Matt Stout, who had been running over opponents like a freight train, finally dropped his first game.
With blinds climbing, he shoved preflop with 
only to run into the 
of Steve Sarmiento. The board ran out 
, and Sarmiento has a 1-0 lead. The players jumped right into game two.
James Routos and Brian Hewitt got into a raising war on the river of a recent pot in which the board was two paired with kings and jacks. Routos put in the last raise, to about 13,000, and Hewitt finally gave up his hand. Routos, who trails 1-0, has about 26,000 to Hewitt's 14,000.
Joseph Stiers check-jammed over a bet from Torrey Korsog on a 
flop, and Korsog made the call.
Korsog's 
had Stiers' 
dominated, and nothing changed on the 
or 
turn and river. Korsog and Stiers have agreed to a short break, and Korsog will take a 1-0 lead into game two.
James Routos checked a 
flop, and he watched Brian Hewitt fire 1,200. Routos check-raised to 3,000, and Hewitt called. A 
arrived on the turn, and Routos mashed all in. Hewitt called immediately.
Hewitt:
Routos:
Routos had flopped top pair, but he was behind Hewitt's bullets. A 
on the river didn't save Routos, and Hewitt has a 1-0 lead.
Brian Hewitt leads James Routos 28,000-12,000.
Steve Sarmiento leads Matt Stout 26,000-14,000.
Adam Shulman leads Ernie Lewis 26,000-14,000.
Torrey Korsog leads Joseph Stiers 22,000-18,000.
All matches are still 0-0.
Torrey Korsog grabbed the lead from Joseph Stiers after he just check-called a bet of 3,200 on the end on an ace-high board. Stiers mucked immediately upon seeing the call.
Here are the early standings as the players get a feel for their opponents.
James Routos holds a slight lead over Brian Hewitt with about 22,000 to 18,000.
Matt Stout and Steve Sarmiento are about even.
Ernie Lewis has about 28,000 to Adam Shulman's 12,000.
Joseph Stiers has an early 26,000-to-14,000 lead over Torrey Korsog.
Here is the bracket for today's final eight heads-up competitors.
Brian Hewitt versus James Routos
Matt Stout versus Steve Sarmiento
Adam Shulman versus Ernie Lewis
Torrey Korsog versus Joseph Stiers
Winners of the paired matches will face off in the Final Four, and those winners will meet for the championship and the $37,248 first-place prize. Action it set to start here in mere moments. As a reminder, all matches are in a best-of-three format, and chips do not roll over to the next match. Players are playing with 20-minute levels.
Event 14: Heads-Up NLHE
Day 2 Started