Phil Hellmuth Eliminated in 2nd Place ($226,907)

Level 26 didn’t last very long as Phil Hellmuth began the round with just about 1 million in chips to John Juanda’s 2.8 million. He lost nearly half his stack right out of the gate when Juanda drew one card to a ten-low and it wasn’t long after that he was all in from the button for 550,000 (10.5 BBs) when Juanda called from the big blind.

Hellmuth stood pat with Q – 10 – 8 – 5 – 2 for a queen-low while Juanda drew one card with J – 6 – 3 – 2. Juanda dew an 8 and made a jack-low on the final hand of the evening, denying Phil Hellmuth his record-breaking 12th WSOP gold bracelet and what would have been his first in a variety of game other than hold’em.

Phil Hellmuth was eliminated in 2nd place ($226,907) while John Juanda went on to capture his 5th gold bracelet and the grand prize of $367,170 for winning Event #16.

Blinds: 15,000-30,000 with a 7,000 ante

Players Remaining: 2 out of 126

Average Chip Count: 1,890,000

Chip Counts:

1. Phil Hellmuth – 2,100,000
2. John Juanda – 1,700,000

Juanda Takes The Chip Lead From Hellmuth

Juanda started Level 24 with a slight chip disadvantages but managed to even out the stacks after winning a 400,000+ pot by drawing one card to a ten-low. From there he picked up some momentum and took the chip lead himself for the first time after raking a 1.2 million pot with a pat-ten. Juanda was now ahead with 2.6 million to Hellmuth’s 1.2 million.

As soon as Juanda claimed the chip lead, he put it to good use with some very aggressive open-raising and three-bet shoving to widen the gap between Hellmuth and himself.

Hellmuth Doubles Up, Back in the Lead

Hellmuth came back from the dinner break with the chip lead but saw it quickly fade away. After losing the chip lead to Juanda and faced with some pretty relentless aggression, Hellmuth was down to his last million or so when he took a stand on this hand, doubling up for a slight chip lead once again.

Phil Hellmuth button-raised to 60,000, John Juanda three-bet shoved and Hellmuth called all in for 946,000.

Both players stood pat. Hellmuth showed 10 – 8 – 5 – 3 – 2 against Juanda’s J – 10 – 6 – 5 – 2. Hellmuth doubled up to 1.95 million this hand, reclaiming the chip lead against Juanda’s 1.85 million. Hellmuth continued to run good this level and managed to extend his lead by the time the players went on break.

Be sure to check back hourly for level-by-level updates of this final table.

NOTE: The remaining three players went on a one hour dinner break at the conclusion of Level 22, and will return at approximately 9:00pm to resume play.

Blinds: 10,000-20,000 with a 5,000 ante

Players Remaining: 3 out of 126

Average Chip Count: 1,260,000

Chip Counts:

1. Phill Hellmuth – 2,662,000
2. Richard Ashby – 700,000
3. John Juanda – 409,000

Eliminations:

4th. Steve Sung – $97,416
5th. Nick Schulman – $69,216
6th. David Baker – $51,485

Defending Champion David Baker Eliminated in 6th Place ($51,485)

Defending Champion David Baker had a tough level. He started the level as one of the short stacks and cemented that role about halfway through the level after doubling up Steve Sung when Sung stood pat with a J – 7 and Baker drew one, pairing eights with 8 – 4 – 3 – 2.

Baker was down to less than full big blind after that hand and found some relief in a quick quadruple up after drawing a 10 – 7 low against Richard Ashby’s J -10 in a four-way pot. Soon thereafter and David Baker would get it all in again against Steve Sung, Sung getting the best of it again.

Steve Sung raised to 50,000 before the draw, David Baker moved all in for about 10,000 more and both Phil Hellmuth and Sung called the raise.

Sung and Baker each drew one card while Hellmuth drew two. Hellmuth bet 50,000 at the side pot and Sung folded.

Hellmuth showed 10 – 9 – 8 – 3 – 2 while baker showed 9 – 7 – 5 – 4 – A. Hellmuth raked the pot with a ten-low and the defending champion, David Baker was eliminated in 6th place ($51,485).

Nick Schulman Eliminated in 5th Place ($69,216)

Nick Schulman raised to 50,000 before the draw, Phil Hellmuth raised to 340,000 and Schulman called all in for around 250,000.

Hellmuth stood pat with J – 6 – 5 – 4 – 2 while Schulman drew one card with 8 – 6 – 4 – 2. Schulman drew another 8, pairing his hand, and was eliminated in 5th place ($69,216) while Hellmuth secured a monster chiplead with 2.4 million.

Steve Sung Eliminated in 4th Place ($97,416)

John Juanda raised to 52,000 from under the gun, Steve Sung moved all in for 270,000 from the small blind and Juanda called.

Sung stood pat with J – 9 – 7 – 6 – 3 while Juanda drew one card with 10 – 6 – 4 – 3. Juanda turned over a five for a made ten-low and Steve Sung was eliminated in 4th place ($97,416).

Be sure to check back hourly for level-by-level updates of this final table.

Blinds: 6,000-12,000 with a 3,000 ante

Players Remaining: 7 out of 126

Average Chip Count: 540,000

Chip Counts:

1. Phil Hellmuth – 763,000
2. Richard Ashby – 620,000
3. John Juanda – 598,000
4. Steve Sunng – 576,000
5. Nick Schulman – 464,000
6. David Baker – 402,000
7. Hasan Habib – 233,000

Eliminations:

8th. Joe Cassidy – $32,440

David Baker Makes a Strong Showing This Level

David Baker started the unofficial eight-handed final table as one of the short stacks, but has since managed to make a run up the leaderboard.

Baker raked a 150,000 pot from Steve Sung at the beginning of Level 20 after drawing one card to a 9 – 7 low while Sung bricked after drawing two cards.

Baker then took another 150,000 from Phil Hellmuth after drawing one card to a J – 7, just outkicking Hellmuth who claims to have drawn to a J – 8 with one card. This pot put Baker over 500,000.

Joe Cassidy Eliminated in 8th Place ($32,440)

Joe Cassidy raised to 30,000 before the flop, Steve Sung called from middle position, David Baker called from the button, Phil Hellmuth raised to 140,000 from the big blind, Cassidy moved all in, Sung and Baker both folded while Hellmuth called.

Hellmuth stood pat and Cassidy drew one card. Hellmuth turned over 10 – 9 – 7 – 6 – 5 for a made ten-low and Cassidy showed 8 – 7 – 5 – 2 – 7 for a pair of sevens. Cassidy drew another seven and was eliminated in 8th place ($32,440). Hellmuth took the chip lead this hand going into the official seven-handed final table.

Be sure to check back hourly for level-by-level updates of this final table.

Leading the way at the start of the final day is Richard Ashby, who has already final tabled a $10,000 event this summer. He’s followed closely by Joe Cassidy. Rounding out the top three is defending champion David Baker, who has proven in a very short period of time that he is one of the best in the world in this format.

If that wasn’t enough for you, we still haven’t gotten to the poker brat himself, Phil Hellmuth, who will be gunning for his 12th gold bracelet. He’ll have to fight off 2004 main event champion Greg Raymer, along with Steve Sung, Hasan Habib, Nick Schulman and John Juanda. They’ll all be battling for the first-place prize of $367,170.

Here’s a look at the chip counts.

All of the action begins at 3:00 p.m. today and Card Player will have all of it for you with level-by-level updates.