On the first hand of the final table, action folded to Jake Ferro on the button and he opened to 85,000 with . Johnny Landreth re-shoved for 360,000 in the big blind with and Ferro called.
A queen-high runout came to leave Landreth's kings on top and he scored the quick double.
Zach Gruneberg open-shoved for 305,000 in the hijack and action folded to Kyle Cartwright in the big blind, who looked down at his two cards and then proceeded to grab a stack of chips and place them down onto the felt as he simultaneously turned up his hand.
Zach Gruneberg:
Kyle Cartwright:
The flop gave Cartwright top two pair, leaving Gruneberg in need of hitting a ten to stay alive. One did not come as completed the runout and Gruneberg became the ninth-place finisher as a result. The tournament clock has now been paused with 21:46 remaining in Level 24 for the eight final tablists to make their way to the studio table in preparation for the live-streamed final table.
Play will resume at 8:10 p.m. and the live stream will come on a 30-minute delay with PokerNews updating alongside the live stream.
William Thomas had found a double but was down to under 200,000 again after the blinds went through him. He called all in from the cutoff after Dustin Holladay open-jammed in the hijack with a covering stack.
William Thomas:
Dustin Holladay:
Holladay was the one to win the coin flip on a runout of and Thomas tapped the table before making his way to the payout table, taking 10th place in the tournament. One more elimination is now needed to reach the final table of eight.
Stephen Strout opened to 85,000 in the hijack and William Thomas three-bet shoved on the button. Strout immediately called once action made its way back to him.
Stephen Strout:
William Thomas:
Strout was saved on the turn of a runout and scored the pot, resulting in a reaction from Thomas after taking the beat.
"Hold on, you might have some chips," said the dealer. She was right, with Strout's stack totaling 525,000 and Thomas' being around 120,000 more.
Brian Arbaugh opened to 60,000 in the cutoff and saw Johnny Landreth three-bet jam for 370,000 on the button. Action folded back to Arbaugh and he had the 60K each pulled in.
"It's close," said Arbaugh after a minute. Another two minutes then passed and he eventually put a stack of chips onto the felt in front of him.
Johnny Landreth:
Brian Arbaugh:
Landreth hit top pair, top kicker on the flop but Arbaugh went from three outs to four after flopping a gutshot Broadway draw. It mattered not after the turn and river completed the runout and Landreth scored the dub.
Arbaugh found himself down to 220,000 after that and jammed it in on the next hand in the hijack. Hal Rotholz called in the big blind.
Brian Arbaugh:
Hal Rotholz:
The board ran out , giving Arbaugh another gutshot on the flop that filled up this time to keep him alive.
Kyle Cartwright has chipped up consistently and without much resistance over the last few orbits of short-handed play and has now amassed a stack of 2.1 million, making him the chip leader with 10 remaining in the tournament.
Zach Gruneberg opened to 65,000 on the button and received a call from Stephen Strout in the small blind. Action went heads up to a flop of and both players checked.
The turn came and Strout checked again. Gruneberg bet 50,000 and Strout took his time before calling to bring the river , where Strout checked and then tank-called another 90,000 from Gruneberg to take the hand to showdown.
"Good call," said Gruneberg, lifting his cards off the table parallel to the felt. Strout made no move to show and Gruneberg sent his cards to the muck to earn Strout the pot without needing to show.