After a shorter than expected day on the felt, the Event #51: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack is now down to a final table of nine with Switzerland's Hugo Pingray in the lead.
The penultimate day of play saw 62 players return to battle it out knowing they were already guaranteed $21,758, however each player's eyes would be locked on the $1,327,083 first prize awaiting the eventual victor. Once cards hit the air, play would begin at an incredibly fast rate as player after player headed to the rail to leave the field cut down to just 36 by the first break.
Once play resumed, the pace continued to excel as the tournament was swiftly cut down. The pace was so fast that players were sitting behind - excuse the pun - monster chip stacks that saw just the standard size pots taking minutes to chip up. A call to color-up kept hitting a brick wall since all the 100,000-denomination chips were already in play, however a plethora of 50,000-denomination chips were finally added to the fray to make play more manageable as just 13 remained on dinner break.
Several eliminations and several doubles saw the final 10 move to the unofficial final table when Steven Levy lost a race. The final 10 then passed chips back-and-forth for nearly two hours before Swede Robert Gustafsson couldn't peddle his short stack and longer when his lost to Thayer Rasmussen's when he made a four card straight to leave the final table lined up as follows:
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Joseph McKeehen
USA
12,925,000
32
2
Bobby Byram
USA
8,475,000
21
3
Zachary Gruneberg
USA
11,850,000
29
4
Claas Segebrecht
Germany
8,900,000
22
5
Thayer Rasmussen
USA
15,475,000
38
6
Lynne Beaumont
England
7,925,000
20
7
Joshua Hillock
USA
8,625,000
21.5
8
Sean Drake
USA
20,975,000
52
9
Hugo Pingray
France
22,700,000
57
France's Hugo Pingray is the overall chip leader with 22.7 million after snatching several pots late in the day from overnight and majority-of-the-day chip leader Sean Drake who sits second overall with 20.975 million. Rasmussen (15.475 million), Joseph McKeehen (12.925 million) and Zachary Gruneberg (11.85 million) round out the top counts while the lone female Lynne Beaumont sits with an impressive 7.925 million also.
The final nine will return at 3:00 p.m. (PDT) on Monday afternoon to battle down until one can be crowned the Event #51 Champion and recipient of $1,327,083 after besting a massive 7,862-player field.
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be back live in the Amazon Room to provide extensive hand-for-hand coverage of the Event #51: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack final table live from the 2014 World Series of Poker!
From middle position, Robert Gustafsson pushed all in for his last 1,375,000, and once the action folded round to Thayer Rasmussen in the small blind, he made the call.
Rasmussen:
Gustafsson:
With Gustafsson in the lead, the flop saw him now needing to fade an additional four outs to a gutshot, and when the landed on the turn, Gustafsson now had 11 cards he didn't want to see on the river.
Unfortunately for the Swede, the dealer delivered the on the river to fill Rasmussen's straight and send Gustafsson to the rail in 10th place for a $99,981 payday.
Steven Levy open-jammed for his last 2,020,000 and Joshua Hillock called from the button.
Levy:
Hillock:
With Levy flipping for his tournament life, he would call heads but flip tails as the dealer would spread a board to end Levy's tournament in 11th place.
Hugo Pingray opened to 650,000 in the hijack, Nicholas Pupillo three-bet to 2.3 million from the big blind and Pingray called. The flop fell and Pupillo shoved for 3.625 million. Pingray called immediately.
Pupillo:
Pingray:
The turn and river were no help to Pupillo and when the stacks were counted down, it was found that both players had exactly 3.625 million, ending Pupillo's run in 12th place.
The action folded to Sean Drake in the small blind, and for the second time in as many orbits, he moved all in. Jason Leifer sat in the big blind with roughly 1.3 million and he made the call for his tournament life.
Leifer:
Drake:
The board ran out to see Leifer eliminated in 13th place for $78,965 as Drake climbed to 16.7 million in chips.
From the small blind, Tony Sinishtaj moved all in for 2,850,000 and Sean Drake made the call from the big blind.
Sinishtaj:
Drake:
With Sinishtaj flipping for his tournament life, the board wouldn't connect with him, and he was bundled to the rail in 14th place for $78,965 as Drake climbed to roughly 17.8 million in chips.
From the button, Christoph Csik moved all in for 1,020,000 and Sean Drake in the small blind made the call.
Csik:
Drake:
With Csik needing to see some paint, the wouldn't be what he was looking for as he would be eliminated in 15th place as Drake climbed to roughly 14.5 million in chips.
Mathew Frankland open-shoved his last 2.1 million and Zachary Gruneberg iso-shoved all in from the button to force the remaining players out.
Frankland:
Gruneberg:
With Frankland in dominated shape, the flop gave him an additional two outs, but when the turn and river landed the and , Frankland fell to the rail in 16th place for a $62,726 payday as Gruneberg soared to roughly 22.7 million in chips.