$2,200 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 20: 4,000/8,000/1,000 Ante

It took some negotiating, but after about 20 minutes, the final three players agreed to a chop, with chipleader Ryan Riess taking the victory and the trophy.

Here are the modified payouts for the final three players:

1st:  Ryan Riess  –  $63,891
2nd:  Anthony Zinno  –  $41,284
3rd:  Rayan Chamas  –  $30,000

Stay tuned for a final table recap, which will be posted later tonight.

$2,200 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 20: 4,000/8,000/1,000 Ante

Rayan Chamas min-raised from the button to 16,000, Konstantinos Pantaridis reraised from the small blind to 45,000, and Chamas moved all in. Pantaridis folded, and Chamas took the pot.

Rayan Chamas  –  605,000  (75 bb)
Konstantinos Pantaridis  –  120,000  (15 bb)

A short while later, Chamas moved all in from the small blind, and Pantaridis called all in from the big blind for 115,000 with . Chamas turned over , and Pantaridis needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Pantaridis won the pot with the two pair on the board and his ace kicker to double up in chips.

Konstantinos Pantaridis  –  234,000  (29 bb)
Rayan Chamas  –  505,000  (63 bb)

Then the two big stacks tangled in a pot, as Ryan Riess min-raised under the gun to 16,000, and Chamas called from the button. The flop came , Riess checked, Chamas bet 20,000, and Riess called. The turn was the , Riess checked, Chamas bet 51,000, and Riess called.

The river was the , and both players checked. Riess showed to win the pot with two pair, tens and nines, and Chamas mucked.

Ryan Riess  –  705,000  (88 bb)
Rayan Chamas  –  520,000  (65 bb)

Then it was the two short stacks who got it all in. Pantaridis moved all in from the button for 171,000, and Anthony Zinno called all in from the small blind for 144,000 with . Pantaridis turned over , and Zinno was dominated as he faced elimination.

The board came , and Zinno paired his ten on the river to win the pot and double up in chips — knocking Pantaridis down to three big blinds in the process.

Anthony Zinno  –  300,000  (37 bb)
Konstantinos Pantaridis  –  27,000  (3 bb)

The next hand, Pantaridis moved all in under the gun for 26,000, Zinno reraised from the button to 51,000, and the two big stacks folded. Pantaridis turned over , but he needed to improve to stay alive against Zinno’s .

The board came — Pantaridis paired his jack on the flop, but Zinno rivered a diamond flush to win the pot and eliminate Pantaridis in fourth place.

Konstantinos Pantaridis  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($22,550)

Here are the official chip counts for the final three players as they begin discussions about a potential chop:

Seat 2.  Ryan Riess  –  689,000  (86 bb)
Seat 3.  Rayan Chamas  –  464,000  (58 bb)
Seat 6.  Anthony Zinno  –  347,000  (43 bb)

$2,200 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 20: 4,000/8,000/1,000 Ante

Rayan Chamas min-raised under the gun to 16,000, and Konstantinos Pantaridis called from the button. The flop came , Chamas bet 20,000, and Pantaridis called. The turn was the , and both players checked.

The river was the , Chamas bet 40,000, and Pantaridis called with for a queen-high straight. Chamas mucked, and Pantaridis won the pot.

Konstantinos Pantaridis  –  245,000  (30 bb)
Rayan Chamas  –  515,000  (64 bb)

Later in the level, Anthony Zinno moved all in under the gun for 105,000, and Ryan Riess called from the button with . Zinno turned over , and he was dominated as he faced elimination.

The board came , and Zinno won the pot with two pair, queens and nines, to double up in chips.

Anthony Zinno  –  226,000  (28 bb)
Ryan Riess  –  540,000  (67 bb)

There is about half an hour remaining in Level 20, and action will continue tonight until one of these final four players wins the trophy.

$2,200 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 19: 3,000/6,000/1,000 Ante

Ryan Riess has held onto the chip lead for hours, but Rayan Chamas finally managed to catch him.

With the board showing on the turn and about 70,000 already in the pot, Riess bet 27,000 from the cutoff, Chamas raised from the button to 75,000, and Riess called.

The river card paired the board with the , Riess checked, Chamas bet 125,000, and Riess folded. Chamas took the pot to get neck-and-neck with Riess for the chip lead.

Rayan Chamas  –  595,000  (99 bb)
Ryan Riess  –  595,000  (99 bb)

Chamas gave up his half of the lead a short while later, when he shoved from the small blind, and Konstantinos Pantaridis called all in from the big blind for 91,000 with . Chamas turned over , and Pantaridis needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Pantaridis flopped a king-high straight to win the pot and double up in chips.

Konstantinos Pantaridis  –  186,000  (31 bb)
Rayan Chamas  –  525,000  (87 bb)

The action has been relatively light since then, but Chamas has finally taken full possession of the chip lead. Here are their approximate chip counts with about 15 minutes remaining in Level 19:

Seat 2.  Ryan Riess  –  550,000  (91 bb)
Seat 3.  Rayan Chamas  –  635,000  (105 bb)
Seat 5.  Konstantinos Pantaridis  –  142,000  (23 bb)
Seat 6.  Anthony Zinno  –  168,000  (28 bb)

$2,200 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 19: 3,000/6,000/1,000 Ante

Glen Cressman raised from the cutoff to 11,000, Ryan Riess reraised from the button to 28,000, and Cressman moved all in for 92,000. Riess called with , and Cressman turned over .

The board came , and Riess paired his queen on the flop to win the pot and eliminate Cressman in fifth place.

Ryan Riess  –  680,000  (136 bb)
Glen Cressman  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($16,925)

Action continued a little while longer until Level 18 came to an end and they took a 15-minute break to color up the purple (500) chips off the table. Here are their official chip counts:

Seat 2.  Ryan Riess  –  694,000  (115 bb)
Seat 3.  Rayan Chamas  –  488,000  (81 bb)
Seat 5.  Konstantinos Pantaridis  –  150,000  (25 bb)
Seat 6.  Anthony Zinno  –  168,000  (28 bb)

$2,200 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 18: 2,500/5,000/500 Ante

Glen Cressman moved all in from the button for 50,000, and Zo Karim called all in from the small blind for 46,000 with . Cressman turned over , and it was a race situation between two similar short stacks.

The board came , and Cressman won the pot with a full house, aces full of sixes, to eliminate Karim in sixth place.

Glen Cressman  –  104,000  (20 bb)
Zo Karim  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($13,025)

The remaining five players are all guaranteed at least $16,925.

$2,200 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 18: 2,500/5,000/500 Ante

Rayan Chamas min-raised from the hijack to 10,000, Jonathan Duhamel moved all in from the cutoff for 41,500, and Chamas called with . Duhamel turned over , and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Duhamel won the pot with two pair to double up in chips.

Jonathan Duhamel  –  94,000  (18 bb)
Rayan Chamas  –  225,000  (45 bb)

The same two players faced off again as Chamas min-raised UTG+1 to 10,000, and Duhamel shoved from middle position for about 93,000. Chamas snap-called with , and Duhamel turned over , and he was dominated as he faced elimination.

The board came , and the pocket aces held up for Chamas to win the pot and eliminate Duhamel in seventh place.

Rayan Chamas  –  330,000  (66 bb)
Jonathan Duhamel  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($9,775)

$2,200 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 18: 2,500/5,000/500 Ante

Chipleader Ryan Riess moved all in from the small blind, and Javier Gomez Zapatero called all in from the big blind with . Riess turned over , and Zapatero needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came — Zapatero turned a set of eights, but that same card gave Riess a diamond flush to win the pot, eliminating Zapatero in eighth place.

Javier Gomez Zapatero  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($9,775)

The remaining seven players drew for random seats at the final table, and these were their approximate chip counts:

Seat 1.  Zo Karim  –  65,500  (13 bb)
Seat 2.  Ryan Riess  –  570,000  (114 bb)
Seat 3.  Rayan Chamas  –  270,000  (54 bb)
Seat 4.  Jonathan Duhamel  –  51,000  (10 bb)
Seat 5.  Konstantinos Pantaridis  –  270,000  (54 bb)
Seat 6.  Anthony Zinno  –  234,000  (46 bb)
Seat 7.  Glen Cressman  –  39,000  (7 bb)

And the prizepool they’re playing for:

1st:  $63,775
2nd:  $43,175
3rd:  $28,225
4th:  $22,550
5th:  $16,925
6th:  $13,025
7th:  $9,775