Eliminations:
Second Place – Scott Sitron - $275,695

Big Hands and Storylines:

Daneshgar Wins Massive Pot

Scott Sitron raised to 320,000 and, for the first time in the heads-up battle, Daneshgar, 3-bet him. Sitron simply called the extra 575,000 and the two saw the flop. On the A62 flop Daneshgar led out for 610,000 and Sitron called. At this point nearly half of the chips in play were in the middle of the table. The turn was the 6 and Daneshgar checked. Sitron slid out a bet of 610,000. Daneshgar quickly declared all-in and, just as quickly, Sitron tossed his cards to the dealer. Daneshgar collected a gigantic pot and grabbed the chip lead, 5,675,000 to 2,420,000.

Scott Sitron Eliminated in Second Place ($385,974); David Daneshgar Wins!

Scott Sitron limped on the button and David Daneshgar raised an additional 400,000 from the big blind. Sitron wasted no time in moving all-in and he was practically beaten into the pot by Daneshgar. They showed their hands:

Sitron: A8
Daneshgar: 1010

The board ran out 6649J and the pocket tens of Daneshgar held up! Scott Sitron will receive $385,974 for his runner-up finish.  

For Daneshgar, the celebration has just begun. His reward for finishing on top of this event: $625,443 and a World Series of Poker bracelet.

Blinds: 50,000-100,000, 10,000 ante

Eliminations:
Third place – Dan Heimiller - $275,695

Big Hands and Storylines:

David Daneshgar Takes Chip Lead Without Seeing a Flop

David Daneshgar raised to 250,000 on the button and Dan Heimiller, short-stacked, opted simply to call from the small blind. Scott Sitron in the big blind raised to 700,000. Daneshgar put in another raise, making it 1 million more. Heimiller quickly folded and action moved back to Sitron. Sitron, after about 90 seconds of thought, opted to fold his hand. That hand propelled Daneshgar into the chip lead with 3,435,000.

Dan Heimiller Eliminated in Third Place ($275,695)

Scott Sitron raised to 225,000 on the button. Daneshgar folded and Dan Heimiller moved all-in for 1,600,000. Sitron called and the two showed their hands:

Heimiller: A3
Sitron: A10

The flop came J104 and Heimiller was staring elimination in the face. The turn was the J, meaning that an ace on the river would result in a split pot. The river was the 5 though, and Heimiller was eliminated. Heimiller’s prize for third place is a not-too-shabby $275,695.

Heads-up

Going into heads-up play, Scott Sitron has a 4,875,000 to 3,265,000 lead on David Daneshgar.

Blinds: 30,000-60,000, 5,000 ante

Chip Counts:
Scott Sitron - 2,705,000
David Daneshgar - 1,530,000
Daniel Heimiller - 1,450,000
Farzad Rouhani – 1,305,000
Corwin Cole - 1,055,000

Big Hands and Storylines:

Dan Heimiller Doubles Through Corwin Cole

Dan Heimiller moved all-in from under the gun for about 425,000 and Corwin Cole made the call from the big blind. Corwin had Heimiller dominated – A9 versus A6 – but for the second time on the day, his lead would not last. The doorcard was the 6, and that was joined by the 6 and 2. Heimiller beamed, asking the dealer for “one more six.” The board ran out J and 5, and while Heimiller didn’t get his fourth 5, he did win the pot, giving him 900,000 in chips. The blow to Cole’s stack left him with 1,260,000.

Corwin Cole Doubles Through Farzad Rouhani

Farzad Rouhani raised from the cutoff and Corwin Cole quickly moved all-in from the big blind for 940,000 total. Rouhani seemed agitated; he stood up and paced back and forth. He returned to his seat but did not sit down, instead he leaned over it and maddeningly stacked and re-stacked his chips, the normally airy clacking of chips replaced by a series of deep thuds. Rouhani shoved his chips into the middle and slammed down his cards: AQ. Cole showed 55 and the two were racing. Rouhani’s fortuitous luck continued when the flop came AK7. But just as quickly as his lead came did it dissolve into thin air. The 5 on the turn gave Cole new and unexpected life. When the river bricked – 6 – Cole was back among the chip leaders with 1,935,000. Rouhani slipped back to 1,480,000.

Dan Heimiller Doubles Through Corwin Cole

Action folded around to Corwin Cole with a short-stacked Dan Heimiller behind him in the big blind. Cole, fresh off of his double up, moved all in. Heimiller snap-called him from the big blind and the two revealed their cards:

Cole: A3
Heimiller: AK

The flop game 1085 and things got just a bit more tense for Heimiller, in addition to the three treys, he would also have to fade 8 spades. The turn was the 9 and Heimiller was one card away from a vital double up. The river was the 9 and Heimiller doubled up to 1,450,000. Corwin, after having just won a pot for his tournament life, found himself back down around 1,200,000.

Farzad Rouhani Doubles Through David Daneshgar

David Daneshgar raised from the cutoff to 155,000. Action folded around to Farzad Rouhani in the big blind who moved in for 500,000 more. After much contemplation Daneshgar made the call. Rouhani showed AK and Daneshgar showed the cause for his deliberation, flipping over 75. The flop – Q107 – made Daneshgar look like a genius, and so did the 6 on the turn. Poker is a fickle game though, and the K on the river ripped the pot from Daneshgar’s grasp. Rouhani went from the brink of elimination to a stack of 1,355,000.

Blinds: 20,000-40,000, 5,000 ante

Chip Counts:
David Daneshgar - 1,910,000
Scott Sitron - 1,820,000
Farzad Rouhani - 1,725,000
Corwin Cole - 1,500,000
Daniel Heimiler - 580,000
Matthew Matros - 495,000

Eliminations:
Seventh Place – Andrey Zaichenko ($112,116)
Eighth Place – Jeff Courtney ($84,546)

Big Hands and Storylines:

Jeff Courtney Eliminated in Eighth Place ($84,546)

Today was just not Jeff Courtney’s day. On three occasions the young man from Lancaster, Pennsylvania got his chips in with a solid hand against Farzad Rouhani, and on three occasions he would lose a big pot.

The final blow took place minutes after returning from a 20-minute break. Rouhani raised to 105,000 and Courtney moved all-in for 475,000 from the button. After a bit of thinking, Rouhani said, “Let’s go,” and made the call, showing AQ, a hand that he had folded earlier in a not too dissimilar situation. He was racing against Courtney’s JJ. The flop was another dagger for Courtney: Q94, and when the turn (4) and river (9) failed to improve his hand, he would be eliminated. For his three days of work, Jeff Courtney took home $84,546.

Corwin Cole Doubles Through Matt Matros

Corwin Cole raised to 100,000 from the cutoff and was called by Matt Matros in the small blind. The flop came AK6 and Matros checked to Cole. Cole bet 135,000 and action was back on Matros. The Yale grad did not take very long before sliding in a stack of green chips totaling 400,000. Cole then moved all-in and was insta-called by Matros. The two showed their hands:

Cole: 66
Matros: QJ

Cole flopped a set of sixes but still needed to dodge Matros’ 11 outs. When the A came on the turn all suspense was dashed. That hand gave Cole the chip lead with 2,115,000. After a couple of hours of patient play as the chip leader, Matros suddenly became the shortstack with 480,000.

Andrey Zaichenko Eliminated in Seventh Place ($112,116)

The table folded around to Andrey Zaichenko who open-shoved for 770,000 on the button. Scott Sitron quickly called from the small blind and Daneshgar folded. Sitron had the goods – KK – but that was not the case for Zaichenko, who showed his 96. Zaichenko would fall even further behind on the KQ2 flop. The 9 turn and A river provided no miracles for the Russian and his day was done. Zaichenko’s seventh place finish was good for $112,116.

Sitron’s timely kings helped propel him to 1,880,000.

David Daneshgar Doubles Through Corwin Cole

Daneshgar raised to 105,000 from the button and Corwin Cole moved all-in from the big blind. Daneshgar was clearly uncomfortable with the decision to be made, first sprawling face down across the table and then standing up with his arms crossed. Trusting his read, Daneshgar made the call with AJ. Cole smiled and turned over 86. An excellent call by Daneshgar for sure, but he was still only a 59 percent favorite going to the flop. The board came A942A and Daneshgar won the hand handily.

Daneshgar’s double up took him to 1,910,000 and Cole took a slight hit, dropping to 1,475,000.

Blinds: 15,000-30,000

Chip Counts:
Matthew Matros - 1,467,000
Scott Sitron - 1,223,000
Corwin Cole - 1,040,000
David Daneshgar - 979,000
Andrey Zaichenko - 970,000
Farzad Rouhani - 966,000
Jeff Courtney - 781,000
Daniel Heimiller - 549,000

Eliminations:
Ninth place – Voitto Rintala ($57,712)

Big Hands and Storylines:

Scott Sitron Doubles Up; Voitto Rintala Crippled

Scott Sitron raised from early position to 60,000 with blinds at 12,000/24,000 and after a few moments of deliberation, Voitto Rintala moved all-in for 544,000, sliding his stack of chips into the middle. Action folded back around to Sintron who made the call, and the two showed their cards:

Rintala: 88
Sitron: QQ

Rintala needed an 8 but it was not to be. The board came out J42JA and Rintala was crippled, his stack reduced to a mere 46,000. After the double-up, Sitron had 1 million in chips.

Voitto Rintala Eliminated in Ninth Place ($57,712)

Moments after the above hand, Rintala moved all-in for his final 46,000. He was called by Jeff Courtney behind him and then again by Farzad Rouhani in the big blind. The flop came down 955 and both players checked. The turn was the Q and Rouhani bet 40,000, leaving himself only 114,000 behind. Courtney, without too much thought, made the call. The river card was the very interesting 5. Rouhani shrugged and declared all-in, placing his final column of chips down onto the table. Courtney quietly called and Rouhani tabled Q5 for quad fives. Rouhani’s double up took him to about 450,000. The Finn, showing pocket sixes, saw his day come to a rather alacritous finish. Rintala was eliminated in ninth place, taking home $57,712.

Farzad Rouhani Doubles Through Jeff Courtney

Farzad Rouhani raised to 67,000 from early position with blinds at 12,000/24,000 and was called by Jeff Courtney and David Daneshgar from the button and small blind respectively. Daneshgar checked the Q32 and Rouhani bet 280,000. Courtney moved all-in, Daneshgar got out of the way and Rouhani called. Rouhani showed AJ for the nut flush draw and an overcard while Courtney turned over KQ for top pair. Rouhani called for a spade or ace on the turn. The turn, however, was the Q, giving Courtney trip queens. Rouhani was one card away from going home until the dealer flipped over the 8 on the river. Rouhani shouted “Yes!” in celebration, and sat back down in his chair. The hand boosted Rouhani to 886,000 and knocked Courtney down to 781,000.

Andrey Zaichenko Doubles Through Corwin Cole

Corwin Cole raised to 75,000 and Andrey Zaichenko raised all-in to 458,000. Action folded back around to Cole who, after some thought, made the call. The two showed their cards:

Zaichenko: KJ
Cole: A10

Cole’s read was good, and his A10 was in the lead. He remained in the lead on the AK5 flop, but things got a bit dicey for him when the 9 came on the turn, giving Zaichenko a flush draw. The river did not bring the flush, but the K was enough for Zaichenko to take down the pot, bringing him to 970,000. Cole is still at over 1 million in chips.