There was a raise to 50,000 followed by a couple of callers before Vicente Delgado three-bet to 230,000 out of the small blind. It wasn't enough to get rid of Arunas Sapitavicius who called from the cutoff.
They went heads-up to a flop of A♦10♥7♣ and Delgado checked. Sapitavicius threw in a bet of 200,000 and Delgado called to see the Q♣ on the turn. Delgado checked again and Sapitavicius announced a bet of 450,000. Delgado laid his hand down this time and Sapitavicius continued to pick up more chips.
Five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsenshocked the public in July 2022 when he announced that he wouldn't be defending the title he had held for a decade. And while Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren were at St. Regis Hotel in Kazakhstan last month battling to take his place as supreme leader of the chess world, Carlsen was getting ready for a trip to the sunny Mediterranean coast.
Carlsen made a deep run extending into Day 3 in the EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event as part of 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) presented by Monte-Carlo Casino® before falling in 63rd place €15,000.
In his first interview since giving up his World Chess Champion Title, Carlsen sat down with PokerNews and PokerStars for an exclusive look at what the future holds for the 32-year-old Norwegian chess prodigy.
Mike Watson picked up Q♦Q♥ and raised to 55,000 from early position and Arnaud Enselme three-bet to 200,000 from the small blind with J♣10♣. Watson flat-called and the flop was 7♣5♠4♦.
Enselme bet 140,000 and Watson called to see K♠ on the turn.
Both players checked the turn and the river was 7♦. Enselme checked and Watson checked back to take the pot.
Pieter Aerts opened to 355,000 from middle position with just 5,000 behind and Pieter Aerts three-bet jammed from the small blind before Aerts called off for his tournament life.
Maduka Meragal: 9♠9♣
Pieter Aerts: A♦K♠
A king in the window was good news for Aerts as the board ran out 3♦6♥K♣3♥Q♦ to earn him a double.
Maduka Meragal opened to 55,000 in the cutoff and Jimmy Velasquez defended from the big blind. The flop fell 7♦6♠2♣ and Velasquez check-called a bet of 30,000 from Meragal.
The turn was the 9♠ and Velasquez checked again. Meragal bet 80,000 and Velasquez check-raised all in for around 600,000. Meragal stood up from his chair as he got a rough count and then called.
Jimmy Velasquez: A♠7♠
Maduka Meragal: 9♥9♣
Meragal turned a set of nines but Velasquez had outs with a flush draw. The river was the Q♥ and Velasquez was unable to improve as he was eliminated in 18th place.
Artur Martirosian opened to 55,000 in the cutoff and Pieter Aerts called on the button before Leonard Maue three-bet to 300,000 out of the big blind. Martirosian responded with a four-bet to 550,000 as Aerts folded and Maue called.
Maue checked on the flop of 5♠2♣Q♦ and Martirosian bet a tiny 120,000. Maue check-raised to 550,000 to bring a quick fold from the Russian.
Maue proudly showed a stone bluff with J♠10♠ for just jack-high with a few backdoor draws as the two headed to break.
While many of the biggest stars from poker's golden era of the mid-2000s are only mentioned in "Where Are They Now?" pieces, Patrik Antonius is not one of them. In fact, the Finland all-time money leader is as relevant as ever.
Not only is Antonius still regularly competing in the televised cash games that boosted his career early on, he is also a force to be reckoned with in on the current high roller tournament scene and even won his first Triton title last year. Additionally, Antonius recently signed on as an ambassador for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Thrill Team, something he said he got involved in "accidentally" before adding that he was "happy to get invited to join the Thrill Team."
"It's nice," Antonius said. "WSOP is a big brand and they have a lot of influence in the industry. And it's nice that they have this app so a lot of new players can have an experience playing poker on an app like this for free. And if they like it they can start playing for real money and so on. So it's nice, it's nice that they have an app like this."
Antonius appeared as a guest on the most recent episode of the PokerNews Podcast and spoke about winning his first Triton title, how High Stakes Poker impacted his career and representing the WSOP Thrill Team in the upcoming Main Event. The full conversation with the Finnish poker legend can be heard here.
Kenan Taylor raised to 60,000 with 4♠4♦ from the cutoff and Jason Wheeler made it 225,000 from the button with A♣10♣. The blinds got out of the way and Taylor called to mine for a set.
The flop was 9♦9♠7♥ and Taylor checked. Wheeler bet 140,000 and Taylor called to see A♦ on the turn.
Both players checked the turn and the river was J♦.
Taylor used his last time bank chip before he put out 375,000. Wheeler called quickly and showed his pair of aces to take the pot.