Mario Adinolfi Eliminated in 22nd Place (€20,000)
Alessandro Laubinger opened to 51,000 in the cutoff but to his immediate left on the button Vadzim Kursevich shoved, enough to cover Laubinger. It folded back around to the German, who removed his sunglasses and tanked up long enough for three whole hands to be played out on the other table - perhaps seven minutes. Eventually someone called the clock and Laubinger folded not long after, to the disappointment of all the media surrounding the table. Kursevich's stack increased to 680,000.
So Laubinger was down to 275,000 when he open-shoved from the hijack next hand. In the small blind, the even shorter-stacked Mario Adinolfi called all in. On their backs.
Laubinger:
Adinolfi:
Laubinger threw the little rosary he'd been using as a card protector into the middle after his chips, hoping for some divine assistance. Duly Adinolfi then tossed in the little picture of Pope John Paul II that has been his companion all week behind his own chips. A good Christian coinflip.
Board:
Laubinger didn't actually see the turn and river, because as soon as the four dropped on the flop, he ran to the rail and commenced hugging a young lady we presume is his girlfriend. Adinolfi and his tiny pope take home 22nd place money, while Laubinger's rosary came good and he's back in the game on 460,000.