Saturday, June 18, 2011 12:02 AM Local Time
After three days of action Oleksii Kovalchuk won the gold bracelet in the $2,500 Six Handed No Limit Hold'em event. He bested a field of 1,378 players and takes home $689,739 after defeating Ionel Anton heads up.
At the start of heads up play the two exchanged the chip lead several times. They were fast and loose with their action until Kovalchuk opened up a chiplead that Anton couldn't overcome. The final hand Kovalchuk had pocket sevens against a weak ace that Kovalchuk turned into a full house.
Day 3 began with 22 players returning to action. Players falling short of the final table were Will Failla, Antony Lellouche and Sam Grafton.
Chris Moorman exited in 3rd place after Kovalchuk's straight draw got there on the river.
Dan O'Brien was knocked out in 4th place after he paired his king on the flop but Kovalchuk made a flush on the turn.
Mazin Khoury was eliminated in 5th place when he ran his into Anton's pocket aces.
Anthony Ruberto was the first victim of the final table. He took a huge bad beat that crippled his stack and shook the Amazon Room from the crowd reaction. He was in a pot with Kovalchuk and all in on the turn. Ruberto had a set of jacks and Kovalchuk had a set of fours, and then spiked the one-outer on the river making quad fours. Ruberto was eliminated shortly after.
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Friday, June 17, 2011 11:59 PM Local Time
Oleksii Kovalchuk raised it up to 150,000 on the button and Ionel Anton moved all in for about 1,500,000. Kovalchuk insta-called and flipped over . Anton showed and we waited as the camera crew came in to watch the board be dealt.
The flop came down to give Kovalchuk a set of sevens but it also gave Ionel an inside straight draw.
The turn came and the river came and Kovalchuk gave a fist pump as he took down the bracelet.
Anton earned $428,140 for second place and played well in a long and grueling heads up match.
Friday, June 17, 2011 11:42 PM Local Time
Ionel Anton raised to 100,000 on the button and Oleksii Kovalchuk called.
The flop came , Kovalchuk checked, Anton bet 150,000 and Kovalchuk called.
The turn was the , Kovalchuk checked, Anton bet 150,000 again but this time Kovalchuk check-raised to 500,000. Anton called.
The river came and Kovalchuk bet 1,000,000. Anton folded and is now very short stacked with about 1,600,000 after the hand to Kovalchuk's 8,700,000
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | 8,700,000 | 1,200,000  |
| Ionel Anton | 1,600,000 | -1,200,000  |
Friday, June 17, 2011 11:31 PM Local Time
Oleksii Kovalchuk raised it up to 150,000 on the button preflop, Ionel Anton then re-raised it to 400,000 and Kovalchuk called.
The flop came down and both players checked.
The turn was the and Anton bet out 250,000. Kovalchuk just called.
The river was the , Anton checked, and Kovalchuk bet 775,000. Anton took some time then called and Kovalchuk showed for a full house. Kovalchuk took back a two to one chip lead after the hand.
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | 6,800,000 | 1,800,000 |
| Ionel Anton | 3,500,000 | -1,800,000 |
Friday, June 17, 2011 11:15 PM Local Time
Ionel Anton made it 450,000 on the button and Kovalchuk called. The flop came and Kovalchuk checked. Anton pushed out 550,000 and Kovalchuk moved all in for 2.22 million more.
Anton leaned way back in his chair, took off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes. He thought long and hard for a short while and eventually folded, bringing Kovalchuk back to almost even with Anton.
Friday, June 17, 2011 11:11 PM Local Time
Ionel Anton made it 150,000 to go from the button and Oleksii Kovalchuk called. The flop came and Kovalchuk check-called 350,000 from Anton. They both checked the turn and the came on the river. Kovalchuk check-called a 500,000 bet from Anton, but mucked when Anton showed
Friday, June 17, 2011 10:57 PM Local Time
Level: 28
Blinds: 25000/50000
Ante: 5000
Friday, June 17, 2011 10:53 PM Local Time
| Ionel Anton | 6,425,000 | -125,000 |
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | 3,875,000 | -375,000 |
Friday, June 17, 2011 10:49 PM Local Time
Grabbing counts from Ionel Anton's chip stack is proving difficult. He prefers unusually tall second tier chip stacks that are proving difficult to count. But it appears he has pulled ahead in the chiplead against Olekssi Kovalchuk. Accurate counts coming soon.
Friday, June 17, 2011 10:42 PM Local Time
The past several hands have been won or lost depending on who has the button. A raise from either player on the button will usually take the pot.
Friday, June 17, 2011 10:37 PM Local Time
Ionel Anton raised to 80,000 on the button and Oleksii Kovalchuk re-raised to 250,000 and Anton called.
The flop was and both players checked. The turn was and Kovalchuk checked. Anton bet out 300,000 and Kovalchuk called.
The river was the and Kovalchuk bet out 700,000. Anton slowed down here but eventually made the call and Kovalchuk showed for the rivered straight. Kovalchuk is still down to Anton but is back up to 4,250,000
| Ionel Anton | 6,550,000 | -120,000 |
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | 4,250,000 | 1,250,000 |
Friday, June 17, 2011 10:23 PM Local Time
Oleksii Kovalchuk made it 100,000 to from the button and Ionel Anton moved all in. Kovalchuk called and the hands were tabled.
Showdown:
Anton:
Kovalchuk:
Board:
Anton's pocket pair held and doubled to 5,670,000 and Kovalchuk slipped to 4,000,000.
Friday, June 17, 2011 10:19 PM Local Time
Chris Moorman, the winningest online tournament poker player of all time, has been eliminated just short of the bracelet in third place.
Moorman got his 1,100,000 all in preflop good with against the of Oleksii Kovalchuk. The board was not so kind though.
The flop looked good with but the turn gave a straight draw to Kovalchuk and he completed it with the on the river.
Moorman came into the day as one of our big stacks but lost most of his chips right before the final table. He and his loud and crazy rail have left the Amazon Room and we are now down to heads up play.
Kovalchuk will start with around 8,000,000 and Ionel Anton will start with around 2,300,000. The bracelet is on the table and the $689,739 is officially up for grabs.
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | 8,000,000 | 1,200,000 |
| Ionel Anton | 2,300,000 | -100,000 |
| Chris Moorman | 0 | -1,100,000 |
Friday, June 17, 2011 10:08 PM Local Time
The board read and Chris Moorman bet 110,000. Oleksii Kovalchuk raised to 250,000 and Moorman moved all in. Kovalchuk called and tabled and Moorman tabled . The board completed and they chopped the pot.
Friday, June 17, 2011 10:05 PM Local Time
Level: 27
Blinds: 20000/40000
Ante: 5000
Friday, June 17, 2011 10:02 PM Local Time
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | 6,800,000 | 50,000 |
| Ionel Anton | 2,400,000 | 200,000 |
| Chris Moorman | 1,100,000 | -300,000 |
Friday, June 17, 2011 9:39 PM Local Time
We've completed another two levels and the players are taking a 20 minute break.
Friday, June 17, 2011 9:37 PM Local Time
Ionel Anton raised to 75,000 from the small blind and Chris Moorman called from the big blind. The flop came and Ionel check-called 85,000 from Moorman. The turn was the and both players checked to the river. Anton bet out 131,000 and Moorman called.
Anton tabled and Moorman tabled and took the pot with a better kicker.
Friday, June 17, 2011 9:34 PM Local Time
Chris Moorman's very spirited and loud cheering section on the rail has been singing for waves from different people. A new dealer, Daniel, just sat down and they wanted a wave. As Daniel was collecting the antes they started to boo him, but he gave them a quick wave and they rejoiced.
Friday, June 17, 2011 9:32 PM Local Time
Oleksii Kovalchuk raised it up to 75,000 on the button and Ionel Anton called in the small blind.
The flop came and Anton checked. Kovalchuk bet 100,000 and Anton check-raised to 225,000. Kovalchuk made the call and the two saw the turn
This time, Anton bet out 330,000 and Kovalchuk raised to 830,000. Anton called.
The river was the and Anton checked to Kovalchuk who moved all in. Yet again, Anton made a big fold on the river.
Kovalchuk now has around 60% of the chips in play with 6,750,000.
Anton moved down to around 2,200,000 after the hand
| Oleksii Kovalchuk | 6,750,000 | 1,150,000 |
| Ionel Anton | 2,200,000 | -1,100,000 |