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We're down to nine players now, and they've been combined around the unofficial final table. Here's how they set up right now:
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony G | 160,000 |
| 2 | Gus Hansen | 363,000 |
| 3 | Nam Le | 69,000 |
| 4 | Sam Trickett | 100,500 |
| 5 | Phil Ivey | 138,000 |
| 6 | Mikhail Smirnov | 324,500 |
| 7 | Joe Hachem | 472,500 |
| 8 | Sorel Mizzi | 210,000 |
| 9 | Dan Smith | 363,000 |
Just a few hands after doubling up through Mikhail Smirnov, Jason Mercier was all in for a second time. It was Smirnov that he was up against once more and this time Mercier was behind.
Mercier: 
Smirnov: 
The flop came down 
and Smirnov stayed in front. The turn 
meant that Mercier was just one more card away from elimination. Unless Mercier could catch an eight on the river, his tournament would be over.
The river card was the 
and Mercier had missed. Smirnov had him covered and Mercier headed to the rail in 10th place. The remaining nine players will now rejoin at one table. We'll have those seating assignments and chip counts for you shortly.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
||
Joe Hachem opened the pot with a raise to 10,000, and he found calls from Mikhail Smirnov (button) and Gus Hansen (small blind). It's a good spot to find a big hand in the small blind, and Jason Mercier liked what he saw enough to squeeze all in for 40,500 total. It looked like Hachem called, though we can't be sure. What we do know is that Smirnov reraised and isolated himself against Mercier with a chance at the knockout.
Showdown
Smirnov: 
Mercier: 
The board ran out 
, and Mercier manages to find a big quadruple up to crawl back into contention.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
162,000
57,000
|
57,000 |
|
|
||
From the small blind, Nam Le raised to 11,000. Phil Ivey called from the big blind and the flop came down . Le fired 12,500 and Ivey folded.
Just moments after we wrote about Nam Le nursing the short stack, he found a double up and is back to 70,000 in chips. Here's how it went down.
From the button, Dan Smith raised to 8,000 and Le called from the big blind. The flop came down 
and Le led for 7,000 with 13,000 behind. Smith took nearly all of his allotted time and then raised enough to put Le all in. Le quickly called and tabled the 
. Smith held the 
.
The turn brought the 
and kept Le in front with his pair of kings. Smith needed an ace on the river, but couldn't find it when the dealer landed the on the end of the board and Le doubled up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
380,000
-34,500
|
-34,500 |
|
||
|
70,000
27,000
|
27,000 |
|
|
||
Nam Le is the shortest stack in the room and situated on the outer table. He hasn't been getting involved in any pots, but the expressions on his face look as though he's just not getting anything playable. We'll surely be keeping an eye on him as the blinds keep passing around the table to see how he is doing.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
43,000
-18,000
|
-18,000 |
|
|
||
Sorel Mizzi raised to 8,000 from the button and Phil Ivey called from the big blind to take the flop. Ivey checked and Mizzi bet 9,000. Ivey called.
The turn was the 
and Ivey checked. Mizzi bet 22,500. Ivey took his time and then check-raised all in for what looked to be 73,500. Mizzi folded and Ivey won the pot.
Gus Hansen raised to 10,500 from the cutoff seat and Jason Mercier reraised to 25,000 from the button. Hansen made the call and the flop came down 
. Hansen checked, Mercier bet 17,000 and Hansen called.
The turn was the and both players checked to see the fall on the river. There, Hansen fired 51,500 and Mercier mucked his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
105,000
-32,500
|
-32,500 |
|
|
||
With a little over 40,000 chips already in the pot, the board was 
between Sorel Mizzi and Tony G. Mizzi checked to Tony G and he bet 30,000. After a bit of time in the tank, Mizzi was running out of seconds to act. He finally gave up his hand after the clock got down to about five seconds and Tony G won the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
220,000
-23,000
|
-23,000 |
|
140,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
||
From middle position, Sam Trickett raised to 8,000, and Mikhail Smirnov flatted in the small blind. In the big, Gus Hansen squeezed in a reraise to 25,500, and that was enough to fold Trickett out of the way. Smirnov called again, though, and they went off to a heads-up flop.
It came 
, and Smirnov check-insta-called another 42,000 to arrive at the turn. It went check-check there, and the river completed the board. Smirnov checked again, and Hansen spent a few second soaking in the tank with a look of sheer agony on his face. It must not have been too bad, though, because he made a big bet at the pot. When the dealer began to break it down for a count, Smirnov went ahead and mucked, and the pot goes to Gus.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
355,000
79,500
|
79,500 |
|
||
|
240,000
-76,000
|
-76,000 |
