8pm: Heard the one about Jesus and the three kings?
Jesus Lizano has just busted Candido Gonçalves in ninth place with pocket kings, rivering a set for good measure. Gonçalves opened for 125,000 from the cut-off and Lizano raised to 275,000 from the button. It was then shipped in by the Frenchman who held J♥ 9♥ and called by Lizano.
The board ran out 8♣ 7♣ 9♠ Q♣ K♦ giving Lizano a good sweat before he scooped a huge pot going into the final table. Gonçalves leaves with €50,000.
That’s it for today. A full wrap of how we got from 24 players down to eight will be with you shortly. Head over to the chip count page for chips, while the prizes and payout page will tell you all you need to know about who has won what. — RD
7.55pm: Shake that Stang
De Vries opened for 125,000 and Stang moved all-in. Fold. — RD
7.50pm: Puchkov takes this one
Kent Lundmark raised to 135,000 and Konstantin Puchkov re-raised to 300,000. Call. Lundmark checked the 3♥ 9♠ 9♦ flop, then folded when Puchkov made it 500,000. — SY
7.40pm: So close yet so far?
It all seemed so close to a finish an hour ago yet it almost semes as if we’re never going to lose that player in ninth place that will hearld the end of Day 4. Play is very cagey now that Notaro is short. — RD
7.30pm: AK, no action
Puchkov opened the button for 150,000 and picked up one call from Pantaleo before both players checked the board down. — RD
7.20pm: Pass from Pantaleo
Giuseppe Pantaleo opened to 110,000 and was shoved on by Francesco Notaro. Pantaleo passed. — RD
7.15pm: Hope for Notaro
Italian Francesco Notaro doubled up with A♥ Q♦ against Georgios Skotadis’ K♣ Q♠ , although the 7♣ 8♣ 10♥ 9♣ 3♥ board gave him a bit of a sweat. He’s up to 690,000 now. — SY
7.10pm: All-in and call
Shander de Vries opened for 120,000 from the cut-off and Francesco Notaro moved all-in for 2 million from the small blind. De Vries made the call.
De Vries: Q♥ Q♠
Notaro: A♣ J♠
The board blanked out to boost De Vries towards the chip lead with over 3 million. Notaro has just 400,000 left, which is around ten big blinds. — RD
7pm: First two hands of the final nine
Konstantin Puchkov was involved in the first two pots of nine-handed play. In the first hand he called a Jesus Cortes Lizano cut-off raise whilst sat in the small blind and managed to manoeuvre his opponent off his hand post flop.
The next hand he was the player forced off a pot. He raised from the button but folded when chip leader, Giuseppe Pantaleo, re-raised from the big blind. — MC
6.50pm: The final nine
The redraw has taken place and play has restarted.
Seat 1. Candido Gonçalves, France – 1,405,000
Seat 2. Jesus Cortes Lizano, Spain – 2,290,000
Seat 3. Kent Lundmark, Sweden – 3,360,000
Seat 4. Konstantin Puchkov, Russia – 4,005,000
Seat 5. Shander De Vries, Netherlands, PokerStars player – 1,695,000
Seat 6. Giuseppe Pantaleo, Germany, PokerStars qualifier – 4,890,000
Seat 7. Francesco Notaro, Italy, PokerStars qualifier – 2,020,000
Seat 8. Thor Stang, Norway – 1,590,000
Seat 9. Georgios Skotadis, Greece, PokerStars qualifier – 1,754,000
Just one player left before play comes to an end for the day setting up the EPT Barcelona final table (which begins at midday tomorrow). — RD
6.20pm: Down to nine
On a flop of J♣ 3♣ 4♣ Konstantin Puchkov bet 200,000 which Luis Rufus raised to 570,000. When Puchkov shoved all-in with A♥ A♦ Rufus called with J♠ 8♣ , top pair and a flush draw.
Rufas’s fortunes got better on the 8♥ turn card but a remarkable rivered A♠ swung everything back in favour of Puchkov, leaving Rufus with just two antes.
On the next had he threw it in with six-three off-suit which Pantaleo brushed aside with pocket nines. The nine on the flop confirmed Rufas’s departure in tenth place. – SB
6.18pm: Jesus smites Gonçalves
Candido Gonçalves might be kicking himself about this one later. Jesus Lizano opened for 115,000 from the cut-off and Gonçalves called on the button. The Spainiard then checked the dangerous looking A♥ Q♣ 10♦ flop over to Gonçalves who bet 200,000. Lizano waited a short moment then announced that he was all-in for 950,000. Gonçalves made the call.
Gonçalves: A♦ 6♦
Lizano: A♣ 8♠
Lizano was very much ahead but Gonçalves had plenty of backdoor outs to the chop and outright win. The J♠ hit the turn and the 9♥ rivered the straight for Lizano who is up to over 2.2 million. Gonçalves is down to 1.4 million. — RD
6.15pm: Nut flush versus straight flush?
The details of this hand are a bit hazy as it took place on the TV table but we’ll recount as best we can.
Luis Rufas, Georgios Skotadis and Giuseppe Pantaleo all saw and checked a 9♠ 10♠ J♠ flop to see the K♠ turn. Rufas led out and Skotadis called before Panteleo raised to 360,000. Rufas made the call but Skotadis folded. The river came 6♣ and Pantaleo led for 880,000. Call.
The one card we could see of Pantaleo was the one that mattered – Q♠ – for a straight flush. Rufas mucked saying he held the A♠ for the nut flush. Pantaleo extends his already large chip lead. — MC
6.05pm: De Vries gets some back
Following the large bluff shove from Candido Gonçalves just a few minutes ago Sanders de Vries has got some chips back. Gonçalves opened under-the-gun and was called by De Vries. Both players checked the 3♠ 5♦ J♥ flop and Gonçalves led 105,000 into the A♣ turn. De Vries quickly called and took the pot down with a 150,000 bet on the 7♥ river. — RD
5.55pm: Hard to take Candi from Gonçalves
Candido Gonçalves is a stubborn player and I mean that in a good way. He’s very hard to manoeuvre off a hand as this following hand will show.
The action folded around to the Frenchman in the small blind who raised up to 105,000. Shander de Vries was in the big blind and three-bet to 265,000. Goncalves thought for a minute and called to see the 5♣ 9♣ 7♦ flop. He check-called a 250,000 c-bet from the Dutchman before both players checked the 4♦ turn. The river came 9♠ and Goncalves instantly moved all-in for 1.9 million. De Vries shot a shocked look to his right before sliding his cards into the muck. — MC
5.45pm: Rufas the aggressor
Luis Rufas raised to 110,000 and got calls from Georgios Skotadis and Guiseppe Pantaleo. On the 10♦ 9♦ 2♠ flop, Skotadis and Pantaleo checked before Rufas made it 170,000. That sparked Skotadis into life, and he re-raised to 400,000. Pantaleo ran for the hills, but Rufas, after establishing that Skotadis had around 1.8million behind, announced he was all-in. Skotadis folded. Disgusted.
Next hand Rufas open raised again, but this time Skotadis moved all-in, forcing a fold from Rufas. Now it was his turn to be… disgusted. — SY
5.35pm: Players are back
There have been no knockouts as of yet but Luis Rufas has pushed Georgios Skotadis off a hand with a big all-in shove. — RD
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 25,000-50,000, ANTE 5,000
5.15pm: Sekularac out in huge race (sort of)
Francesco Notaro opened to 200,000 for a large five times the big blind raise from the cut-off and Serbian Ognjen Sekularac three-bet from the small blind to 509,000. Notaro made the call putting well over a million chips into the pot pre-flop. On a 7♣ 2♣ Q♦ flop Sekularac moved all-in for 772,000 and Notaro called.
Notaro: J♣ J♦
Sekularac: A♥ K♥
Sekularac was left with six outs and a backdoor straight draw. The 9♥ dropped on the turn and little Notaro clenched his fists and begged, ‘Five.’ The river card was indeed the 5♣ and Notaro screamed out ‘Five!’ jubilantly. The Italian is up to 2.5 million now. That’s quite some stack. Sekularac was left very short and busted the next hand in 11th.
That’s the end of the level and the players have 15 minutes in which to prepare themselves for five-handed combat. — RD
5.05pm: Some flops…yay
The outer table has been through a period where no flops were seen. It was all raise and take or three-bet all-in to force a fold. Candido Gonçalves changed that for us though by flatting raises from Ognjen Sekularac and then from Thor Stang in consecutive hands.
The first hand brought a 3♣ K♥ A♥ flop and Gonçalves treated Sekularac’s c-bet to an all-in manoeuvre. Sekularac folded showing a K♣ and Goncalves showed J♥ 10♥ for a gutshot royal flush draw.
The next hand he called a Stang bet but check-folded on the 5♠ 2♠ Q♠ flop. — MC
5pm: Skotadis and the hairy blogger
4.55pm: One for Puchkov
Things have slowed down a lot. Not surprising really, with the money getting big and the final table in sight.
Konstantin Puchkov just took a pot from Kent Lundmark. The Swede had raised to 85,000 and the Russian called to see a Q♦ 2♦ J♣ flop. Puchkov check-called Lundmark’s 95,000 bet and then both checked the 9♣ turn. But on the K♥ river. Puchkov check-called Lundmark’s 260,000 bet to take the pot with a paired queen. — SY
4.42pm: Gonçalves considers a big bluff
Candido Gonçalves almost got himself in a lot of trouble, claimed Sanders de Vries. Gonçalves opened for 86,000 from the button and was three-bet to 300,000 by De Vries. Gonçalves made the call.
De Vries slid out 250,000 into the 7♠ 4♦ 4♣ flop and Gonçalves thought long and hard about moving in. In fact he asked De Vries whether he would call if he moved in. After Gonçalves passed De Vries told him he would have snapped his hand off to get his chips in. Maybe. — RD
4.35pm: Jorge Lores out in 12th
Spain on Spain action here, with Jorge Lores getting all-in pre-flop against Luis Rufas. It didn’t look good for Lores:
Lores: Q♠ Q♥
Rufas: K♣ K♥
If things looked bleak then, it got a whole lot worse on the 3♦ 3♥ 2♥ 10♦ 3♠ board. Lores got up, shook everyone by the hand, and toddled off to the cash desk to pick up €36,000. — SY
4.30pm: After some time…
After a period of sustained inactivity the first flop in some time sends a pot Ognjen Sekularac’s way. Francesco Notaro opened for 120,000 under-the-gun which Sekularac called in the cut off for a 4♠ Q♥ Q♦ flop. Notaro bet 100,000 which Sekularac raised to 218,000, enough to persuade Notaro to fold, Sekularac showing A♣ K♠ . – SB
4.25pm: Take him to the Greek
PokerStars qualifier Georgios Skotadis has doubled up to just under 2.5 million through Zachary Korik before the latter busted the next hand. Zorik raised and four-bet shoved over the top of Skotadis’ three-bet. Skotadis tanked for a while before calling all-in.
Skotadis: A♣ Q♦
Korik: J♥ 10♥
The board ran Q♣ Q♥ 8♣ 4♦ 3♦ to send the big pot to Greece. Korik was left with just 75,000 after the hand.
These last 75,000 went in the very next hand with king-jack. Jorge Lores made the call from the big blind with ace-eight and as neither player improved on the board we have our 13th place finisher. The American takes home €28,000 for his efforts. — MC
4.15pm: Rasinen railed
Jani Kristian Rasinen has been eliminated in 14th place by popular local player Luis Rufas. Rufas made it 100,000 to go from under-the-gun and was only called by the Finn to go to a 4♥ 6♣ 5♥ flop. Rufas checked to face a 148,000 bet that he raised all-in, putting his Finnish opponent to the test for his tournament life.
Rasinen looked at the tournament clock, looked at how many chips he had left (around 700,000) and made the call with 8♥ 8♣ . The were roars from the rail as Rufas tabled 9♦ 9♥ . The turn came Q♣ and river Q♠ avoiding all eights and sevens. — MC
4.05pm: Seat draw
Here’s the seat draw on the final two tables.
TV table
1. Konstantin Puchkov
2. Alessandro Longobardi, now busted
3. Jorge Lores
4. Marco Bognanni, now busted
5. Zachary Korik
6. Georgios Skotadis
7. Giuseppe Pantaleo
8. Kent Lundmark
Outer table
1. Ognjen Sekularac
2. Candido Gonçalves
3. Shander de Vries
4. Jani Kristian Rasinen, now busted (see above)
5. Thor Stang
6. Francesco Notaro
7. Jesus Cortes Lizano
8. Luis Rufas
A couple of players have since taken a tumble. — RD
4.02pm: Bognanni out in 15th place for €23,000
Just like that, we’ve lost another player. This time it was Marco Bognanni to go, shoving for 300,000 with K♦ 5♦ and getting looked up by Giuseppe Pantaleo with A♦ 6♣ . The board ran 2♣ 7♠ 4♣ 10♥ J♣ and we’re down to 14. — SY
4pm: Stang and deliver
Thor Stang opened for 62,000 which Luis Rufas called on the button and Ognjen Sekularac called from the small blind. The flop came J♣ 8♦ 9♥ which all three players checked for a Q♦ turn. Sekularac bet 106,000 before Stang moved all-in for 600,000. Rufas folded while Sekularac tanked for a few moment. But no, not this time. He passed, leaving himself with a million, and Stang with a million. – SB
3.55pm: So long, Longobardi
Alessandro Longobardi moved all-in with A♦ K♦ for 931,000 and was called by Kent Lundmark with pocket sevens. The man from Sweden had Longobardi covered, but the 6-Q-A flop sent the Italian ahead. Not for long, though… out came the 7♦ on the turn to make Lundmark’s straight.
Longobardi is out in 16th. — SY
3.50pm: Karma police
With the karma allocated play resumes. — SB
3.42pm: What a palaver
There’s been a slight delay in play due to chip confusion and kudos to Jesus Cortes Lizano who admitted that he had too many chips. At around the same point Shander de Vries realised his stack was lacking and Thomas Kremser and his team had a head scratching session then set to work. Play has since resumed. — RD
3.30pm: Level up
Play is now up to the heaving 20,000-40,000 level and with just 16 left the big money is in sight. Half of the remaining players will make it through to tomorrow’s final table. — RD
PokerStars Blog reporting team (in order of the characters they would be in The Adventures of Tintin): Simon Young (Captain Haddock), Stephen Bartley (Professor Cuthbert Calculus), Marc Convey (Snowy) and Rick Dacey (Tintin… okay, one of the Thompson twins)
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