We're down to the final table of ten, which means it's time for a 45-minute dinner break. However, before then the finalist must move to the feature table, which will be live streamed. They also have some other business to complete (photos, bios, etc.), but cards should be back in the air in an hour or so.
We'll bring you the seat draw and updated chip counts shortly.
JC Chen opened for 80,000 from the cutoff only to have Glen Henbest, the man who had just doubled through him with aces, three-bet all in from the button for 432,000. The blinds both folded and Chen shot to his feet.
"Pocket aces again?" he asked. "Alright, I call."
Chen:
Henbest:
Both players had picked up with big pocket pairs once again, but this time Chen's was best. The ladies would hold too as the board ran out clean.
"Yes," Chen celebrated while Henbest made his way to the payout desk to collect $5,163.
Action folded to Nick Perkins, who began the final 65 today as the chip leader, and he moved all in from the small blind. Jason Zarlenga tanked for over a minute before calling, and he actually had the best hand.
Zarlenga:
Perkins:
There was an ace in the window of the flop, but of course the two jacks gave Perkins trips. Zarlenga seemed none too pleased, and he watched helplessly as the blanked on the turn followed by the on the river.
A short-stacked Glen Henbest moved all in under the gun for 200,000 and cleared the field to JC Chen, who snap-called in the big blind before rolling over the . Imagine his surprise when Henbest tabled the . No one could quite believe it, and it's a good thing for Chen that Henbest had as little as he did. The board ran out a clean and Henbest scored the double.
Two stops ago, Wisconsin's Ken Payne finished fifth at the MSPT Meskwaki, and now he has notched a 12th-place finish here at FireKeepers.
In what would be his last hand, action folded to Payne in the small blind and he raised to 60,000. JC Chen was in the big and decided to push back with a three-bet to 170,000, and that inspired Payne to quickly announce that he was all in for right around 500K. Chen snap-called.
Chen:
Payne:
Payne was feeling the pain as his kicker had him in big trouble. The flop was as dry as could be, and the turn actually paired Chen and left Payne drawing to a chop for his tournament life. He needed a jack on the river to do it, but it wasn't in the cards as the blanked.
After Jason Zarlenga opened for 46,000, Alex Barill moved all in from the small blind for 320,000. The big folded and Zarlenga snap-called.
Barill:
Zarlenga:
It was a bad spot for Barill, and the flop didn't provide much help other than two spade for a runner-runner flush possibility. The turn made that realistic, but the ended up blanking on the river to send Barill out in 13th place.
Taylor Tollefson managed to work his stack up to 77,000 after being crippled by TJ Chen, but he just lost it all in the last hand of Level 22.
It happened when he shoved from early position and Nick Perkins called him from the big blind.
Tollefson:
Perkins:
Tollefson only had one over, so his best shot at survival was to catch an ace. The flop was no help, but the turn did give him a wheel draw. Unfortunately for the MSPT regular, the river was a blank and he was bounced in 14th place for $3,972.
That marks Tollefson's eighth MSPT cash, which ties him for third all time alongside MSPT Pro Matt Kirby.