Action folded to Edward Pham in the small blind and he opened for a raise, though we're not sure of the amount. Eric Crain was in the big blind and pushed back with a three-bet to 345,000. Not to be outdone, Pham made it 810,000 to go. Both players were fairly deep, so it caught the attention of the entire tournament floor when Crain moved all in for about 3,000,000.
With action back on Pham, he counted down his stack, knowing a call would cost the vast majority of his chips. After what seemed like an eternity, Pham laid down his hand only to have Crain proudly reveal offsuit, showing he is not afraid to put it in with the worst hand in poker.
Needless to say, the room was awestruck and impressed by the move. Crain is here to play.
Eric Crain opened for 125,000 and Bob Chow three-bet to 430,000 from the button. The blinds released and Crain moved all in after a few moments of thought. Chow wasted no time in calling and the hands were turned up.
Chow:
Crain:
The board ran and Chow unseated Crain from the top of leaderboard for the first time in quite a while.
Edward Pham raised to 85,000 under the gun and was soon met with a three-bet to 265,000 by Mark "P0ker H0" Kroon in middle position. Action folded back around to Pham and he thought a long while before sliding in a call. When the flop came down , Pham checked to Kroon, who bet 320,000. Pham responded by moving all in and Kroon snap-called off his last 415,000.
Showdown
Kroon:
Pham:
It was a bit of a cooler flop as Kroon had hit top pair with the second nut-flush draw and Pham flopped middle set. "Spade," Kroon called. The dealer burned and turned the . It wasn't the spade Kroon was looking for; in fact, it filled Pham up and made a spade useless. Kroon, who improved to two pair, now needed either a jack or king on the river to survive.
With his rail there for support, including his mother, daughter, and good friends Steve and Melissa Verrett, Kroon waited anxiously as the dealer burned and revealed the . Kroon couldn't catch and his deep run in the Main Event came to an end in 16th place. Not too shabby for the man who re-entered on Day 1b after busting out on the third hand of Day 1a when his pocket aces were cracked by pocket kings.