$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 27: 15,000/30,000/5,000 Ante

With the two players nearly even in chips — less than 100K between them — they saw a flop of . Rick Alvarado checked, Nacho Barbero bet 70,000, and Alvarado called. The turn was the , Alvarado checked, Barbero bet 131,000, and Alvarado called.

The river was the , Alvarado checked, Barbero bet 275,000, and Alvarado tanked for a long time before he check-raised all in for 995,000. Then it was Barbero’s turn in the tank, and he thought for a long time before he called.

Alvarado turned over for a king-high flush, which was obviously good. Barbero never showed his cards as he shook Alvarado’s hand to congratulate him, but the dealer reminded him that he would still have some chips left over, as he had Alvarado slightly covered.

Rick Alvarado  –  2,540,000  (85 bb)
Nacho Barbero  –  90,000  (3 bb)

The next hand, Barbero was all in with against Alvarado’s . The board came , and Alvarado won the pot — and the SHRPO trophy — with a pair of jacks.

Nacho Barbero finishes as the runner-up, earning $34,164.

Rick Alvarado wins Event 16, the $1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out), earning $50,497, the SHRPO trophy, and a custom-framed winner’s photo from IMPDI.

Stay tuned for a recap.

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 27: 15,000/30,000/5,000 Ante

The first 20 minutes of Level 27 were relatively light with action. Then, with the board showing on the turn, Nacho Barbero bet 69,000, and Ricardo Alvarado called.

The river card was the , Barbero bet 204,000, and Alvarado tanked for a while before he called. Barbero showed for a pair of nines, but Alvarado turned over for a pair of nines with a higher kicker to win the pot.

Ricardo Alvarado  –  1,215,000  (41 bb)
Nacho Barbero  –  1,415,000  (47 bb)

That evened up the chip counts a bit as they continue to play for the title, the trophy, the custom-framed winner’s photo, and a first prize of $50,497.

1st:  $50,497
2nd:  $34,164

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 27: 15,000/30,000/5,000 Ante

Heads-up play has been pretty light so far. There was a bit of excitement in the final two hands of Level 26 as both players three-bet it from their big blind, but those hands fizzled quickly.

The final two players are on a 10-minute break while the orange (1K) chips are colored off the tables. Here are the updated chip counts:

Nacho Barbero  –  1,529,000  (51 bb)
Ricardo Alvarado  –  1,098,000  (37 bb)

1st:  $50,497
2nd:  $34,164

There was talk about a deal during the break, but both players want the trophy, so they’re going to continue playing. With two players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1.3 million (44 big blinds).

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 26: 12,000/24,000/4,000 Ante

There hasn’t been much action during Level 26 (with one-hour levels at this final table), until this hand that came around the 30-minute mark.

Nacho Barbero raised from the button to 55,000, Tom Dobrilovic reraised from the small blind to 125,000, and Barbero tanked for a while before he called.

Both players checked to the turn on a board of , Dobrilovic checked, Barbero bet 85,000, and Dobrilovic moved all in for exactly 500,000.

Barbero asked for an exact count and thought for a bit before he called with for a pair of tens. Dobrilovic turned over (pair of eights), and he needed to improve to stay alive.

The river card was the , and Barbero won the pot with his pair of tens to eliminate Dobrilovic in third place.

Nacho Barbero  –  1,625,000  (68 bb)
Tom Dobrilovic  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($22,338)

Here are the approximate chip counts as heads-up play begins with about 30 minutes remaining at 12,000-24,000 and a 4,000 ante:

Nacho Barbero  –  1,625,000  (68 bb)
Ricardo Alvarado  –  950,000  (40 bb)

1st:  $50,497
2nd:  $34,164

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 26: 12,000/24,000/4,000 Ante

With the blinds still at 10K-20K (3K), Ricardo Alvarado raised under the gun to 40,000, Nacho Barbero reraised from the button to 113,000, and Matt Stout moved all in from the small blind for 314,000.

Alvarado folded, and Barbero called with . Stout turned over , and he needed it to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Barbero turned a queen-high straight to win the pot and eliminate Stout in fourth place.

Nacho Barbero  –  979,000  (49 bb)
Matt Stout  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($17,849)

A few minutes later, Level 25 ended, and the blinds increased to 12,000-24,000 with a 4,000 ante. Here are the updated chip counts:

Seat 2.  Tom Dobrilovic  –  325,000  (14 bb)
Seat 5.  Ricardo Alvarado  –  1,225,000  (51 bb)
Seat 7.  Nacho Barbero  –  980,000  (41 bb)

1st:  $50,497
2nd:  $34,164
3rd:  $22,338

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 876,000 (37 big blinds).

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 25: 10,000/20,000/3,000 Ante

There haven’t been any big pots in a while, as the final four players keep pushing chips back and forth. Here are the updated chip counts halfway thru Level 25:

Seat 1.  Matt Stout  –  395,000  (20 bb)
Seat 2.  Tom Dobrilovic  –  570,000  (29 bb)
Seat 5.  Ricardo Alvarado  –  1,060,000  (53 bb)
Seat 7.  Nacho Barbero  –  525,000  (26 bb)

1st:  $50,497
2nd:  $34,164
3rd:  $22,338
4th:  $17,849

With four players remaining, the average chip stack is about 657,000 (33 big blinds).

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 25: 10,000/20,000/3,000 Ante

Nacho Barbero raised from the small blind to 38,000, Matt Stout moved all in from the big blind for 380,000, and Barbero called with . Stout turned over , and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The flop came , and Barbero paired his ace to take the lead. Stout started to stand up, saying, “Nice hand. It was fun playing with you guys.

But the turn card was the , giving Stout a set of jacks. Stout sat back down and said, “Wow. I’m just hitting one-outers these days.” The river card was the , and Stout won the pot with his set to double up in chips.

Matt Stout  –  768,000  (38 bb)
Nacho Barbero  –  610,000  (31 bb)

The next hand, Stout raised from the small blind to 42,000, Tom Dobrilovic reraised from the big blind to 100,000, and Dobrilovic called. The flop came , Stout bet 85,000, and Dobrilovic folded. A quick extra 100K for Stout to add to his stack.

Matt Stout  –  976,000  (61 bb)
Tom Dobrilovic  –  425,000  (27 bb)

When Level 24 came to an end, the players took a 15-minute break. Here are their official chip counts as the blinds are increasing to 10,000-20,000 with a 3,000 ante:

Seat 1.  Matt Stout  –  970,000  (61 bb)
Seat 2.  Tom Dobrilovic  –  328,000  (21 bb)
Seat 5.  Ricardo Alvarado  –  797,000  (50 bb)
Seat 7.  Nacho Barbero  –  532,000  (33 bb)

1st:  $50,497
2nd:  $34,164
3rd:  $22,338
4th:  $17,849

With four players remaining, the average chip stack is 657,000 (33 big blinds).

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
Level 24: 8,000/16,000/2,000 Ante

Tom Dobrilovic was all in from the small blind for about 275,000 with against the of Joe Serock in the big blind, who had him covered by 10,000.

The board came , and Dobrilovic rivered a heart flush to win the pot and double up in chips, knocking Serock down to less than a big blind in the process.

Tom Dobrilovic  –  560,000  (35 bb)
Joe Serock  –  10,000  (<1 bb)

The next hand, Nacho Barbero raised under the gun to 34,000, Joe Serock moved all in from the small blind for 10,000, and Ricardo Alvarado called from the big blind. Any additional betting would go into the side pot of 48,000.

Alvarado and Barbero checked to the river on a board of , Alvarado bet 35,000, and Barbero folded. Alvarado took the side pot uncontested.

For the main pot, Serock showed  for a pair of fives, but Alvarado turned over to win the pot with two pair, tens and sevens, eliminating Serock in fifth place.

Joe Serock  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($13,403)

There was brief talk about chopping the remaining prizepool, but the discussion ended quickly without ever getting much into specifics.

A few minutes later, on a board of with about 145,000 already in the pot, Alvarado bet 86,000 from the small blind, and Barbero tanked for a while before moving all in for 406,000. Alvarado tanked for a while himself before he folded, and Barbero took the pot.

Nacho Barbero  –  640,000  (40 bb)
Ricardo Alvarado  –  760,000  (48 bb)

And that’s where things stand right now. Here are the updated chip counts:

Seat 1.  Matt Stout  –  680,000  (43 bb)
Seat 2.  Tom Dobrilovic  –  558,000  (35 bb)
Seat 5.  Ricardo Alvarado  –  760,000  (48 bb)
Seat 7.  Nacho Barbero  –  640,000  (40 bb)

1st:  $50,497
2nd:  $34,164
3rd:  $22,338
4th:  $17,849

With four players remaining, the average chip stack is about 657,000 (41 big blinds).