Xingwei Chen opened to 600,000 in the small blind, and big blind Mykhailo Lendel called to see a flop.
The flop came 5♠5♥10♣. Chen fired 350,000, and Lendel called once again.
On the 8♥ turn, Chen check-called Lendel's 950,000. After another check on the 9♠ river, Lendel fired 2,700,000, sending Chen to the tank.
After a minute, Chen called. Lendel showed Qx3x for queen-high, while Chen turned over J♠J♦ to take the pot.
Level: 32
Blinds: 120,000/240,000
Ante: 240,000
In the 982nd episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow are joined by Matt Savage at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas.
There, they talk about Shaun Deeb's recent bracelet win and whether or not that will be enough to put him over the edge for the Poker Hall of Fame. It certainly was enough to put him back on top of the 2026 WSOP Player of the Year standings. Speaking of the Poker Hall of Fame, Savage shares whether he feels snubbed for not making the list of nominees and who he thinks has the best shot of getting in.
From there, the crew turns its attention to the Tournament Directors Association (TDA) Summit XII, which recently wrapped up at PokerGO Studio. Savage shares a little history about the TDA, his big takeaways, and then Chad shares a highlight video catching up with some of the bigger tournament directors in the game to get their thoughts on this year's summit.
Finally, the crew thanks sponsor Think Jerky, which you can order here.
Find out all about those stories and more in this week's episode of the PokerNews Podcast! Oh, and be sure to check out the audio version of the PokerNews Podcast that is available on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud.
The remaining 20 players are heading on a 15-minute break.
Michael Starek opened to 450,000 from middle position and Zixuan Liu in late position shoved all-in for 3,800,000. Yoann Saubot in the small blind asked for a count then shoved all-in pushing Starek out of the hand.
Zixuan Liu: Q♠Q♣ 
Yoann Saubot: A♣Q♥
Saubot was immediately pushed in the lead on the K♠K♥A♦ flop. There was no help for Liu on the J♣5♦ runout sealing his fate to leave the tournament floor.
Tsubasa Kamei moved all in from under the gun for 1,750,000, and Min Kim called from early position.
Tsubasa Kamei: A♦2♦
Min Kim: A♣10♠
The board ran out K♣Q♦5♥J♠6♦, and Kim hit the broadway straight for the win.
Action was picked up with Junichi Murakami in middle position all-in against Jonathan Ong in the big blind.
Junichi Murakami: 8♠8♥
Jonathan Ong: K♠Q♦
Both Murakami and Ong got on their feet as they watched the flop show J♦9♥10♣. Ong was pushed into the lead with a flopped straight, making Murakami visibly disheartened. Ready to leave, the turn fell 8♣, giving Murakami a set that was still behind Ong's made hand.
The whole table erupted with a loud "Oh!" when the river 9♠ fell, securing Murakami a double-up with a full house and leaving Ong with crumbs.
Ong was eliminated soon after.
Seen joining Ong heading to the payout counter were Zijing Cheng and Mark Leslie.
Rajagopal Sankaranarayanan limped from the small blind, and Michael Starek checked. The board arrived with 7♥K♦5♠, and Sankaranarayanan bet 200,000, and Starek called.
Both players checked the turn 2♥ and the river 10♣.
Sankaranarayanan turned over 4♠2♠ for a pair of deuces, and Starek flipped over A♠7♣ for a pair of sevens.
Starek stated, "Write that small blind spins 3,200,000 into a victory."
Junichi Murakami on the button shoved for 1,225,000, and Daniele Miniello in the big blind called, taking them to showdown.
Junichi Murakami: K♦Q♥
Daniele Miniello: K♥7♠
Murakami had Miniello dominated when the flop came K♠Q♠J♥. Murakami's lead was cemented with two pair and was looking at a potential double-up when the 2♦ turn fell.
The river 2♠ secured his double-up so he could continue further in the tournament.
Action was picked up with Adriaan Jacobs in the small blind putting aside his Spider-Man card protector to go all-in for 2,500,000 chips against Clement Lafon, who already had 2,400,000 chips in front of him. Lafon called leading them to a showdown.
Adriaan Jacobs: A♥10♥
Clement Lafon: 9♣9♥
Jacobs' outs increased with a flush draw when the flop came 3♥8♦4♥. He got an A♠ on the turn that pushed him ahead. On the river 2♣, He beat his chest in celebration after securing the double-up. After scooping the pot, he carefully returned his Spider-Man card protector to its usual spot and settled back into his seat.
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