Level 27: Piccioli 7th ($94,971), Ashe 8th ($71,933), Hughes 9th ($55,093)
Jul 02, '12
Level: 27
Blinds: 25,000-50,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 out of 3,166
Average Chip Count: 2,374,500
Chip Counts:
Seat no. 1 — Hai Chu — 660,000
Seat no. 4 — Vladimir Mefodichev — 3,700,000
Seat no. 5 — Neil Willerson — 4,650,000
Seat no. 7 — Zachary Humphrey — 2,000,000
Seat no. 8 — Matthew Graham — 1,600,000
Seat no. 9 — Hugh Henderson — 2,150,000
Players Eliminated:
Bryan Piccioli — 7th Place ($94,971)
Randy Ashe — 8th ($71,933)
Ryan Hughes — 9th Place ($55,093)
Live Updates:
Ryan Hughes Eliminated in 9th Place ($55,093)
Ryan Hughes opened the pot for 100,000 before the flop, Vladimir Mefodichev reraised the button to 250,000, Hughes moved all in for around 700,000 and Mefodichev called.
Mefodichev was ahead before the flop with A
K
against Hughes’ A
J.
The board came A
J10Q5, giving Hughes top two pair on the flop to take the lead, but Mefodichev turned a straight to win the pot and eliminate Ryan Hughes in 9th place ($55,093). Mefodichev ended the hand with 3.1 million in chips.
Randy Ashe Eliminated in 8th Place ($71,933)
Randy Ashe opened the pot for 130,000 before the flop and Hugh Henderson called.
The flop came A107, Ashe bet 220,000, Henderson moved all in and Ashe called.
Henderson was ahead before the flop with 77 for bottom set against Ashe’s top pair with AQ.
The turn and river were the 10 and the 5, giving Henderson a full house on the turn to win the pot and eliminate Randy Ashe in 8th place ($71,933). Henderson need the hand with 3 million.
Bryan Piccioli Eliminated in 7th Place ($94,971)
Bryan Piccioli was previously crippled in a big hand after Matt Graham doubled through him and left him with just 50,000. On his final hand, Piccioli was all in for 40,000 before the flop with Q5 against Neil Willerson’s KK.
The board came K444Q, giving Willerson a full house on the flop to win the pot and eliminate Bryan Piccioli in 7th place ($94,971).
The remanning six players took a hone hour dinner break at the conclusion of Level 27 and will return at approximately 10:30pm local time to resume play.
Be sure to check back with Card Player at the conclusion of each level for regular updates with all of the action, current chip counts, and prize distributions.
Player Tags: Ryan Hughes, Bryan Piccioli, Randy Ashe, Vladimir Mefodichev, Hugh Henderson
Level 26 Update: Bryan Piccioli Doubles Through Zachary Humphrey
Jul 02, '12
Level: 26
Blinds: 20,000-40,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 9 out of 3,166
Average Chip Count: 1,558,000
Chip Counts:
Seat no. 1 — Hai Chu — 1,800,000
Seat no. 2 — Ryan Hughes — 750,000
Seat no. 3 — Bryan Piccioli — 680,000
Seat no. 4 — Vladimir Mefodichev — 2,800,000
Seat no. 5 — Neil Willerson — 3,200,000
Seat no. 6 — Randy Ashe — 950,000
Seat no. 7 — Zachary Humphrey — 1,500,000
Seat no. 8 — Matthew Graham — 450,000
Seat no. 9 — Hugh Henderson — 1,750,000
Live Updates:
Bryan Piccioli Doubles Through Zachary Humphrey
Bryan Piccioli entered Level 26 on the short stack with just 10 big blinds but managed to find a double up through Zachary Humphrey about halfway through the level to stay alive.
Piccioli opened the pot for 310,000 before the flop, Zachary Humphrey shoved and Piccioli called all in.
Piccioli was all in for his tournament and ahead before the flop with AA against Humphrey’s KQ.
The board came K7552, offering no help to Humphrey as Picciolli doubled up to just under 700,000 that hand.
Be sure to check back with Card Player at the conclusion of each level for regular updates with all of the action, current chip counts, and prize distributions.
Player Tags: Bryan Piccioli
Action Begins, Final Table Now Underway
Jul 02, '12
The final table of Event no. 53 ($1,500 No-Limit Hold’em) is now underway, and Card Player will be posting level-by-level updates with all of the action, current chip counts, and prize distributions.
Day 3 began with 28 players spread out over 4 tables, and with the elimination of Sylvain Gonon in 10th Place ($42,656), the final table is now set. Play will begin in Level 25 with blinds of 15,000-30,000 with a 5 ante, and will continue until a winner is determined.
With cards now back in the air, here is a look at the final table and how these players match up:
Seat no. 1 — Hai Chu — 1,565,000
Seat no. 2 — Ryan Hughes — 1,490,000
Seat no. 3 — Bryan Piccioli — 645,000
Seat no. 4 — Vladimir Mefodichev — 2,520,000
Seat no. 5 — Neil Willerson — 3,775,000
Seat no. 6 — Randy Ashe — 925,000
Seat no. 7 — Zachary Humphrey — 1,910,000
Seat no. 8 — Matthew Graham — 565,000
Seat no. 9 — Hugh Henderson — 870,000
While only 9 remain, this event gathered 3,166 players, creating a total prize pool of $4,274,100. Here is a look at the final payouts:
1st Place — $737,248
2nd Place — $456,217
3rd Place — $322,866
4th Place — $233,708
5th Place — $171,135
6th Place — $126,770
7th Place — $94,971
8th Place — $71,933
9th Place — $55,093
Be sure to check back with Card Player at the conclusion of each level for regular updates with all of the action, current chip counts, and prize distributions.
Player Tags: Ryan Hughes, Bryan Piccioli, Hai Chu, Randy Ashe, Vladimir Mefodichev, Matthew Graham, Zachary Humphrey, Hugh Henderson, Sylvain Gonon
There are a number of new additions to the field here on day 2, including Sorel Mizzi, James Calderaro, Manig Loeser, Anthony Spinella, Byron Kaverman and Bryan Piccioli, who finished third in the 
Anthony Zinno raised on the button and was called by Ben Jones in the small blind. Bryan Piccioli then moved all in for 1,200,000 or so and Zinno folded. Jones instantly called, however, turning over 9
9
.
8
9
With a river raise, Anthony Zinno just picked up a big pot from Bryan Piccioli with trip nines with a jack kicker.
(Bryan Piccioli)With a board of A
Seat 1: Anthony Zinno – 860,000
We caught up the action with Atanas Kavrakov shoving his short stack into the middle with A
Bryan Piccioli was recently riding the short stack, but now he’s sitting with about 2.5 million in chips. Piccioli started the action by opening preflop under-the-gun. Ben Jones called from the button, and Darren Rabinowitz made it 500,000 from the big blind. Piccioli shoved for about 1.5 million, and Jones mucked. Rabinowitz thought about it for a minute before calling off his last 400,000.
Bryan Piccioli limped in, as did John Monnette behind him. Hans Winzeler then moved all in for 20,100 and Piccioli called.
Ardavan Yazdi rasied to 65,000 preflop from the cutoff and Bryan Piccioli made the all-in call for 46,000. Christopher Bonita reraised all in for 192,000 and Yazdi made the call. All three players then flipped over their cards:
10
Bryan Piccioli moved all in on the button for 130,500. Kyle Bowker made the all-in call on the small blind and everyone else mucked. Their cards: