World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up Josh Beckley led the way after two days of action in the $25,000 High Roller at the 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Beckley finished Day 2 atop the final nine with 2.146 million after he shot up the leaderboard throughout the 11 levels that were played.
In one huge hand, Beckley knocked out Nick Yunis and Darren Elias when his aces held against pocket sevens and pocket fives, respectively. He then slowed down the rush of two-time WSOP bracelet winner Brian Yoon, who was charging in the final level before Beckley put his foot down.
Joe McKeehen, the man who defeated Beckley in November to earn poker's most prestigious prize, already booked an impressive seven-figure score in the $100,000 Super High Roller earlier at this stop, and now it's Beckley who will look to do the same if he can ride his chip lead to a victory on Thursday's Day 3. However Beckley finishes, both he and McKeehen have started 2016 off with solid showings utilizing the momentum they closed out last year with.
The end of the night was hectic, with eliminations piling up once the players reached the money. Keven Stammen was the first to hit the payout desk in 31st place, and others that fell included Marvin Rettenmaier (27th), Nick Yunis (25th), Faraz Jaka (21st), Adrian Mateos (18th), Greg Merson (13th), and Jeff Gross (12th).
On the final hand of play on Day 2, Dario Sammartino busted Robert Gorodestsky in 10th place when both made top pair of kings on the turn in a three-bet pot, but Sammartino's ace kicker trumped Gorodetsky's jack kicker. That meant that the players bagged up and redrew to a single table where they will return on Thursday at noon local time.
Beckley, Yoon, and Sammartino will be joined by Chance Kornuth, Anton Astapau, Sean Winter, Andrey Zaichenko, Nick Maimone, and Ben Heath at the final table, and they will return to play down to a winner with coverage right here on PokerNews.
Robert Gorodetsky opened for 40,000 in the cutoff and snap-called a three-bet to 135,000 from button Dario Sammartino. The flop came and both checked. Gorodetsky came out betting with 120,000 on the turn, and Sammartino called. On the river, Sammartino told the dealer he was all in after Gorodetsky checked to him.
A frustrated Gorodetsky shot out of his chair, at risk for his last 300,000 or so. He paced away from the table then walked back and verbalized a call. Sammartino showed , and Gorodetsky winged his cards muckward, where the dealer flipped them over: .
Jean-Pascal Savard shoved from the button over a Josh Beckley cutoff open, and the 2015 WSOP Main Event runner-up called, revealing . Savard put his head down and flicked in, knowing this was likely the end of the line for him.
Beckley called for low cards, but the flop paired him instead. Now fading queens, he managed to do so with a turn and river.
Michael Karman was eliminated in 14th place shortly after the break by Dario Sammartino.
The two were all in preflop, Sammartino had , Kamran, .
The board ran out and that was all she wrote for Kamran who finished in 14th place, just before former WSOP Main Event champ, Greg Merson was eliminated.
Anton Astapau opened for the minimum and got one caller before Alexander Lynskey moved all in for 378,000. Dario Sammartino shoved over that, chasing everyone else away.
Sammartino:
Lynskey:
The flop was safe enough for Lynskey, but an turn doomed him since the river was a brick, the .
After being left with barely three antes, Adrian Mateos got all in from the small blind against Andrey Zaichenko. Zaichenko had just won a big three way pot the hand before to eliminate Jared Jaffee and leave Mateos with scraps.
Mateos had against the pocket jacks, of Zaichenko.
Jared Jaffee hit a rough patch in the tournament and lost a lot of his stack quickly. On this hand, he got all in for his tournament life against two players.
Andrey Zaichenko and Adrian Mateos were also all in. Mateos had the biggest stack.
Mateos had , Zaichenko had , and Jaffee had .
Jaffee had a shot when the flop came , but the rest of the board finished, and that was it for Jaffee. Mateos was left with scraps and would be almost all in in the small blind next hand.