As Level 27 comes to a close with the blinds at 30K/60K and an ante of 10K, players are really tightening up their games. Though the first two levels of the day saw the field decrease from its starting point of 79 all the way down to 44 remaining, the last two levels have only seen the elimination of 11 additional contenders. All players are guaranteed $193,000, though the final table is so close it’s nearly palpable.

Craig Marquis is the currently chipleader with nearly 11.5 million chips, properly representing for internet poker. Team Ladbrokes player Peter Eastgate (pictured at left) is also in the top three with 8.9M in chips.

Several PocketFivers tried to continue hanging on as the blinds escalate, but were facing stacks quite short of the 4.5M average. Garrett “GBecks” Beckman (pictured at right) recently doubled up when it folded around to him and he shoved all-in for his remaining 870K. Dennis Phillips quickly called and everyone else folded. Phillips turned over QQ and Beckman appeared to be in bad shape with his KJ. The flop came J44 and Garrett picked up two more outs to take down the pot. The J on the turn put Beckman in the lead in the hand and the K on the river doubled Garrett up to 1.95 million.

However, in an unfortunate turn of events for Garrett, the last hand at the featured table made him head for the exit. Garrett got it all in on the turn with the 6-7-T-9 board showing three clubs. Garrett held AQ for the nut flush draw, but his opponent held Q8 for the made straight. The river bricked out and Garrett was sent home in 31st Place, receiving $193,000 for his efforts. Many congratulations for the deep run!

• July 13, 2008 -- Reunited
• July 12, 2008 -- Double Trouble
• July 12, 2008 -- Kibler-Melby Doubles
• July 12, 2008 -- Tuf Break