This pot has been brewing for a long while, but we couldn't guess just how awesome it would be.
Mike Morton started the action by completing from the small blind, and John Riordan raised to 255,000 from the big. Morton called, and he checked in the dark as the dealer flopped . Riordan's 300,000-chip continuation bet was quickly called, and the landed on the turn. Morton checked normally this time, and he called another bet from Riordan, 800,000 this time.
With a big pot already piled in the middle, Morton checked in the dark once again, and the filled out the board. Riordan announced his bet: all in. Morton quickly called off all 2.405 million of his own chips, and Riordan confidently tabled his , having made Broadway on the last card.
Riordan wasn't the only one who hit the river, though. Morton proudly tabled his , and his spade flush takes the biggest pot of the day. It's 7.55 million now in Morton's corner, an impressive feat from where he started this final table.
Riordan has relinquished the chip lead for the first time in seemingly ages, sliding all the way back to 3.9 million.
Once again, John Riordan opened the pot to 160,000, this time from the button. Austin Buchanan was in the big blind, and he moved all in for about 880,000. Riordan called, and the news was not good for the at-risk player:
Riordan:
Buchanan:
The flop put some chop outs into play, and Buchanan's friends on the rail began shouting for a ten. It never came. In fact, the turn left Buchanan drawing dead, and the river was a mere formality.
He gave it a good run, but Austin Buchanan been cut down in fourth place. That's good for more than $70,000 as a consolation prize, and Buchanan's name is one you'll likely see again soon at a major final table.
From the button, Austin Buchanan opened to 160,000, and John Riordan gave him a call from the big blind.
The flop came , and the action went check-check. The turn drew another check from Buchanan, and Riordan made it 300,000 to go. Buchanan called, and Riordan fired another healthy bet of 900,000 following the river. It was a big decision for Buchanan, and he eventually made the wrong one. He called with two mystery cards which would quickly hit the muck when Riordan tabled .
With that pot, Riordan moves back over 6 million while Buchanan falls all the way back under the million-chip mark with 795,000 left behind.
John Riordan opened to 160,000 first to act, and Morton called from the big blind. He check-called a bet of 175,000 on the flop, and both men checked the turn. On the river, Morton took his cue to bet 450,000, and Riordan paid him off.
Morton turned up for the flush, good enough to earn him yet another sizable pot. By our counts, Morton is now at 4.43 million, hot on the heels of Riordan's 4.61 million now.
Thomas Aprea opened to 200,000 from the button, and Mike Morton called to see a flop out of the big blind. It came , and both men checked through to the turn. The betting action repeated as it went check-check to the river, but now Morton put out a bet of 325,000. Aprea called, and we can only guess what his hole cards may have been. He mucked when Morton showed , and Mr. Morton is doing some work.
He's all the way up to 3.1 million, and he's involved in another pot as we speak...
From the cutoff, John Riordan opened to 160,000. We've seen this before. In the big blind, Mike Morton moved all in, three-betting Riordan for the second consecutive time. This time it was 1.32 million to call, and Riordan did so with the . Morton's was drawing, and the flop hit him in a big way. The turn ended any potential two-out drama, and Riordan was already counting out his debt when the landed on fifth street.
With two doubles in a row, Morton is back to 2.72 million. Riordan has slipped again, set back to a still-quite-healthy 5.2 million.
From the cutoff, John Riordan made his mini-raise to 160,000, and Mike Morton reraised all in for 660,000 total. Riordan had plenty of chips to make the call with , and Morton's had him poised for the double up.
The board ran out , and Morton's queen holds to earn him the double. He's back to about 1.4 million now, knocking Riordan down a peg. He's still in control of the big stack (and nearly half the chips in play) with 6.55 million left.