Nikolay Evdakov Poker Tournament Updates

Elite 8 Hour Three: Eric Froehlich Advances to Final 4

Jun 02, '11

NOTE: Three blind levels will be played each hour, as each is just 20 minutes long. The only difference in the elite eight is that the blinds begin at 2,500-5,000.

NOTE: Day 3 Will Continue Until the Conclusion of the Elite 8 Round. The Final 4 and Championship round will take place tomorrow.

Players Remaining: 6 out of 128

Starting Stacks: 1,200,000 broken up into three chances — meaning that the players started with 400,000 and had 800,000 additional on the side that they could add on at anytime before a hand. If their additional chips were not in play when a hand begins, those chips couldn’t be used to wager with.

Ongoing Matches:

Matt Marafioti vs. Gus Hansen
Jake Cody vs. Anthony Guetti

Eliminations:

Nikolay Evdakov

Key Hands:

Eric Froehlich Advances to the Final 4

Eric Froehlich raised to 50,000 preflop and Nikolay Evdakov reraised to 150,000. Froehlich made the call and the board rolled out 10 6 2. Evdakov bet 150,000 and Froehlich made the call.

The Q followed on the turn and Froehlich checked. Evdakov moved all in for 226,000 and Froehlich made the call. Their cards:

Froehlich: Q 6
Evdakov: A Q

River: 6

Froehlich won the hand and he advanced to the final four. Evdakov was eliminated in fifth place and he will take home $138,852 in prize money.

Player Tags: Eric Froehlich,   Nikolay Evdakov

Elite 8 Hour One: Froehlich Doubles but he is now in Peril

Jun 02, '11

NOTE: Three blind levels will be played each hour, as each is just 20 minutes long. The only difference in the elite eight is that the blinds begin at 2,500-5,000.

NOTE: Day 3 Will Continue Until the Conclusion of the Elite 8 Round. The Final 4 and Championship round will take place tomorrow.

Players Remaining: 8 out of 128

Starting Stacks: 1,200,000 broken up into three chances — meaning that the players started with 400,000 and had 800,000 additional on the side that they could add on at anytime before a hand. If their additional chips were not in play when a hand begins, those chips couldn’t be used to wager with.

Ongoing Matches:

Matt Marafioti vs. Gus Hansen
Jake Cody vs. Anthony Guetti
David Paredes vs. Yevgeniy Timoshenko
Nikolay Evdakov vs. Eric Froehlich

Eliminations:

NONE

Key Hands:

Eric Froehlich Doubles Up Once…Twice

Nikolay Evdakov moved all in preflop and Eric Froehlich made the all-in call. Their cards:

Evdakov: K 4
Froehlich: A Q

Board: J J 3 Q 9

Froehlich doubled up on the hand to grow his stack to 212,000.

Two hands later Froehlich made an all-in call preflop again, this time with Q 3 in the hole. The board ran out a flush with 8 8 5 J 3 hitting the table. Froehlich doubled up yet again, this time growing his stack to 405,000.

Evdakov Strikes Back with Kings

The board read K 10 7 3 8 when Nikolay Evdakov moved all in yet again and Froehlich made the call. There was no double up in store for Froehlich this time around, because Evdakov held K K to win the pot. Froehlich mucked his hand and then cashed in his first 400,000 reload chip.

Froehlich Takes another Hit

This time it was Eric Froehlich who moved all in with the flop showing A 10 7 and Nikolay Evdakov made the call to cover him. Their cards:

Evdakov: A 2
Froehlich: Q-9

Turn and River: 4 and 2

Player Tags: Eric Froehlich,   Nikolay Evdakov

Level 5 Update -- Late Arrivals Make Early Exits

Mar 06, '11

Blinds: 150-300 with a 25 ante

Players Remaining: 123 out of 154

Chip Counts:

1. Brcue Antman — 80,000
2. Kenny Lawson — 75,000
3. Arnaud Mattern — 70,000
4. Allen Kessler — 55,000
5. Daniel Negreanu — 50,000
6. Dwyte Pilgrim — 40,000
7. Ray Henson — 40,000
8. Michael Kazt — 40,000
9. David Baker — 40,000
10. John Hennigan — 40,000

Notable Eliminations:

Daniel Alaei
Chris Moore
Nikolay Evdakov

Big Hands:

Three Pros Down

Two professional players who entered the tournament late on day 1B have already been eliminated. They are Daniel Alaei and Chris Moore, and they were joined on the rail by Nikolay Evdakov during level five.

Ray Henson Gets Aggressive

The big blind bet 2,375 with a 10 8 5 flop sitting on the table and Ray Henson raised to 5,300 on the button. Men Nguyen got out of the way on the small blind and the big blind went into the tank. He eventually made the call and then the turn fell K. Henson bet 6,500 and his opponent mucked.

David Baker vs. Amit Makhija

There was 11,500 in the pot and the board read Q 8 7 Q 6 when David Baker bet 9,000 on the button. Amit Makhija went into the tank and eventually mucked the Q face up on the table. Baker flashed the Q 8 as he collected the pot.

Poker Tweet — Daniel Negreanu

Player Tags: Ray Henson,   David Baker,   Daniel Negreanu,   Daniel Alaei,   Chris Moore,   Amit Makhija,   Nikolay Evdakov

Pros Move All In to Gain Chips

Feb 26, '11

Erica Schoenberg bet 6,000 preflop from the hi-jack and Mas Kagawa made the call on the button. The small blind also made the call and the flop was dealt 9 8 4 and the small blind bet 9,000. Schoenberg went into the tank and she eventually raised all in 22,750 more. Kagawa mucked and after some thought the small blind mucked as well. Schoenberg moved close to 60,000 after the hand.

At an adjacent table Nikolay Evdakov had just moved all in for just under 100,000 on a 10 8 3 from the cutoff after his opponent had opened the action for 2,500 from the big blind. Evdakov’s bet was huge but it did eventually get his opponent to muck pocket kings and Evdakov grew his stack above the 100,000 mark.

Player Tags: Erica Schoenberg,   Nikolay Evdakov

Nikolay Evdakov Eliminated

Jan 27, '11

Nikolay Evdakov got the last of his chips into the middle preflop and Sam Trickett made the call. Their cards:

Evdakov: A Q
Trickett: 10 10

Board: 9 6 4 3 K

Evdakov was eliminated on the hand and Trickett continues to dominate with the chip lead.

Player Tags: Nikolay Evdakov,   Sam Trickett

Evdakov Over and Out

Jan 22, '11

Play is winding for the night here in Melbourne but that hasn’t stopped these pros from continuing to bust at a brisk clip. Nikolay Evdakov was the most recent player to fall, taking 10th place in the tournament, four spots shy of the money.

His A-Q was ahead of the K-J of former Aussie Millions champion Tony Bloom preflop, but the board fell 9-7-4-J-5, and Evdakov was out of the tournament.

Player Tags: Tony Bloom,   Nikolay Evdakov

Peter Jetten Doubles Up

Jan 22, '11

Nikolay Evdakov raised 10,000 under the gun preflop and Peter Jetten reraised to 30,000. Evdakov made the call and the flop was dealt 6 4 4.

Evdakov checked, Jetten bet 34,000, and Evdakov went into the tank. He then decided to reraise all in. Jetten made the all-in call and they revealed their cards:

Evdakov: 9 9
Jetten: Q Q

Turn and River: 2 and 8

Jetten doubled up on the hand to survive and he now holds 260,000. Evdakov dropped to 150,000.

Player Tags: Peter Jetten,   Nikolay Evdakov

Level 7 Update: Harman Scoops a Big One

Jun 13, '10

Limits: 1,000-2,000

Players Remaining: 177 out of 212

Average Chip Count: 35,932

Card Player Chip Counts:

Barry Shulman – 23,200
Shannon Shorr – 36,000
Mark Gregorich – 49,000
Todd Brunson – 35,500
Doyle Brunson – 29,000
Jennifer Harman – 70,000
Steve Zolotow – 29,000
Phil Hellmuth – 72,000

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. David Benyamine – 85,000
2. Andrew Yeh – 73,000
3. Phil Hellmuth – 72,000
4. Eli Elezra – 70,000
5. Jennifer Harman – 70,000
6. Andrew Brown – 67,000
7. Jeffrey Lisandro – 66,500
8. George Danzer – 65,000
9. Peter Gould – 65,000
10. David “Bakes” Baker – 60,000

Notable Eliminations:

Jason Mercier
Jimmy Fricke
Mike Wattel

Big Hands:

Harman Scoops a Big One

Abe Mosseri raised and was called by Andrew Yeh and Jennifer Harman before being three-bet by a fourth player in the hand.

The flop came A410 and Mosseri and Yeh both checked to Harman who bet. The preflop three-better called and was all-in, and Mosseri and Yeh came along for the bet.

The turn was the 5 and Yeh and Mosseri both checked and called a bet from Harman. The 2 was the river and all the players checked.

Harman showed AA77, good for a set of aces and a 7-5 low, and somehow that was good for the whole pot. Harman is up to 70,000 after stacking the chips from the pot.

Evdakov Drops One to Duke

Nikolay Evdakov and Annie Duke got in four bets on a flop of KQ8. The 8 fell on the turn and Evdakov checked and called a bet from Duke.

The river was the A and Evdakov led into Duke. Duke checked her cards before raising. Evdakov called and mucked when he was shown the AA74, good for aces full. Duke moved up to 32,000 in chips, while Evdakov fell to 9,400.

Gould Takes a Pot Off Galfond

Peter Gould checked and called bets from Phil Galfond on every street as the board came A972Q.

Gould showed AK96, good for aces up and Galfond mucked. Galfond dropped to 22,000 and Gould climbed to 65,000.

Player Tags: Annie Duke,   Jennifer Harman,   Abe Mosseri,   Peter Gould,   Phil Galfond,   Nikolay Evdakov,   Andrew Yeh

Level 2 Update: Evdakov Off to Good Start

Jun 12, '10

Limits: 300-600

Players Remaining: 176 out of 176

Average Chip Count: 30,000

Card Player Chip Counts:

Barry Shulman – 21,000
Daniel Negreanu – 30,000
Shannon Shorr – 27,400
Mark Gregorich – 30,000
Todd Brunson – 30,000

Notable Eliminations:

none

Big Hands:

Two Pair Scoops For Evdakov

Four players saw a flop of J23 and Nikolay Evdakov bet and was called befroe Annie Duke raised. Tommy Vedes got out of the way and Evdakov three-bet to 900 and was called in both spots.

The turn was the K and Evdakov bet again and was called by both the player to his left and Annie Duke.

The river was the 5 and Evdakov checked and the player to his left bet. Duke got out of the way and Evdakov called. His opponent showed the A235, showing a missed low and two pair. Evdakov showed AKJ8, giving him a better two pair and a qualifying low hand, good for the whole pot.

Evdakov is up to 35,000 in chips.

Van Alstyne Gets Best of Boostd J

James Van Alstyne raised in the cutoff and Justin Smith three-bet from the big blind. Van Alstyne made the call and they saw a fop of Q42.

Smith bet and Van Alstyne made the call. The turn was the 6 and the same action took place again.

When the Q fell on the river, Smith checked and called a bet from Van Alstyne. Van Alstyne showed A963, giving him queens full for the high and the nut low. Smith checked his cards before tossing them face down into the muck. Van Alstyne is up to 35,200 in chips.

Nguyen Loses One

Scotty Nguyen raised from late position and was called by small blind. The flop came QQ7 and the small blind bet out and was raised by Nguyen. The small blind called and they saw the K fall on the turn.

The small blind checked and called a bet from Nguyen and they watched the 7 fall on the river. The small blind bet and Nguyen called.

The small blind showed AA106, good for aces and queens. “You got it, baby,” said Nguyen as he tossed his cards into the muck and slipped to 26,000.

Player Tags: Scotty Nguyen,   Annie Duke,   James Van Alstyne,   Nikolay Evdakov,   Justin Smith

Level One: Turner And Lindgren Start Off Well

Jun 09, '10

Blinds: 50-75 with a 25 ante

Players Remaining: 70

Notable Eliminations:

None

Players Twitter Accounts:

Daniel Negreanu
Justin Smith
Jean-Robert Bellande
Doyle Brunson
Vanessa Rousso
Barry Greenstein
Chad Brown

Big Hands:

Turner Bets Out Chen And Monnette

Picking up the action on the draw, John Monnette stood pat, Yan Chen drew one card and Jon Turner drew two cards.

Chen then led out with 400 and Monnette quickly folded. Turner then popped it to 1,600 and Chen released his hand just as quickly as Monnette.

Turner took the 1,600 pot and was off to a good start.

Brown’s Nine Bests Alaei

We caught up with this hand at showdown and Chad Brown turned over 9-6-4-3-2. Alaei mucked his hand and Brown took an early 800 chip pot, his three add-on chips still by his side.

Bellande Gets Jacked

Alessio Isaia raised to 1,800 and Jean-Robert Bellande made the call. Bellande drew one card while Isaia stood pat.

Bellande then fired 3,600 and Isaia thought for a few moments before making the call.

“I got a queen,” Bellande said as he tapped the table.

Isaia showed J-9-7-6-2 and he took a nice pot early in the day.

Greenstein Takes One Down

Jean-Robert Bellande raised to 250 before the draw and he was called by John Kabbaj and Barry Greenstein.

Bellande stood pat, Kabbaj took one and Greenstein took two cards on the draw. The three players then checked and Greenstein turned over a perfect jack-low, J-5-4-3-2.

He took down the 1,000-chip pot and was off to a positive start.

Lindgren Takes Pot Off Four Players

Erik Seidel, John D’Agostino, Nikolay Evdakov, Erick Lindgren and the player in seat 6 each had 300 in the pot before the draw.

Seidel and D’Agostino each drew two cards, Lindgren and seat 6 drew one and Evdakov stood pat.

Lindgren then led out for 900 and only Evdakov stuck around to look him up. Lindgren showed 9-6-5-4-3 and Evdakov mucked, surrendering the 1,350 pot to Lindgren.

Mizrachi Beats Seed

Huck Seed raised to 225 and Michael Mizrachi three-bet to 600. Seed made the call and Mizrachi stood pat on the draw.

Seed drew one card and both players checked. Mizrachi then turned over 10-9-8-4-2 and Seed mucked, surrendering the 1,350 pot to Mizrachi.

Left In The Deck

Reload When Ready

The players have started the tournament with 7,500 in chips in front of them. But they also have three red add-on chips worth 7,500, thus making the starting stacks equal 30,000. The players are free to use the chips at any time during the first four levels, after which they will be forced to cash them in.

Come Back In 45 Minutes

Freddy Deeb and Steve Sung were just a couple of players who registered late for this event. As a result, the floor has told them that they will be a part of the second flight and must return at the beginning of the second level. The entrants list reads 70 at the moment, but that number is sure to grow by the time the dinner break hits after level four.

Player Tags: Erik Seidel,   Erick Lindgren,   Barry Greenstein,   Huck Seed,   John D'Agostino,   Michael Mizrachi,   John Monnette,   Jean-Robert Bellande,   Steve Sung,   Jon Turner,   Freddy Deeb,   Nikolay Evdakov,   Alessio Isaia

Dinner Break

Jun 08, '10

After six levels of play, the 540 players that are left in the $5,000 no-limit hold’em event have gone on a 90-minute dinner break and will be at just after 8 p.m. to continue play. The average stack is 22,000 and the blinds will be 200-400 with a 50 ante when the players return for level seven.

There are several notables still left in the field. Nikolay Evdakov, Shawn Buchanan, Jeff Williams, Perry Friedma, Sam Stein, Brian Rast, and Jason Mercier are all among the top 10 in chips. Evdakov (Pictured Right) trails only Matt Schwarmann in chips and currently has 62,000 at the break. Scott Fischman, Ted Lawson, Isaac Baron, Steve Sung, Andy Black, Nam Le, Barry Greenstein, and Jeff Madsen are also still left in the field with more than their original 15,000 starting stack.

Check out some of the twitter accounts from the players who are still in contention.

Barry Greenstein
Jeff Madsen
Eugene Todd
Steve Sung
Jeff Williams
Scott Fischman

Stay tuned to Card Player for updates on who is still in contention for the $818,959 first place prize.

Player Tags: Barry Greenstein,   Steve Sung,   Jeff Madsen,   Nikolay Evdakov

Level 16: Hand-For-Hand Mercifully Ends, Dario Alioto Bubble Boy

Jun 05, '10

Blinds: Ante 2,000, Bring-in 2,000, Limits 8,000-16,000

Players Remaining: 16 out of 150

Average Chip Count: 281,250

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Michael Mizrachi – 475,000
2. Men Nguyen – 462,000
3. Brandon Adams – 415,000
4. Nikolay Evdakov – 415,000
5. Vladimir Schmelev – 350,000
6. Sirious Jamshidi – 335,000
7. Eric Buchman – 330,000
8. Dario Alioto – 295,000
9. Ray Dehkharghani – 277,000
10. Todd Barlow – 195,000

Notable Eliminations:

Freddie Ellis
Alexander Kostritsyn
Dario Alioto

Big Hands:

Alexander Kostritsyn Doubles Through Brandon Adams, But Is Then Eliminated

Kostritsyn was all in on third street against Brandon Adams. Here is how their boards ran out.

Kostritsyn: (886)9A8-X
Adams: AQ10Q107J

Adams made two pair but Kostritsyn managed to get trip-eights and doubled up to 70,000. Adams, once the massive chip leader at almost 500,000, is down to 240,000.

Unfortunately for Kostritsyn, he would not make it past the level as he was eliminated in 18th place, setting up hand-for-hand play.

Evdakov Slams Heimiller

Nikolay Evdakov took a huge pot off Dan Heimiller to move over 400,000 in chips. Evdakov had the 6 showing and turned over 66 for trips to take a chunk out of Heimiller’s stack.

Heimiller was at 75,000 while Evdakov was at 415,000.

Freddie Ellis Eliminated

The defending champion hung in for a long time, but Brandon Adams delivered the knockout blow and abolished any idea of a repeat champion.

Ellis: (JJ)101073
Adams: (99)492A

Ellis started off with the best of it but Adams hit trip-nines on fourth street and the 2 on the river gave him a full house to knock out the defending champion.

Adams build his stack back up to 415,000 with the pot.

Dario Alioto Bubbles The Money, Eliminated By Men The Master

Dario Alioto nursed a short stack for almost two hours during hand-for-hand play. Finally, he played a pot for all of his chips.

Alioto was responsible for the bring-in of 2,000 and Men Nguyen called. Alioto was showing a 2 while Nguyen showed 7.

Nguyen received a 3 on fourth street whihle Alioto received the K.

“You’ve got two options,” Nguyen said. “You check, I bet; or you bet I raise.”

Alioto decided to bet and Nguyen was true to his word, raising enough to put Alioto all in.

Nguyen turned over (A7) for split sevens while Alioto had nothing. Nguyen held the lead until the river when Alioto flipped over the K to pair his king. Nguyen then sweated his river card and finally turned over the 3 to make two pair and finally burst the money bubble.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Brandon Adams,   Freddie Ellis,   Dario Alioto,   Nikolay Evdakov,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   Dan Heimiller

Level 25: Down To Two

Jun 06, '10

Blinds: Ante 10,000, Bring-in 20,000, Limits 50,000-100,000

Players Remaining: 2 out of 150

Average Chip Count: 2,250,000

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Men Nguyen — 3,150,000
2. Brandon Adams — 1,300,000

Notable Eliminations:
Steve Billirakis – 3rd Place – $152,788
Nikolay Evdakov – 4th Place – $110,629

Big Hands

Evdakov Out in 4th Place ($110,629)

Men Nguyen, Brandon Adams, and Nikolay Evdakov were three-way going to fourth street. Evdakov bet and both Adams and Nguyen called. Nguyen bet on 5th street and Evdakov raised, making Adams get out of the way. Nguyen re-raised and put Evdakov all in, who called. The hands were:

Evdakov: (AQ)-A7310-(8)
Nguyen: (67)-610Q5-(5)
(X-X)-4-8A-FOLD

The pot to Nguyen to 2.5 million chipos, while Evdakov exited in 4th place.

Billirakis KOed in 3rd Place ($152,788)

Steve Billirakis got the remainder of his short stack in on 3rd street against Men Nguyen. Their hands were:

Billirakis: (10Q)-4J3J-(Q)
Nguyen: (K7)-727J-(9)

Nguyen hit three 7’s, besting the two pair held by Billirakis, sending him to the rail in 3rd place. Left heads up were Brandon Adams and Men Nguyen.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Steve Billirakis,   Brandon Adams,   Nikolay Evdakov

Level 24: Cassidy Out In 5th Place

Jun 06, '10

Blinds: Ante 10,000, Bring-in 10,000, Limits 40,000-80,000

Players Remaining: 4 out of 150

Average Chip Count: 1,125,000

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Men Nguyen — 2,150,000
2. Brandon Adams — 980,000
3. Steve Billirakis — 750,000
4. Nikolay Evdakov — 480,000

Notable Eliminations:

Big Hands

Aces For Adams

Men Nguyen completed and Brandom Adams raised, with the Master calling. Adams bet first on 4th street and got a call. Nguyen bet first on 5th street and got a call. Both players checked 6th street and Adams led out on the river. Their hands:

Adams: (AA)-26J6-(J)
Nguyen: (X-X)-53510-(X)

Adams’ two pair was good and Nguyen mucked. Nguyen still had the chip lead after the hand, with 2.1 million in chips, but Adams was climbing into contention with 925,000.

Cassidy Falls in 5th Place ($86,461)

Short-stacked and with his back against the wall, Joe Cassidy was heads up with Nikolay Evdakov and got it all in on 4th street. The hands were:

Cassidy:(47)-76108-(Q)
Evdakov: (39)-6942-(A)

A pair of nines was good enough for Evdakov to send Cassidy to the rail in 5th place.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Joe Cassidy,   Brandon Adams,   Nikolay Evdakov

Level 22: And There Were Six...

Jun 05, '10

Blinds: Ante 5000, Bring-in 7000, Limits 25,000-50,000

Players Remaining: 6 out of 150

Average Chip Count: 750,000

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Men Nguyen — 1,250,000
2. Nikolay Evdakov — 900,000
3. Brandon Adams — 850,000
4. Michael Mizrachi — 620,000
5. Steve Billirakis — 570,000
6. Joe Cassidy — 490,000

Notable Eliminations:

Vladimir Schmelev – 7th Place – $55,991

Big Hands

Schmelev Hanging On

In a three-way pot against Michael Mizrachi and Nikolay Evdakov, Vladimir Schmelev was all in on 5th street, and his opponenets checked down the rest of the action. They showed:

Schmelev: (A6)-A1089-(7)
Evdakov: (Q2)-57KQ-(MUCK)
Mizrachi: (Q4)-102A4-(MUCK)

Schmelev is hanging tough at this final table, following a 2nd place finish in the $50,000 Players Championship.

Mizrachi Takes Some From Evdakov

After leading out on 4th street, Michael Mizrachi was raised by Nikolay Evdakov and made the call, putting himself all in as the lurking Men Nguyen folded. Their hands were:

Mizrachi: (AQ)-A58Q-(X)
Evdakov: (J10)-JQ64-(MUCK)

The Grinder’s two pair took the pot and he took a sizable pot to increase his stack to around 600,000.

The Master Goes Straight To The Top

Men Nguyen raised and Vladimir Schmelev re-raised and the two were heads up. Schmelev bet on 4th street and Nguyen called. On 5th street Schmelev check-raised the Master and Nguyen called. Schmelev bet the last two streets and Nguyen raised on the end. Schmelev called and they showed down.

Nguyen: (Q-9)-K108J-(2)
Schmelev: (X-X)-A763-(X)

Nguyen took the pot and jumped to 1,150,000 in chips. Schmelev dropped to 115,000 and eliminated soon after.

Schmelev Out in 7th Place ($55,991)

In a 5-way pot, Men Nguyen led out on 4th street, Steve Billirakis folded and Vladimir Schmelev re=raised. Nikolay Evdakov and Brandon Adams folded and Nguyen re-raised Schmelev all in.

Nguyen: (88)-JA3A-(Q)
Schmelev: (K4)-3453-(10)

Nguyen’s two pair took the pot and sent Schmelev to the rail in 7th place.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Michael Mizrachi,   Joe Cassidy,   Steve Billirakis,   Brandon Adams,   Nikolay Evdakov

Level 20: Final Table Set

Jun 05, '10

Blinds: Ante 4000, Bring-in 5000, Limits 18,000-36,000

Players Remaining: 7 out of 150

Average Chip Count: 562,500

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Nikolay Evdakov — 1,170,000
2. Brandon James — 800,000
3. Vladimir Schmelev — 740,000
4. Men Nguyen — 630,000
5. Steve Billirakis — 600,000
6. Michael Mizrachi — 300,000
7. Joe Cassidy — 190,000

Notable Eliminations:
Dan Heimiller – 9th Place – $38,676
Sirous Jamshidi – 8th Place – $46,206

Big Hands:

Heimiller Stays Alive, Temporarily

Short-stacked Dan Heimiller got all in chipped up nicely. The cards were:

Heimiller: (K-J)-A-A-2-J-(Q)
Evdakov: (2-9)-9-5-6-J-(X)

With the win he had around 115,000 in chips, but around 15 minutes later he was eliminated.

Nguyen Busts Heimiller in 9th Place ($38,676)

Men “The Master” Nguyen completed the final table when he got Dan Heimiller all in. Their hands were:
Heimiller: (AJ)-310Q9-(4)
Nguyen: (87)-A610A-(J)

Heimiller was out in 9th Place, and the final 8 were moved to the feature table.

Evdakov Takes Chip Lead

Nikolay Evdakov and Sirous Jamshidi called Vladimir Schmelev on 3rd street, and Schmelev folded when Jamshidi led out on 4th street. Evdakov continued calling Jamshidi on every street, before slowing and check-calling when Evdakov bet on the end. Their cards:

Evdakov: (89)-J672-(10)
Jamshidi: (X-X)-K10AJ-(X)

Evdakov’s straight took it down, pushing his stack to around one million and dropping Jamshidi to 220,000 in the process.

Adams Moving On Up

Brandon Adams, Vladimir Schmelev and Sirous Jamshidi all went the distance in a hand that saw Schmelev complete and lead out on 4th street, Jamshidi lead out with a bet on 5th street, and the rest of the action being checked down. Their cards:

Adams: (67-6393-(8)
Schmelev: (X-X)-Q58J-(MUCK)
Jamshidi: (X-X)-7JQK-(MUCK)

Two pair earned Adams the pot, pushing his stack to 800,000. Jamshidi’s already short stack dwindled to around 140,000.

Sirous Jamshidi Busts in 8th Place ($46,206)

Sirous Jamshidi was all in on 5th street and Brandon Adams called with a pair of aces. They held up and Jamshidi was gone in 8th place. Their cards:

Adams: (A2)-AQ5J-(6)
Jamshidi: (89)-81037-(Q)

Adams was among the chip leaders following the hand.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Sirous Jamshidi,   Nikolay Evdakov,   Dan Heimiller

Level 16: Hand-For-Hand Mercifully Ends, Dario Alioto Bubble Boy

Jun 05, '10

Blinds: Ante 2,000, Bring-in 2,000, Limits 8,000-16,000

Players Remaining: 16 out of 150

Average Chip Count: 281,250

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Michael Mizrachi – 475,000
2. Men Nguyen – 462,000
3. Brandon Adams – 415,000
4. Nikolay Evdakov – 415,000
5. Vladimir Schmelev – 350,000
6. Sirious Jamshidi – 335,000
7. Eric Buchman – 330,000
8. Dario Alioto – 295,000
9. Ray Dehkharghani – 277,000
10. Todd Barlow – 195,000

Notable Eliminations:

Freddie Ellis
Alexander Kostritsyn
Dario Alioto

Big Hands:

Alexander Kostritsyn Doubles Through Brandon Adams, But Is Then Eliminated

Kostritsyn was all in on third street against Brandon Adams. Here is how their boards ran out.

Kostritsyn: (886)9A8-X
Adams: AQ10Q107J

Adams made two pair but Kostritsyn managed to get trip-eights and doubled up to 70,000. Adams, once the massive chip leader at almost 500,000, is down to 240,000.

Unfortunately for Kostritsyn, he would not make it past the level as he was eliminated in 18th place, setting up hand-for-hand play.

Evdakov Slams Heimiller

Nikolay Evdakov took a huge pot off Dan Heimiller to move over 400,000 in chips. Evdakov had the 6 showing and turned over 66 for trips to take a chunk out of Heimiller’s stack.

Heimiller was at 75,000 while Evdakov was at 415,000.

Freddie Ellis Eliminated

The defending champion hung in for a long time, but Brandon Adams delivered the knockout blow and abolished any idea of a repeat champion.

Ellis: (JJ)101073
Adams: (99)492A

Ellis started off with the best of it but Adams hit trip-nines on fourth street and the 2 on the river gave him a full house to knock out the defending champion.

Adams build his stack back up to 415,000 with the pot.

Dario Alioto Bubbles The Money, Eliminated By Men The Master

Dario Alioto nursed a short stack for almost two hours during hand-for-hand play. Finally, he played a pot for all of his chips.

Alioto was responsible for the bring-in of 2,000 and Men Nguyen called. Alioto was showing a 2 while Nguyen showed 7.

Nguyen received a 3 on fourth street whihle Alioto received the K.

“You’ve got two options,” Nguyen said. “You check, I bet; or you bet I raise.”

Alioto decided to bet and Nguyen was true to his word, raising enough to put Alioto all in.

Nguyen turned over (A7) for split sevens while Alioto had nothing. Nguyen held the lead until the river when Alioto flipped over the K to pair his king. Nguyen then sweated his river card and finally turned over the 3 to make two pair and finally burst the money bubble.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Brandon Adams,   Freddie Ellis,   Dario Alioto,   Nikolay Evdakov,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   Dan Heimiller

Level 25: Down To Two

Jun 06, '10

Blinds: Ante 10,000, Bring-in 20,000, Limits 50,000-100,000

Players Remaining: 2 out of 150

Average Chip Count: 2,250,000

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Men Nguyen — 3,150,000
2. Brandon Adams — 1,300,000

Notable Eliminations:
Steve Billirakis – 3rd Place – $152,788
Nikolay Evdakov – 4th Place – $110,629

Big Hands

Evdakov Out in 4th Place ($110,629)

Men Nguyen, Brandon Adams, and Nikolay Evdakov were three-way going to fourth street. Evdakov bet and both Adams and Nguyen called. Nguyen bet on 5th street and Evdakov raised, making Adams get out of the way. Nguyen re-raised and put Evdakov all in, who called. The hands were:

Evdakov: (AQ)-A7310-(8)
Nguyen: (67)-610Q5-(5)
(X-X)-4-8A-FOLD

The pot to Nguyen to 2.5 million chipos, while Evdakov exited in 4th place.

Billirakis KOed in 3rd Place ($152,788)

Steve Billirakis got the remainder of his short stack in on 3rd street against Men Nguyen. Their hands were:

Billirakis: (10Q)-4J3J-(Q)
Nguyen: (K7)-727J-(9)

Nguyen hit three 7’s, besting the two pair held by Billirakis, sending him to the rail in 3rd place. Left heads up were Brandon Adams and Men Nguyen.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Steve Billirakis,   Brandon Adams,   Nikolay Evdakov

Level 24: Cassidy Out In 5th Place

Jun 06, '10

Blinds: Ante 10,000, Bring-in 10,000, Limits 40,000-80,000

Players Remaining: 4 out of 150

Average Chip Count: 1,125,000

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Men Nguyen — 2,150,000
2. Brandon Adams — 980,000
3. Steve Billirakis — 750,000
4. Nikolay Evdakov — 480,000

Notable Eliminations:

Big Hands

Aces For Adams

Men Nguyen completed and Brandom Adams raised, with the Master calling. Adams bet first on 4th street and got a call. Nguyen bet first on 5th street and got a call. Both players checked 6th street and Adams led out on the river. Their hands:

Adams: (AA)-26J6-(J)
Nguyen: (X-X)-53510-(X)

Adams’ two pair was good and Nguyen mucked. Nguyen still had the chip lead after the hand, with 2.1 million in chips, but Adams was climbing into contention with 925,000.

Cassidy Falls in 5th Place ($86,461)

Short-stacked and with his back against the wall, Joe Cassidy was heads up with Nikolay Evdakov and got it all in on 4th street. The hands were:

Cassidy:(47)-76108-(Q)
Evdakov: (39)-6942-(A)

A pair of nines was good enough for Evdakov to send Cassidy to the rail in 5th place.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Joe Cassidy,   Brandon Adams,   Nikolay Evdakov

Level 22: And There Were Six...

Jun 05, '10

Blinds: Ante 5000, Bring-in 7000, Limits 25,000-50,000

Players Remaining: 6 out of 150

Average Chip Count: 750,000

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Men Nguyen — 1,250,000
2. Nikolay Evdakov — 900,000
3. Brandon Adams — 850,000
4. Michael Mizrachi — 620,000
5. Steve Billirakis — 570,000
6. Joe Cassidy — 490,000

Notable Eliminations:

Vladimir Schmelev – 7th Place – $55,991

Big Hands

Schmelev Hanging On

In a three-way pot against Michael Mizrachi and Nikolay Evdakov, Vladimir Schmelev was all in on 5th street, and his opponenets checked down the rest of the action. They showed:

Schmelev: (A6)-A1089-(7)
Evdakov: (Q2)-57KQ-(MUCK)
Mizrachi: (Q4)-102A4-(MUCK)

Schmelev is hanging tough at this final table, following a 2nd place finish in the $50,000 Players Championship.

Mizrachi Takes Some From Evdakov

After leading out on 4th street, Michael Mizrachi was raised by Nikolay Evdakov and made the call, putting himself all in as the lurking Men Nguyen folded. Their hands were:

Mizrachi: (AQ)-A58Q-(X)
Evdakov: (J10)-JQ64-(MUCK)

The Grinder’s two pair took the pot and he took a sizable pot to increase his stack to around 600,000.

The Master Goes Straight To The Top

Men Nguyen raised and Vladimir Schmelev re-raised and the two were heads up. Schmelev bet on 4th street and Nguyen called. On 5th street Schmelev check-raised the Master and Nguyen called. Schmelev bet the last two streets and Nguyen raised on the end. Schmelev called and they showed down.

Nguyen: (Q-9)-K108J-(2)
Schmelev: (X-X)-A763-(X)

Nguyen took the pot and jumped to 1,150,000 in chips. Schmelev dropped to 115,000 and eliminated soon after.

Schmelev Out in 7th Place ($55,991)

In a 5-way pot, Men Nguyen led out on 4th street, Steve Billirakis folded and Vladimir Schmelev re=raised. Nikolay Evdakov and Brandon Adams folded and Nguyen re-raised Schmelev all in.

Nguyen: (88)-JA3A-(Q)
Schmelev: (K4)-3453-(10)

Nguyen’s two pair took the pot and sent Schmelev to the rail in 7th place.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Michael Mizrachi,   Joe Cassidy,   Steve Billirakis,   Brandon Adams,   Nikolay Evdakov

Level 20: Final Table Set

Jun 05, '10

Blinds: Ante 4000, Bring-in 5000, Limits 18,000-36,000

Players Remaining: 7 out of 150

Average Chip Count: 562,500

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Nikolay Evdakov — 1,170,000
2. Brandon James — 800,000
3. Vladimir Schmelev — 740,000
4. Men Nguyen — 630,000
5. Steve Billirakis — 600,000
6. Michael Mizrachi — 300,000
7. Joe Cassidy — 190,000

Notable Eliminations:
Dan Heimiller – 9th Place – $38,676
Sirous Jamshidi – 8th Place – $46,206

Big Hands:

Heimiller Stays Alive, Temporarily

Short-stacked Dan Heimiller got all in chipped up nicely. The cards were:

Heimiller: (K-J)-A-A-2-J-(Q)
Evdakov: (2-9)-9-5-6-J-(X)

With the win he had around 115,000 in chips, but around 15 minutes later he was eliminated.

Nguyen Busts Heimiller in 9th Place ($38,676)

Men “The Master” Nguyen completed the final table when he got Dan Heimiller all in. Their hands were:
Heimiller: (AJ)-310Q9-(4)
Nguyen: (87)-A610A-(J)

Heimiller was out in 9th Place, and the final 8 were moved to the feature table.

Evdakov Takes Chip Lead

Nikolay Evdakov and Sirous Jamshidi called Vladimir Schmelev on 3rd street, and Schmelev folded when Jamshidi led out on 4th street. Evdakov continued calling Jamshidi on every street, before slowing and check-calling when Evdakov bet on the end. Their cards:

Evdakov: (89)-J672-(10)
Jamshidi: (X-X)-K10AJ-(X)

Evdakov’s straight took it down, pushing his stack to around one million and dropping Jamshidi to 220,000 in the process.

Adams Moving On Up

Brandon Adams, Vladimir Schmelev and Sirous Jamshidi all went the distance in a hand that saw Schmelev complete and lead out on 4th street, Jamshidi lead out with a bet on 5th street, and the rest of the action being checked down. Their cards:

Adams: (67-6393-(8)
Schmelev: (X-X)-Q58J-(MUCK)
Jamshidi: (X-X)-7JQK-(MUCK)

Two pair earned Adams the pot, pushing his stack to 800,000. Jamshidi’s already short stack dwindled to around 140,000.

Sirous Jamshidi Busts in 8th Place ($46,206)

Sirous Jamshidi was all in on 5th street and Brandon Adams called with a pair of aces. They held up and Jamshidi was gone in 8th place. Their cards:

Adams: (A2)-AQ5J-(6)
Jamshidi: (89)-81037-(Q)

Adams was among the chip leaders following the hand.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Sirous Jamshidi,   Nikolay Evdakov,   Dan Heimiller