Jean Luc Marais raised to 175,000 from the button and Philip Hammerling moved all in for a total of 935,000 from the small blind. Kenneth Griffin folded the big blind and Marais called.
Hammerling:
Marais:
The board ran out drama-free when it came and Hammerling doubled his stack.
Kenneth Griffin, with his boisterous rail cheering his every move, raised to 150,000 from the small blind. Jean Luc Marais defended his big blind and we saw a flop of hit the table.
Griffin continued with a bet of 100,000 and the Frenchman came along for the ride. The turn card fell and Griffin led out for another 100,000 bet. Marais wanted to see the river card and splashed four T25,000 chips into the middle.
After the arrived on the river, Griffin fired a third barrel and made it 200,000 to go. Marais finally became a believer and surrendered by tossing his cards into the muck.
The button is being passed from player to player without many fireworks. It seems a simple raise or three-bet is taking down the pot almost every time. We're occasionally seeing a flop but action isn't usually going any further than that.
Philip Hammerling called from the small blind and Ken Griffin checked his option from the big blind. The flop came , Hammerling checked, Griffin bet 75,000, and Hammerling called. The turn was the and Hammerling again check-called a bet from Griffin, this time for 100,000.
When the came on the river Hammerling checked once more and Griffin fired out a bet of 125,000. Hammerling then raised to 330,000 and Griffin wasted no time in counting out the chips required to make the call and tossing them into the pot.
"You have quads?" Griffin asked. Hammerling did not have quads as he showed the . Griffin tabled his for aces full of tens and took down the pot.
Ken Griffin raised to 150,000 from the small blind and Jean Luc Marais called from the big blind. The flop came and Griffin instantly shoved all in. Marais snap called and the hands were revealed.
Griffin:
Marais:
Marais was ahead with his pair of queens but Griffin had a flush draw. The turn was the and the river was the and Marais got a huge double up to make him our chipleader.
Coming back from the recent break, Eric Baudry opened up his game and took a few pots down with preflop raises. Perhaps feeling emboldened by his new aggressive image, Baudry raised to 115,000 holding the button.
Kenneth Griffin was in the small blind and decided enough was enough. He three-bet for his entire stack of 3,000,000 or so chips and put Baudry to the ultimate test. With the action back on him, Baudry called to put his tournament life at risk.
Showdown:
Griffin:
Baudry:
The players were flipping a coin with the pocket pair against overcards confrontation. Griffin stood to watch the flop arrive, and when he saw it come he pumped his fist slightly after surviving three board cards. The turn card came and Baudry was down to his last chance, but the river was dry, coming .
Baudry offered the remaining three players a sincere congratulations and departed the table with a smile on his face. With the knockout, Griffin built a commanding chip lead and now sits with 4,900,000, which is more than twice that of his nearest competitor.
Our four remaining players are now back from break. Ken Griffin is our current chipleader and Eric Baudry is the short-stack at the table as we begin level 27.