After three days where players seemed to be learning and evolving their strategy at the tournament it was Jesse McEuen who emerged victorious, topping a field of 714 players. It was his first ever final table and he seized the day as well as the bracelet.
Arthur Pro lasted just seven hands after the resumption of play today, getting it in good with versus Rhys Jones, who had shoved with . Pro hit his ace on the turn, but the river brought Jones a queen-high-straight to send Pro out in ninth and $16,145 to take home.
There followed a flurry of eliminations as - in the space of four hands - Jeremy Joseph went out in eighth ($20,704), Herbert Yarbrough in seventh ($20,704) and Ryan D'Angelo fell in sixth ($35,143).
The remaining five players would swap chips as they tried to out maneuver each other in the battle for the antes in the middle at the start of each hand. There were a number of double ups, making it anyone’s tournament.
Adam Levy was eventually the player eliminated in fifth place for $46,575. Levy got it all in with on the flop of against the of Rhys Jones. The turn and river flush for Jones felted Levy.
Again, it was Jones who dealt the fatal blow to the next player to be eliminated: Simeon Naydenov. Jones got it all in preflop with and Naydenov called it off with and was out in fourth for a $62,528 payday.
That put Jones in the lead, but a succession of bad river cards for him saw his active approach to the three-handed game fail to pay off, and he was the next player out when he three-bet-shoved his short-stack, holding and got looked up by Jesse McEuen with . A run out of meant Jones would have to settle for third place and $85,131.
Heads-up play between Jonas Lauck and Jesse McEuen started with pretty even stacks, but McEuen began to pull ahead by the time of the next break. When they returned, it was all over in one hand as they got it all in preflop.
Lauck had a good hand with but McEuen had the better one: . A run out of and a winner was decided. McEuen had his hands on $212,093 and a gold 2014 WSOP winner’s bracelet.
Team PokerStars Pro and Team BlueShark Optics member Humberto Brenes joins the podcast to talk about his eight cashes thus far in the 2014 WSOP, chasing records, and Costa Rica's success at the FIFA World Cup. Rich, Donnie, and Jason then break down all of the latest news at the Rio, including the $50,000 Poker Players' Championship, and play an impromptu game that Jason and Rich fail miserably at.
Hand #23: Adam Levy moved all in and took it down.
Hand #24: Rhys Jones brought it in for 1,000, Simeon Naydenov made it 35,000, and Ryan D'Angelo moved all in for 342,000. Naydenov called with and D'Angelo showed .
The board ran out and the best hand held to make D'Angelo the next man to the rail as they have started to fall quickly.
Hand #22: Ryan D'Angelo brought it in for 1,000. Five others called. The flop fell and Adam Levy made it 36,000. Herbert Yarbrough moved in for 53,000 and D'Angelo tank-called. Levy also called. The turn came the and the remaining players checked.
The river was the . D'Angelo made it 45,000, Levy folded, and D'Angelo turned over for a full house. Yarbrough held and was eliminated.
Hand #6: Arthur Pro moves all in for 82,000 and picks up the antes.
Hand #7: Adam Levy brings it in for 1,000. Jeremy Joseph calls and Rhys Jones moves all in.
Arthur Pro calls all in for his tournament life with and goes heads-up to the flop with Jones on . The flop keeps ace-high in the lead and the turn pairs Pro up.
However, the river makes Jones a straight to eliminate Pro.
A champion will be crowned in the $1,500 Ante-Only No-Limit Hold'em event sometime today as nine players return to vie for the title.
The final table will kick off this afternoon with two-time 2013 World Series of Poker Europe final table participant Jeremy Joseph in the lead and 2013 WSOP bracelet winner Simeon Naydenov hot on his heels.
Day 1 leader Ryan D'Angelo will be making his third WSOP final table appearance in the quest for his first bracelet, while fellow well known pro Adam Levy is on the big stage for the first time following a few near misses.
Also at the final table is the ironically named amateur Arthur Pro, who came a heartbreaking second in a $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em event in 2013 and Jesse McEuen, making his second WSOP final table appearance,
The rest of the pack includes first time WSOP final table participants Rhys Jones, Herbert Yarbrough and Jonas Lauck.
The cards will hit the air with sizable antes and without blinds at 1 p.m. and the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be here to provide hand-for-hand coverage until the bracelet and the $212,093 first-place prize that goes with it is handed out.