Renato Minicuci got the last of his chips in with and was called by Eric Bignon who had . All in for his tournament life behind, but very much live, Minicuci lost ground when an ace fell on the flop and couldn't find any help on the turn or the river, sending his chips over to Bignon.
Not long ago, Davidi Kitai had been down to one third of the starting stack after folding to a shove, but he has now moved back to more than he started with after winning a flip against Hrayr Grigoryan.
Davidi Kitai:
Hrayr Grigoryan:
The board came and Kitai said "it's a new tournament", he doubled for 16,500.
Andre Akkari from the under-the-gun position and Ludovic Geilich in late position created a big pot and headed to the river. Akkari had checked and faced a bet of 20,000 by Geilich, which ultimately forced a fold from the PokerStars ambassador.
With the arrival of Ryan Riess not long ago and Kristen Bicknell just now, it will get even tougher for the Brazilian to boost up his stack again.
With already 20,000 in the middle and the turn showing , Eric Bignon checked and Mikhail Soltanov moved all in for the last 10,400. Bignon reluctantly called and Soltanov immediately said "good call" before revealing his for a pair of jacks.
Bignon was ahead with and the river changed nothing anymore.
Orpen Kisacikoglu opened the action and called a three-bet by Dmitry Prusov who had position on him. No one else got involved and the pair went heads up to the flop.
On the board, Kisacikoglu check-raised Prusov's 6,000 continuation bet to 12,000. Prusov thought about his options and elected to move all in over the top for a total of 32,100. It was a quick call from the Turk and when the cards were flipped over, he had the best of it.
Dmitry Prusov:
Orpen Kisacikoglu:
It was top two pair versus an over pair but the turn changed everything, making Prusov top set and reducing Kisacikoglu's outs to zero. The river was inconsequential.
Kisacikoglu was left with 1,700 chips but lost those to Luc Greenwood in the very next hand.
Amongst the latest casualties are Jean-Noel Thorel and Yake Wu. Both of them used their re-entry, so it is safe to say that was the last we will see of them for today. They will be able to register again tomorrow if they choose.
On the former table of Davidi Kitai, a massive stack has emerged for Dmytro Shuvanov while the Triple Crown champion was among those that busted before the dinner break.
Maria Konnikova and Ryan Riess also boosted their stacks, the former without and the latter with showdown.
Konnikova was involved in three-way action to the turn and Tomas Jozonis bet 2,600. Arvydas Merfeldas called and Konnikova raised to 12,200. Jozonis reluctantly folded and Merfeldas did so as well, flashing the .
In the last hand before the break, a limped pot resulted in the elimination of Macsim Robert one table over from Konnikova. Adolfo Vaeza had limped the button, as did Robert in the small blind, and Riess checked the big blind. Riess check-raised a bet of Vaeza and two calls followed on the flop.
Only Robert check-called a bet on the turn and checked the river. Riess shoved for effectively 15,000, as that's what Robert had left. The Romanian ended up in the think tank for several minutes and the clock was called. Once tournament staff arrived to give Robert a 30-second countdown, he called and Riess turned over for two pair. Robert mucked and headed out of the tournament area.