The first day of Event #45: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em (30 minute levels) is set to begin at 11 a.m. local time. Ankush Mandavia is the reigning champion in this event. He topped a 524-player field in this one a year ago to claim the bracelet and a $548,139 first prize.
This two-day event is sure to attract a packed field and create a lot of fast-paced action. Today's plan is to play twenty 30-minute levels. Players will start with 25,000 in chips and can late register until the end of Level 8. There will be a 20-minute break every four levels with a 90-minute dinner break at the end of Level 12.
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Rex Clinkscales was in middle position and raised to 400. The big blind three-bet to 1,600 and Clinkscales called.
The flop was and Clinkscales called a bet of 2,900. The turn was the and the big blind led out for 7,500, Clinkscales moved all in for 21,350 and his opponent called.
Clinkscales showed , while the big blind tabled .
The river was the and Clinkscales got a big double-up early on.
A player in early position opened to 450. Owen Crowe was on the button and three-bet to 1,200. David Sands was in the big blind and four-bet to 3,800. The player in early position called and Crowe folded.
The flop was and Sands led out for 3,200. His opponent called.
The turn was the and both players checked.
The river was the and Sands moved all in for roughly 15,000 and got a fold out of his opponent. Sands tabled as he scooped up the pot. Sands is on point and ready to fire. Watch out if he gets on a roll.
Ankush Mandavia is the defending champion of this event from the 2016 WSOP. He has five cashes already this year including a runner-up finish in the 10K Tag Team Championship where he narrowly missed out on his second ring, falling heads-up to the Championship team of Igor Kurganov and Liv Boeree. Kurganov and Mandavia went at it for the vast majority of that final day and it was a hard fought battle by two of the worlds biggest names in the poker world.
Watch for Mandavia to make a run today as he knows exactly what to do in a format like this, suited to his strong and aggressive playing style.
Dan Heimiller was in middle position and raised to 1,400. The hijack, cutoff, and big blind called.
The flop was and Heimiller bet 3,500. The cutoff called and everyone else folded.
The turn was the and Heimiller checked. The cutoff moved all in for what appeared to be 16,700. Heimiller tanked for a minute or two, speaking out loud and trying to work out his opponent's range. Heimiller eventually called.
Heimiller:
Cutof:f
Heimiller was behind with a pair of jacks and an open-ended straight draw. The cutoff had two pairs and needed to fade the river which was the , giving Heimiller a bigger two pairs and counterfeiting the player in the cutoff, sending him to the rail.
Heimiller let out a big, "Yessss!" after the three fell on the river and wished his opponent better luck afterward.
Mel Wiener was under the gun and raised to 2,000. He was called by the cutoff and big blind.
The flop was and everyone checked to the turn which was the .
Wiener bet 2,000 and was called by the cutoff.
The river was the and Wiener piled in a bet of 15,000, covering his opponents remaining stack. The cutoff folded and Wiener gleefully raked in the pot.
Mel Weiner has stood the test of time, cashing at the WSOP over three different decades. His best three results were winning a gold bracelet back in 1996 in a $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em event and then finishing second in 2002 and 2015 in a $1,500 PLO and $1,000 Hold'em event. Wiener says he is going to make a run today and will crack the 100,000 chip mark shortly. Stay tuned in.
Frank Kassela was in early position and raised to 3,800. Martin Jacobson was in middle position and three-bet to 10,000. Jonathan Abdellatif was in the cutoff and moved all in for 53,800. Kassela called, having him covered, and Jacobson called being the shortest of the three players with about 15,000.
Kassela:
Jacobson:
Abdellatif:
The board ran out and Kassela paired his ace to take down this massive pot and eliminate two very tough opponents in the process. Kassela is a three-time bracelet winner and is no stranger to having a big stack.
Ivan Luca was in middle position and raised what appeared to be 4,000. Eric Baldwin was in the hijack and moved all in for roughly 50,000, Luca called.
Luca:
Baldwin:
The board ran out and Luca took it down with his two pairs.
Ivan Luca from early position raised to 8,000 and there was one caller before the action was on Loni Harwood. She moved all-in from the button for 72,000 and the action was back on Luca. He thought about his decision and eventually put out the chips to call. The other opponent folded and the cards were tabled.
Harwood:
Luca:
The board ran out and Harwood's over pair to the board was good enough to earn her a double up.
Chris Moorman is coming off his first WSOP gold bracelet win in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'Em Six-Handed event and is feeling confident as ever now. Having the rail cheering so loudly for him on that final table felt so good, he wants to get back to another one right away. He is building a chip stack in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'Em Turbo event right now, well on his way to making the money and hopefully break through for another final table.
Moorman raised to 11,000 from early position and the action was folded around to the big blind who moved all-in for around 46,000. Moorman asked for a count and then quickly called. It was a race situation with Moorman showing vs his opponent's .
The board ran out and Moorman was able to hit an ace to eliminate his opponent.
and Clinkscales called a bet of 2,900. The turn was the 
and the big blind led out for 7,500, Clinkscales moved all in for 21,350 and his opponent called.
, while the big blind tabled 
.
and Clinkscales got a big double-up early on.
and Sands led out for 3,200. His opponent called.
and both players checked. 
and Sands moved all in for roughly 15,000 and got a fold out of his opponent. Sands tabled 
as he scooped up the pot. Sands is on point and ready to fire. Watch out if he gets on a roll.
and Heimiller bet 3,500. The cutoff called and everyone else folded.
and Heimiller checked. The cutoff moved all in for what appeared to be 16,700. Heimiller tanked for a minute or two, speaking out loud and trying to work out his opponent's range. Heimiller eventually called.
, giving Heimiller a bigger two pairs and counterfeiting the player in the cutoff, sending him to the rail.
and everyone checked to the turn which was the 
. 
and Wiener piled in a bet of 15,000, covering his opponents remaining stack. The cutoff folded and Wiener gleefully raked in the pot.
and Kassela paired his ace to take down this massive pot and eliminate two very tough opponents in the process. Kassela is a three-time bracelet winner and is no stranger to having a big stack.
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