In one of the first hands after the bubble burst, Anatoly Chen opened for 11,000 under the gun and found callers in Tom Hall in the small blind, and Francesco Conte in the big blind.
The flop was and both Hall and Conte checked before Chen bet out 20,000. Tom Hall thought before calling, and then Conte moved all-in. The shove was for only 42,250, so essentially a min-raise, and both Hall and Chen called.
The turn of and the river of were checked down by both Hall and Chen. Hall turned over whilst Chen showed . By this time Conte had already gotten out of his seat and collected his things. The dealer turned his cards over, showing for a busted straight draw.
The only two remaining former EPT Grand Final champions have both departed shortly after the bubble burst. Both were short and didn't recover.
Chouity was all in for 31,000 from the cutoff holding , Christopher Franck on the button looked him up holding . The board ran out and Chouity made his exit.
Steve O'Dwyer busted out almost at the same time. He got it in holding up against Joao Simao with the . The board came and O'Dwyer was heading for the exit.
Just before players went on a break, Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov was dealt a devastating blow.
It appeared he raised from the button only to have Joao Barbosa three-bet shoved for 76,500 from the big blind. Katchalov made the call and was the heavy favorite.
Katchalov:
Barbosa:
The flop was dry, and the turn did Barbosa no favors. He needed a king and a king only to stay alive, and wouldn't you know it, the spiked. Katchalov didn't so much as flinch as he sent more than half his chips to his Brazilian foe.
A short-stacked Maria Ho shoved all in for 54,000 from under the gun and Ole Schemion called from the cutoff. The button and blinds all folded, and Ho discovered she was in dire straits.
Schemion:
Ho:
Ho needed some help, and she didn't get much on the flop. She needed to see either paint or an ace on the turn to be drawing live, but that didn't happen as the blanked. The meaningless was put out on the river to make it official, and then Ho exited the main stage on her way to the payout desk.
In a button (Daniel Smith) versus small blind (Lampros Vrakas) and big blind (Romain Paon), three players got their chips in before the flop. Smith was the shortest, Vrakas a little less short, and Paon had both of them covered.
Daniel Smith:
Lampros Vrakas:
Romain Paon:
The board ran out teasing Smith with the open-ended, but leaving both at risk players empty handed in the end.
Daniel Smith had fewer chips and therefor busted before Vrakas who hit a small pay jump as a result.