Kevin Schaffel Poker Tournament Updates

Day 2 Begins at 3:00 p.m. PDT

Jun 29, '10

207 players remain out of the 460 that entered event no. 50 ($5,000 pot-limit Omaha).

A prize pool of $2,162,000 will begin to be up for grabs as the top 45 players will make the money today. 45th place will walk away with $10,226. First place will win $508,090.

Player Twitter Accounts:

Phil Ivey
Phil Hellmuth
Christian Harder
Matt Glantz
Mike Watson

Kevin Schaffel is at top the chip counts to start the day. Action will begin at 3:00 p.m. local time.

Stay tuned to Card Player for level-by-level updates from the Rio!

Here are the chip counts heading to day 2:

Player Tags: Kevin Schaffel

Level 8 Update: Day 1 Complete

Jun 29, '10

Blinds: 300-600

Players Remaining: 207 out 460

Average Chip Count: 33,333

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Kevin Schaffel — 178,900
2. Alex Freiberg — 138,900
3. Kevin Boudreau — 137,300
4. Jonas Entin — 118,200
5. Dan Shak — 100,800
6. Javed Abrahams — 92,700
7. Scotty Nguyen — 67,000
8. Annette Obrestad — 58,000
9. Joshua Tieman — 57,000
10. Senovio Ramirez — 52,100

Notable Eliminations:

Kevin Saul
Vitaly Lunkin
James Akenhead
Shannon Shorr
Jason Somerville

Big Hands:

Jason Mercier Doubles Up

Jason Mercier limped and Ted Lawson bet. Scotty Nguyen called along with two other players. Mercier shoved all in for his tournament life. Lawson moved all in over the top. Nguyen and everyone else mucked. Mercier tabled the AAQ8 and was up against the K7K6 of Lawson. The board ran out 1032A2 and Mercier doubled to 38,000. Lawson was down to 6,000.

Mike Matusow Loses One

Kevin Schaffel bet preflop and Mike Matusow raised to 4,100. Schaffel called. The flop came K108. Schaffel checked and Matusow checked. The 5 on the turn prompted a 6,000 bet by Schaffel. Matusow called. Schaffel bet 15,000 on a 4 river. Matusow tank-called. Schaffel tabled the K433 for two pair. Matusow mucked. Schaffel was up to 88,000 after the hand while Matusow was down to 38,000.

Player Tags: Scotty Nguyen,   Mike Matusow,   Ted Lawson,   Kevin Schaffel,   Jason Mercier

Day 2 Begins at 3:00 p.m. PDT

Jun 29, '10

207 players remain out of the 460 that entered event no. 50 ($5,000 pot-limit Omaha).

A prize pool of $2,162,000 will begin to be up for grabs as the top 45 players will make the money today. 45th place will walk away with $10,226. First place will win $508,090.

Player Twitter Accounts:

Phil Ivey
Phil Hellmuth
Christian Harder
Matt Glantz
Mike Watson

Kevin Schaffel is at top the chip counts to start the day. Action will begin at 3:00 p.m. local time.

Stay tuned to Card Player for level-by-level updates from the Rio!

Here are the chip counts heading to day 2:

Player Tags: Kevin Schaffel

Level 8 Update: Day 1 Complete

Jun 29, '10

Blinds: 300-600

Players Remaining: 207 out 460

Average Chip Count: 33,333

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Kevin Schaffel — 178,900
2. Alex Freiberg — 138,900
3. Kevin Boudreau — 137,300
4. Jonas Entin — 118,200
5. Dan Shak — 100,800
6. Javed Abrahams — 92,700
7. Scotty Nguyen — 67,000
8. Annette Obrestad — 58,000
9. Joshua Tieman — 57,000
10. Senovio Ramirez — 52,100

Notable Eliminations:

Kevin Saul
Vitaly Lunkin
James Akenhead
Shannon Shorr
Jason Somerville

Big Hands:

Jason Mercier Doubles Up

Jason Mercier limped and Ted Lawson bet. Scotty Nguyen called along with two other players. Mercier shoved all in for his tournament life. Lawson moved all in over the top. Nguyen and everyone else mucked. Mercier tabled the AAQ8 and was up against the K7K6 of Lawson. The board ran out 1032A2 and Mercier doubled to 38,000. Lawson was down to 6,000.

Mike Matusow Loses One

Kevin Schaffel bet preflop and Mike Matusow raised to 4,100. Schaffel called. The flop came K108. Schaffel checked and Matusow checked. The 5 on the turn prompted a 6,000 bet by Schaffel. Matusow called. Schaffel bet 15,000 on a 4 river. Matusow tank-called. Schaffel tabled the K433 for two pair. Matusow mucked. Schaffel was up to 88,000 after the hand while Matusow was down to 38,000.

Player Tags: Scotty Nguyen,   Mike Matusow,   Ted Lawson,   Kevin Schaffel,   Jason Mercier

Cornel Cimpan Eliminated by Kevin Schaffel

Apr 19, '10

Cornel Cimpan moved all in for his last 13,000 or so and was immediately called by Kevin Schaffel, who turned over AK.

Cimpan turned over a dominated KQ and failed to come from behind on a board reading K6326. Schaffel now sits with 155,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Cornel Andrew Cimpan,   Kevin Schaffel

Level 35 Update Part II: Kevin Schaffel Eliminated in Eighth Place ($1,300,228)

Nov 07, '09

Blinds: 200,000-400,000 with a 50,000 ante

Players Remaining: 7 out of 6,494

Chip Counts:

1: Darvin Moon — 49,455,000
2: Eric Buchman — 35,095,000
3: Steven Begleiter — 24,780,000
4: Antoine Saout — 21,920,000
5: Jeff Shulman — 14,740,000
6: Joe Cada — 12,325,000
7: Phil Ivey — 11,035,000

Average Chip Count: 27,831,429

Notable Eliminations:

8: Kevin Schaffel — $1,300,228

Big Hands:

Kevin Schaffel Eliminated in Eighth Place — ($1,300,228)

Kevin Schaffel raised to 1.25 million preflop from the hi-jack and Steven Begleiter made the call from the cutoff. Eric Buchman reraised to 5.75 million from the button and Schaffel reraised all in for 17.2 million total. Begleiter mucked and Buchman made the call. Their cards:

Buchman: KK
Schaffel: AA

Board: QJKK-X

Buchman made quad kings to win the hand and grow his stack to 51,975,000. Schaffel was eliminated in eighth place and he will take home $1,300,228 in prize money.

Card Player Twitter Page:

Jeff Shulman
Phil Ivey

People on the Rail

Adam Schoenfeld
Dennis Phillips
Jonathan Little
Annie Duke
Daniel Negreanu

Player Tags: Eric Buchman,   Kevin Schaffel,   Steven Begleiter

Level 35 Update: James Akenhead Eliminated in Ninth Place ($1,263,602)

Nov 07, '09

Blinds: 200,000-400,000 with a 50,000 ante

Players Remaining: 8 out of 6,494

Chip Counts:

1: Darvin Moon — 58,975,000
2: Eric Buchman — 33,475,000
3: Steven Begleiter — 24,375,000
4: Antoine Saout — 24,100,000
5: Kevin Schaffel — 19,150,000
6: Jeff Shulman — 17,735,000
7: Phil Ivey — 11,600,000
8: Joe Cada — 5,750,000

Average Chip Count: 24,352,500

Notable Eliminations:

9: James Akenhead — $1,263,602

Big Hands:

Darvin Moon vs. Joe Cada

Joseph Cada raised to 1 million preflop from the cutoff and Darvin Moon made the call from the big blind. The flop was dealt 984 and both players checked. The A fell on the turn and Moon checked. Cada bet 1.4 million and Moon made the call. The river fell 4 and Moon bet 2.5 million. Cada raised to 5.5 million and Moon made the call. Moon revealed A10 and Cada mucked his cards. Moon held 59,575,000 after the hand and Cada was down to 6,750,000.

Kevin Schaffel Doubles Up

Kevin Schaffel raised 1,150,000 preflop UTG+1 and James Akenhead made the call from the big blind. The flop was dealt J94 and Akenhead bet 1.6 million. Schaffel raised all in for 5,925,000 and Akenhead made the call. Schaffel turned over AA and Akenhead showed down KK. The turn and river fell 3J and Schaffel doubled up on the hand to 14.8 million. Akenhead was left with 5.9 million after the hand.

James Akenhead Eliminated in Ninth Place ($1,263,602)

James Akenhead raised all in for 4.45 million from middle position and Kevin Schaffel made the call from the cutoff. Everyone else mucked and the two players turned over their cards:

Akenhead: 33
Schaffel: 99

Board: 107229

Schaffel won the hand to grow his stack to 19,250,000 and Akenhead was eliminated on the hand in ninth place. He will take home $1,263,602 in prize money.

Card Player TV

James Akenhead Elimination Interview

Card Player Twitter Page:

Jeff Shulman
Phil Ivey

People on the Rail

Adam Schoenfeld
Dennis Phillips
Jonathan Little
Annie Duke
Daniel Negreanu

Player Tags: Kevin Schaffel,   James Akenhead,   Joseph Cada,   Darvin Moon

2009 Main Event Final Table Begins at Noon Saturday

Nov 05, '09

On Saturday, the wait will finally be over.

The November Nine will return to the Rio in Las Vegas on Saturday at noon PST and play down to two players. Those final competitors will then battle it out on Monday night, starting at 10 p.m. PST, to see who will walk away with the first-place prize of $8,546,435 and the title of world champion.

The final table episode will then be broadcast to the world on ESPN on Tuesday, starting at 6 p.m. EST.

The final table, which will take place at the Penn and Teller Theater, will be open to the public. Each player at the final table has already received ninth-place prize money worth $1,263,602. Card Player’s live reporting team will be on the scene to bring you all of the action in live updates, chip counts, and photos.

Here is a look at all of the information you need to know before the final table begins:

NOTE: Play will begin in level 33 with blinds at 120,000-240,000 with a 30,000 ante.

Chip Counts:

1: Darvin Moon — 58,930,000
2: Eric Buchman — 34,800,000
3: Steven Begleiter — 29,885,000
4: Jeff Shulman — 19,580,000
5: Joe Cada — 13,215,000
6: Kevin Schaffel — 12,390,000
7: Phil Ivey — 9,765,000
8: Antoine Saout — 9,500,000
9: James Akenhead — 6,800,000

Average Chip Count: 21,646,666

Final-Table Seating Chart:

Seat 1: Darvin Moon
Seat 2: James Akenhead
Seat 3: Phil Ivey
Seat 4: Kevin Schaffel
Seat 5: Steven Begleiter
Seat 6: Eric Buchman
Seat 7: Joe Cada
Seat 8: Antoine Saout
Seat 9: Jeff Shulman

Player Tags: Jeff Shulman,   Eric Buchman,   Phil Ivey,   Kevin Schaffel,   James Akenhead,   Antoine Saout,   Joseph Cada,   Darvin Moon,   Steven Begleiter

Kevin Schaffel Eliminated in 19th Place (£17,000)

Oct 06, '09

Kevin Schaffel has had one great run after another since making the final table of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Unfortunately for him, it just came to an end here at the EPT London.

Schaffel was short and made a move holding pocket deuces against Dominic Cullen’s pocket sevens. The board helped neither player and Schaffel was eliminated in 19th place.

After a very impressive second place at the WPT Legends of Poker Schaffel put in yet another good performance here and has proven to be a player to watch come November.

Player Tags: Kevin Schaffel,   Dominic Cullen

Liya Gerasimova Runs Into Trouble

Oct 05, '09

Liya Gerasimova raised preflop and Kevin Schaffel immediately reraised behind her. Gerasimova took her time before reraising an additional 42,000. Schaffel called and both players took a flop of J63.

Gerasimova pondered her options for a bit before deciding to move all in for her last 160,000. Schaffel snap-called, showing pocket aces and Gerasimova was in major trouble with pocket kings.

The turn and river came 39 and Gerasimova was eliminated, putting 670,000 in Schaffel’s stack.

Player Tags: Kevin Schaffel,   Liya Gerasimova

Kevin Schaffel Making Crazy Moves Up The Leader Board

Oct 04, '09

Kevin Schaffel had just 15,000 in chips 20 minutes ago. Now, he’s sitting on a stack of 195,000.

First, he doubled up with pocket eights against Theo Tran’s K-J. Then, his pocket aces held up against Chris Ferguson’s pocket queens.

Speaking of Ferguson, he raised to 9,000 in the small blind and Schaffel called from the big blind. The flop came 655 and Ferguson continued with a bet of 12,000.

Schaffel raised to 30,000 and after some thought, Ferguson called. The turn was the 7 and Ferguson checked to Schaffel, who bet 65,000. That was enough to get Ferguson to fold, who now has less than his counterpart with 183,000.

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Kevin Schaffel

Kevin Schaffel Eliminated in 19th Place (£17,000)

Oct 06, '09

Kevin Schaffel has had one great run after another since making the final table of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Unfortunately for him, it just came to an end here at the EPT London.

Schaffel was short and made a move holding pocket deuces against Dominic Cullen’s pocket sevens. The board helped neither player and Schaffel was eliminated in 19th place.

After a very impressive second place at the WPT Legends of Poker Schaffel put in yet another good performance here and has proven to be a player to watch come November.

Player Tags: Kevin Schaffel,   Dominic Cullen

Liya Gerasimova Runs Into Trouble

Oct 05, '09

Liya Gerasimova raised preflop and Kevin Schaffel immediately reraised behind her. Gerasimova took her time before reraising an additional 42,000. Schaffel called and both players took a flop of J63.

Gerasimova pondered her options for a bit before deciding to move all in for her last 160,000. Schaffel snap-called, showing pocket aces and Gerasimova was in major trouble with pocket kings.

The turn and river came 39 and Gerasimova was eliminated, putting 670,000 in Schaffel’s stack.

Player Tags: Kevin Schaffel,   Liya Gerasimova

Kevin Schaffel Making Crazy Moves Up The Leader Board

Oct 04, '09

Kevin Schaffel had just 15,000 in chips 20 minutes ago. Now, he’s sitting on a stack of 195,000.

First, he doubled up with pocket eights against Theo Tran’s K-J. Then, his pocket aces held up against Chris Ferguson’s pocket queens.

Speaking of Ferguson, he raised to 9,000 in the small blind and Schaffel called from the big blind. The flop came 655 and Ferguson continued with a bet of 12,000.

Schaffel raised to 30,000 and after some thought, Ferguson called. The turn was the 7 and Ferguson checked to Schaffel, who bet 65,000. That was enough to get Ferguson to fold, who now has less than his counterpart with 183,000.

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Kevin Schaffel

Kevin Schaffel Eliminated in 19th Place (£17,000)

Oct 06, '09

Kevin Schaffel has had one great run after another since making the final table of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Unfortunately for him, it just came to an end here at the EPT London.

Schaffel was short and made a move holding pocket deuces against Dominic Cullen’s pocket sevens. The board helped neither player and Schaffel was eliminated in 19th place.

After a very impressive second place at the WPT Legends of Poker Schaffel put in yet another good performance here and has proven to be a player to watch come November.

Player Tags: Kevin Schaffel,   Dominic Cullen

Liya Gerasimova Runs Into Trouble

Oct 05, '09

Liya Gerasimova raised preflop and Kevin Schaffel immediately reraised behind her. Gerasimova took her time before reraising an additional 42,000. Schaffel called and both players took a flop of J63.

Gerasimova pondered her options for a bit before deciding to move all in for her last 160,000. Schaffel snap-called, showing pocket aces and Gerasimova was in major trouble with pocket kings.

The turn and river came 39 and Gerasimova was eliminated, putting 670,000 in Schaffel’s stack.

Player Tags: Kevin Schaffel,   Liya Gerasimova

Kevin Schaffel Making Crazy Moves Up The Leader Board

Oct 04, '09

Kevin Schaffel had just 15,000 in chips 20 minutes ago. Now, he’s sitting on a stack of 195,000.

First, he doubled up with pocket eights against Theo Tran’s K-J. Then, his pocket aces held up against Chris Ferguson’s pocket queens.

Speaking of Ferguson, he raised to 9,000 in the small blind and Schaffel called from the big blind. The flop came 655 and Ferguson continued with a bet of 12,000.

Schaffel raised to 30,000 and after some thought, Ferguson called. The turn was the 7 and Ferguson checked to Schaffel, who bet 65,000. That was enough to get Ferguson to fold, who now has less than his counterpart with 183,000.

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Kevin Schaffel

Kevin Schaffel Eliminated in Second Place ($471,670) Prahlad Friedman Wins 2009 WPT Legends of Poker Main Event ($1,009,000)

Aug 27, '09

All things considered, the end came quickly, despite a final table that featured numerous delays and unscheduled breaks.

Kevin Schaffel opened with a raise to 300,000 and Prahlad Friedman reraised to 800,000. Schaffel thought it over for about 30 seconds before moving all in and Friedman went into the tank.

With 2.8 million more, Friedman decided to make the call with AQ. Schaffel turned voer KJ and had live cards to double up.

The dealer rolled over a board of 103249 and Schaffel was eliminated. Friedman celebrated in the stands with wife Dee Luong and the rest of his cheering section.

Schaffel clearly didn’t practice avoidance, but was rewarded with $471,670 for his effort. Friedman earned $1,009,000 in victory along with a $25,000 seat to the Bellagio’s WPT Championship in April.

Stay tuned for a complete recap of the final table.

Player Tags: Prahlad Friedman,   Kevin Schaffel

Kevin Schaffel Doubles Up

Aug 27, '09

Kevin Schaffel limped in on the small blind and Prahlad Friedman checked his option. The flop came out AQ3 and Friedman bet 100,000. Schaffel then moved all in for 1,760,000 and Friedman asked for a count.

After getting the news, Friedman called with J4 for a flush draw. Schaffel showed Q3 for two pair and needed bricks to stay alive.

The turn was the 8 and the river was the 2, giving Schaffel the double up.

Prahlad Friedman — 4,555,000
Kevin Schaffel — 3,900,000

Player Tags: Prahlad Friedman,   Kevin Schaffel

Toto Leonidas Doubles Up

Aug 26, '09

Kevin Schaffel raised on the button to 200,000 and Toto Leonidas moved all in from the big blind. Schaffel quickly called with AJ and Leonidas was dominated with A5.

The board ran out J98KJ and Leonidas spiked a diamond-flush to double up to 2,040,000 and Schaffel took a hit down to 2,650,000.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Kevin Schaffel

Toto Leonidas Doubles Up

Aug 26, '09

Because of Stein’s elimination, there was no small blind on this hand. Kevin Schaffel raised to 150,000 from under the gun and Toto Leonidas mvoed all in from the button. Schaffel made the call with pocket tens and Leonidas was ahead with pocket kings.

The board came J3244 and Leonidas doubled up to over 1.5 million, putting himself back into contention.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Kevin Schaffel

Sam Stein Eliminated in Fifth Place ($116,255)

Aug 26, '09

Kevin Schaffel raised from the cutoff to 150,000 and Sam Stein moved all in from the big blind for 755,000. Schaffel called and they flipped up their cards.

Schaffel: 77
Stein: KQ

Board: 87322

Stein was eliminated on the hand in fifth place and he will take home $116,215 in prize money. Schaffel increased his chip lead to 3.5 million.

Player Tags: Kevin Schaffel,   Sam Stein

Todd Terry Wins Battle of the Blinds

Aug 26, '09

Todd Terry and Kevin Schaffel saw a flop from the blinds of 1063. Terry checked, Schaffel bet 70,000 and Terry called.

The turn was the 10 and Terry checked once again. Schaffel bet 70,000 and Terry made the call. The river was the 6. Terry checked, Schaffel bet 200,000 and Terry called.

Schaffel showed pocket kings for the overpair, but Terry showed 8-6 to win the pot with a full house.

Player Tags: Kevin Schaffel,   Todd Terry

Mat Widdoes Eliminated in 16th Place ($22,240)

Aug 25, '09

Wow! Monster Pot Below…

Eugene Katchalov raised to 25,000 and both Kevin Schaffel and Todd Terry made the call. Mat Widdoes then shoved in his remaining 128,000 more from the small blind.

Toto Leonidas folded his big blind and the action went back to Eugene Katchalov, who raised it up to 275,000. His isolation didn’t work and Schaffel shoved in his stack of about 500,000.

Terry then went into the tank, visibly concerned with his predicament. After a few minutes of thought, he mucked his hand and the action came back to Katchalov, who felt committed and put in the call.

Katchalov showed pocket eights, Widdoes showed A7 and Schaffel showed the superior pocket kings.

The board came out Q536Q and Widdoes was eliminated. Katchalov lost a big chunk of his stack and Schaffel took the chip lead with 1,240,000.

Amazingly, Terry folded pocket queens. Had he not made such a great read, he would’ve taken out two players and been stacked with over 2,500,000.

Player Tags: Kevin Schaffel,   Eugene Katchalov,   Todd Terry,   Matt Widdoes

Kevin Schaffel Eliminated in Second Place ($471,670) Prahlad Friedman Wins 2009 WPT Legends of Poker Main Event ($1,009,000)

Aug 27, '09

All things considered, the end came quickly, despite a final table that featured numerous delays and unscheduled breaks.

Kevin Schaffel opened with a raise to 300,000 and Prahlad Friedman reraised to 800,000. Schaffel thought it over for about 30 seconds before moving all in and Friedman went into the tank.

With 2.8 million more, Friedman decided to make the call with AQ. Schaffel turned voer KJ and had live cards to double up.

The dealer rolled over a board of 103249 and Schaffel was eliminated. Friedman celebrated in the stands with wife Dee Luong and the rest of his cheering section.

Schaffel clearly didn’t practice avoidance, but was rewarded with $471,670 for his effort. Friedman earned $1,009,000 in victory along with a $25,000 seat to the Bellagio’s WPT Championship in April.

Stay tuned for a complete recap of the final table.

Player Tags: Prahlad Friedman,   Kevin Schaffel

Kevin Schaffel Doubles Up

Aug 27, '09

Kevin Schaffel limped in on the small blind and Prahlad Friedman checked his option. The flop came out AQ3 and Friedman bet 100,000. Schaffel then moved all in for 1,760,000 and Friedman asked for a count.

After getting the news, Friedman called with J4 for a flush draw. Schaffel showed Q3 for two pair and needed bricks to stay alive.

The turn was the 8 and the river was the 2, giving Schaffel the double up.

Prahlad Friedman — 4,555,000
Kevin Schaffel — 3,900,000

Player Tags: Prahlad Friedman,   Kevin Schaffel

Toto Leonidas Doubles Up

Aug 26, '09

Kevin Schaffel raised on the button to 200,000 and Toto Leonidas moved all in from the big blind. Schaffel quickly called with AJ and Leonidas was dominated with A5.

The board ran out J98KJ and Leonidas spiked a diamond-flush to double up to 2,040,000 and Schaffel took a hit down to 2,650,000.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Kevin Schaffel

Toto Leonidas Doubles Up

Aug 26, '09

Because of Stein’s elimination, there was no small blind on this hand. Kevin Schaffel raised to 150,000 from under the gun and Toto Leonidas mvoed all in from the button. Schaffel made the call with pocket tens and Leonidas was ahead with pocket kings.

The board came J3244 and Leonidas doubled up to over 1.5 million, putting himself back into contention.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Kevin Schaffel

Sam Stein Eliminated in Fifth Place ($116,255)

Aug 26, '09

Kevin Schaffel raised from the cutoff to 150,000 and Sam Stein moved all in from the big blind for 755,000. Schaffel called and they flipped up their cards.

Schaffel: 77
Stein: KQ

Board: 87322

Stein was eliminated on the hand in fifth place and he will take home $116,215 in prize money. Schaffel increased his chip lead to 3.5 million.

Player Tags: Kevin Schaffel,   Sam Stein

Todd Terry Wins Battle of the Blinds

Aug 26, '09

Todd Terry and Kevin Schaffel saw a flop from the blinds of 1063. Terry checked, Schaffel bet 70,000 and Terry called.

The turn was the 10 and Terry checked once again. Schaffel bet 70,000 and Terry made the call. The river was the 6. Terry checked, Schaffel bet 200,000 and Terry called.

Schaffel showed pocket kings for the overpair, but Terry showed 8-6 to win the pot with a full house.

Player Tags: Kevin Schaffel,   Todd Terry

Mat Widdoes Eliminated in 16th Place ($22,240)

Aug 25, '09

Wow! Monster Pot Below…

Eugene Katchalov raised to 25,000 and both Kevin Schaffel and Todd Terry made the call. Mat Widdoes then shoved in his remaining 128,000 more from the small blind.

Toto Leonidas folded his big blind and the action went back to Eugene Katchalov, who raised it up to 275,000. His isolation didn’t work and Schaffel shoved in his stack of about 500,000.

Terry then went into the tank, visibly concerned with his predicament. After a few minutes of thought, he mucked his hand and the action came back to Katchalov, who felt committed and put in the call.

Katchalov showed pocket eights, Widdoes showed A7 and Schaffel showed the superior pocket kings.

The board came out Q536Q and Widdoes was eliminated. Katchalov lost a big chunk of his stack and Schaffel took the chip lead with 1,240,000.

Amazingly, Terry folded pocket queens. Had he not made such a great read, he would’ve taken out two players and been stacked with over 2,500,000.

Player Tags: Kevin Schaffel,   Eugene Katchalov,   Todd Terry,   Matt Widdoes