Ernst Schmejkal Eliminated in 2nd Place ($386,636); Ayaz Mahmood Wins!
Ernst Schmejkal opened to 250,000 from the button and Ayaz Mahmood made the call to see a flop fall.
Mahmood checked and Schmejkal fired out a bet of 250,000 only to have Mahmood check-raise to 600,000 total.
With the action on Schmejkal, he sat deep in his chair contemplating a decision before quickly popping up and reaching for two stacks of green 25,000-denomination chips amounting to 1,000,000. Looking down at them behind his dark sunglasses, Schmejkal slowly slid them into the pot only to have Mahmood instantly announce he was all in.
With only 1,455,000 remaining in his stack, Schmejkal made the call to put his tournament life at risk.
Schmejkal:
Mahmood:
With Schmejkal in the lead, and in great shape to grab a stranglehold of the match, the dealer peeled the on the turn to extend Mahmood's outs to a total of thirteen.
As the twenty or so people watching on pressed hard against the rail, the dealer slowly burned and turned the on the river to complete Broadway for Mahmood.
In an instance the Pakistani-born player leapt from the stage nearly tripping over as he high-fived and fist-pumped his nearby supporters as Schmejkal just sat there emotionless as his bid for a WSOP bracelet had fallen so close.
Fortunately for the German, now located in London, Schmejkal will be heading back across the North Atlantic with $386,636 in second prize money as Ayaz Mahmood is crowned the Event #35 Champion!