SHRPO $5 Million GTD Championship Level 21: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante Players Remaining: 35 of 847
Zo Karim
With the board showing on the turn, Sam Ho bet 53,000 from the small blind, and Zo Karim called from the big blind.
The river card was the , and Ho thought for a while before betting 160,000. Karim quickly called, and Ho showed for ace high. But Karim turned over to win the pot with a pair of kings — and become the first player in the tournament to reach 2 million in chips.
Zo Karim – 2,000,000 (100 bb) Sam Ho – 815,000 (41 bb)
SHRPO $5 Million GTD Championship Level 21: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante Players Remaining: 36 of 847
Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson moved all in from the button for about 300,000, and Tom Marchese called from the big blind with . Johnson turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive.
The board came , and Marchese won the pot with two pair, kings and sevens, with his queen kicker. Johnson was eliminated in 37th place.
Tom Marchese – 1,010,000 (51 bb) Mark Johnson – Eliminated in 37th Place ($22,500)
SHRPO $5 Million GTD Championship Level 21: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante Players Remaining: 38 of 847
The final 38 players are back in the tournament area and ready to play down to the final table of nine today. Blind levels will be one hour long until they reach the final three tables (27 players), and then they will extend to 90 minutes.
Everyone appears to be seated and ready to go, so it’s time to shuffle up and deal!
SHRPO $5 Million GTD Championship Returning to Level 21: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante Players Remaining: 38 of 847
Patrick Eskandar has the lead heading into Day 3 of the SHRPO Championship
Two days are down for the SHRPO Championship with two more to go before we find our next champion. The marquee event drew 847 players to the freeze-out, 279 of them survived to return yesterday but only 38 of them are still around with a shot.
Patrick Eskandar returns as the chip leader but SHRP regular Zo Karim is not far behind. There are still plenty of top players trying to chase them down including David Peters, Joe Serock, Corey Hochman, Tom Marchese, Angel Guillen, Chris Klodnicki, Esther Taylor-Brady, and Seminole Hard Rock Poker team member Matt Affleck.
With 38 players remaining, the average stack is around 670,000 and 33 big blinds. We should see some activity early as the shorter stacks take a shot to get back into contention but it will slow as they near the televise/live-streamed final table.
Action will get back underway at noon and we’ll be here to follow the action until that final table is formed.
Top ten returning counts:
Patrick Eskandar – 1,913,000 (96 bb) Zo Karim – 1,740,000 (87 bb) Andre Crooks – 1,258,000 (63 bb) Tim Burt – 1,226,000 (61 bb) Matt Affleck – 1,112,000 (56 bb) Sam Ho – 1,100,000 (55 bb) Seth Davies – 1,059,000 (53 bb) Corey Hochman – 945,000 (47 bb) Joe Serock – 876,000 (44 bb) Theo Lawson – 846,000 (42 bb)
SHRPO $5 Million GTD Championship Level 21: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante Players Remaining: 38 of 847
Patrick Eskandar
Day 2 of the SHRPO $5 Million Guaranteed Championship began with 279 players, only 150 of whom would finish in the money. After 10 levels of play, there were only 38 who survived to reach Day 3, led by Patrick Eskandar with 1,913,000 (96 big blinds).
The field reached the money during Level 14 (the fourth level of the day), though there was no hand-for-hand play on the Money Bubble. When Jim Carroll was eliminated in 152nd place, the tournament staff announced that each table should finish the current hand and stop, as they were on the Money Bubble. But as those in-progress hands played out to conclusion, Ben Eilers was eliminated when his failed to improve against Zo Karim’s .
Speaking of Karim, he was the chipleader down the homestretch for a while at the end of Day 2, until Patrick Eskandar won the final hand of the night to leapfrog into the lead.
1. Patrick Eskandar – 1,913,000 (96 bb) 2. Zo Karim – 1,740,000 (87 bb)
The full list of official chip counts and seating assignments for the final 38 players will be posted here in the updates within the next hour. The average chip stack is about 669,000 (33 big blinds).
The SHRPO $5 Million Guaranteed Championship resumes tomorrow (Monday) at 12:00 noon ET. Return to SHRPO.com for continuing coverage as the field plays down to the final table.
SHRPO $5 Million GTD Championship Level 20: 8,000/16,000 with a 2,000 ante Players Remaining: 39 of 847
Adam Geyer was just eliminated on the last hand of Day 1. A quick check on his former table found Patrick Eskandar stacking the big pot, moving him into the overall chiplead. Eskandar has just shy of 2,000,000 chips, edging out Zo Karim at the finish line.
Play has concluded at each table, and a recap of the day’s action will be published shortly.
Patrick Eskandar – 1,900,00 (119 bb) Adam Geyer – Eliminated in 39th place ($22,500)
on the turn, Sam Ho bet 53,000 from the small blind, and Zo Karim called from the big blind.
, and Ho thought for a while before betting 160,000. Karim quickly called, and Ho showed 
for ace high. But Karim turned over 
to win the pot with a pair of kings — and become the first player in the tournament to reach 2 million in chips.
, and needed to improve to stay alive against Corey Hochman’s 
in the big blind.
, and Hochman won the pot with his ace to eliminate Belikov from the tournament.
, and needed to improve to stay alive.
.
