We're back rocking and rolling, and while we await the dispersement of the final 3 players required for a final table, there's a gentle wave of excitement breezing through the cardroom as people will Doyle into the last nine and, hopefully, an incredible 11th bracelet. Now well into his 70's, Doyle's achievements of late have been mind-numbing, not just in terms of results, but having the stamina to keep up with the young guns in today's game and being able to survive such long and exhausting days. A true marvel.
Back in the midst of the cards, however, not only have we lost Donnacha O'Dea and Sylvester Geoghegan, but we're also mourning the recent departure of Roy Brindley, making it 3 Irish exits in a row. I didn't quite catch the hand that dealt the finishing touches, but whatever the circumstances, Roy looked understandably gutted and perhaps haunted by that old cliche 'so near yet so far'.
Someone who is still running pretty well is David Chui, a very experienced player indeed. He just bet 80k pre-flop only to be called in the Big Blind. Both players checked down the
, Chui showing A-K to take the pot. A dark horse in many events this chap, and possibly one of the favourites here.
On the same table, I noticed that Andy Bloch was complaining about a railer seated on the outside, claiming, "He can see the cards before they're even in my hand." As a result, the Tournament Director asked the railer to stand and his seat was removed. "I just don't want to have to worry about it," added the Robin Williams spit. Fair enough in my opinion, they're playing for the odd buck after all.
Unfortunately, the rectification of the railing situation wouldn't benefit Bloch for very long, as in a matter of seconds he was the next to be eliminated and would soon be joining the member of the audience that he'd just that moment complained about. Raising from the small blind to 80k, Bloch's pre-flop getting-jiggyness was called by David Chui, who also matched the bet when Bloch pushed in for just over 100k on the
Flop. Bloch popped over
onto the felt, but it simply wasn't enough by the
Turn, a card which gave Chui and his
a straight.
River and it was no Bloch Party for Andy, not this time round anyhow.
As such, the current chip counts (courtesy of worldseriesofpoker.com) look like this:
1st Tommy Ly -- $1,005,000
2nd Patrik Antonius -- $970,000
3rd Rene Mouritsen -- $960,000
4th Robert Mizrachi -- $900,000
5th Jonas Flug-Entin -- $630,000
6th David Chiu -- $620,000
7th Doyle Brunson -- $505,000
8th Marco Traniello -- $380,000
9th Steve Sung -- $195,000
10th Stephen Ladowsky -- $155,000
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