$3,500 WPT LHPO Championship
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 ante
Players Remaining:  164 of 1,573

Satoshi Tanaka raised UTG+1 to 17,000, Luis Torres moved all in from middle position for 69,000, and Tanaka called with .

Torres turned over , and was dominated as he faced elimination.

The board came — Torres flopped a gutshot straight draw, but improved no further. Tanaka won the pot with his king to eliminate Torres in 176th place.

Satoshi Tanaka  –  830,000
Luis Torres  –  Eliminated in 176th Place  ($6,225)

With 164 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 384,000 (48 big blinds), and they are all guaranteed to earn at least $6,300 each.

Action is scheduled to continue tonight until the end of Level 22, around 1:45 am.

$3,500 WPT LHPO Championship
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 ante
Players Remaining:  172 of 1,573

Pablo Valdivieso was all in from the button for 289,000 with , and he needed to improve to stay alive against the of Luis Torres in the hijack.

The board came , and Valdivieso paired his king on the turn to win the pot and double up in chips.

Pablo Valdivieso  –  615,000  (77 bb)
Luis Torres  –  69,000  (9 bb)

With 172 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 366,000 (46 big blinds), and they are all guaranteed to earn at least $6,225 each.

Action is scheduled to continue tonight until the end of Level 22, around 1:45 am.

$3,500 WPT LHPO Championship
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 ante
Players Remaining:  197 of 1,573

There were no all-in situations for Hands #2, #3, or #4 of hand-for-hand play on the Money Bubble.

In Hand #5, Jerry Wong moved all in from the small blind, and Chris Carey called all in from the big blind for 70,000 with .

Wong turned over , and Carey was a dominant favorite to double up.

But the board came , and Wong paired his ten on the flop and turned a heart flush to win the pot and eliminate Carey on the Money Bubble in 198th place.

Jerry Wong  –  570,000  (71 bb)
Chris Carey  –  Eliminated

The remaining 197 players are all in the money, guaranteed at least $6,150 each.

The average chip stack is about 319,000 (40 big blinds), and action is scheduled to continue tonight until the end of Level 21, shortly after 12:30 am.

$3,500 WPT LHPO Championship
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 ante
Players Remaining:  198 of 1,573

In Hand #1 of hand-for-hand play on the Money Bubble, Brian Barros Vazquez raised from the button to 20,000, Elia Ahmadian moved all in from the big blind for 72,000, and Vazquez called with .

Ahmadian turned over , and needed his pocket pair to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Vasquez rivered an eight-high straight to win the pot and eliminate Ahmadian in 199th place — two spots away from the money.

Brian Barros Vazquez  –  570,000  (71 bb)
Elia Ahmadian  –  Eliminated

At another table, Thomas Rasberry was all in from the button for 57,000 with , and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive against the of Jerry Wong in middle position.

The board came — Wong flopped a gutshot straight draw, but improved no further. Rasberry won the pot with his pocket aces to double up in chips.

Thomas Rasberry  –  130,000  (16 bb)
Jerry Wong  –  370,000  (46 bb)

With 198 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 318,000 (40 big blinds), and the final 197 players will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $6,150 each.

Action is scheduled to continue tonight until the end of Level 21, shortly after 12:30 am.

$3,500 WPT LHPO Championship
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  4,000/8,000 with a 8,000 ante
Players Remaining:  199 of 1,573

There are 199 players in the field returning from the dinner break, but only 197 of them will finish in the money. Hand-for-hand play will begin even though they are two away from the money.

With 199 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 316,000 (40,000 big blinds), and the final 197 players will be guaranteed at least $6,150 each.

The 30-Second Action Clock by Protection Poker will be in use for the rest of the tournament. Players will have 30 seconds to make each decision, and they have been given 10 non-transferable Time Chips that can be used to extend a decision by 30 seconds. These are the only Time Chips players will receive until the field is down to the final three tables (24 players), at which point everybody still in the field will reset to six Time Chips each.

Action is scheduled to continue tonight until the end of Level 21, shortly after 12:30 am.

$3,500 WPT LHPO Championship
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Return to Level 18:  4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 ante
Players Remaining:  199 of 1,573

The field is at 199 players remaining, meaning we are two away from making the money. Leading the field at dinner break is Ronnie Bardah with 1,135,000.

Play resumes at about 8:17 p.m.

$3,500 WPT LHPO Championship
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 ante
Players Remaining:  199 of 1,573

Level 16 came to an end and tournament staff sent Championship players on their 90-minute dinner break.

There are only 199 players remaining to leave them two away from the money. When they return, the Action Clock will be in play.

$3,500 WPT LHPO Championship
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 ante
Players Remaining:  205 of 1,573

After a flop of , Fares Santana checked the small blind, Ron Tate bet 32,000 from the big blind, and Santana check-raised to 115,000. Tate moved all in for 270,000, and Santana asked for an exact count.

Santana went into the tank for a very long time — more than four minutes. Eventually, somebody at the table called for a clock, and just as the countdown was reaching zero, Santana folded face up — top pair, top kicker.

Tate let Santana off the hook by showing his own cards — . Tate took the pot.

Ron Tate  –  415,000  (69 bb)
Fares Santana  –  245,000  (41 bb)

With 205 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 307,000 (51 big blinds), and the final 197 players will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $6,150 each.

There will be a 90-minute dinner break after Level 17 (about 6:45 pm), and action is scheduled to continue tonight until the end of Level 21, around 12:30 am.

$3,500 WPT LHPO Championship
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 ante
Players Remaining:  227 of 1,573

The Championship field is crawling towards the money bubble with 227 remaining, Action Clocks going on the table when 208 remain, and the last 197 getting paid.

Poker Room regular Carlo Rodriguez is up among the leaders and tweeted that he had “About a Million”. After a close look at his stack, the former Turnpike Series champ is sitting on 995,000.

About a million.

About a Million. @shrpo 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/hgnAKI0UgJ

— Carlo (@FloridaAllin) January 24, 2021

$3,500 WPT LHPO Championship
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 ante
Players Remaining:  227 of 1,573

A player raised from the cutoff to 11,000, The player on the button moved all in for 91,000, and Femi Fashakin thought for a while before he called from the big blind. The player in the cutoff showed one card as he folded — the .

The button showed , but he needed to improve to stay alive against Fashakin’s .

The board came — the short stack flopped a gutshot straight draw, but improved no further. Fashakin won the pot with his pocket eights to eliminate his opponent from the tournament.

Femi Fashakin  –  450,000  (75 bb)

With 227 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 277,000 (46 big blinds), and the final 197 players will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $6,150 each.

There will be a 90-minute dinner break after Level 17 (about 6:45 pm), and action is scheduled to continue tonight until the end of Level 21, around 12:30 am.