Nice Pot Pushed Lehmanski's Way
Defending champion Dan Smith opened with a raise from under the gun to 4,400. Joni Joukimainen called from the next seat, then Philip Sternheimer made the call out of the hijack seat. Max Lehmanski had the button, and he reraised to 21,400 after play moved over to him. The blinds folded, then Smith called. Joukimainen and Sternheimer also folded, leaving Smith and Lehmanski heads up.
The 
graced the players on the flop. Smith was first to act and checked. Lehmanski bet 19,500, and Smith called to see the 
added to the board on the turn. Smith checked again, and this time Lehmanski upped his bet to 42,000. Smith took a minute to think, then folded, and Lehmanski won the pot.
Last year, Smith captured the title in this event, winning �962,925. Despite being knocked back to 190,000 after this hand, he knows better than anyone that this is a very long tournament with a great structure, so a few setbacks along the way shouldn't bother him too much.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
330,000
80,000
|
80,000 |
|
|
300,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
255,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
190,000
-60,000
|
-60,000 |
|
||