On the first hand, action folded to Alexandre Meylan on the button and he made it 50,000 to go. In the small blind, Christopher Kruk didn't hesitate for a second and shoved all in for 447,000. The big blind folded and Meylan tanked for a bit before calling.
Christopher Kruk:
Alexandre Meylan:
Kruk politely asked for a seven, but would get none. The flop was no good, and though the likelihood of a split pot grew with the on the turn, it wasn't meant to be as the completed the board and eliminated Kruk.
The remaining 15 players are guaranteed €28,760 from here on out.
It's a day to move up or move out. Put up or shut up. Move on or move along.
It's Day 5 of the 2016 PokerStars EPT12 Dublin Main Event, and all hyperbole aside, it's a day when things will get truly serious on the felt inside the Royal Dublin Society.
A total of 16 players will start play just after 12 p.m. local time in Dublin, battling it out for a seat in Saturday's final six where a €561,900 first-place prize and Irish poker glory awaits the winner.
Patrick Clarke knows a little bit about Irish poker glory, having won the 2014 Irish Open. The Emerald Isle native will come in with the chip lead, but the path to glory this time around should prove even more difficult, with players like EPT Season 11 Malta €25,000 High Roller winner Dzmitry Urbanovich and EPT Season 11 Grand Final champion Adrian Mateos among those standing in the way.
They're in the money now, but everybody wants a bigger piece of the pie and there's another 13 skilled players on the list, hungry to etch their names in the EPT annals and willing to do whatever it takes to survive this day.
Play will begin with blind levels at 12,000/24,000 with a 3,000 ante at the final two tables. They will play down to two tables of five, then combine and redraw once only nine remain.
From there, they will play down to the final six before bagging up and coming back to play down to a winner on Saturday.
The PokerNews Live Reporting team will be here for every flop, turn and river and you're welcome to come along for the ride as the EPT12 Dublin final 16 plays down to six.