HomeA nice pot was brewing in the middle with Tetsuya Tsuchikawa initiating the round with a raise to 11k. He was called by John Sayo, Terry Gonzaga (sb) and Thong Botho (bb). At the flop of 8♠ 4♠ 3♠, action was checked to Tsuchikawa who bet 20k. Gonzaga called while Botho folded. At the turn of 7♥ they both checked. On the river of 9♠, Gonzaga bet 30k and Tsuchikawa called. Gonzaga showed his A♠ Q♦ nut flush and Tsuchikawa mucked.
Dong Hyun Kim raised to 11.5k preflop and was called by Nick Blackburn. At the flop of 3♣ J♣ 10♥, Kim bet 12.5k, Blackburn raised to 27k, and Kim called. At the turn of 3♦ and river of 2♠, Kim opened up A♣ K♥ and Blackburn mucked.
After losing two big pots back-to-back, Kwan Kit Kwok got all his chips in the middle and was called by Tetsuya Tsuchikawa. Kwok had A♥ 10♣ and Tsuchikawa had K♦ J♣. The board ran 6♣ J♥ Q♠ J♠ Q♦ giving Tsuchikawa a full house and Kwok the 14th spot. Kwok collects P136,000 for his finish.
Kwan Kit Kwok had a rough two hands, both of them against pocket sixes. In the first hand, he called Simba’s three-bet all in for 35.5k. Kwok had A♠ K♠ and Simba had 6♣ 6♠. The board bricked and Simba doubled up.
Next hand, he called Byeongcheol Kim’s three-bet all in of 112k. Kim had 6♣ 6♥ and Kwok had A♠ Q♥. The board bricked again and Kim doubled up.
Kwok now down to 11k.
Gerald Casey tried to get further but he was stopped in his tracks by Julius Malzanini. Action began with Malzanini raising to 12k then Casey moving all in for over 90k. Malzanini snap-called.
Malzanini Q♦ Q♣
Casey A♦ K♠
The board bricked and Casey ended in 15th place. He earned P136,000 for his finish.
With a raised pot before them, Terry Gonzaga and Byeongcheol Kim stared down a board of 10♠ Q♦ 2♣. Kim checked to Gonzaga who bet 18k and Kim called. The turn of 3♥ had both players checking, then on the river of 7♣, Kim checked, Gonzaga bet 20k, and Kim folded giving Gonzaga a good pot.
Nick Blackburn is the first player to double up at the final two tables and he did so with a lucky turn. The hand began with Simba raising to 10k, Blackburn three-betting to 26k, and Simba calling. At the flop of K♦ 7♦ K♠, Simba checked to Blackburn who bet 19.5k, then Simba moved all in covering Blackburn’s stack. Blackburn called for his tournament life and it was a showdown.
Blackburn A♣ A♥ two pairs
Simba K♥ 5♥ trips
Needing to get lucky, the turn of A♠ was exactly what Blackburn was hoping for as he landed a full house. The river of 7♠ was no help to Simba to catch up and Blackburn doubled up.
Action in this hand began with Dong Hyun Kim raising to 10k and was called by Jim Bonanno. At the flop of Q♦ 2♣ 3♠, Bonanno checked to Kim who bet 12.5k. Bonanno smooth-called and the dealer turned 5♥ on fourth street. Bonanno checked again, Kim bet 17.5k, and Bonanno called. On the river of 3♥, they both checked and Kim won with his K♥ Q♥ top pair against Bonanno’s 4♣ 4♠.
Andrei Dementev went all in and was up against Julius Malzanini. Dementev had A♦ K♥ and Malzanini had 7♣ 7♦. The board bricked and Dementev took 16th place for a P120,000 payout.