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.

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.

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

Lars Bonding moved all in and John 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.

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.