Dash Dudley raised the pot to 1,200,000 with the and Ben Lamb called with the . On a flop of , Dudley bet the pot and Lamb folded with a dry smile on the face.
In a battle of the short stacks, Dash Dudley raised the pot to 1,400,000 on the button and Ben Lamb repotted in the small blind for the two short stacks to clash.
Dash Dudley:
Ben Lamb:
Dudley retained his lead on the flop on which both players had a straight draw. The turn made things even more spicy but the river secured the double for Dudley to send Lamb all the way to just seven blinds.
Ben Lamb limped in with the flop and Robert Cowen checked it back with the . Both checked the flop and Lamb checked the turn with the nuts and flush redraw. Cowen bet 550,000 and Lamb made the call as they headed to the on the river, giving Cowen quads.
With 2,300,000 in the middle, Lamb checked and Cowen bet the full pot. Some 15 seconds of consideration followed and Lamb then called to have Cowen declare his quads before flashing the cards
"I was hoping it was aces full versus quads," Dash Dudley said in table chat right after the cards were tabled.
The last two players are currently on a break prior to the heads-up duel for the coveted WSOP gold bracelet and seven-figure payday. Both already have at least one PLO bracelet to their name and will be a repeat winner.
Ben Lamb limped the small blind with the and Robert Cowen raised the pot with the for Lamb to call. On the flop, Lamb checked and folded once Cowen bet 1,350,000.
Cowen then raised the pot with the in the small blind and Dash Dudley glanced at the in the big blind. A very reluctant fold followed as Cowen pulled even further ahead with his very aggressive play.
After several smaller pos, Robert Cowen raised on the button with the and Ben Lamb defended with the in the big blind and they headed to the flop. Lamb checked and Cowen bet 1,750,000 to win the pot right there.
In the first hand in three-handed play, Robert Cowen raised to 600,000 on the button with the and Ben Lamb defended the big blind with the . On the flop, Lamb check-called for 550,000 and the turn paired the board.
Lamb checked for the second time and then called a bet worth 850,000 as the river improved both players.
The third check by Lamb triggered a third barrel by Cowen worth 2,400,000 into 4,450,000 for just over half the pot.
Lamb was staring his opponent down while the Brit only glanced at the board. The call followed and that changed the lead, as Cowen now pulled ahead of Lamb by a small margin.
Robert Cowen raised it up to 900,000 out of the small blind and Veselin Karakitukov used a time bank before calling out of the big blind as the shortest stack at the table.
They headed to the flop on which Cowen eyeballed the stack of his neighbour before betting the pot worth 2,100,000. Karakitukov verified the size of the pot and once the cards were revealed, Karakitukov gasped a "wow" before shaking his head.
Veselin Karakitukov:
Robert Cowen:
Karakitukov was in damned shape and the British rail shouted for an ace, which was instantly delivered on the turn to make the river a formality. Cowen headed to his rail to celebrate before shaking hands with Karakitukov, who was eliminated in 4th place for $458,016.
Ben Lamb raised to 900,000 with the out of the big blind following a limp by Dash Dudley in the small blind, who held the and came along. The flop was all for Lamb and Dudley check-folded to a bet.
"Showed a king, top pair," Lamb told to his curious rail before adding "I didn't have two kings, to be honest."