Laszlo Bujtas increased his stack further and appears to be the current chip leader in the last level of the night. However, several notables are not that far away and one big clash may change everything in a heartbeat.
Stephen Chidwick and Stevan Chew were among right players to fire a second bullet today and both of them are above starting stack now, albeit not by much in the case of Chidwick. The Brit just raised to 4,500 from the cutoff and Manig Loeser defended the big blind.
On the flop, Loeser check-called a bet worth 3,500 and the turn was checked through. Loeser also checked the river and Chidwick's bet worth 7,500 won the pot without showdown.
Ben Heath and Charlie Carrel have been around the circuit and remain the best of friends
Both Ben Heath and Charlie Carrel know their way around the global poker circuit. With a raft of six-figure finishes between them, the pair have earned just over $7million in live tournaments alone.
We sat down to ask Heath and Carrel five very random questions about their friendship and interests to see how far we could push them before they went back to the felt at the #partypokerLIVE felt to battle each other for bragging rights…oh and a £1million prize-pool.
What is the longest period of time you haven’t spoken to each other?
Charlie Carrel: I would say that from arguments the longest time not speaking has been three hours. We’ve just never had an overnight situation. It dies out after about half an hour without us saying anything and goes back to normal. I’d say the longest due to travel would be anywhere between three days and three weeks.
Ben Heath: I’d say closer to three days or a week at most. Annoyance would be if I don’t get enough sleep, I’m pretty off with everyone.
CC: Oh yeah! (does falsetto impression of Ben) ‘I need my extra half an hours sleep!’
In 200 years, who will be in charge, robots or humans?
BH: (snap-calling) Robots! I had a lecture from someone who knows about this recently. They didn’t say ‘in charge’, but once one gets to a certain stage, we’re screwed pretty quickly. 200 years is a long time; 50 years ago we had no mobile phones, now we have drones.
CC: In 200 years, if humans are still alive, they’ll be humans with robot technology integrated into them a lot of the time.
At this point, we descend into a discussion about why Ben hasn’t watched the Black Mirror episode ‘The Entire History of You’ yet. Robots would have watched it by now.
Despite recent advances in robots’ poker-playing skills, they would be hard-pressed to compete when it comes to running deep in multi-table tournaments like Heath and Carrel. Recently they even found the time to battle heads-up for a title in Malta. Charlie Carrel won the duel, and the pair insist there was no chop, no swap or quarter given.
How would each of you like to win (or lose!) heads-up in this tournament?
BH: I’d take sucking out to win!
CC: Dude.
BH: I want to get it in with three outs and then just win.
CC: I’d want to lose, but I’d want to own Ben on the turn… then get rivered.
BH: I’m not as nice, apparently.
CC: You snapped in there like ‘Me!’ I’ve got a lot of seconds.
BH: I’d like to change my answer. I want him to win too. (laughter)
Can you both remember the day you met?
BH: It was three years ago now in Amsterdam.
CC: So the story is that I came second in the Sunday Million and vowed that if I did that, I’d take all my friends to Amsterdam. Over the preceding six months, I’d been making friends with people over Skype and Facebook in poker groups, obsessing about poker. Ben was one of those people on Skype. When he got there, I was really surprised because I thought he was Indian. I’d confused him with a guy called Joey. We pretty much spent every day with each other for around a year after that.
Who will be first to win a World Series of Poker Bracelet?
CC: Me.
BH: (Being nice) I’d just rather it was him.
CC: Pure ego.
BH: I’d assume Charlie. I mean, I’m slightly more disciplined in the small ones,
CC: The small ones have 20,000 people in them, that’s not going to help!
BH: He doesn’t know how to play big fields.
CC: I think I have the edge in the ‘One Drop’ or whatever.
BH: I’ll be there, grinding it out in the 22,000-person event.
CC: He’ll get the $1,000 events.
BH: Yeah, he can win the One Drop!
Life goals for the summer sewn up and bromance goals for poker friends explained, the pair head back to the cardroom. They sit at the same table, just a few seats apart and are still talking just as animatedly as they probably did in Amsterdam all those tournaments ago.
The neutral will be hoping that Ben Heath and Charlie Carrel meet heads-up. It’s good for the game.
Pros Tom Hall and Charlie Carrel have been trading punches at table #27 all day, and right now the total tally seems to be just about even.
First Hall won a decent one after check/raising Carrel on a flop. Carrel called, both players checked through the turn, and Hall checked yet again on the river. Carrel made it 23,000 to go, but Hall had rivered the straight with and thus Carrel's hit the muck.
Just a few moments ago Carrel got it back again, as he called the raise of 5,100 from Hall preflop, and proceeded to check-call three streets on the runout - 4,200 on the flop, 14,200 on the turn and 22,600 on the river. Hall couldn't beat the of Carrel, and both players are now hovering around the average of 140,000.
Within a few minutes, Sam Trickett first claimed a middle-sized pot against Aymon Hata while two tables over the two short stacks Kristen Bicknell and Rainer Kempe were eliminated in quick succsssion.
Trickett three-bet against initial raiser Hata in early position and eventually bet the turn for 24,000. Hata check-called and checked again the river. Trickett now made it 35,000 to go and that won the pot uncontested.
Bicknell got her remaining chips in with ace-king only to see Dominik Nitsche look her up with ace-deuce and get there. Then, Kempe had a kicker problem with ace-deuce against the ace-king of Laszlo Bujtas and headed to the rail with the words "I probably gonna have a beer a chill for a bit."
Steven Warburton raised to 4,400 and picked up three callers including Andy Bacon, Sam Trickett and Mitchell Johnson. The flop of was checked through before Johnson bet the turn for 10,000. Only Bacon called and the river was then checked through.
Johnson showed for top pair, while Bacon mucked .
One hand later, Warburton chopped when he got his short stack in with the against Johnson's only to see the board run out . Moments later, Warburton was at risk again with the and this time Johnson had the better kicked with . This time, the board came and the kicker played to eliminate Warburton.
One table over, Claas Segebrecht and Kully Sidhu got it in after a battle of the blinds and a flop of . Sidhu had and Segebrecht failed to get there with to lose some 110,000 post flop and take a big hit to the stack once the turn and river changed nothing anymore.
Vishal Maini opened up the action from early position for 5,000 and Jack Salter moved in for a tad more than 35,000. The rest of the players got out of the way, and Maini quickly called turning over . Salter revealed for the overwhelming possibility of a chop pot, but didn't look too happy, as the dealer fanned the flop.
The turn did cement the push, and the river made no difference whatsoever.
The screens show 83 entries, which includes six re-entries, and the latest trio to bust and buy back in were Stephen Chidwick, Thomas Muehloecker and Roberto Romanello. Vojtech Ruzicka just sat down on his first bullet, while Martin Kabrhel walked around the tournament area and may very well join the action for the last two levels of the night as well.
![[user38873]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop, Loeser check-called a bet worth 3,500 and the 
turn was checked through. Loeser also checked the 
river and Chidwick's bet worth 7,500 won the pot without showdown.
flop. Carrel called, both players checked through the 
turn, and Hall checked yet again on the 
river. Carrel made it 23,000 to go, but Hall had rivered the straight with 
and thus Carrel's 
hit the muck.
runout - 4,200 on the flop, 14,200 on the turn and 22,600 on the river. Hall couldn't beat the 
river. Trickett now made it 35,000 to go and that won the pot uncontested.
was checked through before Johnson bet the 
turn for 10,000. Only Bacon called and the 
river was then checked through.
for top pair, while Bacon mucked 
.
only to see the board run out 
. Sidhu had 
for the overwhelming possibility of a chop pot, but didn't look too happy, as the dealer fanned the 
