Level 10 Update: Viktor Blom Rockin' It
Sep 25, '10
Note: Players are now on a 90-minute dinner break. They will return at 8.45 p.m. local time.
Blinds: 600-1,200 with 200 ante
Players Remaining: 98 of 346
Chip Counts:
1 Viktor Blom — 450,000
2 Darren Woods — 310,000
3 Phil Ivey — 296,000
4 Thomas Bichon — 290,000
5 Dan Shak — 285,000
6 Barny Boatman — 255,000
7 Andrew Pantling — 240,000
8 Rob Akery — 225,000
9 Bojan Gledovic — 220,000
10 Nick Schulman — 218,000
Card Player Family Chip Counts:
Barry Shulman — 81,000
Average Chip Count: 105,918
Notable Eliminations:
John Racener
Tyler Bonkowski
Jim Collopy
Charles Chua
Andy Black
Big Hands:
Viktor Blom Takes the Lead
Magnus Persson raised preflop UTG+1 and Viktor Blom reraised preflop. Persson made the call and the two saw a flop of 9
6
5
. Both players checked and then the 2 fell on the turn. Persson checked, Blom bet 13,500, and Persson made the call. The river fell 5 and Persson checked again. Blom bet 49,000 and Persson made the call. Blom flipped over AA and Persson mucked. Blom held 480,000 after the hand as he continues to increase his chip lead. He ended the level with 450,000 in chips.
Three Streets of Value for Schulman
Nicolas Levi raised to 3,000 UTG +1 and Nick Schulman made the call from late position. Ivey made the call from the big blind as well. The flop fell A
4 3 and Ivey and Levi check. Schulman bet 6,500. Ivey mucked and Levi called. The 8 fell on the turn and Levi checked. Schulman bet 15,000. Levi called. The river fell 2. Levi checked and Schulman bet 25,000. Levi called and mucked when Schulman flipped over 4 4. Levi held 100,000 after the hand. During happier times at the start of the day he was one of the chip leaders. Schulman rose above 200,000 after the hand.
Shak and Awe
On a flop of J 9 5, Antonio Esfandiari had led out, only to be raised to 18,000 by Dan Shak. Esfandiari went into the tank, only to eventually announce all-in for around 140,000 in total. Shak called without hesitation, and the players revealed their hands.
Esfandiari: K 10
Shak: 6 3
With a dominant flush draw, gut shot straight draw, and the currently good king-high, Esfandiari was a strong favorite with all but a few thousand of his chips in the middle.
The turn came the 2, leaving Shak drawing only to the remaining non-diamond threes and sixes.
The 3 did roll off on the river, and Esfandiari exploded out of his seat in shocked disgust. As the dealer laboriously counted out the stacks, Esfandiari politely said “Nice hand.” Shak apologized about the bad beat, but unsurprisingly this did little to salve Esfandiari’s wounds.
Shak’s stack grew to around 280,000 after the hand.
Show The Bluff
Phil Laak bets 3,000 from mid-position and Andy Frankenberger calls from the cut-off. Dan Fleyshman calls also, from the big blind. The flop is dealt A J 2 and it is checked around. The turn comes the 7. Fleyshman checks, Laak bets 5,000, Frankenberger calls, and Fleyshman folds. The river is the Q, Laak bets 11,000 and Frankenberger thinks for some time. He then raises it to 26,000, putting the decision back to Laak. Laak goes into the tank – he has about 58,000 behind his original bet. Eventually Laak passes and instantly starts trying to get Frankenberger to show his cards, “Show the bluff and make me crazy. I’ll pay you, just say the number!” He takes out some sterling notes and places them on the table. “I’ll give you £40 to show me the bluff,” he says smiling. Frankenberger stays quiet as the others debate what he had. He now has 147,000 in chips.
Up and Down Day for Lacay
Coming in late into the action, Ludovic Lacay has moved all in for 22,000 on a J 8 4 5 8 board with about 15,000 already in the middle. The decision is on Daniel Steinberg and he takes his time. He finally calls and mucks when he sees Lacay’s A A for the nut flush. Steinberg has 120,000 remaining while Lacay reaches the 74,000 mark. He soon loses a good few chips however when he calls Eugene Katchalov’s all in with pocket nines. Katchalov has A Q and the board falls Q 5 8 8 J. “It’s been like this all day!” says Lacay.
Present for Praz
Allen Cunningham bets 3,500 from UTG and Roland de Wolfe calls from the small blind. Praz Bansi calls from the big blind and the flop comes 9 6 5. De Wolfe and Bansi check and Cunningham bets 6,000. De Wolfe folds but Bansi pops it to 14,800. “What do you have behind?” asks Cunningham. It’s about 33,000. After a few minutes Cunningham passes and Bansi mucks. The British pro is nearing the 60,000 mark just before dinner time.
De Wolfe Gets Lucky
Guy Gorelik bets 3,000 from late position and Roland de Wolfe calls from the hijack. Martin Davis makes it 9,500 and Gorelik steps aside. Players begin to make their way out for the dinner break as de Wolfe and David go head to head. De Wolfe asks Davis, “A-K?” “Yep, I have,” answers Davis, and then sadds, “Maybe.” De Wolfe calls and the flop is dealt K Q 6. Davis bets 9,000 and smiles. De Wolfe sighs and debates whether he wants to come back after dinner with 10 big blinds. “I know I’m behind,” he says. As the room eventually clears, de Wolfe moves all in for 17,300. Davis calls and shows A K. De Wolfe reveals Q J. The turn is the A and the river is the 10 giving de Wolfe a straight. He smiles mischievously as Davis simply says, “Shit!”
Left in the Deck
Chip Movers and Shakers
The last two levels of the tournament have truly created a new hierarchy within the chip counts. Viktor Blom, the alleged “Isildur1” has been crushing it today and he now holds more than 400,000 to lead the way. We have two players at the 300,000 level and they are Phil Ivey and Darren Woods. The 200,000 club can count Barny Boatman, Nick Schulman, Thomas Bichon and Andre Pantling among its members.
Player Tags: Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak, Dan Shak, Eugene Katchalov, Roland de Wolfe, Nick Schulman, Martin Davis, Nicolas Levi, Praz Bansi, Ludovic Lacay, Andy Frankenberger, Viktor Blom, Daniel Steinberg
