Taylor Douglas had open-pushed several times over the preceding collection of hands, and he did so again with Q 9. This time Billavara called with the superior hand, A 7. Douglas was drawing dead though, when the board rolled out J 6 2 A. The inconsequential river card passed out of memory as Billavara took down the gold bracelet in the $1,500 no-limit hold’em event. Billavara went from zero to hero, riding the shortest stack at the beginning of the final table to victory. He also took home $722,914 in prize money. Douglas started the day as the chip leader and he was eliminated in second place. He will walk away with $467,101 in prize money.
When action got down to fourhanded the players went on a 15 minute break.
Double Up Madness
The price of poker had now risen to high levels of blinds and antes. Both Chandra Billavara and Leandro Pimentel doubled up to survive during this stretch of action.
Back in the Hunt
Billavara was involved in an all in pot once again a few hands later, this time he was the one who had his opponent covered though. John Hunt was all in with pocket fives and Billavara held A J. The board was dealt 8 5 3 4 8 and Hunt doubled up.
Leandro Pimentel Eliminated in Fourth Place ($189,249)
Leandro Pimentel had been the firecracker of the final table. His play was aggressive and very active. His celebrations were boisterous and they were only intensified by his 30+ supporters in the halls of the Rio. That wasn’t enough for him to take home a bracelet though. He pushed all in with A 10 and was dominated when Chandra Billavara flipped over A Q. The board was dealt 8 4 3 J A and he was eliminated in fourth place. Pimentel will take home $189,249 back to Brazil with him.
Jacked
Surprisingly, the former chip leader Taylor Douglas was now all in, and John Hunt made the call. Hunt flipped over A Q and Douglas turned over Q J. The board was dealt J 8 3 9 6 and Douglas doubled up to $4 million. Hunt was crippled after the hand.
John Hunt Eliminated in Third Place ($292,476)
On the very next hand Hunt moved all in and Chandra Billavara called him down. Hunt turned over K 4, and Billavara turned up Q J. The jacks continued to be unkind to Hunt when the board was dealt J 10 9 8 6. Hunt was eliminated in third place, and he took home $292,476 in prize money.
Cort Kibler-Melby Eliminated in Sixth Place ($96,775)
John Hunt raised from the small blind and Cort Kibler-Melby reraised all in with A 7. Hunt called and turned over pocket nines. The board was dealt 8 4 3 6 10 and Kibler-Melby was eliminated in sixth place. He took home $96,775 in prize money.
Leader Board
Taylor Douglas: $3,200,000
John Hunt: $2,000,000
Chandra Billavara: $1,800,000
Duane Felix: $1,125,000
Leandro Pimentel: $600,000
Pimentel’s Rise Zero to Hero
Leandro Pimentel was down to his last $400,000 before he doubled up through John Hunt. He then pushed all in on three of the next four hands, and due to some aggressive play he moved into second place with $1.85 million.
Duane Felix Eliminated in Fifth Place ($131,184)
Duane Felix moved all in preflop with A 2, and John Hunt had him covered with A 9. The board was dealt K 10 9 4 J and Felix was eliminated in fifth place. He took home $131,184 in prize money.
Cort Kibler-Melby Eliminated in Sixth Place ($96,775)
Posted: Mon, Jul 02, 07, 12:01 PM
John Hunt raised from the small blind and Cort Kibler-Melby reraised all in with A 7. Hunt called and turned over pocket nines. The board was dealt 8 4 3 6 10 and Kibler-Melby was eliminated in sixth place. He took home $96,775 in prize money.
Leandro Pimentel moved all in and Greg Mueller made the call. Mueller flipped over pocket queens and Pimentel showed pocket jacks. The board was dealt 10 6 4 3 K and Pimentel doubled up.
Leader Board
Taylor Douglas: $2,600,000
Leandro Pimentel: $1,430,000
Kibler-Melby Gets Hosed
Cort Kibler-Melby and Greg Mueller got involved in a battle of the blinds. On a board of A 9 3 A Mueller bet $135,000 and Melby made the call. The river brought the J and Mueller fired out an odd $130,000 bet, which left him with only $70,000. Melby made the crying call and mucked his hand when his suspicions were confirmed.
Greg Mueller Eliminated in Eighth Place ($55,914)
Greg Mueller moved all in on a flop of 6 4 4 and Taylor Douglas made the call. He flipped over 4 3 and Douglas showed down 10 4. The turn and river brought the 7 and 9. Mueller was eliminated in eighth place and he took home $55,914 in prize money.
Leader Board
Taylor Douglas: $3,800,000
Leandro Pimentel; $1,440,000
John Hunt: $1,300,000
Ray Spencer Eliminated in Seventh Place ($75,270)
Ray Spencer pushed all in with K J and Taylor Douglas made the call with A J. The board was dealt A 10 3 10 K and was eliminated in seventh lace. He took home $75,270 in prize money. Douglas now possessed close to half the chips in play with over $4 million.
Lewis Titterton Eliminated in Ninth Place ($45,162)
Lewis Titterton moved all in on a short stack with K Q. Leandro Pimentel made the call with A 10 and the board was dealt A 10 7 2 K. Titterton was eliminated in ninth place and he took home $45,162 in prize money.
Leader Board
Taylor Douglas: $2,700,000
Leandro Pimentel: $1,450,000
Ray Spencer: $1,100,000
John Hunt Doubled Up
On a flop of A 4 2 Leandro Pimentel raised to $300,000 and John Hunt reraised all in. Pimentel made the call and flipped up A 10. Pimentel turned over A J and he had Hunt dominated. The turn and river brought the 8 and 10 though, and gave Hunt an improbable two pair. He doubled up on the hand and survived.
Reverse Tilt?
A few hands after he doubled up Hunt, Pimentel faced another large preflop decision. This time he held AQ and faced an all-in raise from Chandrasekhar Billavarra. He laid down the strong hand and Billavarra turned over pocket jacks. Is it possible to go on such a full blown state of tilt that you make extremely tight lay downs.
Lewis Titterton Eliminated in Ninth Place ($45,162)
Posted: Mon, Jul 02, 07, 9:23 AM
Lewis Titterton moved all in on a short stack with K Q. Leandro Pimental made the call with A 10 and the board was dealt A 10 7 2 K. Titterton was eliminated in ninth place and he took home $45,162 in prize money.
9
. This time Billavara called with the superior hand, A
7
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