$350 No Limit Hold’em 6-Max (Single Re-Entry)
Level 20:  4,000/8,000/1,000 Ante

After the blinds increased to 4,000-8,000 with a 1,000 ante. John Holley raised from the button to 20,000, Engelberth Varela moved all in for 198,000, and Holley called with . Varela turned over , and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Varela paired his ace on the flop to win the pot and double up in chips.

Engelberth Varela  –  398,000  (50 bb)
John Holley  –  122,000  (15 bb)

A short while later, Varela moved all in from the button, and Holley called all in for 114,000 with . Varela turned over , and Holley needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Holley paired his eight on the flop, turned two pair, and rivered a full house to win the pot and double up in chips.

Engelberth Varela  –  290,000  (36 bb)
John Holley  –  230,000  (29 bb)

The next big hand had Holley all in for 175,000 with , and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive against Varela’s .

The board came , and the pocket queens held up for Holley to win the pot and double back into the chip lead.

Engelberth Varela  –  168,000  (21 bb)
John Holley  –  352,000  (44 bb)

Varela dropped a bit from there before getting it all in for 136,000 with , and he was a dominating favorite against Holley’s .

The board came — Holley paired his ten on the flop, but Varela paired his king on the turn to stay alive and double up in chips.

Engelberth Varela  –  274,000  (34 bb)
John Holley  –  246,000  (31 bb)

With that, the two players were nearly even in chips.