Sowers Down, Then Out

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9:14pm -- Mike Sowers Eliminated in 3rd Place ($654,797)

Talk about a stunning reversal of fortune for Mike Sowers! A few minutes ago he was flirting with the chip lead. Now he's out. He opened the pot with a raise to 300,000. Binh Nguyen reraised to a million straight, prompting Sowers to quickly jam all in. Nguyen called even faster, showing {Q-Diamonds}

. It was bad luck for Sowers, who mustered up a pair of fours, {4-Spades}

. A board of {9-Hearts}

improved neither player and sent a stunned Sowers to the rail in third place. But $654,797 in prize money will, no doubt, cushion the blow.

We'll have a slight pause now in order to prepare for heads-up play. The chip counts are:

Binh Nguyen - 8.45 million
Cornel Andrew Cimpan - 5.47 million

9:07pm -- Cimpan Doubles through Sowers

At this stage of the tournament, the swings are huge. Binh Nguyen was first to act and opened the pot for 300,000. Andrew Cimpan moved all in behind him; Mike Sowers moved all in behind Cimpan. Nguyen quickly folded, allowing Cimpan and Sowers to open their hands. It was a race, with Sowers' {5-Diamonds}