Good evening to all!
Back in the dark ages – about ten years ago – there was such a thing as called “live blogging.” It was where reporters would watch an event and, as they were watching, they offered their thoughts on the proceedings. For tonight and through to the eventual naming of the next World Champion of poker, we’re going to try to do that here.
Tonight’s action is supposed to play from the final nine – determined in that stunning hand that saw chip leader Nicolas Manion’s pocket Aces reign supreme over Yueqi Zhu’s pocket Kings and Antoine Labat’s…pocket Kings. Now we see if Manion can carry the water to the championship, or does 2009 World Champion Joe Cada have it in him to make another run at a second title.
Keep tuned with us…
9:39PM (Eastern Time)
How many more of these bluffs does Joe Cada have up his sleeve? He basically committed larceny on Day 7 when he had complete air but was able to get the bluff through. The 30 minute delay has to help him because it shows he’s willing to do ANYTHING to win.
9:50PM
For those of you thinking that Michael Dyer is playing way too tight, at this point in the tournament he is doing exactly what he needs to be doing. Play some pots, watch what is going on and KEEP HIS LEAD. I personally like how he isn’t trying to do too much and force the action.
10:09PM
Has anyone ever bought one of these chairs the dealers are sitting in? The DX RACER chairs looks REALLY comfortable. I am wondering if it has the same comfort for writers, broadcasters and just the everyday schmo who sits and watches Netflix.
10:22PM
UGH!! That was just an ugly beat that Labat took against Artem Metalidi. Don’t know why Metalidi put the shades on after moving all-in…the action was already done! Labat will probably never play pocket Kings again in his life.
Antoine Labat – Ninth Place ($1,000,000)
10:30PM
They just put up a stat on the ESPN broadcast of the final table. The average age of the players at the final table is…26 years old. Damn, I feel old….
10:42PM
Cada is running like God right now. There was absolutely no reason he should have called that bet from Metalidi out of the big blind, but it worked for him. Does it carry him to a second World Championship?
10:59PM
WHY are Manion and Dyer clashing NOW? As the top two chip stacks, they should KNOW that they can just sit back and let the game come to them. For them to even get close to battling each other is really amateur play.
11:06PM – BREAK
Overall the play has been pretty good to this point. Cada is obviously the class of the final nine players. He’s making some great moves and has improved his stack roughly 23 million chips in the last level alone. Manion has been a bit disappointing in his play, passive. Dyer is doing exactly what he has to do…stay in the lead, keep people from playing at him and just watch what’s going on. With two shorties in Aram Zobian and Artem Metalidi, we could be looking at a quick night here.
11:17PM
It’s been announced that Mori Eskandani and John Hennigan have been inducted as the latest members of the Poker Hall of Fame. Say what you will, Hennigan should have been there long ago…is it because he was leading the WSOP Player of the Year race this year he got noticed? Eskandani was always facing an uphill run as a “contributor” rather than a player. He deserves to be there…but so does Matt Savage, who has been nominated for four years running without getting in.
11:34PM
Metalidi is getting frustrated…
11:40PM
Is it just me or does Michael Dyer remind you of the late Paul Magriel?
11:54PM
The two shorties got it in to dance. Zobian and Metaildi have been battling to be viable and it was miraculous that Zolbian rivered that flush. He got BIG TIME LUCKY!
Arten Metalidi – Eighth Place – $1.25 milion
12:06AM
Here’s what is the great thing about poker and the thing that kills it when you have it play out live. There are those moments in the game that have a great deal of drama and then there could be HOURS where absolutely nothing happens. That is where we are n0w.
12:21AM
Aye…if I were on the home base, I’d be able to carry on…as I have been watching the proceedings from my cell phone…and ACTUALLY writing it as well…it’s understandable why the battery is dying.
Tomorrow…we will go all the way!
