against Nicholas Case's [K][Q] but a king on the river sent him to the rail.

We're on the bubble.

1:50pm: Phil Baker is in!
Level 16, Blinds 2,500-5,000(500 ante)

Apologies to Phil Baker's mum. Earlier we reported that he was out when he is in fact very much in. Sorry Mrs Baker.

1:45pm: Almost bubble time
Level 16, Blinds 2,500-5,000(500 ante)

We're oh so close the bubble here. 50 players remain and 47 get paid. There's 16 minutes until the first break, will it burst before then?

1:40pm: Getting closer to the money
Level 16, Blinds 2,500-5,000(500 ante)

The bubble gets ever closer as: James Price, Pierre Khoury, Vimal Patel, Mark Hitchens, Daniel Bland, Bujar Rajta, Thomas Willoughby, Mia Liu, Stefanos Moysidis, John-Paul Santos, Dominic Wells. William Lewis, David Tompkins, Julian Daley and Maxim Syn have all been knocked out.

1:25pm: Vinnicombe vanquished by Tom Waterman
Level 15, Blinds 2,000-4,000(500 ante)

Tom Waterman is up to 160,000 after winning a race to eliminate James Vinnicombe. The short stack got it in good with pocket sixes against the [A][Q] of Waterman but an ace on the board sent him to the rail.

1:10pm: Lots of exits; 65 players left
Level 15, Blinds 2,000-4,000(500 ante)

Many exits to tell you about now. For fans of: Mirko Mostaccio, Leslie Lamnea, Tom Dickenson, Mark Jefferies, Onur Guven, Thomas Bloomfield, Rahim Tadj-Saadat, Rob Munro, Fernando Berlanga, Anthony Wickert, Karol Podsiadio, Chris Gilbert, Philip Marcu, Noel Broadbent, Stuart Bayford, Steven Mayne, Steve Goose, Justin Kyrakidas and Barry Warden it's bad news as they're all out.

65 players remain.

1pm: Huge double for Stoupis
Level 14, Blinds 1,500-3,000(300 ante)

Day 1A chip leader Samuel Orledge just took a big hit that in the process doubled Fotis Stoupis to almost 200,000.

Orledge opened to 6,600, Stoupis re-raised to 24,000, Orledge tanked and then moved all in and Stoupis snap called.

Orledge: [Ad][Jc]
Stoupis: [Ac][Ah]

The Greek player was all in for 95,800 and the aces held on the [7h][2h][7d][Jd][9d] board. Orledge had gained some chips today but drops back to around 105,000 as a result of that hand.

12:50pm: Funnell felts Taylor
Level 14, Blinds 1,500-3,000(300 ante)

Down to just 21,700 Simon Taylor moved all in from middle position for 21,700 and William Funnell - who was to his immediate left - re-raised all-in for about 50,000 and everyone else folded.

Funnell: [Qd][Qh]
Taylor: [8s][7s]

Both players stood as the [Kh][9d][7c][3c][Td] board came down and they shook hands as Taylor departed.

12:40pm: More fallers
Level 14, Blinds 1,500-3,000(300 ante)

There was no way back for Luke Cameron after he doubled up William Funnell (see 12:10pm post). He's one of the early fallers here on Day 2 and joins: Mark Williamson, David Barnes, Ricky Davies, John Lucarotti, Jamie Pugh, Andrea Scappazzoni, Chaminda Tennakoon, Rob Crawford and Joshua Varghese on the rail.

12:30pm: Ace double for Rees
Level 13, Blinds 1,200-2,400(300 ante)

In level one of this tournament George Rees caught lightning in a bottle when he made a royal flush. In level 13 he found aces to double up.

Shane D'Moriah opened from the hijack, Rees shoved for 38,500 from the cut-off and when it folded back to D'Moriah he called with pocket eights. The [3c][9h][Js][6d][Kc] board kept the aces in front and kept Rees in the tournament.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_george_rees.jpg

Aces kept Rees in it

12:20pm: Exits
Level 13, Blinds 1,200-2,400(300 ante)

The start of Day 2 is usually carnage and in the opening 20 minutes 10 players have been eliminated. They include: Jeff Barron, Line Olsen, Carl Davies, Philip Baker and Adriano Soares.

12:10pm: Funnell gets chips
Level 13, Blinds 1,200-2,400(300 ante)

From early position John O'Donnell opened to 5,500, Luke Cameron then three-bet to 12,500 and action passed to William Funnell. He asked Cameron how much he was playing and then moved all-in for 28,800, That got rid of O'Donnell but Cameron thought for a bit before making the call.

Funnell: [As][Ac]
Cameron: [9h][9c]

The board came [Kd][2d][Ks][7h][7c] and Funnell more than doubled up to around 65,000 whilst Cameron is down to about 17,000.

"Were you thinking about folding?" asked Funnell.
"I was, but I was priced in," replied Cameron.

12:02pm: Action is go
Level 13, Blinds 1,200-2,400(300 ante)

Almost bang on time the action has started.

11:50am: The Series is about to get serious
The prelims are over, this is the real thing. Sure the 106 players who've made it to Day 2 can give themselves a pat on the back for outlasting the 245 players who've been eliminated but that's about it. 59 of those who're back today will suffer the same fate, that is they'll leave empty handed.

For the other 47 they'll have some financial reward for their efforts, a minimum of £480, rising all the way to £16,590 should they be the last man or woman sitting. You can see the You can see the entire payout structure here.

The man who's sitting in pole position right now is Andrew King. He won a 160,000 chip pot on the final hand of Day 1B to finish on 201,600. He was the only player to break the 200,000 chip mark, but others who'll be back today include: Sam Orledge (170,900), Chris Gordon (148,000) Elliot Panyi (139,300) and Daiva Barauskaite (78,700).

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_chris_gordon.jpg

Chris Gordon

Cards are in the air at noon.

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PokerStars Blog Reporting Team at UKIPT Series: Nick Wright. Photos by Mickey May








































































































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UKIPT5 Series 3 Day 2: Level 13-28 updates (40,000 - 80,000, 10,000 ante)
^

Final table time! Six players remain and you can see the current chip counts right here.

Check out who's finished where so far here

9:15pm: Gerald Candy eliminated in fifth place (£5,040)
Level 27, Blinds 30,000 - 60,000 (10,000 ante)

Elliot Panyi went to fold his hand thinking he was under-the-gun but he was in fact the big blind. Not everyone saw this, which would perhaps prove crucial later to the outcome of the hand. It passed to Gerald Candy on the button and he shoved for 440,000.

He was one of the players who hadn't seen Panyi's action and after Levy folded Panyi got a count and then said: "I've got a hand that if it was a pip or two higher I'd have already called but with this I'm not sure." He then cut out the calling chips and put them over the line.

Candy: [Kd][2c]
Panyi: [Qs][Td]

"What a dream. I can't ask for more than that," said Candy. But it turned into a nightmare for him on the [Kh][3d][4h][Jh][9s] board.

9:05pm: Michael Matar eliminated in sixth place (£3,850)
Level 27, Blinds 30,000 - 60,000 (10,000 ante)

PokerStars Qualifier Michael Matar has quite the ROI% from this event as he got in on the cheap and then cashed for £3,850.

His elimination was a two-parter. In part one of two he shoved from under-the-gun for around 400,000 with [9s][7s] and walked into William Funnell's [As][Kh]. The [Kc][6h][6d][3h][5d] board gave the pot to Funnell, who had started the hand with just 300,000.

So Matar was down to dust, yet he still got a walk from Azarya Levy on the next hand but it was just a temporary reprieve. On the next hand he shoved from the small blind with [Qd][2d] and Elliot Panyi called with [Ac][Qh]. He didn't even get a sweat on the [4d][Kh][9s][5s][9d] board.

Funnell is up to about 700,000, whilst Panyi continues to hold the chip lead.

8:55pm: Nicholas Case eliminated in seventh place (£2,830)
Level 27, Blinds 30,000 - 60,000 (10,000 ante)

Azarya Levy has been quietly building a stack but he's not going to fly under the radar any more as he's up to 1,600,000 after eliminating Nicholas Case.

The Israeli opened to 200,000 with [Ah][Kh] and called when Case moved all-in for around 700,000 with [Ad][Qs]. A [Tc][7s][6h][4c][7c] board kept Levy in front.

Six left.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_nicholas_case.jpg

Nicholas Case

8:45pm: Double up for Funnell
Level 27, Blinds 30,000 - 60,000 (10,000 ante)

Down to just 165,000 William Funnell moved all in from under-the-gun with [Qh][Qd]. It folded all the way to Nicholas Case in the big blind and with 60,000 in there he felt priced in to call with [4h][2d].

A [Qs][4s][Js][Th][8c] board kept Funnell in front and he doubled his micro stack to a short stack.

8:35pm: Dean Perry eliminated in eighth place (£2,088)
Level 26, Blinds 25,000 - 50,000 (5,000 ante)

Having raise folded on the previous hand, Dean Perry moved all in for 210,000 and got a call from Nicholas Case.

Perry: [Ah][Qh]
Case: [Ad][Kc]

Perry threw his head back when he saw that he was dominated and it didn't get any better for him on the [8h][3c][9s][6c][Kh] board and he was eliminated in eighth place.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_dean_perry.jpg

Dean Perry - out in eighth

8:25pm: Final table chip counts
Level 26, Blinds 25,000 - 50,000 (5,000 ante)

The final eight are in their seats and action has restarted

SeatNameCountryChips
1William FunnellUnited Kingdom224,000
2Kwokwah ManUnited Kingdom1,470,000
3Gerald CandyUnited Kingdom440,000
4Dean PerryUnited Kingdom435,000
5Azarya LevyIsrael905,000
6Michael MatarUnited Kingdom745,000
7Elliott PanyiUnited Kingdom2,140,000
8Nicholas CaseUnited Kingdom485,000

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_the_final_eight.jpg

The elite eight



8:15pm: Marco Erasmo eliminated in ninth place (£1,700)
Level 26, Blinds 25,000 - 50,000 (5,000 ante)

The final table is set!

Down to just 175,000 Marco Erasmo moved in from middle position holding [Ad][Th] and Kwokwah Man smooth called with [Ac][Jc]. The [8h][Jh][4c][2s][8d] board favoured the bigger stack and the Spaniard is out in ninth.

There's now a short break for final table photos, during which we hope to get official final table chip counts.

8:05pm: Still nine
Level 26, Blinds 25,000 - 50,000 (5,000 ante)

There have been no major pots at the unofficial final table as of yet. Any all in has gone uncalled and there's only been one showdown, which was a small pot between Elliot Panyi and Kwokwah Man

7:55pm: Unofficial final table line-up
Level 25, Blinds 20,000 - 40,000 (5,000 ante)

It's the 'photo bubble' the nine remaining players have made the unofficial final table, when one more player is knocked out the action will be paused and the official final table photos will take place.

SeatNameCountryChips
1Marco Erasmo Spain425,000
2William FunnellUnited Kingdom470,000
3Kwokwah ManUnited Kingdom830,000
4Gerald CandyUnited Kingdom320,000
5Dean PerryUnited Kingdom550,000
6Azarya LevyIsrael1,000,000
7Michael MatarUnited Kingdom455,000
8Elliott PanyiUnited Kingdom2,300,000
9Nicholas CaseUnited Kingdom555,000

7:45pm: Jen-Yue Chiang eliminated in 10th place (£1,430)
Level 25, Blinds 20,000 - 40,000 (5,000 ante)

Dean Perry shoved all in from early position with [Js][Ts] and Jen-Yue Chiang called all in for right on 225,000 with [7s][7h].

A [6h][8h][Qs][Jh][Ad] board gave the pot to Perry. He had just over 300,000 to start the hand and so Chiang is out in tenth place and the unofficial final table is now set.

Whilst he was losing that hand, William Funnell doubled through Elliot Panyi with [Ac][Qd] against [Ks][Qs]. Funnell had 235,000 to start the hand.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_Jen-Yue Chiang.jpg

Dragomir dominated the last event

Jen-Yue Chiang

7:35pm: Timothy Timotheou eliminated in 11th place (£1,430)
Level 25, Blinds 20,000 - 40,000 (5,000 ante)

Down to around eight big blinds Timothy Timotheou shoved all in from the small blind with [6c][5d] and Azarya Levy woke up with pocket queens in the big blind. The [7h][4s][Ks] flop gave Timotheou a straight draw, but he missed it on the [9d] turn and [Ac] river.

We're now on the unofficial final table bubble.

7:30pm: Samuel Hunt eliminated in 12th place (£1,260)
Level 25, Blinds 20,000 - 40,000 (5,000 ante)

Azarya Levy limped from mid position, Sam Hunt then shoved all in for about 350,000 and Levy made the call.

Hunt: [9s][7s]
Levy: [As][5s]

The [Ac][4d][8s][Kc][3s] board meant Levy's hand held and he just had Hunt covered.

7:30pm: Back at it
Level 25, Blinds 20,000 - 40,000 (5,000 ante)

Cards are back in the air.

7:25pm: Chip counts of the final 12
Level 25, Blinds 20,000 - 40,000 (5,000 ante)

As you can see below Elliot Panyi still has a big chip lead with more than three times his closest challenger. Everyone bar him and Kwokwah Man have under 20 big blinds. The final table may not be far off.

NameCountryChips
Elliott PanyiUnited Kingdom2,500,000
Kwokwah ManUnited Kingdom830,000
Nicholas CaseUnited Kingdom590,000
Michael MatarUnited Kingdom455,000
Marco Erasmo Spain425,000
Timothy TimotheouUnited Kingdom400,000
Samuel HuntUnited Kingdom390,000
Dean PerryUnited Kingdom380,000
Azarya LevyIsrael365,000
Gerald CandyUnited Kingdom320,000
William FunnellUnited Kingdom285,000
Jen-Yue ChiangUSA105,000

6:45pm: Dinner break
Level 24, Blinds 15,000 - 30,000 (4,000 ante)

The players are now on a 40 minute dinner break. Play will resume at 7.25pm.

6:40pm: Case can't rest yet
Level 24, Blinds 15,000 - 30,000 (4,000 ante)

Another double up to tell you about now, this time it was Nicholas Case who got a boost.

It folded to Gerald Candy on the button and he shoved for an effective 319,000 with [Qc][Ts], the small blind folded but Case called all in with [As][Jh]. The board came [3d][2h][Kc][4h][Ad] and Case doubled to around 650,000 whilst Candy dropped to about 350,000.

6:35pm: Panyi powers on
Level 24, Blinds 15,000 - 30,000 (4,000 ante)

Elliot Panyi has a ridiculously big chip lead at the moment. He's got almost two million more than his nearest competitor as he won a big pot against Samuel Hunt, who was the second biggest stack in the room. This is how the final 12 stack up, all counts are approximate. We'll be getting 100% accurate counts on the next break in 10 minutes.

NameCountryChips
Elliott PanyiUnited Kingdom2,600,000
Gerald CandyUnited Kingdom660,000
Kwokwah ManUnited Kingdom525,000
Dean PerryUnited Kingdom520,000
Timothy TimotheouUnited Kingdom420,000
Samuel HuntUnited Kingdom330,000
Azarya LevyIsrael325,000
Michael MatarUnited Kingdom280,000
William FunnellUnited Kingdom270,000
Nicholas CaseUnited Kingdom232,000
Jen-Yue ChiangUSA230,000
Erasmo Marco CrespoSpain200,000
UKIPT5_Series3_day2_timothy_timotheou.jpg
Timothy Timotheou

6:25pm: Double up for Candy
Level 24, Blinds 15,000 - 30,000 (4,000 ante)

Whilst Elliot Panyi is dominating proceedings on table 1, Dean Perry is doing likewise on table two. He bluffed Jen-Yue Chiang off a pot to climb to 850,000 but then lost some back to Gerald Candy. Perry opened to 75,000 with pocket nines, Candy shoved for 319,000 with [Kd][Qh] and Perry called it off.

The [6h][3c][Qd][Ad][Qs] board doubled Candy to 660,000 and amazingly that's good for second spot right now.

6:15pm: Payouts page
Level 23, Blinds 12,000 - 24,000 (3,000 ante)

We've just updated the prize pool and payouts page. Check it out here.

5:55pm: Elliot Panyi scores double knockout; now massive chip leader
Level 23, Blinds 12,000 - 24,000 (3,000 ante)

Oh boy. How'd you like to hear about a 1,500,000 chip pot? Thought so.

From under-the-gun Huy Nguyen opened to 55,000, Elliot Panyi then three-bet to 123,000 from under-the-gun+2 only for Krishna Nagaraju to four-bet all in for just over 500,000. Action passed pack to Nguyen, who had about 485,000 in total. He tanked for about five minutes before calling all in. Panyi, who had both players covered with about 850,000, took a look back at his cards and called.

Panyi: [Ah][As]
Nagaraju: [Kc][Kd]
Nguyen: [Jc][Jh]

"I don't even want these spots," said Panyi. "This is an ICM disaster, I'm not even favourite to win the hand."

What Panyi meant was that between the other two players they had as much equity as he did. He was wrong about that though as he still had 66% equity in the hand and held up on the [6c][7c][Ts][2c][2h] board to send two players out and climb to around 1,800,000. By virtue of having more chips Nagaruju finished 16th and Nguyen 17th.

Whilst that hand was playing out Andrew King (18th) was eliminated on the other table and Vincent Moses (19th) is also out.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_elliot_panyi2.jpg

Panyi has over 25% of the chips in play

5:45pm: Gordon's run ends in 20th place
Level 22, Blinds 10,000 - 20,000 (3,000 ante)

It's been a good first outing as a member of Team PokerStars LIVE at The Hippodrome Casino but it could've been even better had he managed to get there in a hand against Kwokwah Man. The latter opened to 45,000 from late position, Gordon three-bet shoved for 353,000 from the big blind with [As][Td] and Man called off with pocket kings.

The [4s][5s][Jh][5d][2s] board kept Man in front and left Gordon will less than a big blind. Despite getting a triple up on the very next hand, he couldn't repeat the trick and was eliminated a hand later in 20th place.

5:40pm: Sweeting's tournament soured
Level 22, Blinds 10,000 - 20,000 (3,000 ante)

Down to just 83,000 Alexander Sweeting moved all in with [Ks][4c] and Elliot Panyi gave him a spin from the big blind with [Ah][2c]. The [Qh][Ac][3c][8h][Kh] board kept Panyi in front and sent Sweeting to the rail in 21st place.

5:35pm: Samani out, Hunt over one million
Level 22, Blinds 10,000 - 20,000 (3,000 ante)

Jay Samani was the chip leader. I say was because he lost a huge pot to Samuel Hunt to all but bust and propel Samuel Hunt into the chip lead.

Hunt opened to 45,000 with [Qd][Qs], Samani shoved for 515,000 with [Ad][Tc] and Hunt called all in for 484,000 total.

The [3d][Ah][Qc][5c][Js] board gave Hunt a huge pot, left Samani short and he was out the next hand in 22nd place.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_samuel_hunt.jpg

Samuel Hunt - chip leader

5:25pm: Cagey stuff
Level 22, Blinds 10,000 - 20,000 (3,000 ante)

Despite the average stack being about 16 big blinds the action is still pretty cagey here. Any shoves aren't getting called and with the stacks quite bunched most pre-flop raises are getting the job done.

5:20pm: Expensive
Level 22, Blinds 10,000 - 20,000 (3,000 ante)

The price of poker has just gone up and the big blind is now the equivalent of what the starting stack was in this tournament.

5:15pm: Chip Funnell
Level 21, Blinds 8,000-16,000(2,000 ante)

William Funnell has been playing a short stack for most of the day and although he just got a much needed double up he's still in short stack territory.

Action folded to Jay Samani in the small blind and the chip leader moved all in for an effective 77,000 with [6d][2s]. Funnell had less than five big blinds so [Ad][6h] was more than enough to call with and his hand held on the [Kh][4h][Qc][As][Qh] board.

5:05pm: Orledge out in 23rd
Level 21, Blinds 8,000-16,000(2,000 ante)

We've lost the Day 1A chip leader as Sam Orledge just went out in 23rd. We missed the action but Chris Gordon told us that Orledge moved all in from early position for around 15-20 big blinds with [A][J] and Krishna Nagaraju called from the small blind with [K][Q].

The flop came king high, but all spades giving Orledge a flush draw. He missed it on the turn and river though. That left him with around three big blinds and he was out shortly after.

4:55pm: Chip counts
Level 21, Blinds 8,000-16,000(2,000 ante)

Below are the chip counts of the 23 remaining players. It's still Jay Samani who leads, he, Elliot Panyi and Samuel Hunt at this point are the other players who've cracked the 500,000 chip barrier. At the other end of the scale there are four players who've got sub 10 big blind stacks.

NameCountryChips
Jay SamaniUnited Kingdom618,000
Elliott PanyiUnited Kingdom530,000
Samuel HuntUnited Kingdom508,000
Andrew KingIreland475,000
Azarya LevyIsrael455,000
Timothy TimotheouUnited Kingdom448,000
Dean PerryUnited Kingdom375,000
Erasmo Marco CrespoSpain350,000
Huy NguyenUnited Kingdom339,000
Kwokwah ManUnited Kingdom316,000
Michael MatarUnited Kingdom305,000
Samuel OrledgeUnited Kingdom296,000
Christopher GordonUnited Kingdom263,000
Krishna NagarajuIndia255,000
Gerhard LillieUnited Kingdom234,000
Jen-Yue ChiangUSA230,000
Michael Cowper-JohnUnited Kingdom223,000
Vincent MosesUnited Kingdom208,000
Gerald CandyUnited Kingdom200,000
Daniel CarielloUnited Kingdom156,000
Alexander SweetingUnited Kingdom142,000
Nicholas CaseUnited Kingdom140,000
William FunnellUnited Kingdom78,000

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_jay_samani.jpg.

Jay Samani

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_chris_gordon2.jpg

Chris Gordon



4:47pm: We're off again
Level 21, Blinds 8,000-16,000(2,000 ante)

Players are back in their seat and action is back under way. The average stack is currently around 20 big blinds.

4:25pm: Break it up
Level 20, Blinds 6,000-12,000(2,000 ante)

Level 20 has just ended and the players are now on a 20 minute break.

4:15pm: Big blind special for Perry
Level 20, Blinds 6,000-12,000(2,000 ante)

On a [6c][Kh][3d] flop Vincent Moses bet 30,000, Jay Samani smooth called on the button only for Dean Perry to check-raise all in from the big blind for around 230,000. Moses tanked before folding and Samani released his hand straight away.

Perry showed [6s][3d] as he took the pot.

4:05pm: Panyi eliminates Crossan in 27th
Level 20, Blinds 6,000-12,000(2,000 ante)

It's always the river.

Elliot Panyi opened to 28,000 from early position, John Crossan then moved all-in and it folded back to Panyi. He asked for a count - the shove was for 88,000 - Panyi didn't seem to like the situation but knew well enough that he was likely priced in as he was getting around 2.5 to 1 on the call.

Call he did, "you're in front," he said as he showed [Jh][Th], Crossan did indeed have the best hand, [Ad][9h] to be precise. The [Qd][4c][7h][4s][Td] board meant Panyi spiked the river to eliminate Crossan and he's up to 540,000 as a result.

Cloudio DeVito is also out, he finished in 26th place and Phil Baker has gone in 25th place.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_elliot_panyi.jpg

Panyi is picking up plenty of pots

3:55pm: Down to 27
Level 19, Blinds 5,000-10,000(1,000 ante)

Just 27 players remain now in this UKIPT Series tournament. The latest players to exit are: Colin Couldrey (28th), Fotis Stoupis (29th), Tom Waterman (30th), Jamie Sanders (31st), Christian Juksch (32nd), James Millman (32nd), David Percik (34th) and Simon Brooks (35th).

The next player out will win £710.

3:45pm: Three (almost four) way all in!
Level 19, Blinds 5,000-10,000(1,000 ante)

Andrew King waved me over to his table and said: "I think this is going to be a good one." It was a solid read by the Irishman.

By this point a lot had already happened. Colin Couldrey had raised to 25,000 from under-the-gun, Christian Jucksch had re-raised all in for 126,000 from under-the-gun+1, King had shoved over the top of that for 140,000 and then Phil Baker had put both of them at risk by re-raising all in for about 250,000.

Action was now back on Couldrey who'd raised from a stack of about 18 big blinds and been shoved on in three spots! He tanked for ages, even flipping a coin, before folding what he said was pocket queens.

Jucksch: [Ah][Ks]
King: [Ac][Ad]
Baker: [Kd][Kh]

Three big hands had collided with King having the best of it. It only got better for him on the [Th][8d][As][Ts][Tc] board as he made a full house. He tripled up to about 480,000, Baker dropped to aroun d 100,000, Jucksch was eliminated in 32nd place and Couldrey lived to fight another day with a stack of 140,000.

3:30pm: Orledge and King still in
Level 19, Blinds 5,000-10,000(1,000 ante)

It's rarer than you'd think for both the Day 1A and Day 1B chip leaders to make the money, but that's what's happened here at The Hippodrome. Sam Orledge - who was the Day 1A chip leader - is still right at the top of the chip counts as he's got 560,000. However his Day 1B counterpart isn't doing as well. Andrew King has roughly 140,000.

3:20pm: New chip in town
Level 18, Blinds 4,000-8,000(1,000 ante)

A 25K chip was introduced at the break, it's a lovely yellow colour making it stand out from the red and blue chips that are also in play.

3:05pm: Out, but in the money
Level 18, Blinds 4,000-8,000(1,000 ante)

We're down to just 35 players now with the average stack at 200,500. The latest in the money finishers are: Seb Parsons (41st), Carlos Del Vigo Gonzalez (40th), Leslie Rycroft (39th), Pradyumna Chand (38th), John O'Donnell (37th) and Daiva Barauskaite (36th).

Parsons and Gonzalez min-cashed for £480, whilst the others picked up £540.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_Daiva_Barauskaite.jpg

Daiva Barauskaite

2:50pm: A few chip counts
Level 17, Blinds 3,000-6,000(1,000 ante)

Here are a few chip counts from around the room:

Chris Gordon - 120,000
Daiva Barauskaite - 58,000
Vincent Moses - 240,000
Timothy Timotheou - 275,000
Dean Perry - 93,000
William Funnell - 52,000

2:40pm: First in the money finishers
Level 17, Blinds 3,000-6,000(1,000 ante)

We've already had six in the money finishers in the opening 15 minutes of this level: Francis Hazelwood (47th), Tingjun Ye (46th), Robbie O'Brien (45th), David Buckley (44th), George Evans (43rd) and Mike Lee (42nd) have all cashed for £480.

2:30pm: Chips
Level 17, Blinds 3,000-6,000(1,000 ante)

We've just updated the chip counts page. It's Jay Samani - who burst the bubble - who leads with 570,000.

2:06pm: Break time
Level 16, Blinds 2,500-5,000(500 ante)

Right. Time to get our breath back. The players are on a 20 minute break.

2:05pm: Shane D'Moirah bubbles the UKIPT Series; O'Brien survives all in on same hand
Level 16, Blinds 2,500-5,000(500 ante)

Almost a double bubble here but Shane D'Moirah is the last player to leave empty handed but there were two all ins on different tables at the same time.

The first involved Robbie O'Brien, who with just 3,500 was forced all in from the big blind. Andrew King raised to 12,000 from early position and everyone else folded to leave them to it. They then had to wait an age for showdown as a big pot involving D'Moirah was brewing on another table.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_robbie_o'brien.jpg

Robbie O'Brien waits for his showdown

In that hand Elliot Panyi opened to 12,500, D'Moirah smooth called and Jay Samani then three-bet to 35,700 from the button. Panyi folded but D'Moirah called. On the [9s][Ad][7d] flop Samani c-bet 41,100 and D'Moirah check-called. The [8h] fell on the turn and D'Moirah moved all in for around 110,000 and Samani snap called.

Back to O'Brien's table as his showdown was first. He was all-in with [Jc][2c] and King held [Kc][8c] the [Jh][2s][Ad][7c][Js] board meant O'Brien made a full house to survive. The pressure was now on D'Moirah.

Samani was first to show, he had [Ac][Th] but was behind to D'Moirah's [9c][8c], which had turned two pair. "I've never wanted to bust someone so much," said Samani. The dealer then revealed the river card which was the [Td].

D'Moirah took the beat incredibly well and shook Samani's hand before leaving the table.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_shane_d'moriah.jpg

Shane D'Moirah (standing - left) watches on as his fate is dealt

1:58pm: Parsons, Timotheou and Crossan survive, Rees exit takes us to the bubble
Level 16, Blinds 2,500-5,000(500 ante)

So much action!

First Seb Parsons moved all in for 28,500 with pocket kings. A fine hand but Vincent Moses had the only one that could beat him - pocket aces. The [Kh][8d][9h][8c][6s] board meant Parsons stayed alive.

So there were still 49 players left when Timothy Timotheou three-bet all-in for 113,200. The action had been opened by Robbie O'Brien, who'd been called in two spots before Timotheou shoved. O'Brien re-raised all in and everyone else folded.

O'Brien: [Jc][Jh]
Timotheou: [Kh][Kd]

The kings held on the [4d][Qc][2h][3d][9d] board and O'Brien was left with just 4,000 and he had just one hand until he'd be forced all-in from the big blind.

Meanwhile though John Crossan had three-bet shoved for 73,800 with [8s][8h] and got a call from Tingjun Ye, who held pocket fours. A [6d][2h][Kh][7d][6s] board meant Crossan also survived.

However, George Rees would not be so lucky his [Q][J] flopped best against Nicholas Case's [K][Q] but a king on the river sent him to the rail.

We're on the bubble.

1:50pm: Phil Baker is in!
Level 16, Blinds 2,500-5,000(500 ante)

Apologies to Phil Baker's mum. Earlier we reported that he was out when he is in fact very much in. Sorry Mrs Baker.

1:45pm: Almost bubble time
Level 16, Blinds 2,500-5,000(500 ante)

We're oh so close the bubble here. 50 players remain and 47 get paid. There's 16 minutes until the first break, will it burst before then?

1:40pm: Getting closer to the money
Level 16, Blinds 2,500-5,000(500 ante)

The bubble gets ever closer as: James Price, Pierre Khoury, Vimal Patel, Mark Hitchens, Daniel Bland, Bujar Rajta, Thomas Willoughby, Mia Liu, Stefanos Moysidis, John-Paul Santos, Dominic Wells. William Lewis, David Tompkins, Julian Daley and Maxim Syn have all been knocked out.

1:25pm: Vinnicombe vanquished by Tom Waterman
Level 15, Blinds 2,000-4,000(500 ante)

Tom Waterman is up to 160,000 after winning a race to eliminate James Vinnicombe. The short stack got it in good with pocket sixes against the [A][Q] of Waterman but an ace on the board sent him to the rail.

1:10pm: Lots of exits; 65 players left
Level 15, Blinds 2,000-4,000(500 ante)

Many exits to tell you about now. For fans of: Mirko Mostaccio, Leslie Lamnea, Tom Dickenson, Mark Jefferies, Onur Guven, Thomas Bloomfield, Rahim Tadj-Saadat, Rob Munro, Fernando Berlanga, Anthony Wickert, Karol Podsiadio, Chris Gilbert, Philip Marcu, Noel Broadbent, Stuart Bayford, Steven Mayne, Steve Goose, Justin Kyrakidas and Barry Warden it's bad news as they're all out.

65 players remain.

1pm: Huge double for Stoupis
Level 14, Blinds 1,500-3,000(300 ante)

Day 1A chip leader Samuel Orledge just took a big hit that in the process doubled Fotis Stoupis to almost 200,000.

Orledge opened to 6,600, Stoupis re-raised to 24,000, Orledge tanked and then moved all in and Stoupis snap called.

Orledge: [Ad][Jc]
Stoupis: [Ac][Ah]

The Greek player was all in for 95,800 and the aces held on the [7h][2h][7d][Jd][9d] board. Orledge had gained some chips today but drops back to around 105,000 as a result of that hand.

12:50pm: Funnell felts Taylor
Level 14, Blinds 1,500-3,000(300 ante)

Down to just 21,700 Simon Taylor moved all in from middle position for 21,700 and William Funnell - who was to his immediate left - re-raised all-in for about 50,000 and everyone else folded.

Funnell: [Qd][Qh]
Taylor: [8s][7s]

Both players stood as the [Kh][9d][7c][3c][Td] board came down and they shook hands as Taylor departed.

12:40pm: More fallers
Level 14, Blinds 1,500-3,000(300 ante)

There was no way back for Luke Cameron after he doubled up William Funnell (see 12:10pm post). He's one of the early fallers here on Day 2 and joins: Mark Williamson, David Barnes, Ricky Davies, John Lucarotti, Jamie Pugh, Andrea Scappazzoni, Chaminda Tennakoon, Rob Crawford and Joshua Varghese on the rail.

12:30pm: Ace double for Rees
Level 13, Blinds 1,200-2,400(300 ante)

In level one of this tournament George Rees caught lightning in a bottle when he made a royal flush. In level 13 he found aces to double up.

Shane D'Moriah opened from the hijack, Rees shoved for 38,500 from the cut-off and when it folded back to D'Moriah he called with pocket eights. The [3c][9h][Js][6d][Kc] board kept the aces in front and kept Rees in the tournament.

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_george_rees.jpg

Aces kept Rees in it

12:20pm: Exits
Level 13, Blinds 1,200-2,400(300 ante)

The start of Day 2 is usually carnage and in the opening 20 minutes 10 players have been eliminated. They include: Jeff Barron, Line Olsen, Carl Davies, Philip Baker and Adriano Soares.

12:10pm: Funnell gets chips
Level 13, Blinds 1,200-2,400(300 ante)

From early position John O'Donnell opened to 5,500, Luke Cameron then three-bet to 12,500 and action passed to William Funnell. He asked Cameron how much he was playing and then moved all-in for 28,800, That got rid of O'Donnell but Cameron thought for a bit before making the call.

Funnell: [As][Ac]
Cameron: [9h][9c]

The board came [Kd][2d][Ks][7h][7c] and Funnell more than doubled up to around 65,000 whilst Cameron is down to about 17,000.

"Were you thinking about folding?" asked Funnell.
"I was, but I was priced in," replied Cameron.

12:02pm: Action is go
Level 13, Blinds 1,200-2,400(300 ante)

Almost bang on time the action has started.

11:50am: The Series is about to get serious
The prelims are over, this is the real thing. Sure the 106 players who've made it to Day 2 can give themselves a pat on the back for outlasting the 245 players who've been eliminated but that's about it. 59 of those who're back today will suffer the same fate, that is they'll leave empty handed.

For the other 47 they'll have some financial reward for their efforts, a minimum of £480, rising all the way to £16,590 should they be the last man or woman sitting. You can see the You can see the entire payout structure here.

The man who's sitting in pole position right now is Andrew King. He won a 160,000 chip pot on the final hand of Day 1B to finish on 201,600. He was the only player to break the 200,000 chip mark, but others who'll be back today include: Sam Orledge (170,900), Chris Gordon (148,000) Elliot Panyi (139,300) and Daiva Barauskaite (78,700).

UKIPT5_Series3_day2_chris_gordon.jpg

Chris Gordon

Cards are in the air at noon.

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PokerStars Blog Reporting Team at UKIPT Series: Nick Wright. Photos by Mickey May

















































































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Ari Engel is the Aussie Millions Main Event Champion!!
Ari Engel is the Aussie Millions Main Event Champion!! | PokerNews

Ari Engel bested a huge field and a stellar final table to capture the Aussie Millions title.

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Aussie Millions 2016: Final Table Live Updates
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9:30pm: Dinner break

The tournament clock has been paused as players have agreed to stop for a dinner break. They'll be back in 45 minutes for the conclusion of this exciting heads up match.

2016 aussie millions heads up.jpg

9:20pm: Dunst doubles
Level 31: 80,000/160,000 (20,000)

The stack of Tony Dunst had been starting to slowly dwindle but he just made a huge comeback in the most recent hand.

Dunst raised the button with [ah][7d] to 325,000 and Ari Engel defended his big blind with [7c][4c].

The flop came [as][5c][2d] and Engel check-called a bet of 325,000 to see the [6c] turn.

Engel checked again and Dunst continued for 600,000. It was then that Engel moved all in over the top with enough to cover Dunst's 4,200,000 behind. Dunst was clearly torn over his decision, counting out his stack and rechecking his cards.

After a couple of minutes Dunst slammed in chips for a call and saw he was in front but still in danger against Engel's huge draw.

Any club, any three or any eight would've ended the tournament right there but the [7h] river meant Dunst would double up and bring things almost back to even again.

9:00pm: Back to the action!

We're back at it here with only two remaining.

Who will take home the $1.6 million and the Aussie Millions title?

Blinds resume at 80,000/160,000 with a 20,000 ante.


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8:45pm: Scheduled break

This epic heads up clash has just reached another 15-minute scheduled break. We'll be back momentarily.

8:30pm: Engel floats
Level 30: Blinds 60,000/120,000 (20,000)

Ari Engel opened with a raise from the button to 265,000 holding [ts][7s] before Tony Dunst made a three-bet with a rather less-than-premium [ks][4c]. Engel made the call to see a flop of [kh][6s][2c].

With top pair, Dunst led out for 650,000. Engel had a whole lot of nothing but he floated with his ten-high to see the [5h] appear on the turn.

Dunst checked it over to Engel who set his plan into motion with a bet of 550,000. Dunst stuck around with his pair of kings and improved to two pair on the [4h] river.

Again Dunst tapped the table and Engel had a decision whether to continue to tell the story with his ten-high. He eventually checked behind and Dunst took it down. With that hand, Dunst claws his way back to 8 million with Engel just under 12 million.

8:20pm: Bathroom break

Play has slowed a little over the last twenty minutes or so with very little action to report. The tension became too much for Ari Engel who had to run off to take a very quick two-minute bathroom break.

The tournament staff put it to the two players if they would like to take a dinner break at the next scheduled break, but it sounds like the they would prefer to just have another quick fifteen-minute break, and then possibly take a longer break if they need it later on.

8:00pm: Engel takes some back
Level 30: Blinds 60,000/120,000 (20,000)

Tony Dunst raised to 280,000 from the button with the [kh][6d] and Ari Engel made the call with [ac][8c].

The flop landed [3s][qd][7d] and Engel checked to Dunst who continued for a bet of 275,000. Engel called with his ace high and paired up when the [ad] hit the turn.

Engel checked and Dunst bet 750,000 with his flush draw. Engel made the call with his top pair and the river landed the [9s]. It was a brick for both players and they were happy to check it down.

Engel's top pair scooped the pot to jump back out to a two-to-one chip lead.

7:50pm: Dunst sniffs out the bluff
Level 30: Blinds 60,000/120,000 (20,000)

Ari Engel raised the button to 285,000 from the button holding [8d][6s] and Tony Dunst called in the big blind with a pretty [kh][jh].

The flop landed [kc][9s][td] and Dunst checked and then called with his top pair to see the [2c] hit the turn. Both players checked and the river card was the [ac].

That looked like a scare card for Dunst's hand but he was confident to lead out with a bet of 550,000. With just eight-high, the only way Engel could win the pot was to put in a bluff raise and that's exactly what he did, making it 1.8 million.

Dunst had folded in these spots all night with the second best hand, but this time Engel was bluffing and Dunst had the best hand. After several minutes of thought, Dunst came to the correct conclusion once again and flicked out a chip to announce a call.

Engel showed his bluff and Dunst raked in the huge pot. He needed that one to claw back to just over nine million with Engel still in front with around 12 million.

7:40pm: Dunst finds a full house
Level 30: Blinds 60,000/120,000 (20,000)

The action has been slow lately but we just saw a hand go to the river.

Ari Engel raised to 285,000 on the button with [ks][4s] and Tony Dunst defended his big blind with [9h][8d]. The [7c][th][8s] flop saw both players check before the dealer turned the [7s].

That card saw Engel pick up a flush draw but Dunst was still ahead with two pair. The latter checked again but Engel decided to bet 285,000. Dunst called and the river came the [8h].

Both players quickly checked and Dunst took the pot down with his rivered full house.

7:15pm: Engel wheels in another nice pot
Level 30: Blinds 60,000/120,000 (20,000)

Tony Dunst raised the button to 300,000 with [7s][6d] and Ari Engel flat called in the big blind with [ah][5d].

The flop landed [4c][qd][tc] and both players checked. The [2c] hit the turn and Engel checked it over to Dunst who bet 350,000. Engel made the call with his gutshot and spiked the straight with the [3c] river.

Engel checked and Dunst fired again with his seven-high, this time for 750,000. Engel snapped it off and tabled his straight to take down the healthy pot.

Engel is now out to a two-to-one chip advantage which is the largest of this heads-up battle so far.

7:10pm: Five-bet shove from Engel
Level 30: Blinds 60,000/120,000 (20,000)

Just a couple of hands after the break we saw a huge preflop raising war between Tony Dunst and Ari Engel.

Dunst raised to 300,000 from the button with [ah][7d] and Engel bumped it up to 885,000 holding [ad][8h] from the big blind.

Back on Dunst he put in another raise to 2,000,000 but Engel decided to go with it and five-bet jammed for 11,000,000.

Dunst was dominated but he threw it away to fight another pot.

7:05pm: Play resumes

The players are back with the blinds now up to 60,000/120,000 (20,000). After all the back and forth action the chips are nearly dead level again as these two warriors continue the battle.

Ari Engel - 11,465,000
Tony Dunst - 10,410,000

trophies-aussie-millions-ft.jpg


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6:50pm: Another break

The players are now taking a fifteen-minute break.

6:45pm: Nice flop for Dunst
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000)

Ari Engel raised the button to 250,000 with [8h][8s] and Tony Dunst made the call in the big blind with [5h][4d]. Dunst got a great flop when it arrived [5c][5d][9d] to give him trips and he tapped the table. Engel bet 250,000 and Dunst made the call.

The turn was the [jh] and both players checked to see the [3d] fall on the river. Dunst decided to keep it small and checked again with Engel checking behind.

Engel showed his pair but the pot was shipped to Dunst with trip fives.

6:40pm: Big pot goes Engel's way
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000)

Things have been fairly even so far in this heads up match but Ari Engel just took the biggest lead so far. The hand that did it saw Tony Dunst raise to 250,000 on the button with [as][ts] and Engel three-bet to 750,000 holding [qh][qc].

Dunst decided just to call the reraise and players saw a flop of [ac][7h][5s]. Engel continued for 425,000 and Dunst called with the best hand. The [qd] turn however gave Engel a set of queens and meant Dunst was drawing dead. Engel fired for 750,000 this time and again Dunst made the call.

The [6c] river prompted Engel to wager 1,400,000 and Dunst had a tough decision. He considered his options for a couple of minutes before ultimately throwing his hand away and dropping down to 8,500,000 in chips.

6:30pm: Three threes
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000)

Ari Engel raised the button to 250,000 with the [kc][3s] and Tony Dunst made the call with [ah][8c]. The flop landed [6h][3d][2d] and both players checked.

Dunst led out for 275,000 on the [3c] turn with his ace high, but Engel had improved to trip threes so he wasn't going anywhere. He decided to play it slow and flat call as he further improved to a full house with the [kh] river.

Dunst slowed down and checked it across to Engel who bet 450,000. Dunst gave it some thought, but he's been making the right folds in these spots all night, and that continued here as he let it go.

6:15pm: Dunst back on top
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000)

Tony Dunst raised the button to 250,000 with [js][7h] and Ari Engel was happy to defend his big blind with the [qs][td].

Both players checked the [ts][9d][jd] flop and Engel decided his pair of tens and straight draw was good for a bet of 265,000 on the turn. Dunst called with his top pair and he improved to trips when the [js] appeared on the river.

Engel decided to bet again for 425,000 but Dunst snapped it off and tabled his trips to scoop the pot. With that pot, Dunst reclaims the chip lead with almost 12 million to Engel's 10 million.

6:10pm: Nut flush for Dunst
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000)

Tony Dunst has regained some momentum after making the nut flush in a recent hand against Ari Engel.

Engel raised the button to 250,000 with [kd][8d] before Dunst defended in the big blind holding [as][7s]. The [5s][3s][6h] flop went check check but the [8h] turn inspired some action. Dunst now with the nut flush draw and open ended straight draw led for 350,000 and Engel made the call with top pair.

The [4s] river completed both Dunst's draws and he bombed the river for value. He bet 1,000,000 in chips sending Engel into the tank. Engel continued shuffling his chips while deliberating for a few minutes.

"Sorry" Engel said to Dunst about taking so long, before making the call about 30 seconds later.

Engel saw the bad news and Dunst scooped a healthy pot.

heads-up2-aussie-millions-ft.jpg

6:05pm: Strong four-bet from Engel
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000)

Ari Engel opened with a raise to 250,000 holding [ah][6d] and Tony Dunst put in a light three-bet to 725,000 with [9c][6c]. Engel was confident he had the best hand as he four-bet to 1.8 million. Dunst had to let it go.

Engel is now into the chip lead with just over 11 million to Dunst's 10 million.

6:00pm: Engel applies pressure
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000)

Tony Dunst raised it up to 250,000 on the button with [ah][2s] and Ari Engel made the call in the big blind with a slightly superior [ad][3s].

For something different, Engel decided to lead out for 300,000 with his gutshot on the flop of [6h][4s][2c]. Dunst called with bottom pair and the turn was the [9c]. Engel released another barrel, this time for 600,000. Dunst couldn't sustain the pressure and was forced to fold the best hand.

5:45pm: Engel trips Dunst
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000)

Ari Engel raised the button with [jh][2c] and Tony Dunst defended his big blind with a call holding a strong [as][td].

The flop landed [jc][js][8d] to give Engel trip jacks but both players checked. The turn was the [ts] and Dunst led out with a bet of 300,000. Engel made the call and the river was the [ac]. Dunst had paired his ace and he bet 750,000 for value but Engel made a quick call and tabled the best hand.

That pot has almost evened up the chip stacks with Dunst just over 11 million to Engel who has just over 10 million.

5:40pm: Back and forth
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000)

The heads up action hasn't been too fierce yet.

A recent hand saw Ari Engel raise the button to 250,000 before we saw one of our first three-bets since getting down to two players. Tony Dunst in the big blind raised it up to 725,000 and it was back on Engel.

He gave the decision some thought but ultimately tossed his hand in the muck.

5:30pm: Play resumes
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000)

Here's the approximate chips counts as heads-up play commences:

Tony Dunst - 12.3 million
Ari Engel - 9.5 million

heads-up-aussie-millions-ft.jpg

5:15pm: Quick break

The two players are now taking a quick break so that the table can be setup for heads-up play with the cash and bracelet on the table. Both are now guaranteed a seven-figure pay day and are gunning for the title and top prize of AU$1.6 million.

5:10pm: Samantha Abernathy eliminated in 3rd place ($AU625,000)
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000)

Samantha Abernathy's stack had been dwindling and she has now been eliminated after a preflop clash with Ari Engel.

Abernathy moved all in preflop from the small blind for her last 1,500,000 and Engel next to act made the call.

Abernathy: [th][8d]
Engel: [ah][9d]

Abernathy was behind but had live cards as an interesting [9c][ac][jd] flop fell. Engel had improved to top two pair while Abernathy picked up an open ended straight draw.

The [jh] paired the board and didn't change much before the [8s] river completed the board to seal Abernathy's fate. Abernathy earns herself the best result ever from a female player at the Aussie Millions and picks up $625,000.

2016 aussie millions FT Samantha Abernathy.jpg

5:00pm: Dunst takes some from Engel
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000)

Tony Dunst brought it in for a 220,000 raise on the button with [qs][qh] and Ari Engel defended his big blind with [as][jh].

The flop came down [5c][9h][js] and when it was checked to Dunst, he continued for 250,000. Engel called and the dealer turned the [ts]. Dunt fired 600,000 this time and once again Engel made the call.

The [4h] river arrived and the action went check-check as Dunst's overpair held and he took down the pot.

4:55pm: Play resumes

The players are back in their seats at the feature table with the blinds now up to 50,000/100,000 with a 10,000-chip ante.

Chip counts at the break:
Tony Dunst - 10,955,000
Ari Engel - 9,245,000
Samantha Abernathy - 1,625,000


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4:40pm: Break it up

The three remaining players are now taking a scheduled fifteen-minute break. Back soon!

4:25pm: Dunst with a nice fold
Level 28: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000)

In a limped battle of the blinds, Tony Dunst and Ari Engel continued their battle as they saw a heads-up flop of [2d][ad][5s].

Engel was first to act holding the [8c][7d] and he took a stab at it with a bet of 85,000. Dunst made the call. The turn was the [2c] and both players checked before Engel stole the lead when the [7h] river gave him a pair of sevens.

Engel bet out 145,000 and Dunst deliberated with his third pair. His instincts were right as he tossed his cards into the muck. Both players are pretty even in chips with just under ten million in chips apiece.

4:15pm: Alex Lynskey eliminated in 4th place (AU$445,000)
Level 28: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000)

Alex Lynskey had been holding on with the short stack for a while but he was finally eliminated in a recent hand.

The man who knocked him out was Ari Engel. After the Candian limped under the gun Lynskey moved in on the button and was snap-called when it folded back around to Engel.

Lynskey: [ah][7h]
Engel: [ac][ad]

Lynskey needed a lot of help but he couldn't find any with the boarding falling [6c][qs][5d][2s][7s].

For his impressive fourth place finish this week Lynskey collects $445,000.

2016 aussie millions FT Alex Lynskey.jpg

3:55pm: Top two for Engel
Level 28: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000)

Samantha Abernathy raised from the cutoff to 175,000 holding [9s][9d] before Ari Engel three-bet on the button to 515,000 with [ac][tc]. Action passed to Abernathy who called to see a flop of [as][4c][td].

That was a great flop for Engel with top two pair and he continued for 445,000. Abernathy's cards were quickly in the muck as she slips to 2.6 million chips.

3:50pm: Dunst clubbed
Level 28: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000)

Ari Engel raised from under the gun with [as][tc] and action moved to Tony Dunst in the big blind who popped it to 325,000 with a monster [kd][ks].

Engel made the call and the flop landed [4c][6c][3c]. It was not a flop that Dunst liked as he checked and Engel checked behind. The turn was the [7s] and again both players checked. The river brought the [jc] to put four clubs on board and Dunst checked for a third time to Engel who tossed out 225,000. Dunst made a crying call with his kings but Engel would take it down with his flush.

3:45pm: Lynskey gets a little loose
Level 28: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000)

Tony Dunst opened with a raise from under the gun to 175,000 with [ah][kh] and play folded to Alex Lynskey in the big blind. Lynskey only held the [7h][4c] but he decided to put his new chips to work as he raised to 470,000.

Dunst wasn't going to let Lynskey get away with that as he moved all in and Lynskey quickly let it go. Lynskey drops back to 1.2 million.

3:40pm: Lynskey doubles
Level 28: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000)

The last Australian in the field Alex Lynskey just found himself a lucky double through Ari Engel.

Engel raised to 175,000 from under the gun before Lynskey moved all in from the button for his last 175,000. It folded back around to Engel and he snapped it off.

Engel: [ah][ts]
Lynskey: [as][7h]

"Seven!" called Lynskey's big group of rail birds as they sweated his possible elimination.

The [4d][6s][8d] flop gave Lynskey a gut shot draw and a little extra hope.

The [7d] rolled off on the turn and Lynksey took the lead as the crowd roared.

"Let's f***ing go!" shouted one of Lynskey's supporters.

He just needed to fade a nine or ten to double up and he and the [8h] river saw him survive for a much-needed double up.

3:30pm: Dunst battles with Engel
Level 28: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000)

Ari Engel opened to 175,000 under the gun before Tony Dunst put in a sizable three-bet from the small blind to 550,000 with [7s][7h]. Engel held [jd][td] and peeled to see a flop of [3s][5c][8c].

It was a good flop for Dunst's hand and he continued for 450,000. Engel let it go and Dunst collected the pot.
3:20pm: Engel with a pair
Level 28: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000)

After three-bet shoving with pocket jacks the previous hand, Alex Lynskey opened the action with a raise to 160,000. Samantha Abernathy made the call in the small blind with [9s][7s] and Ari Engel came along in the big blind with [th][5h].

The flop landed [kd][5c][4h] and action checked to Lynskey who continued for 175,000. Abernathy folded but Engel called with his middle pair before both players checked down the [3s] turn and [9d] river.

Engel tabled his hand and collected the pot to leave Lynskey on the short stack with about 1.2 million.

3:15pm: Updated chip counts
Level 28: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000)

Tony Dunst - 8,925,000
Ari Engel - 8,290,000
Samantha Abernathy - 3,335,000
Alex Lynskey - 1,325,000

3:10pm: Play resumes

Players are back to the action. Blinds are now 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante.


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2:55pm: First break of the day

Our remaining four players have stepped away for their first 15-minute break of the day.

2:50pm: Dunst takes over the chip lead
Level 27: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (10,000)

On the last hand before break, Tony Dunst has taken a chunk out of the stack of Ari Engel to take over the tournament chip lead.

Dunst raised the button preflop to 135,000 with [ad][9h] and Engel defended his big blind with a call holding [kc][7s].

The flop landed [ac][9c][6d] and Engel checked to Dunst who bet another 135,000. Engel came back with a check-raise to 405,000 with just king-high. Dunst made the call with his top two pair and the turn was the [qc]. Engel picked up a flush draw and fired a hefty bet of 735,000. Dunst called and managed to fade the flush on the [5h] river.

Both players checked it down and Dunst took it down to reclaim the tournament chip lead. Dunst has around 8.9 million to Engel's 8.2 million.

2:45pm: Dylan Honeyman eliminated in 5th place (AU$340,000)
Level 27: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (10,000)

The action hasn't slowed on the Aussie Millions final table as we've just lost another player. This time it was Australian Dylan Honeyman who fell after a rather dramatic run out of the board ultimately went against him.

The hand start with an under-the-gun raise from Tony Dunst to 125,000. Ari Engel called on the button and action was with Honeyman in the small blind. He thought for a bit before raising it up to 380,000. Dunst four-bet to 800,000 which forced Engel from the hand, before Honeyman went all in. Dunst made the call and the cards were on their backs.

Honeyman showed [jh][js] and was up against Dunst's [ad][kd] in a classic race situation but Honeyman took a big lead when the [th][jd][3c] flop was spread. Honeyman's set left Dunst needing a queen for the Broadway straight. The turn was the [kc] which didn't change anything, but the river fell the [qs] to give Dunst the straight for the knockout blow!

Honeyman did well to climb a couple of pay jumps as the short stack at the start of the day, but in the end, it was a cruel way to fall. He takes home AU$340,000 for a great tournament.

dylan-honeyman-aussie-millions-ft.jpg

2:30pm: Kitty Kuo eliminated in 6th place (AU$270,000)
Level 27: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (10,000)

We have lost Kitty Kuo from the final table in sixth place.

After successfully sneaking through a couple of blind steals, Kuo three-bet all in with [as][jd] from the small blind over the top of an open-raise by Ari Engel on the button. Dylan Honeyman tank-folded from the big blind, but Engel made the call with [9h][9d].

Kuo would need some help but the board would brick out [7s][4d][qc][qs][6c].

It was a great run by one of Asia's most popular players as she takes home AU$270,000 for her sixth place finish.

Engel now has a commanding chip lead with around 10 million of the 22 million chips in play with five players remaining.

kitty-kuo-aussie-millions-ft.jpg

2:25pm: Lynskey on the comeback trail
Level 27: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (10,000)

Alex Lynskey is back in it after landing a double up against Samantha Abernathy.

Abernathy raised to 125,000 from under the gun and it folded around to Lynskey in the small blind. He moved all in for his last 655,000 and after a few moments Abernathy made the call.

Lynskey: [ah][ad]
Abernathy: [tc][9c]

It was a sick flop with [4c][7d][8c] arriving to give Abernathy both straight and flush draws. She couldn't find help on the [4s] and when the [4h] river peeled off Lynskey's cheer squad on the rail erupted.

The Australian young gun's aces hold and he stacks up over 1,300,000.

2:20pm: Dylan doubles
Level 27: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (10,000)

Shortstack Dylan Honeyman found a double up through chip leader Ari Engel.

Engel jammed from the cutoff and it folded to Honeyman in the small blind. He gave it some thought but committed for his last 740,000.

Honeyman: [7s][7h]
Engel: [5h][2h]

Honeyman was way in front and while the [ks][2s][3s] paired Engel, Honeyman was still in great shape holding the only spade of the two. The [6h] turn did give Engel a gut shot straight draw but the [jc] bricked out and Honeyman scored himself a double up.

2:10pm: Bad runout for Lynskey
Level 27: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (10,000)

The hand began with Ari Engel raising to 135,000 with [7h][5h] and when it folded to Alex Lynskey in the big blind he opted to defend with [ac][7c].

The flop landed [6c][kc][5s] to see Lynskey find a nut flush draw and Engel hit bottom pair. Engel continued for another 140,000 and Lynskey made the call.

The best card in the deck for Engel arrived on the [5d] turn as he avoided the flush and improved to three of a kind. Lynskey check-called another 285,000 and got perhaps the worst card in the deck for him when the [as] arrived on the river.

Lynskey had improved but was still ahead and when he checked, Engel went for 505,000 value. A call from Lynskey saw him drop down to 745,000 in chips.

2:10pm: Pair versus pair
Level 27: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (10,000)

Kitty Kuo raised from the hijack position to 125,000 holding [5d][5s] and play passed around to Samantha Abernathy who made the call in the big blind with [8s][8d].

The flop landed [as][kh][6d] and Abernathy check-called for a bet of 100,000. The board got scarier for the small pairs when then [qh] hit the turn and both players checked. The river was the [3s] and again it was checked down with Abernathy's pair of eights taking it down. She's now up to four million in chips while Kuo is getting pretty short.

1:55pm: Another for Abernathy
Level 27: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (10,000)

Dylan Honeyman opened with a raise to 125,000 from the hijack position holding [ks][qd] before Samantha Abernathy three-bet to 275,000 in the small blind with [as][ts]. Honeyman thought briefly before making the call and the flop landed [ah][7h][7d].

Hitting top pair, Abernathy led out with a bet of 325,000 and that was enough to take it down.

1:45pm: Six on the river saves Samantha again!
Level 27: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (10,000)

On Day 4, Samantha Abernathy was involved in an interesting hand where she spiked a six on the river to hit a set and crack the pocket kings of Mikel Habb.

Well, Abernathy has done it again with a six on the river sparing her from doubling up Dylan Honeyman.

Abernathy opened with a raise to 125,000 from the cutoff. Honeyman three-bet to 260,000 from the big blind before Abernathy declared herself all in and Honeyman snapped it off.

Abernathy held [ah][kc] but Honeyman had the goods with his [ac][ad]. The flop of [5c][9c][8c] brought three clubs but that was no help to Abernathy as Honeyman held the best club. The turn was the [7d] which brought a few murmurs of a potential chop as Abernathy would need to somehow find an off-suit six on the river.

The dealer burned and there it was...the [6h]! The crowd roared as the popular Abernathy was saved from doubling up her dangerous opponent as they chopped it up!

1:40pm: Engel with the cold four-bet

Alex Lynskey opened with a raise to 125,000 holding [kd][js], before Tony Dunst three-bet in the cutoff to 275,000 with unknown cards. Action then passed to Ari Engel who decided to get involved from the small blind with [ac][9h].

Lynskey got out of the way, and Dunst gave it a little thought before also stepping aside.

1:30pm: John Apostolidis eliminated in 7th place (AU$210,000)
Level 27: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (10,000)

It hasn't taken long to lose our first player from the Aussie Millions Main Event final table with the lone amateur, John Apostolidis, the one to fall.

On the third hand of the final table, Apostolidis raised from early position to 205,000 and action folded around to Samantha Abernathy in the small blind. She moved all in and Apostolidis made a quick call.

It was a coin flip with Apostolidis making the call with [ah][kc] against Abernathy's [qs][qh].

The board ran out [5d][jd][8c][4h][7c] and after a quick count down of chips, it was deemed that Abernathy had Apostolidis covered.

It was a great run by the Melbourne local as he captures the biggest result of his career with his 7th place worth AU$210,000.

Meanwhile Abernathy is up to around 3.5 million in chips.

john-apostolidis-aussie-millions.jpg

1:20pm: John jams first hand
Level 27: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (10,000)

First hand and first pot to John Apostolidis.

It folded to Apostolidis in the cutoff and he moved all in for 950,000.

The whole table folded and Apostolidis showed [jd][jc].

12:50pm: Cards in the air!

Action is now underway here for our Aussie Millions final table.

To avoid spoilers we'll be reporting on a 30-minute delay.

Stay tuned!

aussie mills FT.jpg

12:35pm: Delayed start

As is usually the way with any televised final table production, there will be a slightly delayed start. The players are just fulfilling some media requirements with photos and interviews before things get under way.

12:30pm: Welcome to the final table

The 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event has come down to the final seven players. Before the day is through one of them will be crowned champion and take home AU$1.6 million in prize money.

It's an exciting final table line up with a great mix of players. We have two female players in Kitty Kuo and Samantha Abernathy, a couple of Australian young guns with Alex Lynskey and Dylan Honeyman, seasoned pros Tony Dunst and chip leader Ari Engel, and the lone local hope John Apostolidis.

2016 Aussie Millions Final Table
Seat 1: Dylan Honeyman (Australia) - 885,000
Seat 2: Alex Lynskey (Australia) - 2,390,000
Seat 3: Tony Dunst (United States) - 5,990,000
Seat 4: Samantha Abernathy (United States) - 2,485,000
Seat 5: Ari Engel (Canada) - 8,155,000
Seat 6: Kitty Kuo (Chinese Taipei) - 1,005,000
Seat 7: John Apostolidis (Australia) - 960,000

To compliment our coverage there will be a live stream of the final table hosted by Jason Somerville on Twitch at RunItUp.TV. The stream is free and with hole cards on a thirty-minute delay. In an attempt to help our readers avoid spoilers, we'll also be posting content on a thirty-minute delay.

feature-table-bracelet-aussie-millions.jpg


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Take a look at the Aussie Millions official website for tournament schedules, structures, news and information from the Crown Poker Room in Melbourne.

Live updates brought to you courtesy of Brad Kain and Heath Chick. Photos by Jonno Pittock and Christian Zetzsche.
































































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