Scott Margereson raised from the hijack and Maria Ho three-bet jammed a stack of about 35,000 from the cutoff. The action folded back around and Margereson called with a bigger stack.
Maria Ho:
Scott Margereson:
Ho had run into aces and didn't get any help from the runout of to mark her elimination as TV cameras hovered around the table.
"I'll be in the booth soon, boys," the commentator told the camera crew.
The feature table has seen plenty of battles between Chino Rheem and Patrick Antonius.
A recent hand saw a completed board of with Rheem in the small blind holding for second pair, while Antonius held in the big blind.
Rheem checked to Antonius, who bet 12,000 into a 36,500 chip pot, which had Rheem suspicious, but he ultimately laid his hand down to send the pot to his neighbor.
The feature table stream can be seen on the PokerStars Youtube and Twitch channels.
Sergio Coutinho was out of position in a heads-up pot against Adrian Mateos on the button on a board of with over 80,000 already in the middle.
Coutinho checked on the turn and Mateos fired a bet of 28,000. Coutinho called. Coutinho checked again on the river and Mateos took a moment before sliding out a stack of blue chips for a bet of 100,000. Coutinho went in the tank as he considered calling off with slightly less.
"I don't have a very strong hand. Jacks?" Coutinho said as he considered the hands his opponent could have.
Eventually, Coutinho called. Mateos showed for just king-high and Coutinho turned over in triumph after making the big call for his tournament life.
Action arrived on the river with the board reading . From the big blind, Alejandro Lococo bet 50,000. Torben Sorensen was in the cutoff and raised all in to 130,000.
Lococo immediately reacted "Wow you have full house" he said and started to play with his chips. After confirming the count from the dealer Lococo again stated his initial instinct "130,000? Oh I have to fold" but he did not relinquish his cards and continued to tank.
After about a minute of silent contemplation, Lococo called. Sure enough, Sorensen tabled the boat with the as Lococo shook his head and counted out the chips he had to surrender across the table while Sorensen pulled in the big pot.
Vahe Martirosyan raised to 6,000 in the cutoff and was called by defending champion Simon Brandstrom on the button and Peter Jaksland in the big blind.
The trio checked the flop, but on the turn, Jaksland led out for 10,000. Both opponents called to see the on the river.
Everyone checked again, with Brandstrom showing for a pair of aces, which was good to boost his stack back to near 200,000.
Checking in on the feature table on the PokerStars stream on YouTube and Twitch, Chino Rheem raised to 6,500 under the gun with and was called by Patrik Antonius to his left in early position with , and Joris Ruijs in the big blind with .
On the flop, Ruijs checked his bottom pair to Rheem, who bet 10,000 with his pair of aces. Antonius folded his eights, and Ruijs folded his bottom pair of sixes to send the pot to Rheem.
On a flop of , Victor Shuchleib moved his last 23,000 chips into the middle from the small blind and was instantly called by Tien Dung Pham in the cutoff.
Victor Shuchleib:
Tien Dung Pham:
Shuchleib had flopped top two pair, but he was outflopped by Pham who had drilled Broadway.
The on the turn and on the river couldn't save Shuchleib, and he was eliminated just a few spots away from the money.
A massive pot was just passed to Joris Ruijs as Diego Cuellar was seen leaving the tournament floor.
"It's amazing what some people will do", said one of Ruijs' tablemates as he stacked an absolute gift that has seen him soar to one of the biggest stacks in the room.
According to Ruijs, he raised to 8,000 under the gun and was called by Cuellar in the big blind.
The flop came and after Cuellar checked, Ruijs bet 8,000. Cuellar then check-raised to 22,000, which Ruijs called.
On the turn, Cuellar bet 64,000 and Ruijs called.
The river brought the and Cuellar jammed 263,000 into a roughly 200,000 chip pot.
Ruijs happily called to see Cuellar only had , while he held for a flopped set to take the huge pot and eliminate Cuellar just shy of the bubble.
During hand-for-hand play on the stone money bubble, Gabriel Nedelcu open-jammed a big stack from the cutoff. Terence Jordon called from the small blind with the effective stack of 154,000.
"I have ace-ten," Jordan said to the shock of those at and around the table. "I know I'm in front of him."
Jordan, who sat beneath a Panama hat and had a small wooden alligator atop his cards, asked Nedelcu what he had. The opponent admitted that he hadn't looked at his cards.
"Do you have an ace?" the Brit inquired.
"No it's a four," Nedelcu said as he peeked at one card.
As the other all-in hands played out across the tournament room, Jordon called a friend and described his bubble predicament through the phone.
"I know it's a fold," he shrugged. "I'm not here to win 8,000 pounds."
Terence Jordon:
Gabriel Nedelcu:
Jordon was indeed ahead but a nine in the window on the flop of gave his opponent the lead.
"There's a nine," Jordon said into his phone.
The on the turn didn't change things but the on the river saved Jordon from bubbling, though it took him a moment to realize it.
"Oh, it's a ten!" he cheered.
"Was that you, Terry?!" a friend asked after the action.
"I took a chance," Jordon said. "I knew he was light."
During the hand-for-hand phase, three players bowed out at the same time. In the first hand, Felipe Ketzer raised to 9,000 from the hijack and Emmanuel Rouvet three-bet jammed from the small blind for 87,000. Action folded back to Ketzer who made the call.
Emmanuel Rouvet:
Felipe Ketzer:
The board ran out and Ketzer won the pot, ending Rouvet's tournament life on the bubble.
In the second hand, after Ramiro Petrone raised to 10,000 in early position, Daan Mulders three-bet to 27,000 on the button.
Petrone then moved all-in, and Mulders called off for 125,000.
Daan Mulders:
Ramiro Petrone:
Mulders had run into the ultimate preflop cooler on the bubble. The dealer spread a flop of , giving Petrone top set, but Mulders now had a gutshot straight draw.
The turn and river couldn't save Mulders however, and he was also eliminated on the bubble.
In another hand, with roughly 100,000 in the pot on a completed board, Oliver Bosch was in the big blind and had check-called all in for his stack of approximately 120,000 against Kayhan Mokri in early position.
There was a long period of anticipation as the two players awaited the other tables to complete their hands on the bubble. The two talked to each other, but never fully revealed their holdings. Reportedly, Bosch had said he had a pair, but when he was asked if it was the same pair, he responded with "no chance", leaving both players uncertain as to who would win the pot.
Eventually, numerous cameras swarmed the table and the players chuckled at the sheer amount of people surrounding them. The tournament director then instructed the players to simultaneously turn over their cards.
Bosch showed , but it was no good as Mokri tabled to claim the pot and eliminate Bosch, who would chop the minimum payouts with the other players eliminated on the bubble.
As a result, Rouvet, Mulders, and Bosch will split the 326th and 327th place money, collecting €5,907 each.