Hand #20: Michael Bennington finally got involved in the action, making it 200,000 to play from early position. Hunichen three-bet the conservative Bennington, pumping the bet to 575,000, and Bennington came along.
Flop:
Hunichen led out for 400,000, and Bennington responded with an all-in reshove to 1.53 million. Hunichen made the call and revealed , but his pocket pair had been bested by the . He would need to spike a ten or a backdoor straight to catch up, but the turn of and river of brought no help.
Hand #21-22: Kelly raised two consecutive hands, collecting the blinds and antes on both occasions.
Hand #14: Gray made it 240,000 from early position, and his 3x big blind bet was enough to fold the table.
Hand #15: Kelly opened to 160,000 from the cutoff, and McVeigh called holding the button. The flop came and Kelly continued for 250,000, a bet which McVeigh opted to match. On the turn, action slowed down and both players checked. The arrived on the river, and Kelly checked once again. McVeigh put a stack of 340,000 into the pot, and Kelly put his cards into the muck.
Hand #16-17: Hunichen opened for the standard 160,000 raise in early position and claimed the blinds and antes on two hands in a row.
Hand #18: Desilva open-shoved for 870,000 in the cutoff, and his all-in took the pot down.
Hand #19: Kelly opened for 160,000 from under the gun, and next to act, McVeigh reraised to 325,000. The three-bet was called by Gray on the button, and action shifted back to Kelly after the blinds mucked. Kelly opted to flat as well, and we saw a three-way flop of . All three players checked it down and the turn came . This action card prompted Kelly to check, and McVeigh slid 515,000 into the middle. Gray liked the turn as well, and he reraised all-in 2.31 million. After some deliberation, McVeigh made the call and we were off to a showdown.
Showdown:
McVeigh:
Gray:
The turn had hit both players perfectly, but McVeigh's flush was superior to Gray's trips. He would need to fill up on the river to survive, and when the dealer revealed the , his dream card had been delivered. The crowd let out a gasp when Gray filled up, and he retook his seat after doubling through.
Hand #9: McVeigh raised to 175,000 from the hijack and claimed an uncontested pot.
Hand #10: Chen raised his button to 160,000, Jonathan Gray three-bet to 500,000, and Chen released.
Hand #11: The action folded around to Liberto in the small blind, and his raise to 190,000 moved Chris Hunichen off of his big blind.
Hand #12: Kelly's aggressive start is paying dividends, and he received the first walk of the final table.
Hand #13: Hunichen raised to 160,000 on his button, and Kelly continued his domination of the final table's early stages, raising to 440,000 and forcing Hunichen to slide his cards towards the dealer.
Hand #6: Chen raised to 160,000 from UTG+1 and Kelly called from the button. On the flop of , Chen opted to check the action to Kelly, who responded with a bet of 225,000. This was enough to fold Chen, and the chips were sent in Kelly's direction.
Hand #7: Chen tried opening to 160,000 again, this time from under the gun, and again Kelly decided to see the flop. When the was spread across the felt, Chen continued with a bet of 180,000. Kelly pumped it up to 450,000 and Chen flatted to see the turn, which came .
Chen slowed down on the blank, and Kelly seized the chance to claim yet another pot with a bet of 675,000. Chen couldn't stand the heat, and tossed his cards into to the muck.
Hand #8: Kelly opened from the hijack, making it 160,000 in what has become a recurring theme here at the final table. His new nemesis Benny Chen wanted another go at the young pro, and he called to defend his big blind. On the flop of , both players knocked the table, and the arrived on the turn. This card prompted a bet of 225,000 from Chen, and Kelly flatted in position. On the river, Chen again led out, this time for 650,000, and for the first time all day, Kelly lost a pot.
Hand #4: Benny Chen opened for 160,00 on the button, and Justin Liberto three-bet to 345,000. Undeterred, Chen four-bet to 565,000 and tried to play power poker, but Liberto's five-bet to 975,000 convinced him to surrender.
Hand #5: Upeshka DeSilva moved his short-stack of 560,000 into the middle from early position, and Robert McVeigh looked him up with . Desilva was in dominant position with , however, and a clean board of later, he had successfully doubled up.
![[user253757]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, but his pocket pair had been bested by the 
. He would need to spike a ten or a backdoor straight to catch up, but the turn of 
and river of 
brought no help.
and Kelly continued for 250,000, a bet which McVeigh opted to match. On the 
turn, action slowed down and both players checked. The 
arrived on the river, and Kelly checked once again. McVeigh put a stack of 340,000 into the pot, and Kelly put his cards into the muck.
. All three players checked it down and the turn came 
. This action card prompted Kelly to check, and McVeigh slid 515,000 into the middle. Gray liked the turn as well, and he reraised all-in 2.31 million. After some deliberation, McVeigh made the call and we were off to a showdown.
, his dream card had been delivered. The crowd let out a gasp when Gray filled up, and he retook his seat after doubling through.
, Chen opted to check the action to Kelly, who responded with a bet of 225,000. This was enough to fold Chen, and the chips were sent in Kelly's direction.
.
, both players knocked the table, and the 
arrived on the turn. This card prompted a bet of 225,000 from Chen, and Kelly flatted in position. On the 
. Desilva was in dominant position with 
, however, and a clean board of 