4.25pm: First Break
The action has flown fast, but the players can finally have a breather! The first ten-minute break of the day has just begun!
4.10pm: Double For Eemil
Yoshitaka Okawa couldn't win every hand he was dealt. That was certainly the case when he recently doubled up Eemil Tuominen. It was an all-in shove for 191,000 from Tuominen holding [as][9d], while Okawa called out of the big blind with his [ac][8d]. The [ah][ts][7d][qd][5s] board meant that both players hit the ace, but Tuominen's nine was good enough to outkick Okawa's eight.
4.05pm: First Slow Point of the Day
For the first time on the entire final day so far, the action has slowed down! On average we have lost a player at least every 10 minutes, but for the last 15 minutes, we have barely seen a hand played to a river. It had to slow down eventually!
3.50pm: Homan Houshiar Doubles Twice to Stay Alive
Homan Houshiar has just found two lucky double ups to stay alive and prosper here during the final six.
First Houshiar found himself all-in preflop holding [qs][js] against the [7c][7s] of Zhenwu Wang. The [6s][9c][8h] flop gave both players a straight draw, but Houshiar was still far behind and needing to catch a card. The [7h] on the turn was good for Zhenwu, but the [td] on the river gave Houshiar the nut straight and sent him the double up.
Just a couple of hands later and Houshiar doubled-up through Yoshitaka Okawa. This time Houshiar got all his chips in on [qd][6d][7c] holding [qc][3c] against Okawa's [qh][jh]. Once again Houshiar was far behind, but seemingly never in doubt, the [4c] on the turn and the [6c] on the river gave Houshiar another double.
Following the above two hands, Houshiar has gone from sixth in chips to fourth!
3.45pm: Oliver Duran Eliminated in 7th Place ($HK$170,000)
On just the third hand of our final table we have already lost another player! This time it started with Yoshitaka Okawa limping the button and Zhenwu Wang completing from the small blind. Oliver Duran then checked in the big blind and the dealer turned over a [3d][jd][2s] flop. Duran shoved for 136,400 here and both his opponents called. The [6c] turn would see Duran watch on as Wang and Okawa both checked, while Wang would shove when a [7h] fell on the river. Okawa opted to let his hand go here, while Duran mucked his cards and made his way to the rail when Wang tabled his [js][ts]. For his effort, Duran picked up HK$170,000.
And then there were six!
3.35pm: Level Up, Blinds 12,000-24,000, Ante 4,000
3.30pm: Shashank Rathi Eliminated in 8th Place (HK$130,500)
Usually when you come into the final table second in chips and with more than a quarter of the chips in play you don't go home in 8th place. Unfortunately for Shashank Rathi that's exactly what happened as Yoshitaka Okawa just picked up all of Rathi's chips.
The more than 4 million-chip pot began when the action folded to Okawa in the small blind. He raised it up to 60,000 and Rathi made the call in the big blind.
On the [jd][jh][td] flop, Okawa led for 120,000 and Rathi raised it up to 320,000. Okawa tanked for almost two minutes here, eventually opting to make the call. The turn card was a [2c] and Okawa this time checked. Rathi wouldn't clow down here though, betting a massive 480,000. Okawa tanked again and eventually called to watch an [ac] complete the board on the river.
On the final card, Okawa checked and Rathi moved all in for 1,267,000. Okawa thought long and hard before eventually calling. The table gasped as Okawa tabled [qd][tc], and then gasped even louder when Rathi placed his [ks][4s] on the felt for just king-high. With Rathi going home in 8th place, Okawa now has a staggering amount of chips - 4,670,000, which is well over half of all the chips in play.
"Nice call, sir," Michael Marvanek said to Okawa. "Remind me to never bluff you, ever!"
3.20pm: Final Eight Begins
The final table has had a quick break to move the chips to the PokerStars Macau main stage. Below is how the final eight stack up, with Yoshitaka Okawa the chip leader, followed closely by Shashank Rathi. There are plenty of familiar faces among the final eight, including Macau-based Aussie Michael Marvanek. One amazing stat lies in the face that the final table is made up of eight different nationalities!
The final table draw can be found below. There is currently seven minutes remaining in the level. Let's see if we can keep up this rapid pace!
Seat 1: Yoshitaka Okawa (Japan) - 2,517,000 in chips
Seat 2: Shashank Rathi (Hong Kong) - 2,130,000
Seat 3: Zhenwu Wang (China) - 569,000
Seat 4: empty
Seat 5: Oliver Duran (France) - 171,000
Seat 6: Michael Marvanek (Australia) - 298,000
Seat 7: Eemil Tuominen (Finland) - 318,000
Seat 8: Kevin Zhang (USA) - 1,735,000
Seat 9: Homan Houshiar (Canada) - 158,000
2.50pm: Zhenjian Lin Eliminated in Eq. 9th Place (HK$95,262); Jiarong Qiu Eliminated in Eq. 9th Place (HK$76,962)
There will be no repeat MPC: Red Dragon winner today, with our only past champion, Zhenjian Lin, being eliminated on the final table bubble! In fact, our final table will only be eight-handed as a double-knockout has just occurred!
Firstly, Lin saw his tournament come to an end when he shoved the button holding [ah][6s]. It was 210,000 to Kevin Zhang in the big blind and he made the call with his [7h][7s]. When the [2c][9c][4h][5h][6h] board ran out, Lin was eliminated in equal 9th place as another elimination was occurring at the same time on the other table.
Jiarong Qiu was the equal 9th-place finisher, with his final hand seeing his Ace-Nine not being able to compete with the A-Q of Eemil Tuonminen. With that, only eight remain!
We will have details of the final table posted shortly!
2.45pm: Yibin Zhuang Eliminated in 11th Place (HK$67,900)
The action will simply not slow down! The latest eliminated began with Shashank Rathi opening to 44,000 from under the gun. Yibin Zhuang was in the big blind when he three-bet shoved for around 360,000. Rathi made the call, tabling his [ad][6d] as he did so. Despite being in front with his [qs][qh], the [td][8s][7s][ah][2d] board was good enough for Rathi to scoop up the pot and send Zhuang home in 11th place
Less than one level in and we are just one elimination away from our final table!
2.40pm: Raiden Kan Eliminated in 12th Place (HK$67,900)
Former MPCC champion Raiden Kan has been eliminated in 12th place as the action continues at a frenetic pace. Kan's last hand of the tournament saw him all-in from the button holding [as][5h] against the small blind's [qh][qs]. The board ran out [td][8s][7s][ah][2d] and it was all over for Kan. Can the action continue to fly!
2.35pm: Vyacheslav Kuzmin Eliminated in 13th Place (HK$67,900)
Another player has fallen to the rail! With all the action seeing several players eliminated in just a few minutes, we missed the action of the latest bust-out. What we can tell you is that Vyacheslav Kuzmin is our official 13th-place finisher, for which he received HK$67,900 for his time.
2.30pm: Marcus Lau Eliminated in 15th Place (HK$54,800); Chung Tung Wai Eliminated in 14th
The biggest hand of the tournament was bound to play out eventually and that's what we have just witnessed here on the final day of the MPC: Red Dragon Main Event.
The massive hand started with Yoshitaka Okawa opening it up with a min-raise from the hijack. Marcus Lau then moved all-in for 73,000 from the small blind. Chung Tung Wai made the call out of the big blind and Okawa also came along for the ride.
On the [jc][as][3d] flop, Wai led for 54,000 and Okawa promptly raised it up to 216,000. Wai then made it around 400,000 and before Wai could get his chips in the middle, Okawa had said all-in and Wai had called. Okawa had both players at risk and here is how all the cards looked.
Okawa: [3c][3h]
Wai: [ah][jd]
Lau: [ks][qh]
Okawa was way in front with his set and it stayed that way as a [9c] hit the turn and an [8d] landed on the river. With that, Lau was home in 15th, while Wai took 14th place. Following that huge hand, Okawa now has a monster chip lead with around 2,400,000 in chips.
2.25pm: Hong Zhu Eliminated in 16th Place (HK$54,800)
Just 20 minutes into the level and we have lost three players. This time it was Hong Zhu who was eliminated. Zhu's final moments saw him all-in holding [5s][5d] against the [qs][qh] of Kevin Zhang. The [jh][8s][jd][3s][2h] was no help for Zhu and with that he was sent packing in 16th place, collecting HK$54,800.
2.20pm: Yu Xu Eliminated in 17th Place (HK$41,000)
Another quick elimination has just occurred, with Yu Xu finding the rail when his [ah][qh] couldn't compete with Yoshitaka Okawa's [qd][qc]. The hand in question began when Chung Tung Wai opened up the action to 45,000 from middle position. Xu called this bet, at which point Okawa shoved all in for 800,000. Wai got out of the way, but Xu called.
When the board ran out [qs][ad][7h][9c][5d], it was all over for Xu in 17th place. For that effort Xu claimed HK$41,000.
2.15pm: Minhao Shi Eliminated in 18th Place (HK$41,800)
We have already lost our first player of the day! Minhao Shi was in middle position when he shoved for 111,000. Folded around to Michael Marvanek in the big blind and he opted to make the call. Shi held [ad][5d], while Marvanek was behind with his [kh][jc].
Both players hit a piece of the [jh][ah][7c] flop, while the [tc] gave Marvanek a few more outs. When the [qc] completed the board on the river, Marvanek scooped up the pot and sent Shi home in 18th place.
2.00pm: The Cards Are in the Air
The final 18 are in their seats and the cards are in the air! The blinds commence today at 10,000-20,000, with a 3,000-chip ante.
The Final Day Arrives
Not much needs to be said about the final day of a poker tournament. It's where all the money is. It's where all the glory is. Today will see the final 18 of the Macau Poker Cup: Red Dragon Main Event become just one shining victor. There is HK$1,123,000 up for grabs and none of the remaining players are going to back down without a fight.
Beginning the final two tables with the chip lead is Shashank Rathi. His 1,299,000-chip stack stands just in front of Chung Tung Wai's 1,110,000. While these two players certainly have an edge when it comes to the stacks, they are still going to have to face stiff competition from the likes of Raiden Kan, Zhenjian Lin. Kan is a previous Macau Poker Cup Championship victor, while Lin won this very event back in 2009. These players are joined by several other talented players and so we expect today to be a fiercely fought battle. See below for the final day table draw.
Table 1
Seat 1: Hong Zhu - 444,000
Seat 2: Shashank Rathi - 1,299,000
Seat 3: Zhenjian Lin - 437,000
Seat 4: Michael Marvanek - 216,000
Seat 5: Vyacheslav Kuzmin - 350,000
Seat 6: Minhao Shi - 130,000
Seat 7: Kevin Zhang - 619,000
Seat 8: Homan Houshiar - 314,000
Seat 9: Yobin Zhuang - 527,000
Table 2
Seat 1: Eemil Tuominen - 223,000
Seat 2: Yoshitaka Okawa - 733,000
Seat 3: Jiarong Qiu - 85,000
Seat 4: Oliver Duran - 222,000
Seat 5: Marcus Lau - 130,000
Seat 6: Chung Tung Wai - 1,110,000
Seat 7: Raidan Kan - 252,000
Seat 8: Yibin Zhuang - 527,000
Seat 9: Zhenwu Wang - 416,000
All the action is set to commence at 2.00pm and the PokerStarsBlog will be here to document all the action on the way to crowning the latest champion of PokerStars Macau.
