In Event #25, the heads-up field continued to decrease as Alex Jacob (pictured at right) defeated his opponent with an ace kicker after some serious chipswings. Anna Wroblewski, however, managed to donate her previously huge chipstack to Scott Montgomery; she was finally eliminated when Montgomery caught two pair on the turn to advance to the next round. Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond met a similar fate when his pocket nines couldn’t beat Jonas Entin’s pocket tens. Justin Bonomo also had to cash out when Jason Rosenkrantz’ ace-high hand held up against Bonomo’s KJ. Only two matches remain in play this evening; the event will resume tomorrow afternoon.

In Event #24, the $2.5K Pot-Limit Hold’em/Omaha tournament, the field has been reduced to two tables. When PocketFives caught up with the play, Jonathan “HoosierAlum” Depa remained in the middle of the pack with 110K in chips; play continued in the Brazillia room next to the $2K No Limit Hold’em event where Nick “gbmantis” Niergarth tried to defend his chipstack. Updates to continue on these two exciting tournaments as they play deeper into the money.

In other (exhausting) news, $3K HORSE tournament just entered its fourth hour of three-handed play between Marcel Luske, Doug Ganger, and Jens Voertmann.

• June 14, 2008 -- He Might Be a Little Sore-l After a Beat Like That
• June 13, 2008 -- Wolpert and Gray Get Coolered in 10k Heads-Up
• June 14, 2008 -- Ship It Mike’s Way
• June 14, 2008 -- A Blair Affair

Craig “MrCasino” Gray’s (pictured at left) stack was dwindling in the $1.5k Razz tourney as antes and bring-ins continued to eat away at his chips. He got all his chips in on 3rd street against one opponent and after the draw was complete the other players 8-7-4-3-A was good enough to best Gray’s T-6-5-4-2, sending him to the rail.

Also in the Razz event, Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul’s stack was moving in the opposite direction after he knocked out Michael Binger. They got all the chips in early, and in the end, Saul had a T-8-7-4-2 while Binger held a J-8-3-2-A (the result of being dealt trip 2s during the hand). Binger was eliminated and Saul added a few more chips to his stack which is now around 11k putting him near the top of the current chip count.

After the last painful beat in Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi took in the $2.5K Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha tournament, it wasn’t long before he was knocked out of the tournament by another. In late position, Mizzi bet 6500 and was called by Max Pescatori who was on the button. The flop came 3QJ. First to act, Mizzi bet 8500 of his short stack and was called; when the 7 came on the turn, he thought for quite awhile. Mizzi raised once again, but Pescatori pushed all-in. Mizzi didn’t hesitate to call with Q-T for top pair, but Pescatori caught the A on the river and improved his A-J to win the pot.

Meanwhile, plenty of PocketFivers continued to succeed in Event #25, the $10K Heads Up No-Limit Championship. Anna “VietCutie” Wroblewski won a huge hand and a massive chip advantage in her match. Her opponent raised pre-flop and Anna smooth called to see the flop come A9A. Anna checked, her opponent bet out and Anna called. The 5 came on the turn and Anna checked, her opponent bet, and she called. When the T came on the river the action went similarly with a check and a bet but Anna spent a much longer time contemplating whether to call or not. She shuffled her chips over and over and counted out her stack a few times before eventually making the call. As soon as she threw her chips into the pot, her opponent shook his head in defeat as Anna flipped up the AJ and scooped a huge pot.

Other PocketFivers remained armed to the teeth in battle; Michael “worldsgrtest” Banducci took down a big pot with a jack-high diamond flush, increasing his stack to more than double his opponent’s. He continued to chip away as P5s looked on. Alex Jacob was also close to winning, continuing his aggressive play. Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond (pictured at right), however, looked quite short with 25K, but managed to represent a couple of flushes and convince his opponent, Jonas Entin, to fold. The pair constantly joked at the table, Entin reporting that they are friends, as Galfond increased his stack to 50K.

Advancing to the next round, Michael “shipitthisway” McNeil defeated his opponent when he turned and rivered two pair. Isaac Haxton defeated his opponent when his AK improved against pocket jacks. Matt “hazards21″ Giannetti also crippled his opponent by flopping a set of fives and then later eliminating him when he turned a pair of twos. On the other side of the coin, Blake “Balla-B13″ Cahail was eliminated when his opponent, Thomas Lutz made quad tens on the river.

• June 13, 2008 -- Wolpert and Gray Get Coolered in 10k Heads-Up
• June 14, 2008 -- A Blair Affair
• June 14, 2008 -- He Might Be a Little Sore-l After a Beat Like That
• June 16, 2008 -- Get Your Fricke On

In the Brazillia room Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi just took a painful beat in event #24, the $2.5k PL HE/O tournament. A short stacked player limped preflop during an Omaha rotation and Mizzi, on the button, raised. After both blinds folded the limper committed a good portion of his chips by calling the raise and they saw the flop come T53. The limper pushed the rest of his chips into the pot and Mizzi quickly made the call showing the T876 for top pair, a gutshot straight draw, and a backdoor flush draw which was ahead of the other players 8765 for middle pair with the same straight draw and a different backdoor flush draw. While Mizzi should win or split the pot almost 90% of the time, the poker gods dealt the cruel 5 on the turn putting his opponent way ahead and the J on the river was no help and Mizzi doubled the short stack up.

Back in the Amazon room the 3rd round of the $10k Heads Up NLHE World Championship tournament is just beginning. Notable players who are looking to move on to tomorrow’s round 4 include: Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Gavin Griffin, Alex Jacob, Anna “VietCutie” Wroblewski, Isaac Haxton, Theo Tran, and Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond. The action is sure to be exciting in this 3rd round and we’ll keep you updated as players advance to round 4.

• June 13, 2008 -- Wolpert and Gray Get Coolered in 10k Heads-Up
• June 14, 2008 -- OMGClayAiken Sings Final Song
• June 14, 2008 -- Gray Done For the Day
• June 26, 2008 -- Top of the Chip Counts or Bust!

Theo Tran’s wave of success in the 2008 WSOP has continued in the 10k Heads-Up NL WSOP Event #25.
Tran has three finishes in the top 25, finishing as high as fourth place twice. Drawing Andy Bloch in second round, Tran had a difficult draw to advance but overcame it when his A3 best Bloch’s 44 on a 9542J board.
Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond, perhaps one of the favorites in the field with his online heads-up resume, played an interesting match with Steve Sung.
In the 400-800 level, Galfond raised to 2k on the button and Sung called. On a 3Q5 flop, Sung check called Galfond’s 2600 bet. Both players checked the 3 turn and the river brought the 6. Sung bet 3k and Galfond raised to 9k. After thinking for a few minutes, both players still sitting with deep stacks, Sung called the raise and mucked when Galfond showed QJ.

After the hand Galfond had about a 3-to-2 lead and the match continues.

Here’s a list of interesting 2nd round outcomes

Carlos Mortensen def. David Singer
David Williams def. Andrew Rosskamm
Michael Mizrachi def. Tex Barch
Clonie Gowen def. John Gordon
Alex Jacob def. Markus Lehmann
Brandon Adams def. Dario Minieri
Isaac Haxton def. Nathan Doudney
Blake Cahail Defeats Steve Fiorentini
Daniel “Ansky” Stern Defeats Thomas Bentham

• June 14, 2008 -- He Might Be a Little Sore-l After a Beat Like That
• June 13, 2008 -- Wolpert and Gray Get Coolered in 10k Heads-Up
• June 28, 2008 -- CrazyMarco, Roothlus Chip Up
• June 26, 2008 -- Online Kids Get on Their HORSE

• June 15, 2008 -- Italian Pirate Wins a Ton of Booty
• June 14, 2008 -- Ship It Mike’s Way
• June 14, 2008 -- Gavin Fun
• June 14, 2008 -- A Blair Affair