Francois Safieddine Poker Tournament Updates

Francois Safieddine Eliminated

Oct 28, '08

Francois Saffieddine has busted out of the tournament during level 3.
















 

Player Tags: Francois Safieddine

Event 13 - No-Limit Hold'em - Begins at Noon

Jun 06, '08

Event No. 13 $2,500 no-limit hold'em begins today, and the cards will be in the air by 12:00pm.  Last year's field of 1,013 players generated a prize pool of $2,329,900, with first place finisher Francois Safieddine taking home $521,785 on top of the coveted gold bracelet.  Player will start with 5,000 in chips with levels lasting one hour each.  The blinds will start at 25/50, and play will continue until the completion of level 10.










 

Player Tags: Francois Safieddine

No Limit Hold 'Em Six Handed - Level 5

Jun 05, '08

Blinds: 150-300 ante 25

Players Left: 288-1,236

Chip Leaders:
Ben Fineman: 50,000
Tom Braband: 48,000
Peter Granlund: 45,000
Brandon Lee; 36,000
Ward Crane 35,000
Jimmy Fricke: 30,000
Brian Horton: 29,000

Big Hands:

Horton Adds to Stack

After the small blind called his raise of 800, then checked a flop K99, Brian "ZBF" Horton checked behind. The turn brought the 9, and the small blind led out with a bet of 1,200. Horton called. After the 5 fell on the river, again the small blind led out with a bet, this time to 1,800. Horton immediately called with QQ, for a queens full house, good enough to take down a pot worth about 8,000 and increasing his stack to nearly in 30,000 in chips.

Safieddine Takes on Markholt

After Francois Safieddine limped in from the small blind, Lee Markholt raised 800 from the big blind. Safieddine called, then checked a flop of Q94. Markholt checked. Safieddine led out with a bet of 1,000 on a turn of 2, and Markholt called. After a 6 fell on the river, Safieddine moved all in for 4,800, a little more than the size of the pot. "I think I'm supposed to call right here," Markholt said, "but I have the sick feeling you have a queen." He eventually paid to find out, and Safieddine rolled over two fours for a set on the flop. That hand brought Safieddine up to almost 15,000 and crippled Markholdt.

Sugar Bear Has Heart, But No Flush

For the second consecutive round, Al Barbieri was involved on a flop of three hearts when he was holding two spades and top pair. This time, with AJ on a board of J96, he called the all in of his opponent, who held KQ. Barbieri had a ton of ways he could lose--any king, queen, ten, or heart. Sure enough, the K spiked on the river, tumbling Barbieri's stack to less than 4,000.

Player Tags: Lee Markholt,   Francois Safieddine,   European Report

Francois Safieddine Breaks $100,000

Jun 30, '07

Francois Safieddine has chipped up to $100,000 by carefully menuervin through the tough four handed feild. For the most part play has slowed down quite a bit since we got four handed. Christopher Andler is currently the chip leader with about $135,000 while Christoffer Sonesson is last in chips with $55,000.

Player Tags: Francois Safieddine

Hour Five - Francois Safieddine Wins Event #19 ($521,785)

Jun 13, '07

Marcus Obser Eliminated in 3rd Place ($212,021)

Marcus Obser was all in with 8 6 and Francois Safiedinne had him covered with A Q. The board was dealt A 9 8 4 J and Obser was eliminated in third place. He took home $212,021 in prize money.

Action was now down to heads-up and the chip stacks were as follows:

Francois Safieddine: $3,600,000
John Phan: $1,400,000

Sharpening the Razor

After fifteen minutes of inactivity John Phan moved all in and the crowd came to life. Safiedinne mucked his hand and the crowd broke into applause. Phan was extremely focused at this point and he had placed all his energy on the task at hand. He had begun to make some inroads and now held $2.1 million to Safiedinne’s $3 million.

Stop Watch

Safieddine was quick on the trigger to call the clock throughout their heads-up match. On one hand he called it after only fifteen seconds, tournament director Chris Spears then explained to him that you have to give your opponent a reasonable amount of time before you call the clock on him. Phan eventually mucked the A face up on the table and action continued.

Here we go Again

Safieddine moved all in yet again and Phan went into the tank on a flop of 6 4 3. Safieddine called the clock again and Phan used every second of his allotted time before he mucked his hand.

Rolling on the River

On a board of Q 2 2 9 Safiedinne bet $200,000 and Phan made the call. The river brought the 10 and both players checked. Phan turned over 9-7 and Safiedinne showed J-10. He took down the pot with the 10 on the river and now held $3,900,000. Phan was down to $1,150,000.

All-In-A-Thon

Safieddine then moved all in on the next three hands, each time Phan folded. He moved all in again a few hands later and Phan took a moment to take a swig of his drink before he folded. Safiedinne now had above $4,000,000.

Francois Safieddine Wins Event #19 ($521,785)

Francois Safieddine moved all in and John Phan made the call. Safieddine flipped over pocket fours and Phan turned over pocket aces. The crowd began to cheer as the board was dealt J 8 2 5. Those cheers quickly turned into gasps of terror when the 4 was dealt on the turn. Safieddine won the gold bracelet and $521,785 when that four hit the board. Phan took home $330,486 for second place in the $2,500 no-limit hold’em event.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Francois Safieddine,   Marcus Obser

Marcus Obser Eliminated in 3rd Place ($212,021)

Jun 13, '07

Marcus Obser was all in with 8 6 and Francois Safiedinne had him covered with A Q. The board was dealt A 9 8 4 J and Obser was eliminated in third place. He took home $212,021 in prize money.

Player Tags: Francois Safieddine,   Marcus Obser

Hour Four

Jun 13, '07

Lucky!

Devin porter raised to $480,000 after Marcus Obser made it $200,000 to play. Porter then moved all in for $340,000 on a flop of 10 7 3 and Obser made the call. Porter flipped over 10 3 and Obser flipped over K J. The turn and river cards are dealt 7 7 and Porter doubled up. This vaulted him into the chip lead.

Score Board

Devin Porter: $1,600,000
John Phan: $1,350,000
Francois Safieddine: $1,200,000
Marcus Obser: $815,000

Devin Porter Eliminated in 4^th Place ($139,794)

Devin Porter made an all-in call when Francois Safieddine raised to $775,000. Porter flipped over A J and Safieddine turned over pocket sevens. The board was dealt 9 7 4 5 Q. Porter was eliminated in fourth place and took home a cool $139,794.

The players then went on a fifteen minute break.

The Doldrums Part II

Action or the lack thereof continued on for the next half hour.

The chip counts after the period of inactivity were as follows:

Francois Sfieddine: $2,180,000
Marcus Obser: $1,550,000
John Phan: $1,300,00

Player Tags: Francois Safieddine,   Devin Porter,   Marcus Obser

Devin Porter Eliminated in 4th Place ($139,794)

Jun 13, '07

Devin Porter made an all-in call when Francois Safieddine raised to $775,000. Porter flipped over A J and Safieddine turned over pocket sevens. The board was dealt 9 7 4 5 Q. Porter was eliminated in fourth place and took home a cool $139,794.

Player Tags: Francois Safieddine,   Devin Porter

Hour Three

Jun 13, '07

Un-Tranquil Chaos

Devin Porter moved all in and Marcus Obser made the call. Porter flipped over pocket threes and Obser showed down A 7. The board was dealt 5 4 2 5 3 and Porter not only survived, he doubled up on the river.

Break Time

The players then went on a short break.

The Doldrums

All the players at the table now had chips to work with and the action was little to none for the next 30 minutes.

Francois the Double up Machine

On a flop of K 6 5 Francois Safieddine moved all in and John Phan made the call. Safieddine flipped over A 3 and Phan turned over pocket nines. The turn and river cards were dealt Q A and Safieddine doubles up yet again. This time it gave him the chip lead.

Chip Counts:

Francois Safieddine: $1,600,000
Marcus Osber: $1,300,000
John Phan: $1,050,000
Devin Porter: $945,000

Player Tags: John Phan,   Francois Safieddine,   Devin Porter,   Marcus Obser

Hour Two

Jun 13, '07

Alex Bolotin Eliminated in 8th Place ($40,773)

Alex Bolotin moved all in and Marcus Obser reraised all in over the top of him. Bolotin showed down 7 5 and Obser flipped over pocket eights. The board was dealt J 2 2 5 8. Bolotin was eliminated in eighth place and took home $40,773 in prize money.

John Phan Doubled Up

Devin Porter moved all in with the chip lead and John Phan made the call. The Razor flipped over K J and Porter showed down 10 8. The board was dealt A 10 8 Q 2 and Phan doubled up on the hand.

Humberto Brenes Eliminated in 7th Place ($55,918)

On the next hand, Humberto Brenes moved all in and Porter made the call. Porter showed pocket nines and Brenes turned over A K. The board was dealt 7 3 2 8 6 and Brenes was eliminated in seventh place. He took home $55,918 in prize money. “Sharks don’t swim on the land,” said Phan as Brenes made his gracious exit even in defeat. Brenes has now made three final table at this years WSOP. More than any other player.

Lars Bonding Eliminated in 6th Place ($74,557)

Lars Bonding moved all in and Phan made the call. He flipped over pocket sevens, while Bonding turned over K Q. The board was dealt 9 7 4 4 6 and Bonding hit the rail in sixth place. He took home $74,557 in prize money.

Francois Does Double Duty

Francois Safieddine then doubled up two times in a row with Big Slick and a jack high. This brought him back from the dead and gave him a fighting chance with over $600,000.

Shawn Hattem Eliminated in 5th Place ($97,856)

The turbo pace of play continued when Shawn Hattem moved all in and Porter, Phan, and Safieddine all called. The three players checked down the side pot until Safieddine fired out $65,000 on the river. Both Phan and Porter folded and Safieddine turned over A-10. The board read K Q 6 A A at this point and Hattem mucked his hand. He was elminated in fifth place and took home $97,856 in prize money.

After the mayhem the leader board looked like this:

John Phan: $1,600,000
Devin Porter: $1,500,000
Marcus Obser: $1,450,000
Francois Safieddine: $650,000

Player Tags: John Phan,   Humberto Brenes,   Francois Safieddine,   Lars Bonding,   Devin Porter,   Shawn Hattem,   Alex Bolotin,   Marcus Obser

Shawn Hattem Eliminated in 5th Place ($97,856)

Jun 13, '07

The turbo pace of play continued when Shawn Hattem moved all in and Devin Porter, John Phan, and Francois Safieddine all called. The three players checked down the side pot until Safieddine fired out $65,000 on the river. Both Phan and Porter folded and Safieddine turned over A-10. The board read K Q 6 A A at this point and Hattem mucked his hand. He was elminated in fifth place and took home $97,856 in prize money.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Francois Safieddine,   Devin Porter,   Shawn Hattem

Final Table

Jun 12, '07

The final table is now set, and here are the players and their respective chip counts.

Lars Bonding -- $882,000

Devin Porter -- $819,000

Shawn Hattem -- $787,000

Marcus Obser -- $679,000

John Phan -- $445,000

Bertrand Grospellier -- $416,000

Alex Bolotin -- $382,000

Humberto Brenes -- $343,000

Francois Safieddine -- $302,000

Finishing in 10^th place and earning $21,435 was James Gilsdorf. Gilsdorf moved all-in from late position and was called by Marcus Obser. Gilsdorf shows A 10 while Obser flips over Q Q, the same hand he eliminated Alex Outhred with less than an hour ago. The board came J 7 3 7 7, giving Obser a full house and eliminating Gilsdorf in tenth place.

The final table will begin tomorrow at 2 p.m., so be sure to check back with CardPlayer.com for all of your WSOP coverage needs.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Humberto Brenes,   Francois Safieddine,   Lars Bonding,   Devin Porter,   Shawn Hattem,   Bertrand Grospellier,   Alex Bolotin,   Marcus Obser,   James Gilsdorf

Hour Five - Francois Safieddine Wins Event #19 ($521,785)

Jun 13, '07

Marcus Obser Eliminated in 3rd Place ($212,021)

Marcus Obser was all in with 8 6 and Francois Safiedinne had him covered with A Q. The board was dealt A 9 8 4 J and Obser was eliminated in third place. He took home $212,021 in prize money.

Action was now down to heads-up and the chip stacks were as follows:

Francois Safieddine: $3,600,000
John Phan: $1,400,000

Sharpening the Razor

After fifteen minutes of inactivity John Phan moved all in and the crowd came to life. Safiedinne mucked his hand and the crowd broke into applause. Phan was extremely focused at this point and he had placed all his energy on the task at hand. He had begun to make some inroads and now held $2.1 million to Safiedinne’s $3 million.

Stop Watch

Safieddine was quick on the trigger to call the clock throughout their heads-up match. On one hand he called it after only fifteen seconds, tournament director Chris Spears then explained to him that you have to give your opponent a reasonable amount of time before you call the clock on him. Phan eventually mucked the A face up on the table and action continued.

Here we go Again

Safieddine moved all in yet again and Phan went into the tank on a flop of 6 4 3. Safieddine called the clock again and Phan used every second of his allotted time before he mucked his hand.

Rolling on the River

On a board of Q 2 2 9 Safiedinne bet $200,000 and Phan made the call. The river brought the 10 and both players checked. Phan turned over 9-7 and Safiedinne showed J-10. He took down the pot with the 10 on the river and now held $3,900,000. Phan was down to $1,150,000.

All-In-A-Thon

Safieddine then moved all in on the next three hands, each time Phan folded. He moved all in again a few hands later and Phan took a moment to take a swig of his drink before he folded. Safiedinne now had above $4,000,000.

Francois Safieddine Wins Event #19 ($521,785)

Francois Safieddine moved all in and John Phan made the call. Safieddine flipped over pocket fours and Phan turned over pocket aces. The crowd began to cheer as the board was dealt J 8 2 5. Those cheers quickly turned into gasps of terror when the 4 was dealt on the turn. Safieddine won the gold bracelet and $521,785 when that four hit the board. Phan took home $330,486 for second place in the $2,500 no-limit hold’em event.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Francois Safieddine,   Marcus Obser

Marcus Obser Eliminated in 3rd Place ($212,021)

Jun 13, '07

Marcus Obser was all in with 8 6 and Francois Safiedinne had him covered with A Q. The board was dealt A 9 8 4 J and Obser was eliminated in third place. He took home $212,021 in prize money.

Player Tags: Francois Safieddine,   Marcus Obser

Hour Four

Jun 13, '07

Lucky!

Devin porter raised to $480,000 after Marcus Obser made it $200,000 to play. Porter then moved all in for $340,000 on a flop of 10 7 3 and Obser made the call. Porter flipped over 10 3 and Obser flipped over K J. The turn and river cards are dealt 7 7 and Porter doubled up. This vaulted him into the chip lead.

Score Board

Devin Porter: $1,600,000
John Phan: $1,350,000
Francois Safieddine: $1,200,000
Marcus Obser: $815,000

Devin Porter Eliminated in 4^th Place ($139,794)

Devin Porter made an all-in call when Francois Safieddine raised to $775,000. Porter flipped over A J and Safieddine turned over pocket sevens. The board was dealt 9 7 4 5 Q. Porter was eliminated in fourth place and took home a cool $139,794.

The players then went on a fifteen minute break.

The Doldrums Part II

Action or the lack thereof continued on for the next half hour.

The chip counts after the period of inactivity were as follows:

Francois Sfieddine: $2,180,000
Marcus Obser: $1,550,000
John Phan: $1,300,00

Player Tags: Francois Safieddine,   Devin Porter,   Marcus Obser

Devin Porter Eliminated in 4th Place ($139,794)

Jun 13, '07

Devin Porter made an all-in call when Francois Safieddine raised to $775,000. Porter flipped over A J and Safieddine turned over pocket sevens. The board was dealt 9 7 4 5 Q. Porter was eliminated in fourth place and took home a cool $139,794.

Player Tags: Francois Safieddine,   Devin Porter

Hour Three

Jun 13, '07

Un-Tranquil Chaos

Devin Porter moved all in and Marcus Obser made the call. Porter flipped over pocket threes and Obser showed down A 7. The board was dealt 5 4 2 5 3 and Porter not only survived, he doubled up on the river.

Break Time

The players then went on a short break.

The Doldrums

All the players at the table now had chips to work with and the action was little to none for the next 30 minutes.

Francois the Double up Machine

On a flop of K 6 5 Francois Safieddine moved all in and John Phan made the call. Safieddine flipped over A 3 and Phan turned over pocket nines. The turn and river cards were dealt Q A and Safieddine doubles up yet again. This time it gave him the chip lead.

Chip Counts:

Francois Safieddine: $1,600,000
Marcus Osber: $1,300,000
John Phan: $1,050,000
Devin Porter: $945,000

Player Tags: John Phan,   Francois Safieddine,   Devin Porter,   Marcus Obser

Hour Two

Jun 13, '07

Alex Bolotin Eliminated in 8th Place ($40,773)

Alex Bolotin moved all in and Marcus Obser reraised all in over the top of him. Bolotin showed down 7 5 and Obser flipped over pocket eights. The board was dealt J 2 2 5 8. Bolotin was eliminated in eighth place and took home $40,773 in prize money.

John Phan Doubled Up

Devin Porter moved all in with the chip lead and John Phan made the call. The Razor flipped over K J and Porter showed down 10 8. The board was dealt A 10 8 Q 2 and Phan doubled up on the hand.

Humberto Brenes Eliminated in 7th Place ($55,918)

On the next hand, Humberto Brenes moved all in and Porter made the call. Porter showed pocket nines and Brenes turned over A K. The board was dealt 7 3 2 8 6 and Brenes was eliminated in seventh place. He took home $55,918 in prize money. “Sharks don’t swim on the land,” said Phan as Brenes made his gracious exit even in defeat. Brenes has now made three final table at this years WSOP. More than any other player.

Lars Bonding Eliminated in 6th Place ($74,557)

Lars Bonding moved all in and Phan made the call. He flipped over pocket sevens, while Bonding turned over K Q. The board was dealt 9 7 4 4 6 and Bonding hit the rail in sixth place. He took home $74,557 in prize money.

Francois Does Double Duty

Francois Safieddine then doubled up two times in a row with Big Slick and a jack high. This brought him back from the dead and gave him a fighting chance with over $600,000.

Shawn Hattem Eliminated in 5th Place ($97,856)

The turbo pace of play continued when Shawn Hattem moved all in and Porter, Phan, and Safieddine all called. The three players checked down the side pot until Safieddine fired out $65,000 on the river. Both Phan and Porter folded and Safieddine turned over A-10. The board read K Q 6 A A at this point and Hattem mucked his hand. He was elminated in fifth place and took home $97,856 in prize money.

After the mayhem the leader board looked like this:

John Phan: $1,600,000
Devin Porter: $1,500,000
Marcus Obser: $1,450,000
Francois Safieddine: $650,000

Player Tags: John Phan,   Humberto Brenes,   Francois Safieddine,   Lars Bonding,   Devin Porter,   Shawn Hattem,   Alex Bolotin,   Marcus Obser

Shawn Hattem Eliminated in 5th Place ($97,856)

Jun 13, '07

The turbo pace of play continued when Shawn Hattem moved all in and Devin Porter, John Phan, and Francois Safieddine all called. The three players checked down the side pot until Safieddine fired out $65,000 on the river. Both Phan and Porter folded and Safieddine turned over A-10. The board read K Q 6 A A at this point and Hattem mucked his hand. He was elminated in fifth place and took home $97,856 in prize money.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Francois Safieddine,   Devin Porter,   Shawn Hattem

Final Table

Jun 12, '07

The final table is now set, and here are the players and their respective chip counts.

Lars Bonding -- $882,000

Devin Porter -- $819,000

Shawn Hattem -- $787,000

Marcus Obser -- $679,000

John Phan -- $445,000

Bertrand Grospellier -- $416,000

Alex Bolotin -- $382,000

Humberto Brenes -- $343,000

Francois Safieddine -- $302,000

Finishing in 10^th place and earning $21,435 was James Gilsdorf. Gilsdorf moved all-in from late position and was called by Marcus Obser. Gilsdorf shows A 10 while Obser flips over Q Q, the same hand he eliminated Alex Outhred with less than an hour ago. The board came J 7 3 7 7, giving Obser a full house and eliminating Gilsdorf in tenth place.

The final table will begin tomorrow at 2 p.m., so be sure to check back with CardPlayer.com for all of your WSOP coverage needs.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Humberto Brenes,   Francois Safieddine,   Lars Bonding,   Devin Porter,   Shawn Hattem,   Bertrand Grospellier,   Alex Bolotin,   Marcus Obser,   James Gilsdorf

Hour Five - Francois Safieddine Wins Event #19 ($521,785)

Jun 13, '07

Marcus Obser Eliminated in 3rd Place ($212,021)

Marcus Obser was all in with 8 6 and Francois Safiedinne had him covered with A Q. The board was dealt A 9 8 4 J and Obser was eliminated in third place. He took home $212,021 in prize money.

Action was now down to heads-up and the chip stacks were as follows:

Francois Safieddine: $3,600,000
John Phan: $1,400,000

Sharpening the Razor

After fifteen minutes of inactivity John Phan moved all in and the crowd came to life. Safiedinne mucked his hand and the crowd broke into applause. Phan was extremely focused at this point and he had placed all his energy on the task at hand. He had begun to make some inroads and now held $2.1 million to Safiedinne’s $3 million.

Stop Watch

Safieddine was quick on the trigger to call the clock throughout their heads-up match. On one hand he called it after only fifteen seconds, tournament director Chris Spears then explained to him that you have to give your opponent a reasonable amount of time before you call the clock on him. Phan eventually mucked the A face up on the table and action continued.

Here we go Again

Safieddine moved all in yet again and Phan went into the tank on a flop of 6 4 3. Safieddine called the clock again and Phan used every second of his allotted time before he mucked his hand.

Rolling on the River

On a board of Q 2 2 9 Safiedinne bet $200,000 and Phan made the call. The river brought the 10 and both players checked. Phan turned over 9-7 and Safiedinne showed J-10. He took down the pot with the 10 on the river and now held $3,900,000. Phan was down to $1,150,000.

All-In-A-Thon

Safieddine then moved all in on the next three hands, each time Phan folded. He moved all in again a few hands later and Phan took a moment to take a swig of his drink before he folded. Safiedinne now had above $4,000,000.

Francois Safieddine Wins Event #19 ($521,785)

Francois Safieddine moved all in and John Phan made the call. Safieddine flipped over pocket fours and Phan turned over pocket aces. The crowd began to cheer as the board was dealt J 8 2 5. Those cheers quickly turned into gasps of terror when the 4 was dealt on the turn. Safieddine won the gold bracelet and $521,785 when that four hit the board. Phan took home $330,486 for second place in the $2,500 no-limit hold’em event.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Francois Safieddine,   Marcus Obser

Marcus Obser Eliminated in 3rd Place ($212,021)

Jun 13, '07

Marcus Obser was all in with 8 6 and Francois Safiedinne had him covered with A Q. The board was dealt A 9 8 4 J and Obser was eliminated in third place. He took home $212,021 in prize money.

Player Tags: Francois Safieddine,   Marcus Obser

Hour Four

Jun 13, '07

Lucky!

Devin porter raised to $480,000 after Marcus Obser made it $200,000 to play. Porter then moved all in for $340,000 on a flop of 10 7 3 and Obser made the call. Porter flipped over 10 3 and Obser flipped over K J. The turn and river cards are dealt 7 7 and Porter doubled up. This vaulted him into the chip lead.

Score Board

Devin Porter: $1,600,000
John Phan: $1,350,000
Francois Safieddine: $1,200,000
Marcus Obser: $815,000

Devin Porter Eliminated in 4^th Place ($139,794)

Devin Porter made an all-in call when Francois Safieddine raised to $775,000. Porter flipped over A J and Safieddine turned over pocket sevens. The board was dealt 9 7 4 5 Q. Porter was eliminated in fourth place and took home a cool $139,794.

The players then went on a fifteen minute break.

The Doldrums Part II

Action or the lack thereof continued on for the next half hour.

The chip counts after the period of inactivity were as follows:

Francois Sfieddine: $2,180,000
Marcus Obser: $1,550,000
John Phan: $1,300,00

Player Tags: Francois Safieddine,   Devin Porter,   Marcus Obser

Devin Porter Eliminated in 4th Place ($139,794)

Jun 13, '07

Devin Porter made an all-in call when Francois Safieddine raised to $775,000. Porter flipped over A J and Safieddine turned over pocket sevens. The board was dealt 9 7 4 5 Q. Porter was eliminated in fourth place and took home a cool $139,794.

Player Tags: Francois Safieddine,   Devin Porter

Hour Three

Jun 13, '07

Un-Tranquil Chaos

Devin Porter moved all in and Marcus Obser made the call. Porter flipped over pocket threes and Obser showed down A 7. The board was dealt 5 4 2 5 3 and Porter not only survived, he doubled up on the river.

Break Time

The players then went on a short break.

The Doldrums

All the players at the table now had chips to work with and the action was little to none for the next 30 minutes.

Francois the Double up Machine

On a flop of K 6 5 Francois Safieddine moved all in and John Phan made the call. Safieddine flipped over A 3 and Phan turned over pocket nines. The turn and river cards were dealt Q A and Safieddine doubles up yet again. This time it gave him the chip lead.

Chip Counts:

Francois Safieddine: $1,600,000
Marcus Osber: $1,300,000
John Phan: $1,050,000
Devin Porter: $945,000

Player Tags: John Phan,   Francois Safieddine,   Devin Porter,   Marcus Obser

Hour Two

Jun 13, '07

Alex Bolotin Eliminated in 8th Place ($40,773)

Alex Bolotin moved all in and Marcus Obser reraised all in over the top of him. Bolotin showed down 7 5 and Obser flipped over pocket eights. The board was dealt J 2 2 5 8. Bolotin was eliminated in eighth place and took home $40,773 in prize money.

John Phan Doubled Up

Devin Porter moved all in with the chip lead and John Phan made the call. The Razor flipped over K J and Porter showed down 10 8. The board was dealt A 10 8 Q 2 and Phan doubled up on the hand.

Humberto Brenes Eliminated in 7th Place ($55,918)

On the next hand, Humberto Brenes moved all in and Porter made the call. Porter showed pocket nines and Brenes turned over A K. The board was dealt 7 3 2 8 6 and Brenes was eliminated in seventh place. He took home $55,918 in prize money. “Sharks don’t swim on the land,” said Phan as Brenes made his gracious exit even in defeat. Brenes has now made three final table at this years WSOP. More than any other player.

Lars Bonding Eliminated in 6th Place ($74,557)

Lars Bonding moved all in and Phan made the call. He flipped over pocket sevens, while Bonding turned over K Q. The board was dealt 9 7 4 4 6 and Bonding hit the rail in sixth place. He took home $74,557 in prize money.

Francois Does Double Duty

Francois Safieddine then doubled up two times in a row with Big Slick and a jack high. This brought him back from the dead and gave him a fighting chance with over $600,000.

Shawn Hattem Eliminated in 5th Place ($97,856)

The turbo pace of play continued when Shawn Hattem moved all in and Porter, Phan, and Safieddine all called. The three players checked down the side pot until Safieddine fired out $65,000 on the river. Both Phan and Porter folded and Safieddine turned over A-10. The board read K Q 6 A A at this point and Hattem mucked his hand. He was elminated in fifth place and took home $97,856 in prize money.

After the mayhem the leader board looked like this:

John Phan: $1,600,000
Devin Porter: $1,500,000
Marcus Obser: $1,450,000
Francois Safieddine: $650,000

Player Tags: John Phan,   Humberto Brenes,   Francois Safieddine,   Lars Bonding,   Devin Porter,   Shawn Hattem,   Alex Bolotin,   Marcus Obser

Shawn Hattem Eliminated in 5th Place ($97,856)

Jun 13, '07

The turbo pace of play continued when Shawn Hattem moved all in and Devin Porter, John Phan, and Francois Safieddine all called. The three players checked down the side pot until Safieddine fired out $65,000 on the river. Both Phan and Porter folded and Safieddine turned over A-10. The board read K Q 6 A A at this point and Hattem mucked his hand. He was elminated in fifth place and took home $97,856 in prize money.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Francois Safieddine,   Devin Porter,   Shawn Hattem

Final Table

Jun 12, '07

The final table is now set, and here are the players and their respective chip counts.

Lars Bonding -- $882,000

Devin Porter -- $819,000

Shawn Hattem -- $787,000

Marcus Obser -- $679,000

John Phan -- $445,000

Bertrand Grospellier -- $416,000

Alex Bolotin -- $382,000

Humberto Brenes -- $343,000

Francois Safieddine -- $302,000

Finishing in 10^th place and earning $21,435 was James Gilsdorf. Gilsdorf moved all-in from late position and was called by Marcus Obser. Gilsdorf shows A 10 while Obser flips over Q Q, the same hand he eliminated Alex Outhred with less than an hour ago. The board came J 7 3 7 7, giving Obser a full house and eliminating Gilsdorf in tenth place.

The final table will begin tomorrow at 2 p.m., so be sure to check back with CardPlayer.com for all of your WSOP coverage needs.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Humberto Brenes,   Francois Safieddine,   Lars Bonding,   Devin Porter,   Shawn Hattem,   Bertrand Grospellier,   Alex Bolotin,   Marcus Obser,   James Gilsdorf