Epic bubble ends with double elimination after 14 short-stack doubles
After more than 90 minutes of hand-for-hand play the most dramatic bubble we have ever been part of has burst and with that, Day 2 of the MPC22 Red Dragon is all over.
There were no less than 14 double ups during hand-for-hand play.
14.
Double ups.
It seems improbable, but that's the way the story goes here at the Red Dragon.
It was chaos in the poker room and no amount of 'first card off the deck' rules were stopping almost the entire field from charging from table to table to try and witness each all in.
Like a Rugby scrum we burst our through the poker room, trying our best not to knock the ravenous crowd of players trying to get a glimpse of each all in.
It was the seventh double up of hand-for-hand that really seemed like it would be the bubble hand - a player with pocket aces having a player with pocket deuces at risk.
But no, a deuce came, giving the all-in player a set and it was back to the drawing board.
Then there was all in number 12 - Michael Shell got his chips in with a flush draw and a gut-shot straight draw against Raymond Wu's trip nines and hit the gutshot straight.
The double ups kept coming as the scheduled final level of the day drew to a close.
It was at this point that the call was made to play just one more hand and if the bubble failed to burst, then the players would have to return on Day 3 and burst the bubble then.
Then the best possible outcome occurred - for the tournament organisers at least.
It wasn't a great outcome for Zhiyun Tang and Dapeng Wu, however as they were both eliminated during the same hand, bursting the bubble and splitting the 117th place prize money
First we have Wu's elimination:
With a stack of 53,000, Dapeng Wu looked down at the old 2♠4♠ on the button and decided to finish the night with a bang as he moved all in. The small blind folded but Fan Xu made the call in the big blind to the roars of the table.
After the other tables had finished their actions, the cards were opened with Xu showing A♥Q♠. The board ran out Q♣9♣3♦4♣K♠ leaving Wu to split 117th place prize money.
Then we have Tang's:
It was all in preflop for Tang and he would have to watch on as the two players in the blinds made the call and then checked it down on a T♠6♣A♦Q♦T♣ board.
At showdown, Tang turned over Q♠6♠ for a counterfeited two pair against one of his opponent's A♥J♦! Just like that, Tang would be splitting the prize money with Wu.
What a way to end Day 2!
The 116 remaining players are now off to the MPC22 player's party to let their hair down before returning tomorrow from 3:00pm to play down to a final table!
Stay tuned for a full recap of the day's action, along with the Day 3 seating draw and all that important stuff right here on the PokerStarsBlog!
9:30pm: Back to burst the bubble!
The players are back in their seats and with that, hand-for-hand has continued!
Next player out takes home nothing, while 117 players lock up HK$24,500.
9:20pm: Break on the bubble
The 118 remaining players have been sent on a 10-minute break.
When they return, blinds will be 3,000/6,000 and hand-for-hand play will continue!
9:15pm: Two gone, stone-cold bubble begins
Two players have recently been eliminated during the hand-for-hand period, one of whom got his chips in good with K-T against K-6 but ultimately saw his opponent hit a pair of sixes.
With that, we are now on the stone-cold bubble!
Stay tuned to find out who the unlucky player ends up being.
9:10pm: Three off money confusion
The intention of the tournament staff was to start hand-for-hand two off the money, but due to a little bit of a miscount, hand-for-hand began with three players needed to be eliminated before the bubble burst.
Although perhaps making the bubble take a little longer than usual, the action certainly hasn't slowed down during this period as several short-stacked players recently doubled up.
And on we march.
9:05pm: Hand-for-hand begins
The bubble is here and that means it's time to begin hand-for-hand play!
9:00pm: New leader as we near bubble
It has just been announced to the room that we are three players off making the money here on Day 2 of the MPC22 Red Dragon. It's the top 117 players who will guarantee themselves at least HK$24,500.
At this point in time we can tell you that it looks like Yi Won Lee is our new chip leader with a stack nearing 400,000.
8:45pm: Gruenewald hurting
Stefan Gruenewald was one of the chip leaders at one point during Day 2 of the MPC22 Red Dragon but is now well below average, now sitting with around 60,000 in chips.
We recently arrived to find Gruenewald doubling up an opponent on a 4♥2♥T♦7♠Q♦ board. Gruenewald's cards were in the muck when we arrived at the table, while the player who doubled up had 7♥7♣ out in front of them for set of sevens.
8:30pm: No action for Steicke
Prominent Hong Kong based Aussie David Steicke opened up the action to 9,000 and we has quickly three-bet to 19,500 from the player on his direct left. The rest of the table was out of the way and Steicke made the call to see the dealer spread out a 2♥6♠9♥ flop. Steicke checked here and his opponent led out for 21,000. Back on Steicke and he moved all in for 60,000. The player went deep into the tank here and ultimately folded T♥T♦ face up. It ended up being a great fold too with Steicke showing his Q♣Q♠ for a larger over pair.
8:15pm: Level 15 begins, blinds 2,000/4,000 (500)
8:10pm: Gomez the new leader
We have a new chip leader!
It wasn't too long ago that Diego Gomez came on to our radar and now he has become the first player to move their stack over 300,000 after eliminating an opponent.
The hand started with an open to 6,500 which Gomez promptly three-bet to 16,500. A call and the dealer would flip over a J♣6♥9♠ flop. When it was checked to Gomez, he bet 22,500. Back on his opponent who moved all in for 70,000. Gomez quickly called and tabled A♦A♠ which was ahead of K♣Q♣.
When the dealer turned over a J♠ turn and completed the board with a Q♠, Gomez let out a celebratory yell as he scooped up the big pot.
8:00pm:Gomez moves over 200,000
Portugal's Diego Gomez is the latest player to move his stack over 200,000. He recently rumbled in a pot with Min Yi, four-betting to a large 63,000 after Yi had three-bet his open to an extra 18,000. Yi, also one of the big stacks, eventually folded and Yi raked in the chips to move over 200,000.
7:50pm: Those who stack up
Right now it looks like start-of-day chip leader Raymond Wu is still out in front. He has 280,000 - almost three times the average stack and just under 100 big blinds.
Here is a look at the approximate chips of some of the big stacks.
Raymond Wu - 280,000
Flo Campomanes - 200,000
Danny van Zjip - 190,000
Nicky Tao Jin - 185,000
Takuya Yamashita - 180,000
There are 150 players currently remaining in the MPC22 Red Dragon Main Event.
7:35pm: Ichinose jumping in the teams event
The lone Team PokerStars Pro remaining in the field has been spotted on the rail and in the registration line getting ready to play the Teams Event here at MPC22 Red Dragon.
We didn't catch Ichinose's elimination, but after some investigating we found out that he got his chips in preflop with pocket eights and unfortunately ran into pocket tens.
7:20pm: Kazuma's stack growing
Japan's Kazuma Tanaka is now one of the chip leaders during this third level of the day.
He has a stack of around 185,000. .
Tanaka was lucky to get those chips too as a little while ago he was all in with A-J against the A-K of Takuya Suzuki and found two pair aces and jacks on the board run out.
With 175 players remaining the average stack is 80,000
7:10pm: Back for Level 14
The players are back from their break and are now commencing Level 14 with blinds at 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante. This is the third level of Day 2 of the MPC22 Red Dragon.
7:00pm: First break of Day 2
Approximately 175 players have been sent on their first 10-minute break of Day 2 of the MPC22 Red Dragon. Check back soon for more action!
6:45pm: Double for former champ
Former Red Dragon champ Tom Alner was down to just 24,000 in chips when he moved all in preflop holding K♣J♣. Wei Zhang made the call and put Alner at risk with 8♥8♠.
Alner was flipping for his tournament life and managed to catch good on a 9♦5♥K♠Q♦9♠ board run out.
It was in August of 2013 that Alner won this event and with this double he's still in with a shot to join Team PokerStars Pro Celina Lin as a two-time Red Dragon champ.
6:25pm: Lucky diamonds for Cai
It was looking like Marco Mattes was about to send two players to the rail and find himself as one of the chip leaders when he held K♠K♣ and had Puwei Zhu at risk with J♠T♥ and Yan Cai at risk with 3♦3♠. Then the board ran out 4♦A♦T♣K♦7♦ and despite Mattes hitting a set of kings, Cai had made a flush with his three of diamonds.
Zhu, meanwhile, was on the rail as just around 190 total players remain.
6:10pm: MC Hotdog firing up
MC Hotdog has been sponsored into this event by PokerStars and so far the Tawinese hip hop superstar is doing the red spade proud with a stack of more than 100,000 in chips when the average is just 60,000.
Anyone from Asia and those that play poker in Macau or follow poker in this region will recognise the name MC Hot Dog as one of the biggest music acts going around.
For those that don't know about MC Hot Dog, here is a little snippet of his talents off the poker felt:
6:00pm: Level 13 begins, blinds 1,200/2,400 (400)
5:50pm: Former champ looking strong
Nicky Tao Jin has been here before. He won the Red Dragon in 2012, overcoming a field of 635 players. Sure, he will have to defeat far more than that to win his second Red Dragon, but he's made a good start at it with a stack of around 170,000. That makes him one of the chip leaders as we head towards the second level of Day 2.
5:40pm: Stefan building a stack
Sweden's Stefan Gruenewald is the latest player to skyrocket into the six-figure stack range. Gruenewald got to this point when he held A♥K♠ and had a player all in preflop with K♣Q♣. The board ran out J♠5♣6♣2♥K♥ and the handy pot went to Gruenewald.
5:30pm: One double, one out
There has been lots of action to kick off Day 2 of the MPC22 Red Dragon.
We recently watched one player double up on one table, while another was being eliminated on a nearby table. It was Wei Zhang who was eliminated when he got his short stack all in with 4♠4♦ and couldn't stay ahead of an opponent's T-6. Tak Lam Chow, meanwhile, doubled up when he got his chips in preflop with J♠J♣ against pocket nines and the jacks held up.
5:15pm: Steicke and Alner rumble
David Steicke and Tom Alner are two of the more prominent players in today's field and they also happen to be on the same table. We recently watched Steicke and Alner battle it out in a hand that began when Steicke opened it up to 5,500 from early position. The action folded around to Alner in the cut off and he three-bet to 9,500. Steicke made the call and the dealer flipped over a A♣Q♦6♦ flop. Both players checked here and a 7♣ hit the turn. This time when Stecke checked, Alner led out for 10,000. Steicke opted to let his cards go and as Alner raked in the pot, he flashed K♦K♣.
5:05pm: First One Out
Lei Wang will go down in Macau Poker Cup history as having been the first player eliminated on Day 2 of the MPC22 Red Dragon Main Event. Expect dozens to join Wang throughout the early stages of the day.
5:00pm: Cards flying on Day 2
The cards are in the air on Day 2 of the MPC22 Red Dragon!
Blinds kick off today at 1,000/2,000 with a 300 ante. Levels have moved from 40 minutes to 60 minutes. There will be five levels played today!
Stay tuned!
Time for Day 2 of the MPC22 Red Dragon
After four busy Day 1 flights the MPC22 Red Dragon has reached Day 2!
Just 285 players of the starting 987 are still alive and just 117 of those will make the money. We mention the money because there is a chance we will burst the bubble today. There will be only five 60 minute levels played, however, so that's not a guarantee.
One player who will like his chances at making the money and securing a place on Day 3 is the current chip leader Raymond Wu. The professional poker player from Taiwan is no stranger to success in Macau and in fact won this very event back in 2010.
There are a huge amount of notable players who will be standing in Wu's way including Akira Ohyama, Juicy Li, Darian Tan, David Steicke, Hoang Anh Do and former Red Dragon champ Tom Alner. Team PokerStars Pro Kosei Ichinose is also still in contention. Check out the Day 2 top five below along with a link to the seating draw.
MPC22 - Day 2 Top Five
Raymond Wu - 160,000
Romain Dours - 155,000
Kwangjin Lee - 154,800
Kazuma Tanaka - 147,600
Flo Campomanes - 142,900
Click here for Day 2 seating draw
The cards will be in the air from 5:00pm local time and once again you will find full live updates of the MPC22 Red Dragon right here on the PokerStarsBlog.
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