Joseph Ressler raised to 52,000 from the hijack before the flop and found two other callers in the form of David Chiu from the cutoff, as well as Hans Winzeler from the small blind before Steven Merrifield raised it from the big blind, making it another 140,000 to go.
Chiu was the only caller, but then Merrifield and Chiu checked down both the flop of and the turn of the before Merrifield fired out a bet on the river . Chiu quickly folded and Merrfield was only too happy to show his for the nizzles.
David Chiu raised to 55,000 from the hijack and received a call from Steven Merrifield in the small blind. When the flop came down , Merrifield check-called a bet of 80,000 and watched as the hit the turn.
Merrifield check yet again, Chiu fired out 225,000, and Merrifield surprised both Chiu and the crowd with a pot-sized raise, making it 969,000. Chiu hit the tank for several minutes before laying down his hand.
The action folded to Gregory Brooks who limped in from the small blind before Hans Winzeler checked his option from the big blind to go heads-up to the flop of . Brooks led out for 40,000 and Winzeler called, so then the dealer peeled off the turn of the .
Brooks checked, Winzeler bet 40,000 and then Brooks quickly check-raised the pot. Winzeler snap-shoved and Brooks called all-in.
Brooks:
Winzeler:
With Winzeler having flopped turned the nut straight, Brooks was drawing dead and had already started shaking hands with his tablemates by the time the river completed the board. For his efforts, Brooks will receive $53,210 in prize money.
We are now down to our official final table! Chip counts up shortly.
Greg Brooks raised to 42,000 from the cutoff and received calls from Hans Winzeler on the button and Steven Merrifield in the big blind. Merrifield checked the flop, prompting Brooks to continuation bet 73,000. Winzeler then woke up with a reraise to 365,000, Merrifield folded, and Brooks three-bet. Winzeler didn't have much left and committed it to the pot.
Winzeler:
Brooks:
Both players had flopped the nut straight, but both had redraws. The turn filled Winzeler's flush and left Brooks looking either for a jack or eight on the river. The crowd was on its feet as the dealer burned and put out the inconsequential . Winzeler doubled to over 1.2 million while Brooks was left with just 289,000.
The remaining seven players went through the ol'-raise-and-fold routine for almost ten minutes before we saw a massive hand play out between Steven Merrifield and Joseph Ressler.
Ressler raised to 40,000 from under the gun and the action folded around to Merrifield who called from the big blind before checking his option on the flop of . Ressler led out for 45,000 and Merrifield called before checking again on the turn of the .
Ressler opened for 260,000, but Merrifield re-potted, forcing Ressler all-in. Ressler called and the cards were tabled:
Ressler:
Merrifield:
Ressler was in the lead and he got well over the line after the came down on the river to give him the nut flush and the double-up.
In the first hand here at the ESPN Feature Table, David Chiu raised to 56,000 from middle position and was quickly three-bet to 154,000 by Greg Brooks in the cutoff. The blinds got out of the way and action was back on Chiu. He thought for a minute, double checked his cards, and then put in a four-bet to 461,000.
The decision was back on Brooks as to whether or not he wanted to play a big one, which he didn't as he tossed his cards to the muck.