Phil Laak was the only player missing when the clock started for this level, and he sprinted a few steps back to his chair as the dealer was pitching the third card around the table. Laak will be glad he made it back in time.
We missed the first betting action from the Unabomber, walking up to see Doc Sands raise to 54,000 in position. Laak announced a pot-sized reraise from early position, and it was 180,000 total. Sands made the call, and they went off to the flop.
The dealer spread out , and Laak took just a momentary pause to study. After a few seconds, he shrugged and slid his last 243,000 chips across the line. Sands held his cards up to double-check, then made the call with his covering stack and a draw-heavy hand.
Showdown
Laak:
Sands:
"Lots of back doors," someone at the table commented. Sands would miss everything, though, as the turn and river secured Laak's double. It's the biggest pot we've seen today, and it pushes Laak very near to the top of the pack. He's sitting pretty in second place with 864,000 now.
As the dealer was counting out the double, Laak stood up and began snapping a few pictures of the cards and the pot. As they were pushed away from his opponent, we can see that Sands is left with 137,000 now.
The Ukrainian, Alexander Dovzhenko has just doubled through the Russian, Kirill Rabtsov.
Dovzhenko went with for his last 57,000, and Rabtsov's was the hand he needed to beat. The board ran out , and the ace-king played. Dovzhenko doubles back to 120,000 with that pot, and it's Rabtsov crippled down to 62,000 as the two men trade stacks.
We've got two levels behind us, and the 15 surviving souls are off for a short break. We'll be back in a few moments with a fresh round of chip counts, too.
Nick Schulman raised to 20,000 first into the pot, and Austin Marks potted it back to 75,000. He only had 84,000 total to start the hand, so Schulman went ahead and put him all in with five cards still to come.
Showdown
Schulman:
Marks:
The board ran out favorably for Marks, coming to secure his double with a pair of aces. He's back to 183,000 now, knocking Schulman down a peg to 690,000.
Igor Sharaskin raised to 25,000 from middle position and received a call from David "Doc" Sands in the big blind. When the flop came down , Sands bet 64,000, Sharaskin moved all in for 65,000, and Sands called the additional 1,000.
Sands:
Sharaskin:
The turn and river saw Sands make aces and eights with a ten kicker, which beat out Sharaskin's six kicker; in addition, Sands rivered the better low. Sharaskin lost both halves and was eliminated from the tournament in 16th place.
From the cutoff seat, David Bach opened to 25,000, and Anders Taylor potted it to 85,000 from the small blind. Bach called, and Taylor had just 53,000 chips left behind.
The flop came , and Taylor quickly announced his all in for the remainder. Bach called just as quickly, but his hand was second-best as the cards were turned up.
Showdown
Taylor:
Bach:
Bach had flopped top pair, but Taylor's overpair was a favorite to keep him alive. He also had the better low draw working in his favor. And that was all great, in theory. But the turn came the , and Bach made trips to pull into a big lead. Now Taylor, shaking his head in frustration, needed to find an ace or a four to scoop, or another low card to make a life-saving low.
The river was the , though, a blank for the at-risk Taylor. He's been sent off in 17th place, good for $15,915.
We've been trying to count down David Bach for the last few minutes, but his stacking technique makes it difficult. We'll eyeball him at 868,000, +/- 50k either way.
With around 65,000 in the pot and a board reading , Nick Binger checked from the big blind and Kirill Rabtsov checked behind from the under-the-gun position. Allen Kessler was on the button an bet 60,000. Binger called, Rabtsov moved all in, and Kessler called. Binger then moved all in himself, which Kessler also called.
Binger:
Kessler:
Rabtsov:
It was a massive pot with chips spread out everywhere. When the hit the river, it was determined that Kessler would receive 1/2 the pot, or approximately 336,000, while both Binger and Rabtsov got quartered.
![[user66118]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, and Laak took just a momentary pause to study. After a few seconds, he shrugged and slid his last 243,000 chips across the line. Sands held his cards up to double-check, then made the call with his covering stack and a draw-heavy hand.
and river 
secured Laak's double. It's the biggest pot we've seen today, and it pushes Laak very near to the top of the pack. He's sitting pretty in second place with 864,000 now.
for his last 57,000, and Rabtsov's 
was the hand he needed to beat. The board ran out 
to secure his double with a pair of aces. He's back to 183,000 now, knocking Schulman down a peg to 690,000.
river saw Sands make aces and eights with a ten kicker, which beat out Sharaskin's six kicker; in addition, Sands rivered the better low. Sharaskin lost both halves and was eliminated from the tournament in 16th place.
, and Bach made trips to pull into a big lead. Now Taylor, shaking his head in frustration, needed to find an ace or a four to scoop, or another low card to make a life-saving low.
