Shyh Chyn Lim put up a valiant effort against the big guns but Jack En-Ching Wu had his number in this new level and he was ousted in 3rd place. It took two hands to send him packing.
The first hand saw Lim limp in on the sb seat, Wu raise to 90k, and Lim with the call. On the flop 2♥ J♥ 9♠, Lim check-called Wu’s 70k bet. On the 2♠ turn both checked to see a river 2♦ complete board. Lim led for 110k, Wu raised to 260k, and Lim called. Wu showed J♣ 10♥ full house and Lim mucked.
Lim’s final hand came six hands later. He shoved with K♦ J♥ and Wu called with A♠ 4♥. The board came A♦ J♦ Q♥ 8♣ 9♣ for top pair to Wu. Lim earned HKD 156,000 for his great run at the Main Event.
Three players still remaining in the hunt for the title and the HKD 385,100 first place purse. Here are the approximate chip counts:
Varun Gupta 1.55M
Jack En-Ching Wu 1.5M
Shyh Chyn Lim 875K
Shyh Chyn Lim is well below the leaders with their 7-digit stacks. In this round, he shoved 8 times and didn’t get called but on the ninth, Varun Gupta took on the challenge.
Lim K♠ 10♠
Gupta A♣ 5♣
The board ran J♠ 8♣ 8♠ 9♠ 4♦ for a flush and a double up to Lim. He now has 878k. Gupta sits with 1.6M.
Luen Hei Kwok has had a fantastic ride throughout the Main Event, surviving the tough competition with his perpetual short stack. After a few double ups here at the final table, he lost a sizable pot to Jack En-Ching Wu then was eliminated by Varun Gupta in 4th place.
The hand against Wu saw Kwok and Shyh Chyn Lim call Wu’s raise to 55k. On the flop 3♥ 8♣ K♣, Wu bet 70k and only Kwok called. On the 9♣ turn, both checked it for a free river 6♦. Kwok switched up and bet 131k and Wu called.
Kwok K♦ J♠ top pair
Wu K♠ 6♠ two pair
The next hand Kwok three-bet all in and Gupta called. Kwok A♣ 9♥ and Gupta K♦ J♣. The board ran J♠ 4♥ 5♣ 3♦ 9♠ for a higher pair to Gupta.
Kwok earned HKD 113,800 for his impressive finish at the Main Event.
Luen Hei Kwok has defied elimination once again. This time he was ahead at the showdown against Jack En-Ching Wu.
Kwok 9♦ 9♣
Wu A♦ 10♦
The board spread 2♣ 8♦ K♦ 7♠ 9♥ for a dominating set to Kwok. His double up brings him to 530k.
With four players remaining, the big stacks were bound to engage in a heated pot which we just witnessed moments ago. Jack En-Ching Wu raised to 45k, Varun Gupta and Shyh Chyn Lim called.
On the flop 8♠ 7♠ 7♣, Wu continued with a 60k bet and only Gupta called. On the K♣ turn, another 125k was fired out by Wu and Gupta called. On the A♣ river, Wu laid out a heftier 200k bet and Gupta was not going anywhere. He called and turned over J♣ 10♣ flush to defeat Wu’s Q♣ 10♥ air.
Two hands after, Gupta won a sizable pot against Shyh Chyn Lim with a winning straight to drive his stack into the 2M mark. Wu slips down to 1M while Lim falls to 400k.
Luen Hei Kwok was hanging by a thread with just over 6bbs left in his arsenal. He three-bet all in and was snap-called by initial raiser Varun Gupta.
Kwok 3♠ 3♦
Gupta K♠ K♥
Despite being way behind, the board ran 9♦ 7♥ 4♦ 2♣ 3♦ awarding Kwok the two-outer he needed to stay alive in the Main Event. He doubled up and is at 300k. Nutty.
Gupta was barely dented. He sits with around 1.3M.
Immediately after Austin Walton’s fall, Kai Paulsen joined him on the rail. Paulsen moved all in with his 193k short stack and big stacked Varun Gupta called.
Paulsen K♦ 10♥
Gupta 5♦ 5♥
The board ran 3♦ 2♠ 6♥ Q♥ 3♣ and with Gupta’s pair holding strong, Paulsen exited in 5th place. He earned HKD 94,200 for his impressive finish at the Main Event.
Gupta has now climbed to 1.4M and is catching up to chip leader Jack Wu.
Austin Walton once enjoyed a massive stack, even owning the chip leader’s status, but it all came tumbling down and the player who delivered him his brutal defeat was Jack En-Ching Wu.
The hand began with Walton limping in on the button then faced an all in by big blind Wu. Walton tanked for a bit then called for his tournament life.
Walton A♠ 8♣
Wu Q♥ 9♥
When the flop came A♣ 6♥ 6♠, Walton improved further to two pair but with the next two cards running 10♥ and 2♥, it was a runner-runner flush to Wu. Walton hit the rail in 6th place and earned HKD 77,600 for his impressive run at the Main Event.