Tom Middleton, EPT Barcelona winner, is chipping up nicely so far today. In a recent hand he was in the big blind and called a raise of 3,500 from a middle-position player.
Middleton then check-called a bet of 4,000 on a flop of . The turn card was the and a lead-out from Middleton of 7,500 took down the pot.
Irina Petrova's bust came in a two-part battle with Tyler Kenney. In the first hand, Petrova shoved on the river of a board with and Kenney snap-called turning over .
Petrova was left with 2,600 and the very next hand moved all in from the small blind after Kenney had opened with a min-raise. The player in the big blind called Kenney's raise and the flop fell . Both players checked down the flop and again on the turn card. The river was the and the player in the big blind check-called a bet of 3,800 from Kenney.
Kenny tabled for a full house and both of his opponents mucked. Petrova was eliminated and sent to collect her payout.
Roberto Romanello called a button raise of 3,700 from the big blind and the two players saw a heads-up flop of . Romanello checked and his opponent continued for 4,500.
Romanello slid out his stack for an all-in check-raise, and his opponent surrendered his cards
Oscar Johansson opened from the hijack and Kevin Stammen moved all in on his button. The blinds folded and Johansson made the call putting Stammen at risk.
The bubble burst and the players gave themselves a round of applause, but one player who was particularly delighted was Chris Wimer. He had folded the previous hand in the big blind and after paying his ante and small blind he was left with a single T100 chip.
He raced to friends on the rail when he found out he had cashed and on the next hand threw in his last chip declaring, “All in, Table four-thirty-eight!” His wouldn’t be the start of a miracle comeback, but he was happy enough.
Seated to his left and congratulating him was John Racener who finished second in the Main Event in 2010. Interestingly, Wimer had qualified for that event via a $60 satellite and discovered that their grandfathers had been brothers, but didn’t tell Racener until after the event.
In one of the first hands of the day, Arthur Kats was down to 2,300 when he opened then called a shove with and lost out to when the board ran out .
Kats was in the big blind the next hand and was out of his chair and ready to go. He tripled up, though, when a needed hit the river and when we swung by a few moments ago he had built back to a stack of 32,000 here on the bubble.
On a board of and a massive pot in the middle, Gavin Orourke was first to act and moved all in. Mike Heshmati had a decision for his tournament life and after five minutes in the tank, a player not in the hand asked for a clock.
About halfway through the minute Heshmati was given, he made the call, and Orourke showed him the bad news. Orourke had flopped a flush with and Heshmati apparently mucked as he rushed away from the table, just two eliminations from the money.
. The turn card was the 
and a lead-out from Middleton of 7,500 took down the pot.
board with 
and Kenney snap-called turning over 
. Both players checked down the flop and again on the 
for a full house and both of his opponents mucked. Petrova was eliminated and sent to collect her payout.
. Romanello checked and his opponent continued for 4,500.
wouldn’t be the start of a miracle comeback, but he was happy enough.
.
hit the river and when we swung by a few moments ago he had built back to a stack of 32,000 here on the bubble.
and Heshmati apparently mucked 
