Level: 26

Antes: 40,000 ante

Players Remaining: 2 out of 678

Average Chip Count: 1,525,500

Chip Counts:

Seat 3: Paul Lieu – 2,300,000
Seat 5: Ben Volpe – 700,000

Players Eliminated:

None

Live Updates:

Paul Lieu Doubles Up to the Chip Lead

Paul Lieu raised to 40,000 on the button and Ben Volpe reraised to 140,000. Lieu reraised all in and Volpe called. The two players then tabled their hands.

Lieu: 44
Volpe: QQ

Board: K63J4

A four on the river saved Lieu’s tournament life and he doubled up to take the chip lead with 2.3 million. Volpe was down to 700,000 and the final table continued toward the 200-hand mark.

Level: 24

Antes: 20,000 ante

Players Remaining: 3 out of 678

Average Chip Count: 1,017,000

Chip Counts:

Seat 3: Paul Lieu – 2,000,000
Seat 5: Ben Volpe – 820,000
Seat 9: Louis Bonnecaze – 200,000

Players Eliminated:

4th: Blair Hinkle – $59,375

Live Updates:

Blair Hinkle Doubles Up Then Doubles Opponent Up

First Blair Hinkle doubled up with pocket tens against the A-K of Louis Bonnecaze on a board that settled Q-J-8-6-5. That put him at 850,000 and Bonnecaze was in trouble with 100,000.

Bonnecaze then doubled up through Hinkle thanks to K-Q topping the A-J of Hinkle on a board that ran out A-Q-J-Q-4. Bonnecaze doubled to 200,000 thanks to three queens and Hinkle was at 700,000.

Blair Hinkle Eliminated in Fourth Place ($59,375)

Blair Hinkle limped and Paul Lieu raised to 40,000. Hinkle moved all in, Lieu called, and the two players tabled their hands.

Lieu: QQ
Hinkle: A3

Board: QJ447

Hinkle was eliminated in fourth place and Lieu grew his chip lead to 2 million before the dinner break thanks to a full house.

Level: 22

Antes: 10,000 ante

Players Remaining: 4 out of 678

Average Chip Count: 762,750

Chip Counts:

Seat 1: Blair Hinkle – 1,050,000
Seat 3: Paul Lieu – 845,000
Seat 5: Ben Volpe – 305,000
Seat 9: Louis Bonnecaze – 855,000

Players Eliminated:

5th: Chris Moorman – $44,227

Live Updates:

Chris Moorman Eliminated in Fifth Place ($44,227)

All five players saw a flop that read J108 and Chris Moorman then moved all in. Paul Lieu called and they tabled their hands.

Lieu: 108
Moorman: 85

Turn and River: J3

Moorman was eliminated in fifth place and Lieu grew his stack to 700,000 thanks to two pair, tens and eights.

Level: 20

Antes: 8,000 ante

Players Remaining: 7 out of 678

Average Chip Count: 435,857

Chip Counts:

Seat 1: Blair Hinkle – 680,000
Seat 2: Adam Stone – 270,000
Seat 3: Paul Lieu – 260,000
Seat 5: Ben Volpe – 450,000
Seat 7: Horacio Chaves – 240,000
Seat 8: Chris Moorman – 300,000
Seat 9: Louis Bonnecaze – 650,000

Players Eliminated:

8th: Daniel Johnson – $19,660

Live Updates:

Chris Moorman Doubles Up

Chris Moorman raised all in preflop for 211,000 and Adam Stone moved all in over the top of him. Everyone else folded and they tabled their hands.

Moorman: 33
Stone: JJ

Board: K8734

Moorman held 435,000 after the double up thanks to a set of threes and Stone was down to 300,000.

Daniel Johnson Eliminated in Eighth Place ($19,660)

Daniel Johnson was all in on a flop reading 963 and Blair Hinkle called. The two players then revealed their cards and Hinkle held the lead with 96. Johnson held QJ and after the turn brought the 9 Johnson was drawing dead. Hinkle grew his stack to 600,000 and Johnson was eliminated in eighth place.

The final table of Event No. 45 ($1,500 Ante-Only No-Limit Hold’em) begins at 12:45 p.m. PT, and Card Player will be posting level-by-level updates with all major hands, current chip counts, and prize payouts.

The nine-handed final table is now set. Play will begins in Level 18 with blinds with a 4,000 ante, and action will continue until a winner is determined. Play may be extended an additional day if it takes more than 10 levels to reach a winner as noted on the official structure sheet. With cards now back in the air, here is a look at the final table and how these players stack up:

Seat 1: Blair Hinkle – 182,000
Seat 2: Adam Stone – 214,000
Seat 3: Paul Lieu – 579,000
Seat 4: Samuel Panzica – 153,000
Seat 5: Ben Volpe – 523,000
Seat 6: Daniel Johnson – 479,000
Seat 7: Horacio Chaves – 314,000
Seat 8: Chris Moorman – 279,000
Seat 9: Louis Bonnecaze – 330,000

While only 9 remain, this event attracted a field of 678 players, creating a total prize pool of $915,300, and the top 72 players made the money. Here is a look at the final table payouts:

1st Place: $201,399
2nd Place: $124,352
3rd Place: $80,839
4th Place: $59,375
5th Place: $44,227
6th Place: $33,371
7th Place: $25,472
8th Place: $19,660
9th Place: $15,331

Be sure to check back with Card Player at the conclusion of each level for regular updates with all major hands, current chip counts, and prize payouts.