ESPN Poker Blog

Posted by Andrew Feldman

After the players return from dinner break, the blinds will increase to $80,000/$160,000 and 14 players will remain out of the 6,844 who started this event over 10 days ago.

With two tables remaining, a half-hour passed before the first casualty occurred. Jason Risenberg, a 25-year-old poker pro, was eliminated during a tough hand.

After a preflop raise and three players to the flop, the board showed Q-Q-3. Risenberg bet out, Dennis Phillips folded and Dean Hamrick called. The turn was a 9 and once again, Risenberg bet only to be called by Hamrick. The river was a K and Risenberg checked. Hamrick then moved all-in and Risenberg, with trip queens, made the call. Hamrick showed a full house with 9-9 and eliminated Risenberg in 18th place.

Unfortunately, the 24-year-old Tiffany Michelle was next. Michelle, the last woman left in the field, finished in 17th place, earning $334,534. And she was still quite cheerful after her bust out.

"Honestly, what I really tell people about poker is that poker is a brutal lover. You just don't want to do it. It's not going to make you happy," Michelle said. "I definitely know that I've been working on my game for a long time … with a lot of players. I think that girls have a really, really, really big edge and advantage in this field and in this game."

Michelle, surrounded by family and still smiling, admitted she's ready for a night off.

"I'm kind of tired," she said. "I just want to go and chill out. Then embrace it and realize, 'What did I just do?'"

Before I could complete my interview with Michelle, Anthony Scherer was on his way out the door. Scherer's Ac-8c couldn't overcome Peter Eastgate's pocket kings, and he was eliminated in 16th place.

With only four minutes left in the level, Owen Crowe's main event was ended by Ivan Demidov. Crowe held 9-9 while Demidov had A-Q offsuit. The flop was J-J-10, giving Demidov a ton of outs. The queen on the turn sealed the deal and Crowe was eliminated in 15th, earning $463,201.

Players remain aggressive as we approach the final table. Here are the movers in Level 19:

Peter Eastgate: As mentioned above, Eastgate eliminated Scherer and has chipped up considerably. He currently holds the chip lead with over $18 million.

Chino Rheem: Rheem really likes pocket sixes … but only when his opponents have them. Early in the level, he won a race with A-Q against Chris Klodnicki's 6-6 and doubled up. Then, he made a move for a significant part of his opponent's stack with K-9 on a board of 5-8-2 and needed a king or a nine to save his tournament life. The river brought the king, and now, he's over $12 million and keeping his supporters happy.

Nicholas Sliwinski: Sliwinski also doubled up during this level, winning a critical race with A-J vs. Ylon Schwartz' 10-10. A beautiful jack on the turn brought a smile and a "Thank you dealer" from Sliwinski, who was getting blinded away.

Here is a look at the current chip counts: Peter Eastgate $18.2 million
Scott Montgomery $14.9 million
Darus Suharto $14.8 million
Joe Bishop $11.8 million
David Rheem $11.2 million
Dennis Phillips $10.7 million
Ylon Schwartz $10.2 million
Dean Hamrick $9,800,000
Craig Marquis $9,600,000
Ivan Demidov $7,300,000
Kelly Kim $6,800,000
Chris Klodnicki $6,700,000
Nicholas Sliwinski $5,900,000
Gert Andersen $3,400,000

Small blinds:
Klodnicki has by far the loudest and most supportive crowd behind him. In fact, they were yelling so loudly that they were asked to tone it down a bit. … Jeffrey Pollack took Tiffany Michelle aside after she was eliminated to share a few words about her accomplishment. … Michelle's brother arrived at the Rio just as she busted out. She said she had hoped to last until he arrived.