Johannes Becker opened the action with a raise to 200,000 in the hijack and he was called by Dan Cates on the button. Taylor Paur then pushed all-in for 400,000 in the small blind, sending Koray Aldemir in the big blind into a frenzy. He carefully checked his stack and opted to call with 500,000 behind.
Both Becker and Cates called and the four players headed to the flop. Aldemir checked to Becker, who bet 300,000. Cates then cut out a raise to 1,275,000 and Aldemir mulled it over for half a minute before sigh-calling all-in.
Becker quickly got out of the way and the two short stacks already turned over their cards.
Taylor Paur:
Koray Aldemir:
"I have a really good hand," Cates uttered without showing his cards just yet. He was reminded by Becker to turn them over and then flashed the very much to the disbelief of not only Becker.
The turn improved Cates to two pair and he held onto the lead on the river to eliminate Paur in 7th place and Aldemir in 6th place, ending Day Four.
All final chip counts and a recap of today's action are to follow.
He was at or near the chip lead most of the day, but a wild final hand of the day solidified Dan Cates’ spot in Friday’s final five players of Event #56: $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
The poker icon and defending champion of this event scored a crazy double knockout of Koray Aldemir and Taylor Paur in Pot-Limit Omaha to end the day and finish with the chip lead of 9,075,000, just ahead of four-time WSOP bracelet winner Benny Glaser of Great Britain, and two-time bracelet winner Yuri Dzivielevski of Brazil.
Not far behind them at this illustrious international final table are bracelet winner and 2017 PPC runner-up Johannes Becker from Germany, and Naoya Kihara from Japan.
Event #56: $50,000 Poker Players Championship Seat Assignments Day 5
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Bets
1
Naoya Kihara
Japan
3,265,000
11
2
Benny Glaser
United Kingdom
8,260,000
28
3
Johannes Becker
Germany
5,470,000
18
4
Yuri Dzivielevski
Brazil
7,535,000
25
5
Dan Cates
United States
9,075,000
30
Recap of the Day
Day 4 began with 13 players, spread through three tables. The day’s first elimination to set up the final two tables came early as Matthew Gonzales fell in 13th place to Kihara in a Pot-Limit Omaha hand where his top two pair couldn’t hold against Kihara’s litany of draws.
The next elimination wouldn’t come until after the first break, when John Racener, who came into the day with just two big bets was eliminated in Omaha Hi-Lo by Dzivielevski to claim 12th place money.
Philip Sternheimer dropped just a couple of hands later in 11th place when his king-high flush was second-best to Cates’ ace-high flush.
After that, another pair of quick eliminations sent the entertaining Lou Garza home in 10th place and WSOP Player of the Year contender Daniel Weinman out in ninth.
The final seven would then play for nearly four hours without anyone else sent to the rail before Cates finished the day with his PLO one-two punch of Aldemir and Paur.
Results on Day 4 and Remaining Payouts
Place
Winner
Country
Prize (in USD)
1
$1,449,103
2
$895,614
3
$639,257
4
$464,420
5
$343,531
6
Koray Aldemir
Germany
$258,812
7
Taylor Paur
United States
$198,661
8
Matthew Ashton
United Kingdom
$155,421
9
Daniel Weinman
United States
$155,421
10
Lou Garza
United States
$123,974
11
Philip Sternheimer
United Kingdom
$123,974
12
John Racener
United States
$100,866
13
Matthew Gonzales
United States
$100,866
A New Champion or a Successful Title Defense?
Cates has played the entire tournament with his 2021 PPC bracelet by his side on each table he’s played at, almost daring his opponents to come and take it, like a professional wrestler goading their challengers to take their championship belt.
The final stage of Cates’ title defense begins at 4 p.m. local time in the Thunderdome inside the Bally’s Event Center, with live streaming of the event beginning an hour later on PokerGO.
There are five hands remaining in Pot-Limit Omaha with 47:46 left in level 26 and the dead button will be on Dan Cates with Naoya Kihara in the single big blind.
PokerNews will provide coverage in sync with the streaming delay so as not to spoil any of the action.
Join us from the 53rd World Series of Poker’s new home at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas for the thrilling conclusion of the most prestigious mixed game tournament in the world as the winner will be awarded the Chip Reese Memorial trophy and the $1,449,103 first prize.