The unexpected domination of Glen Witmer continues. At the start of the day Witmer was so quiet it looked like he was asleep. He played few hands early on, but then picked up the pace and has jumped out to a large chip lead.

Most recently Witmer was able to eliminate Ryan “Gotskillz” Fisler. With the blinds at 25k / 50k and a 5k ante Witmer opened for 200k and Ryan raised to 755,000. Glen called and the flop came down J92. Fisler then moved all in for just under 2 million and as soon as the all in was announced Witmer said “Call.” Glen had flopped top pair with his AJ and Fisler’s AK had been outflopped leaving Fisler in bad shape.

“No king,” Witmer said, only to have Liebert tell him he should go about it the other way and pull for a positive such as a jack. Witmer did, and sure enough there was the J on the turn locking the hand up for Witmer and spelling the end of the road for Ryan Fisler (right) in 4th place for $262,469 CAD.

Here are how the other three stack up after Ryan’s elimination:

Glen Witmer - 8,560,000
Gavin Smith - 3,115,000
Kathy Liebert - 1,970,000

• October 16, 2008 -- Fun Table
• October 16, 2008 -- Witmer Wins! Gavin Left With 2nd
• October 16, 2008 -- Chipping Away
• October 16, 2008 -- Liebert Doubles Smith, Then Eliminated 3rd

At the start of the day Glen Witmer held the chip lead, but wasn’t getting a lot of respect as people around the tournament made predictions of the likely final table outcome.  With pros Gavin Smith, Marc “Myst” Karam, Ryan “Gotskillz” Fisler, and Kathy Liebert all in the field of 6, Witmer was assumed to be a sitting duck, waiting to give away chips.

A few hours into play Witmer has shown no weakness, and after eliminating Karam has continued to grab chips.  At last count Witmer had over half the chips in play and more than twice Smith’s second place stack.

Glen Witmer - 7,135,000
Gavin Smith - 3,365,000
Ryan “Gotskillz” Fisler - 2,315,000
Kathy Liebert - 830,000

• October 16, 2008 -- Smith Takes The Lead
• October 16, 2008 -- Fun Table
• October 15, 2008 -- Fisler and Karam Make Final Table
• October 15, 2008 -- One Down

Gavin Smith was able to pick up pots and build his chip stack, taking the chip lead after winning a decent pot against Ryan “Gotskillz” Fisler.  Ryan raised from early position to 85k and Smith called.  The blinds folded and on the A84 flop Ryan led for 165k and Smith again called.

The action slowed with the K on the turn as both players checked.  Fisler also checked the T river and went into thought after Smith bet 285k.  “I think I have you,” Ryan said.  After more internal debate Ryan decisively announced a call and put in the chips only to see Gavin turn over his AT for two pair.  Fisler mucked his hand and Smith jumped out to the chip lead.

Here were the announced chip counts as players went on the first break of the day:

Gavin Smith - 4,320,000
Glen Witmer - 3,785,000
Ryan “Gotskillz” Fisler - 2,145,000
Kathy Liebert - 1,270,000
Marc “Myst” Karam - 1,105,000
James Trenholm - 1,020,000

• October 16, 2008 -- Witmer On A Rush
• October 16, 2008 -- Fun Table
• October 15, 2008 -- Fisler and Karam Make Final Table
• October 15, 2008 -- One Down

Gavin Smith makes it a point to have fun doing whatever it is he may be doing.  In an interview last night Gavin said he had fun back when he was broke, had fun driving a cab, and has fun playing poker.  He is living up to that statement today, being chatty at the table and drawing laughs from the crowd on a few occasions.

An also talkative Kathy Liebert was asking Ryan “Gotskillz” Fisler about his training sight and after Ryan had replied that she should go to RealPokerTraining.com and watch the videos Kathy asked how much?  After being told by Ryan it was, using his word, cheap, Gavin Smith piped up to let Ryan know he shouldn’t call his product cheap.  Ryan agreed that calling it inexpensive or a good value was the way to go.  This friendly back and forth conversation had the crowd laughing.

The amount of fan support for Gavin is tremendous.  He is a Canadian, with family within an hours drive of the Fallsview so he has plenty of support here today, but anywhere in the world Gavin would likely be one of the fan favorites.  His personality draws people to him and makes them want to see him succeed.

While Gavin and Liebert have been the most talkative, chip leader Glen Witmer has been almost silent, and Marc “Myst” Karam seems to be focused on the task at hand.  So far Witmer is the most conservative at the table, sitting on his chip lead and not getting involved in many pots.  Liebert has also been relatively quiet as well with most of the action happening between Smith, Fisler, Karam, and Trenholm, but with no huge pots developing as of yet.

• October 16, 2008 -- Witmer On A Rush
• October 16, 2008 -- Smith Takes The Lead
• October 16, 2008 -- Fizzled: Fisler Out 4th
• October 15, 2008 -- Fisler and Karam Make Final Table

After almost a complete level with no bustouts, the last three ended up not taking that long. Marc “Myst” Karam (pictured below right) and Ryan “Gotskillz” Fisler (left) both survived and prospered on the way to the final table and will be joined by well known pros Gavin Smith and Kathy Liebert, along with the lesser known Glen Witmer and James Trenholm.

Sam Greenwood ended up as the 8th place finisher, busted by Glen Witmer who has come on strong late in the day. After Sam went out 8th only one more player had to fall out of contention before the final table of 6 would be set. Former chip leader Matt Matros became the TV bubble boy, finishing in 7th place.

Gavin Smith was able to end the day after both he and Matros flopped top pair. Matt had raised preflop and Smith had called. On the K-T-9 flop with two hearts Matros led for 160k and Gavin moved in over the top. Matt called the rest of his chips only to see his K8 was bested by Smith’s KQ. The queen kicker held up for Smith to send Matros to the payout table to collect his $109,362 CAD.

Below are the official end of day chip counts:

• October 15, 2008 -- One Down
• October 15, 2008 -- Dinner Break Update
• October 15, 2008 -- Karam Busts Seidel 10th
• October 15, 2008 -- Fisler to the Lead, Vivek Out 16th