$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 29: 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining: 10 of 1,973

Fariborz Zojaji found a quick double-up with pocket aces in one of the first hands at the final table, giving him enough chips to compete for this 10th-place knockout.

Zojaji opened this pot to 225,000 in middle position, and Mike Fryett called in the small blind. The flop was , and Fryett moved all in for 470,000. Zojaji quickly called to put his opponent at risk.

Zojaji: (flush draw)
Fryett: (pair of eights)

The landed right on the turn, leaving Fryett drawing dead to the river. He was eliminated in 10th place as the first casualty of the final table, giving Zojaji’s short stack another significant boost.

Fariborz Zojaji – 1,225,000 (15 bb)
Mike Fryett – Eliminated in 10th place ($2,273)

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 29: 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining: 10 of 1,973

From a staring field of 1,973 entries, just 10 players remain in contention for the Event 5 title. Alfredo Ratmiroff was responsible for the 11th-place knockout, so he enters this final table as the chip leader. Here’s the lineup:

Seat 1: Daniel Mijac – 865,000
Seat 2: Kevin Ho – 3,965,000
Seat 3: Marcus Stein – 950,000
Seat 4: Robert Williams – 1,600,000
Seat 5: Charlemagne Benjamin – 1,750,000
Seat 6: Fariborz Zojaji – 306,000
Seat 7: Mike Ben-Shoaff – 3,010,000
Seat 8: Hiep Doan – 2,230,000
Seat 9: Alfredo Ratmiroff – 4,640,000
Seat 10: Mike Fryett – 625,000

Here are the remaining payouts:

1st: $52,706 + Freeroll Seat
2nd: $31,165
3rd: $21,713
4th: $14,916
5th: $10,229
6th: $7,931
7th: $6,037
8th: $4,427
9th: $3,173
10th: $2,273

Blinds are 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante, putting the average stack at about 24 big blinds.

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 28: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining: 11 of 1,973

In a battle of the blinds, Mike Ben-Shoaff ended up all in for 1,345,000 preflop against chip leader Kevin Ho.

Ben-Shoaff:
Ho:

The flop was clean for Ben-Shoaff, but the was a disaster on the turn. “Oh my god,” he said, spinning out of his chair and glancing back at the table just in time to see the drop off on the river. “Oh my god!” he said again.

Ben-Shoaff doubled up with aces up, taking a bite out of Ho’s big stack.

Mike Ben-Shoaff – 2,750,000 (46 bb)
Kevin Ho – 4,025,000 (67 bb)

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 28: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining: 12 of 1,973

Robert Williams opened the button to 185,000, and Jessica Dawley three-bet shoved for about 550,000 in the big blind. Williams called to put Dawley at risk.

Williams:
Dawley:

The board ran out , and Dawley could not catch up. She was eliminated in 12th place, sending the rest of her chips across the table to the man they call “Car Wash”.

Robert Williams – 1,750,000 (29 bb)
Jessica Dawley – Eliminated in 12th place ($2,273)

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 27: 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 14 of 1,973

The battle atop the leaderboard has been hotly contested for several levels, but Kevin Ho has suddenly put himself well clear of the chase pack.

The huge pot that just unfolded began with Nalton Williams opening the button to 115,000, and Ho three-bet to 260,000 in the small blind. From the big blind, Elias Nassif four-bet shoved for more than a million total, and Williams re-shoved for even more than that. Ho called both shoves with his big stack, putting both opponents at risk.

Williams:
Ho:
Nassif:

The board ran out blanks for everyone, and Ho dragged the biggest pot of the day to send two players to the payout desk. Williams had the larger of the two stacks, so he took the better finishing position, but both men earn the same $1,776 payout.

Kevin Ho – 4,400,000 (88 bb)
Nalton Williams – Eliminated in 14th place ($1,776)
Elias Nassif – Eliminated in 15th place ($1,776)

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 27: 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 14 of 1,973

From the big blind, Jessica Dawley was all in for her last 305,000 against the player under the gun.

Dawley:
Opponent:

The board ran out , and Dawley’s sixes held to earn her a sorely needed double-up.

Jessica Dawley – 670,000 (13 bb)

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 26: 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 18 of 1,973

Maykol Trujillo Garcia moved all in for 225,000 in middle position, and Alfredo Ratmiroff called on the button to put Garcia at risk.

Garcia:
Ratmiroff:

The flop was bad news for Garcia, and the turn and river completed the board to no avail. Ratmiroff won the pot with aces full, eliminating Garcia in 18th place.

Alfredo Ratmiroff – 1,830,000 (46 bb)
Maykol Trujillo Garcia – Eliminated

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 26: 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 23 of 1,973

Victor Hamilton had the chip lead less than two levels ago, but the pace of this event has kept the stacks in constant flux.

Having been worked down to his last 510,000 chips, Hamilton moved all in from middle position. Robert Williams re-shoved for about 925,000 on the button, the blinds folded, and Hamilton was heads-up for his tournament life.

Hamilton:
Williams:

The board ran out , and Williams’ jacks held to earn him the knockout. Hamilton was eliminated.

Robert Williams – 1,525,000 (38 bb)
Victor Hamilton – Eliminated

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 26: 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 24 of 1,973

Action folded to Robert Connor on the button, and he moved all in for just over 500,000. The small blind folded, but Elias Nassif woke up with an easy call in the big blind. He did so immediately, putting Connor at risk.

Connor:
Nassif:

The board ran out , and Nassif improved to kings full to tally the knockout. Connor was eliminated in 24th place.

Elias Nassif – 1,650,000 (41 bb)
Robert Connor – Eliminated

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 25: 15,000/30,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 29 of 1,973

A player in middle position limped in for the minimum 30,000, the button called, and the small blind called the remainder, too. Jessica Dawley took pause from the big blind, then checked her option to see a four-way flop.

It came . The blinds checked, the original limper continued for 30,000, and the button called. When the small blind folded, Dawley check-raised all in for about 400,000, and both of the players behind her quickly folded in turn.

Dawley won the pot with no showdown, earning a significant chip increase in the process.

Jessica Dawley – 620,000 (21 bb)