ESPN Poker Blog

Posted by Andrew Feldman

With little surprise, the short stacks hit the road as Day 7 began. Michael Carroll, Phi Nguyen, Niklas Flisberg and Aaron Gordon were eliminated during the first hour and a half of play, which finished Level 28.

Carroll, a professional poker player from Los Angeles, was a very entertaining and emotional player at the table. After a flop of A-5-4, Carroll moved all-in for $735,000 and Joe Bishop called. Showing 4-4, Bishop was in control of the hand, and Carroll needed some major help to survive. The turn and river were J-10, and Carroll was eliminated.

Shortly after Carroll's elimination, Paul Snead eliminated Phi Nguyen. The two-time WSOP bracelet winner Nguyen moved all-in preflop with A-10 and was called by Snead's J-J. After a board of 3-2-9-5-8, Nguyen finished in 26th place.

Niklas Flisberg was the next to go when his As-10s couldn't overcome the Ac-Kc of Joe Bishop. The turn brought a loud crowd response as the 3s brought a possibility of a flush for Flisberg. However, the river was the 4h, and Flisberg was eliminated. The tournament staff then announced that Nicholas Sliwinski was eliminated, but corrected itself to say that it was actually Flisberg going home.

Only 10 minutes before the level ended, Aaron Gordon was knocked out by Darus Suharto in a very interesting hand. Gordon limped into the pot, as did Jason Riesenberg. But when Suharto reraised, Gordon re-reraised, leaving himself only $735,000 behind. Suharto then moved all-in and apparently committed, and Gordon made the call only to see that he was in bad shape. Suharto held pocket jacks that were a strong favorite against Gordon's Qc-10c and held up when the board came Kd-2d-6c-5c-7h.

Completing his downward spiral through the first two levels was Brandon Cantu. After committing himself once again in a bad spot, Cantu was forced to call off a third of his chips with 10-5. He hoped to have two live cards, but unfortunately, his opponent, Dean Hamrick showed pocket aces, making Cantu an overwhelming underdog. Although he flopped a pair of fives, Hamrick turned two pair when the board paired eights, and even though the river was a 10, Cantu lost a significant part of his stack and was down to $2.4 million at that pot.

Just 10 minutes later, Cantu lost a race when his pocket nines couldn't beat his opponent's A-Q and was eliminated in 20th place.

The eliminations would keep on coming, making the final 18 a reality after only three hours of play, something I never would've thought possible. Tim Lock (23rd), Judet Toni Christian (22nd) and Snead (21st) were sent home before Cantu. Immediately after Cantu's hand completed, it was Albert Kim running his A-K into the 9-9 of Chris Klodnicki, who flopped a set to essentially end the hand.

Down to 18. Four eliminations in 10 minutes, wow. So much for playing more conservatively.

Besides eliminations, the first few levels were all about players putting themselves in a stronger position for the final table. Making the biggest move early was Ylon Schwartz, who reached the $10 million mark after starting at $3.65 million. Suharto also made a move and reached second in chips after starting toward the bottom of the standings.

Here is a look at the current chip counts:

Dennis Phillips $14.23 million
Darus Suharto $12.6 million
Joe Bishop $11.7 million
Ylon Schwartz $10 million
Peter Eastgate $9,120,000
Craig Marquis $9,100,000
Kelly Kim $8,130,000
Ivan Demidov $8,000,000
David Rheem $7,870,000
Chris Klodnicki $7.400,000
Dean Hamrick $5,620,000
Scott Montgomery $5,500,000
Tiffany Michelle $5,000,000
Owen Crowe $4,000,000
Jason Riesenberg $3,400,000
Gert Andersen $3,280,000
Nicholas Sliwinski $2,850,000
Anthony Scherer $2,700,000

Small blinds:
"Hollywood" Dave Stann, whom you may know from any "Blackjack" television show, is here supporting Tiffany Michelle and hasn't left her side since Day 2, when they were sitting at the same table. … The record for youngest main event winner was set by Phil Hellmuth, but that record has the potential of falling this year with so many young players remaining. If Craig Marquis, Peter Eastgate, Chris Klodnicki, Tiffany Michelle or Nicholas Sliwinski wins, Hellmuth's record will fall. … Players did a redraw at 18 players and will do it once again when they reach 10.