HomeWith the fall of Michel Ghanem in 9th place, Day 3 ended with the Final 8 established. Congratulations to the Final 8 players!
Sung Ho Kim – Korea – 1,703,000
Soo Jo Kim – Korea – 1,433,000
Eugene Co – Philippines – 869,000
Mike Takayama – Philippines – 741,000
Jae Hyun Lim – Korea – 702,000
Hanna Khalife – Lebanon – 512,000
Daiki Kohagi – Japan – 347,000
Zentaro Nakayashiki – Japan – 288,000
We will have a recap for you shortly so stand by for that. You can also read through the live updates on all of the day’s action.
Michel Ghanem just missed a seat to the Final 8. Ghanem moved all in with around 300k and Sung Ho Kim quickly made the call.
Ghanem A♦ Q♥
Kim K♣ K♦
The board offered no help at all, J♥ 9♣ 5♠ 5♦ 2♣ and Ghanem bowed out in 9th place. He earned USD 5,850 for his deep finish.
The two remaining past champions, Mike Takayama and Soo Jo Kim faced off with their big stacks to muscle with. Kim raised to 44k on the button and Takayama called on the big blind. The flop ran 2♣ 10♥ 4♦, Takayama checked, Kim bet 45k, Takayama called. On the 6♣ turn, both checked. Then on the 10♠ river, Takayama led for 66k, Kim tanked, and after deliberating, Kim opted to make the call.
Takayama K-Q bluff
Kim A-2 pair
Eugene Co is maneuvering his way into the million range and is quite close now after winning a pot against Jae Hyun Lim. In a battle of the blinds situation, sb Co and bb Lim stared down a flop of 8♦ 4♥ 7♥. Co checked, Lim bet 50k, and Co called. On the 8♠ turn, both checked and the dealer revealed the river 6♥. Co must have liked this card as he laid out an 85k bet. Lim called.
Co turned over 5♥ J♥ for the flush. Lim mucked. Co now at 970k.
Millionaire stacks Mike Takayama and Sung Ho Kim battled for this pot. Takayama raised to 46k preflop and Kim called from the big blind. On the flop 5♦ Q♥ 4♣, Kim checked, Takayama bet 62k, and Kim called. On the 9♦ turn, both slowed it down and checked until the river landed 2♦. Kim slid out 140k worth and Takayama opted to fold.
Kim now at 1.2M. Takayama around 1M.
Zentaro Nakayashiki caught a lucky five card spread to avoid elimination at the hands of Mike Takayama. Nakayashiki was all in with K♥ 8♦ and Takayama had him dominated with A♣ 7♥. The board ran 10♥ 2♥ 4♥ 9♥ 5♠ for a winning flush to Nakayashiki. He doubled up to 370k. He will need another double up to get to average stack.
With the elimination of William Ysmael we are down to the Final 8 bubble round. Once another player falls, we will end Day 3 and resume for the race to the championship tomorrow.
William Ysmael became the first casualty of the unofficial final table and had to settle for a 10th place berth. Ysmael ran well throughout the day, and even prior to his elimination, he was well above the average stack. Unfortunately for him, he had a run in against Sung Ho Kim that sent his stack into near oblivion and was forced out two hands later.
Ysmael’s final hand saw him raise to 44k preflop and getting called by two players, Sung Ho Kim and Soo Jo Kim. At the flop 10♦ 7♣ 2♥, Ysmael continued for 58k bet, Sung Ho Kim raised to 158k, the other Kim folded, and Ysmael called. The 8♣ turn, Ysmael checked, Kim announced all in, and Ysmael called.
Kim 10♠ 10♥ set
Ysmael A♥ A♦ overpair
The river 8♠ didn’t help Ysmael and his aces were cracked sending his stack down to 13k. Two hands later, he was the big blind and was eliminated by Mike Takayama.
Ysmael earned USD 4,990 for his deep run at the Main Event.
Two time APT Main Event champion Mike Takayama has taken the helm at the unofficial final table of ten players. Takayama went head-to-head against Hanna Khalife and won a couple of big towers from the Lebanese.
Takayama kicked it off with a 45k raise, Khalife three-bet to 103k, and after action folded around, Takayama flat-called. On the flop J♦ 9♦ 6♦, both checked. On the K♣ turn, Takayama checked, Khalife slid out 108k, then Takayama pushed all in. Khalife folded.
Takayama well past 1.2M in chips.