Oleksii Kovalchuk is gunning for his third bracelet in three years, having won the $2,500 Omaha-8/Stud-8 last year and the $2,500 NLHE 6-max. event in 2011. The Ukrainian started the not-quite-final final table on the right foot as part of that effort.
Soon after play resumed, a five-way limped pot developed including both Alex Kravchencko playing from middle position and Kovalchuk playing from the hijack seat. All five checked the flop. Then when the fell on fourth street, it checked to Kravchenko who fired 60,000, then Kovalchuk responded with a pot-sized reraise to 390,000.
The others all folded, and Kravchenko tanked for three full minutes before calling the raise.
The river brought the , and when Kravchenko checked, Kovalchuk didn't hesitate before announcing he was all in. Kravchenko only waited about 15 seconds or so before letting his hand go.
James Wiese raised to 60,000 in the cutoff, Johannes Strassmann three-bet the pot out of the small blind, and after a bit of back and forth between the two, Wiese moved all in. Strassmann called for around 160,000 more.
Wiese:
Strassmann:
The board came , and Strassmann was eliminated in 11th place. The remaining 10 players are now moving to the secondary final stage, and when they arrive we will give you the table draw.
Tony Cousineau moved all in on the button, and Daniel Alaei called in the big blind.
Cousineau:
Alaei:
The flop fell , giving Alaei a set of jacks and leaving Cousineau with only backdoor draws. It was all over when the turned, and a meaningless completed the board.
In the last hand before the break, Rory Rees Brennan earned a double-up through James Wiese in a hand that saw all of the chips go in on the turn with the board showing .
Wiese held for trip kings, but Brennan had a made full house with his . The river was the , and Brennan won the pot.
Alexey Rybin began the day as the chip leader with 32 players left. But after both Daniel Alaei and then Jared Bleznick roared past him into the chip lead, the Russian saw his stack gradually decline until the last hand of Level 22 saw him all in and at risk.
The hand started with a hijack raise by Alaei to 50,000, then Rybin made it 180,000 to go from the cutoff seat. It folded back around to Alaei who thought for about 15 seconds then called, and the pair together watched the flop come .
At that Alaei set out a stack of chips to bet, Rybin pushed, and Alaei called quickly.
Rybin had for pair of aces and a gutshot draw, while Alaei had for jacks and various backdoor possibilities. The turn was the and river the , giving Alaei two pair and the best hand and ending Rybin's day in 13th place.
We're unsure as to whether or not Michael Schwartz and Daniel Alaei got all of the chips in the middle preflop or on the flop, but when we arrived the hands looked like this:
Schwartz:
Alaei:
The flop was , giving Alaei a set of kings, and the turn and river came , respectively. Alaei made a full house, securing the knockout and bringing Alaei back up to over two million chips. A few hands prior, he doubled Gjergj Sinishtaj when Sinishtaj had turned a flush.
Schwartz was eliminated in 14th place, earning $41,472.
flop. Then when the 
fell on fourth street, it checked to Kravchenko who fired 60,000, then Kovalchuk responded with a pot-sized reraise to 390,000.
, and when Kravchenko checked, Kovalchuk didn't hesitate before announcing he was all in. Kravchenko only waited about 15 seconds or so before letting his hand go.
![[user101598]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, and Strassmann was eliminated in 11th place. The remaining 10 players are now moving to the secondary final stage, and when they arrive we will give you the table draw.
, giving Alaei a set of jacks and leaving Cousineau with only backdoor draws. It was all over when the 
turned, and a meaningless 
completed the board.
, and Brennan won the pot.
for pair of aces and a gutshot draw, while Alaei had 
, giving Alaei two pair and the best hand and ending Rybin's day in 13th place.
