Peter Eastgate wins 2008 World Series of Poker

Peter Eastgate has just become the youngest ever winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event at age 22.

The players saw a flop of 2d-Ks-3h. Ivan Demidov checked and then called a bet of 1,250,000 from Eastgate. The 4c fell on the turn. Demidov checked, Eastgate made it 2 million, and Demidov raised to 6 million. He had nearly half his stack in the middle. It was clear, this was the end.

The 7 s fell on the river. Demidov moved all-in and Eastgate snap called. Demidov held 2h-4h for two pair, but it was no good against Eastgate's A-5 wheel.

Every successful competitor can visualize his win. Whether a star quarterback or competitive eater, the mental movie that plays in the hours leading up to the big show always ends in the same. The hero wins. If you can't see it happening in your own mind, you can never make it happen in real life.

In the dream script Ivan Demidov wrote for tonight's feature attraction, this was not how he expected the third act to play out.

We'll be back in just a bit with a full wrap-up of tonight's heads-up battle.

This has been Peter Eastgate's hour.

Though the past 60 minutes was cut by one-third due to a break, Eastgate has used this time to pull out to a better than 3-1 chip lead over Ivan Demidov.

Though humble, Eastgate was confident coming into the match tonight. Just before he sat down, he spoke to our video blog team. Check out the interview below.

Watch WSOP Final Table: Peter Pre HU Interview on PokerStars.tv

Leaving the Penn and Teller Theater, even when players are on a break, is an uncomfortable proposition. One wrong turn in the Rio labyrinth can send a wanderer in the wrong direction for just long enough to miss one hand.

And one hand is all it takes.

Take for instance the last twenty minute break. The closest watering hole to this theater is the adjacent Starbucks. It's staying open eight hours longer than usual to accommodate the fatigued spectators and media. The line was 20 people deep and the barista was slinging caffeine with all speed.

As the stragglers checked their watches and got ready to make tracks for the heads-up match, the barista fired up one of his machines. To addled minds with questionable hearing, the steam machine sounded like a thousand-strong crowd in rapture.

No one wants to miss that one moment. With the blinds at 400,000/800,000/100,000, it could happen anytime. Now, the entire crowd has re-settled in for this last hour and watched Peter Eastgate go on a run to take him up over the 100,000,000 mark in chips.

Eastgate broke that psychological barrier when he took down a sizeable pot that played out as follows: Eastgate limped, Demidov raised 1.95 million and Eastgate called. The flop showed 9h-7s-6d and Demidov continuation bet 3.625, which Eastgate called. The turn was Js and both players checked, seeing a Qs on the river. Demidov found the bet and fired 7 million at it, but Eastgate was going nowhere, called, and showed J-8s for a pair of jacks. Demidov's A-10 was no good.

Apart from a small pot for the Russian when he made a seven-high straight, it's been a one-sided level so far. Eastgate has managed to strong-arm his way past Demidov in most pre-flop confrontations and even when they get all the way to the river, Eastgate is finding the better hand. In one such example, Demidov raised 2 million pre-flop, and Eastgate called. The flop came 10h-6h-Jh and both players checked all the way to showdown when turn and river came 7d-3s. Eastgate showed 5c-6c for a pair of sixes. And they were good.

And so it begins. It took nearly 120 days for this very moment.Two men from distant lands face-to-face in a battle for poker immortality.

Thirty minutes ago, Michael Buffer (yes, the Michael Buffer) introduced Ivan Demidov and Peter Easgate and belted, "Lets get rrrrrready to shuflllllllle and deal!" The crowd, as you might expect, went wild.

There were skeptics who didn't think this Penn and Teller Theater would fill. Those people were proven wrong yesterday when there was a line out the door all day. Then there were people who believed that once the first seven busted out and their fans went looking for a bar that the heads-up battle would be void of spectators. Wrong again. Tonight, this theater is once again filled to capacity with a line of people waiting to get in. As one person here noted, "These aren't people who are here to watch one player. These are fans of poker."

Perhaps we should've expected it. Millions of people watch "Deal or No Deal" on television every week and the contestants on that show employ basic strategy and a little gamble to compete for a piddly million bucks. The two players who remain tonight are fighting for a combined $15 million and they will be doing a lot more than picking a numbered suitcase from a half-dressed model.

And what has the action been like?

Well, any belief that the chips would be kept out of the pots as the opponents sized each other up were quickly dissolved by a couple of action flops in the first few hands. First up, Eastgate raised out of the small blind to 1.5 million, which Demidov called, an additional 900,000 on top of his 600,000 big blind. The flop was a perilous 10s-Kh-10h, which was checked by Demidov. Eastgate bet 1.75 million and Demidov called. The turn spiced it up even more -- it was the Kd -- and both players checked, only to see an even more frightening Kc on the river, making a full house on the board. Demidov was first to act, and act he did, sliding out 8 million and forcing a reluctant fold from Eastgate.

Demidov kept his foot on the gas through the opening few hands, picking up three in a row. But Eastgate found his own accelerator pedal soon enough, repopping Demidov pre-flop on one hand to take it down, then continuation betting a flop of 9h-As-8h to take down back-to-back pots of his own.

The tournament director Jack Effel soon announced that we'd entered level 38, where the blinds and antes had raised to 400,000-800,000 (100,000), and the "standard" opening raise went up to 2.25 million or thereabouts. There are millions of chips in every pot, but no huge swings just yet.

Earlier, the PokerStars Video Blog team asked Ivan what he thought of Peter's abilities. Here's what he had to say.

Watch WSOP Final Table: Ivan on Peter on PokerStars.tv

The music, familiar to every ear, rose up from unseen speakers. The driving "Eye of the Tiger" pulsed across the Rio Casino floor as the World Series of Poker's version of Bruce Buffer placed his mouth to the microphone.

"This is the weigh in," bellowed Nolan Dalla, "of the World Series of Poker Main Event!"

The Rio Hotel and Casino is an active place. There is rarely a five-minute period in which there is not a giant Carnival float sailing through the air, beads rocketing from all heights, and dancer-tainers performing on small stages. This, however, was unlike anything the casino patrons had ever seen.

"What are they doing?" asked a lady sitting at the slot machines.

"The are giving away the million dollars to the poker guy," her husband said.

No one took the time to explain, there was not one guy and that the money still at stake equals nearly $15 million. There wasn't time, because Dalla's voice was rising up above the music.

"Only one player will achieve immortality!" he said.

And then from the rafters, one at a time, walked PokerStars Million Dollar men Ivan Demidov and Peter Eastgate. At 22-years-old, Eastgate has a chance to become the youngest World Series Main Event winner ever. Demidov, the 27-year-old man from Moscow, drew his inspiration from Team PokerStars Pro Alexander Kravchenko's World Series performance last year. Five months ago, they were unknowns even in their own country. Before they return home, they will be national heroes, not to mention millions of dollars richer.

Dalla, as much a veteran of these battles as anyone in the room, put it best. "In a sense, their dreams have already come true," he said. Indeed, they have. Early this morning, the two men realized how rich they were and how much work they still had to do, as they got heads-up for the 2008 World Series bracelet.

Today, with "Eye of the Tiger" blasting behind them, the two men engaged in an afternoon virtual weigh-in. Instead of pounds, the men measured their stacks, 57.7 million for Demidov to Eastgate's 79.5 million. It wasn't Ali/Frazer, but it was as close as poker can get. Camera flashes popped, video crews rolled, and casino gamblers stopped their action to watch the spectacle on stage.

Eastgate and Demidov played their roles, mugging for the camera and grabbing for the championship bracelet stacked on a pile of cash.

"Wait until tonight," Dalla scolded with a smile.

Standing before the world media, the two remaining players took questions from Dalla and answering in their native language. The foreign-tongue responses drew chuckles from the crowd, a softball for Dalla. "This truly is the World Series of Poker," he noted.

Though both Eastgate and Demidov were happy to serve and bask in the preliminary limelight, a giant responsibility hung over them. In less than 12 hours, they would be sitting down to play for the historic title. Both men wanted to be resting. They knew the fight was not going to be easy.

Later, Demidov admitted, going into the November 9, he believed "Peter is the best player at the table."

Eastgate joked, "I thought Ivan was the easiest," but then conceded, "It's going to be tough and I'm going to try to adjust."

Demidov has been doing some preparation all his own. Even before arriving, the Russian had his eye on a heads-up fight. "I have practiced my heads-up game on the internet," he said.

The pomp and circumstance finished, the men headed off to find some quiet time before stepping into the ring tonight. They know how important it is. No Russian or Dane has ever won the World Series of Poker Main Event. Tonight, one of the two will.

Already millionaires, both men seem to have agreed, they aren't necessarily playing for the additional $4 million for first place. Eastgate, seemingly wise beyond his 22 years, summed it up in just a few words. It is a familiar refrain, but one that rings true every time.

"It's not about the money," Eastgate said. "It's about the bracelet."

Live coverage begins here at 10pm local, 1am ET. Join us here for all the news as history happens.

Every World Series final table has carried with it a sense of anticipation, but none quite like the one we watched today.

It was an historic final table four months in the making. Nine men from around the world reconvened after an extended poker vacation. They walked into the Rio Hotel and Casino Penn and Teller Theater this morning knowing that when they left tonight, they would know if they still had a chance at winning poker's most coveted prize and nine million bucks.

Tonight, we know who among those nine men have that shot.

Denmark's Peter Eastgate and Russia's Ivan Demidov will return to this theater Monday night to play heads up for the World Series bracelet.

Among the November 9 who started here today were six members of the PokerStars family. The Million Dollar Men were better known as Dennis "FordMan1954" Phillips, Darus "Dennis_TO" Sahurto, Ivan "hasuling" Demidov, Ylon "TenthPlanet" Schwartz, David "Chino" Rheem and Peter "Isser" Eastgate. They faced off against off against Craig Marquis, Scott Montgomery, and Kelly Kim.

Although the event started slowly, it quickly turned to a bloodbath. As chronicled in Thrills, spills and brainaches Marquis was the first to go after opening-shoving pocket sevens into Scott Montgomery's A-Q. Marquis loved the 7c-Ah-Td flop. Just to keep the audience engaged, tournament director went through the long recitation of ways Montgomery could suck out.

"He could catch running aces. He could catch running queens," etc, etc.

He failed to mention the possibility of running jack-king. He should've mentioned that. Sure enough, the Jd on the turn and Ks on the river and Craig Marquis went from overwhelming favorite to the ninth place finisher in the 2008 World Series of Poker, earning $900,670.

Kelly Kim and his short stack gave the Cinderella story lovers an opportunity to root for a comeback. After surviving well past when anybody thought he would, Kim finally gave up the ghost, getting pocket fours all-in against three players. He was out-flopped by Darus Suharto's 9c-Tc and Kim went out in eighth place for a $1,288,217 payday.

Still alive were all of the PokerStars Million Dollar Men. With six out of the seven left in the field, it was only a matter of time before one had to go. That man was David "Chino" Rheem. An early favorite among prognosticators, Rheem had a hard time finding consistent traction today. Finally, he got his short stack all-in, and got it in good. Rheem open-shoved with As-Kc and got a call from Peter Eastgate in the small blind. Eastgate held Ah-Qd. As always, everything looked fine until the flop: Qs-5s-7d. Rheem bricked twice and was eliminated in seventh place $1,7772,650.

"I would have changed the last hand," Rheem offered, when asked if he would have done anything different. "One hand I got unlucky and that cost me my bracelet. But that's poker."

That, of course, is poker, and now Rheem returns to the cash games and tournament circuit with a reputation only enhanced by this World Series experience. "I'll try to stay positive and say there's always next year," he said. "But the odds, you know..."

While the stories of these eliminations were worth reporting, the big story of the day had been Dennis Phillips' epic fall from the chip lead. Starting with more than 25 million chips, he'd fallen below ten million and looked ripe to exit early. It took getting A-Q in against Ylon Schwartz' Q-Q and flopping an ace to get back in the game.

Chino Rheem's exit left PokerStars qualifier Darus Suharto as the short-stack in the event. Suharto found himself in a position in which he had to start looking for good opportunities. When Scott Montgomery opened for a standard raise at the 250,000/500,000/50,000 level, Suharto shoved all in for a little more than 8 million. He held Ah-8c.

Though he sat with a Terminator look behind his shades, a close up camera highlighed his heavy breathing. To the outside observer, it was impossible to say whether he was putting it on or in fact nervous. Montgomery decided it was time to look up Suharto. He made the call with a half smile, turning over As-Qd. Suharto winced. He knew he was in trouble.

Though neither player paired on the flop, it was soul-crushing anyway: K-J-2, all spades. Montgomery's ace of spades was just begging for one more of its kind. It came on the turn. The 4s gave Montgomery the nuts. Suharto's magnificent run at the 2008 World Series of Poker was finished. He earned $2,418,562.

After his exit, Suharto gave this exclusive interview to the PokerStars Video Blog team.

Watch WSOP FInal Table: Darus Exit Interview 6th Place on PokerStars.tv

Of all the things that happened today, and there were many, the most startling came next. In a raise, re-raise, all-in battle, Montgomery pushed and got snap-called by Demidov.

In what would become the biggest pot of the tournament yet (worth around 50 million by our count), Montgomery turned over a startling Ad-9d. Not as surprising was Demidov's Ks-Kd. Montgomery had Demidov's 24,435,000 covered. The crowd called for their man's ace or their man's king as the dealer laid out a perfectly frightening 6d-4d-6c flop, Two diamonds and the three remaining aces remained for Montgomery.

He missed twice, sending Demidov into an uncharacteristic dance around the stage. At once, he was the new chip leader.

Montgomery went out a few hands later, getting one-outered on the river by Peter Eastgate. He finished in fifth place for $3,096,768.

Four-handed, play slowed down dramatically before finishing the night in one-two-punch fashion.

First, Peter Eastgate raised pre-flop to the now-standard 1.5 million. Schwartz called from the small blind. Both players checked a flop of 2s-Kh-8h and after the Kd came on the turn, Schwartz checked but Eastgate bet another 1.75 million. Schwartz called.

The river was the 5d and again Schwartz checked, Eastgate bet 4.6 million and Schwartz moved all in, for 12.5 million more. Eastgate called and tabled pocket fives, hitting his full house on the river and beating Schwartz's A-10, for ace high. Schwartz's fourth place finish earned him $3,774,974.

Schwartz sat down with us for an interview after his exit.

Watch WSOP Final Table: Ylon Schwartz out in 4th place on PokerStars.tv

With three remaining, crowd favorite Dennis Phillips was the prohibitive short stack.

After Demidov folded his button, Eastgate raised from the small blind, called in the big by Phillips. The flop came Jc-4d-3s and Eastgate led out for 1.5 million. Phillips moved all in over the top, his entire stack worth 15,275,000 sliding into the middle. But it didn't even get there before Eastgate called and flipped pocket threes for the flopped set. Phillips showed 10-9 off-suit. "I couldn't keep on folding!" he declared.

In his exit interview, Phillips said, "We've had a real blast. Who would've ever thunk it? Now I get to play golf tomorrow. McFadden's everybody!" and off to the bar they went.

Here's what Phillips told us after he left the theater tonight.

Watch WSOP Final Table: Dennis Phillips Takes 3rd Place on PokerStars.tv

Peter Eastgate returns tomorrow with 79,500,000 to Ivan Demidov's 57,725,000.

For a complete look at all the day's coverage, see any of the links below.

Final table set to start
Shuffled up and dealing has begun
First hour in the books
Have we seen this before?
Late night a-comin'?
Thrills, spills and brainaches
Short-stacked and smiling, but gone
Phillips find a reason to be cheerful, Rheem not so much
The moment everyone dreads
Looking forward and looking back
Food coma?
Suharto bids a fond farewell, Demidov is here to stay
Ivan and winding road
The European invasion
Ylon's road runs out, Phillips trucking no more

We've posted tons of great videos from the PokerStars video blogging team today. We couldn't post all of them, though, so be sure to check all of them at PokerStars.tv.

Live coverage from the final table of the World Series of Poker will resume at 10pm local time Monday. Join us here as we watch history as it happens.

All photography by Joe Giron/IMPDI

And in a sudden flurry of activity, we are down to our two players who will contest tomorrow's heads-up dual for the 2008 World Series of Poker. First things first, let's name them. They are Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov; Denmark versus Russia for the big, big bucks in Vegas.

How it happened will take a little longer. We lost two players--Ylon Schwartz and Dennis Phillips--in less than an hour. We were writing as we went, so here's what was on the notebooks about those two bust-outs, starting with Schwartz, who went in third.

It went like this: In an ideal world, there would have been a post on this blog sometime tomorrow night entitled "I played $3-$6 limit poker with the World Champion". It would be referring to this story from the early days of this year's World Series Main Event, where I remembered my first meeting with Ylon Schwartz, killing time before his day one by playing some gentle hold 'em in the Golden Nugget.

The ideal post won't be written, because Schwartz is out of this tournament, the latest casualty to fall victim to Peter Eastgate. The Danish player had Schwartz well covered at the start of a hand that played out like this: Eastgate raised pre-flop to the now-standard 1.5 million. Schwartz called from the small blind. Both players checked a flop of 2s-Kh-8h and after the Kd came on the turn, Schwartz checked but Eastgate bet another 1.75 million. Schwartz called.

The river was the 5d and again Schwartz checked, Eastgate bet 4.6 million and Schwartz moved all in, for 12.5 million more. Eastgate called and tabled pocket fives, hitting his full house on the river and beating Schwartz's A-10, for ace high.

In his post-game interview, Schwartz was remarkably upbeat about his World Series experience, looking at close to four million dollars and a huge party with his friends in South America. He made reference to the hand much earlier today, when Dennis Phillips' A-Q beat Schwartz's Q-Q, and he also said that his elimination hand was pretty unlucky too. He reckoned, not unreasonably, that Eastgate would have had to let his small pocket pair go had he not rivered the full boat.

But there was soon a beer in his hand; there was instantly a smile on his face; and there was one happy man heading back to Brooklyn. Whenever he gets there.

We then found ourselves writing about the "three players remaining" a number including Phillips, the hero from St Louis, Missouri, who has kitted out half the Rio in his trademark red hat and white shirt. But Phillips couldn't quite bring it home and he was vanquished by Eastgate again, setting our final, final table.

After Demidov folded his button, Eastgate raised from the small blind, called in the big by Phillips. The flop came Jc-4d-3s and Eastgate led out for 1.5 million. Phillips um-ed and er-ed for a while before moving all in over the top, his entire stack worth 15,275,000 sliding into the middle. But it didn't even get there before Eastgate called and flipped pocket threes for the flopped set. Phillips showed 10-9 off-suit. "I couldn't keep on folding!" he declared.

He was dead to two running straight cards, but this time there were no miracles. Phillips was as gracious in defeat as he had been on his charge to the final table chip lead. He has played his heart out over all those days to get here, and there won't be a sinlge disappointed fan among his many hundreds. That'll be another spectacular party. "Now I can golf tomorrow," he said.

While we put together all the admin at the end of the day, not least a full wrap up from the final table, which will appear here shortly, why not take a look at some of our peerless video blogs. Here Peter Eastgate discusses Ylon Schwartz, the player he recently defeated. And below, there's some more about Dennis Phillips, our third placed finisher.

Watch WSOP Final Table: Peter on Ylon on PokerStars.tv

Watch WSOP Final Table: Dennis Phillips Player Profile on PokerStars.tv

Back during the early days of the World Series, my colleagues here at the PokerStars Blog began singing about Ylon (Ee-lahn) Schwartz, "Ylon and winding road!" Their British accents made for the perfect re-make of the Beatles classic. Little did any of us know we would be watching Schwartz four-handed at the World Series final table.

Even more surprising, at least to us, was that the man we knew as Ivan (EYE-van) actually pronounced his name Ee-vahn. And so, here we sit tonight with the same tune in our head, except now Ivan's long and winding road has taken him to the chip lead of this world championship event.

In the video blog below, he tells us how to get to this fantastical place in history.

Watch WSOP Final Tables: Ivan's Tips For Final-Tabling on PokerStars.tv

Now three spots off the bracelet and two spots off the break for the night, we have two Americans, a Dane, and a Russian vying for their spot in history. Any of the four players would be a fun addition to the fraternity of Main Event winners. All of them would bring something different to the game. Whether inspiring a country with its first Main Event win, realizing a freedom dream that nine million bucks provides, or trumpeting the power of the everyman worldwide, the four remaining runners all carry with them something special.

At this moment, though, they aren't thinking about that. They are thinking about how to eviscerate each other and do it in as short order as possible.

With four players left, the predictions was for a bit of a grind until the final two. But with blinds now at 300,000-600,000 (75,000 ante) there really can't actually be all that much sitting and folding. Dennis Phillips has certainly noticed that and he's been the most active in the first 30 minutes of the new level, reraising a Peter Eastgate button raise, making it 3.5 million to play and on the next hand getting his own button raise through the blinds. Phillips and Ylon Schwartz are now the players most under pressure, with the two Europeans, Eastgate and the chip-leading Ivan Demidov, relatively comfortable. But "relatively" is a big word in poker, and having already seen some horrific outdraws and some massive hands, everyone is aware that this can change rapidly. Very rapidly.

Schwartz took his own stab at getting something going in the final 10 minutes of the past hour, raising pre-flop to 1.5 million. But betting into the big stacks of Demidov and Eastgate is always going to be hazardous and Demidov repopped another 3.425 million. Schwartz called, but after a rag flop and a bet of 7 million from the Russian, Schwartz let it go.

It had been a long day. Most people were up and milling about the Rio just after sunrise. The line to the Penn and Teller Theater formed at 8am. More than 1,000 people filled the seats while hundreds of others waited outside for their chance to watch history. By the time 6:15 rolled around, the hour folks had to eat was just enough to find a pile of BBQ brisket and shove it in their faces with all speed.

Fast eating, a long day, and the intense pressure of the final table could only mean one thing: food coma. Right?

Well it started off that way, For the first half hour after dinner, there wasn't much action of which to speak. It was the poker equivalent of unbuckling one's belt after a feast. Poker metabolisms working such as they do, though, there was little doubt the action would pick up.

With an opening raise usually being in the region of 1.2 million, the stacks are suddenly looking not quite as intimidating as they once did. Darus Suharto has about ten of those raises to play with and is wisely staying out the way. Scott Montgomery and Ivan Demidov, on the other hand, are mixing it up and the most notable pot in the past hour went to the Canadian, who raised 1.2 million pre-flop and then called Demidov's 2.75 million re-raise. The turn brought the 9d and Montgomery bet 3 million, which finally got rid of the Russian.

Then, in a hand that seemed similar to start with, Dennis Phillips and Peter Eastgate got involved. Eastgate opened and Phillips re-raised to 2.6 million.

The flop was 2d-Kd-2s and Phillips checked. Eastgate bet 3 million and Phillips to 3 million and Phillips found out where he was by raising to 7 million. He got an emphatic answer - "You're behind," Eastgate said in poker speak, as he shoved all in. Phillips folded and Easgate took over the chip lead.

Then, in a battle of the blinds, Ylon Schwartz took a pot off Montgomery. Small-ish, but they all count.

Speaking of food comas and the cities that can serve as their catalyst, Dennis Phillps had this to say to us earlier about Sin City.

Watch WSOP Final Table: Dennis's Feelings on Vegas on PokerStars.tv

Kelly Kim eliminated in 8th place

There were people--smart people--who believed Kelly Kim and his stack of 2 million starting chips wouldn't last ten hands today. Those people--those smart people--were wrong. Kim's day lasted five hours. What's more, he outlasted one more player than expected. Finally, though, in the wake of Craig Marquis' exit, Kim barely had enough chips to survive the day. He got all his chips in against three players, a good enough spot by any form of accounting. He held pocket fours.

The last thing he wanted to see was people betting into the dry side pot. It happened, though, On a flop of 9h-6s-2s, Ivan Demidov bet out and got called by Darus Suharto. Demidov and Suharto checked down the rest of the board, Ah and Qd.

Suharto ended up showing down 9c-Tc for the win and the side pot. Kim was elminated in eighth place earning $1,288,217, $300,000 more than he would've made for busting out in ninth. Suharto, meanwhile, quietly padded his growing stack - although he wouldn't be padding it for too long.

Some massive action took place late in the hour, with Suharto and Demidov again getting heavily involved, with the Russian's strong arm taking this one and costing Suharto 12 million of his 16 million stack. It went like this: Suharto raised from the cut off and Demidov re-raised to 3.3 million from the small blind. Suharto called and they saw a flop of 9s-7c-Kc. Demidov bet 3.125 million and Suharto tanked for ages before re-raising another 5 million. That seemed to anger the Russian and he moved all in, which asked Suharto the question for his tournament life. It didn't seem as though he could fold, but fold he did and that was that.

Just moments ago, short-stacked Suharto moved all-in from the blinds for a little more than one million chips. He had Ac-Kh. Ylon Schwartz, in an attempt to moved the event to a six-handed affair made the call. it was Ac-Kh for Suharto and Qc-8s for Schwartz. The flop, 2h-6s-Qh, made it look grim for Suharto, but a running ace and king doubled him up right before the break.

Earlier we showed you part one of a Suharto interview with our video blog team. Here's Part 2.

Watch WSOP Final Table: Darus Suharto Player Profile P2 on PokerStars.tv

David "Chino" Rheem, who managed to double up through the chipped up Russian. They got it all in pre-flop, with Rheem holding Ac-Kh and Demidov finding 9s-9h. The flop was favorable only to Demidov - 7h-8s-5d. But the turn was the Kd and then Demidov missed all his redraw outs on the river.

Rheem had been left short because of the early-level action, where after the quick-fire departures of Marquis and Kim, the remaining seven took stock and slowed down, realizing that really only Rheem was in any danger--and even he was not that low at that time. He certainly had enough to raise 1 million from under the gun, then lay it down when Suharto defended his big blind in the most emphatic way possible, with an all in move, which comfortably covered Rheem. Rheem didn't look like he wanted to fold--he had committed a quarter of his stack--but possibly had nothing better than a small pair, or even suited connectors, and figured Suharto had much more.

In other action from the hour, Dennis Phillips' cheering section found their voice as their man took two pots pre-flop, pinching the blinds and antes. They're now at a sizeable 200,000-400,000 with a 50,000 ante and so are well worth pilfering. Looking at the blinds is always an interesting way to gague a tournament's progression. If you remember that at the start of this tournament, when there were still 6,700 hopefuls, each player got a starting stack of 20,000 in chips for their $10,000 real money. So the small blind now represents 10 of those original starters, the big blind is the equivalent of 20 plucky competitors, and even the ante accounts for a couple of them. That's progress.

Players are now on a 20-minute break.

Phillips doubles, Chino stumbles

It took until the last hand before the break, but it was worth the wait. David Chino Rheem came in for a raise to 800,000 and Dennis Phillips moved all-in for 3.7 million more. Rheem struggled over his call, but eventually made the decision to put in the chips. It was Qd-Qs for Phillips and Jd-Jc for Rheem. As Phillips' supporters went crazy in the stands, Phillips himself turned his back to the table, unable to watch. He had little reason to worry. The board ran out 3s-5d-Kc-9d-6h and Phillips recovered from could've been a penthouse to outhouse afternoon.

Depending on your bookie, the over/under line on the finish time for the night ranges from 1:50am to 4:30am. We currently have the over on 1:50am, and, at least three hours into the day, our bet looks good.

No matter how long it takes, the final table will play down to two players tonight. Early predictions had Peter Eastgate and Chino Rheem pushing the action while the other players take a more measured approach. It's good we didn't bet on those forecasts, because the action could not have played out any differently so far. Dennis Phillips, Ylon Schwartz, and Ivan Demidov have been the action players in the first couple levels of play. Though we have seen more than a couple all-in moves, every one of the November 9 remains at the table.

While there is no accounting for moods and styles today, we know it's different for everybody. Just check out part 2 of our interview with some former world champions.

Watch WSOP Final Table: Former Champions Part 2 on PokerStars.tv

Despite the slow-down in action, the past hour did see some other chip movement with Ylon Schwartz's surge up the leaderboard continuing in dramatic fashion. The Brooklyn man took decent pots from his fellow PokerStars Million Dollar Men Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov and is now the comfortable chip leader.

In the first of those hands, Eastgate made a standard pre-flop raise from early position and Schwartz re-raised to 2.75 million from two off the button. Eastgate called. The flop came 8c-9c-2s and Eastgate checked, encouraging Schwartz to bet 2 million. Eastgate called. There was the same check-bet pattern on the turn of Ah, but this time Eastgate couldn't find the call of Schwartz's 3 million bet.

But Schwartz wasn't done. He had hardly started. Demidov made a pre-flop raise to 775,000, which was 475,000 more than Schwartz's big blind. Schwartz called. The flop came 2d-Kh-10h and first to act, Schwartz bet 1,150,000. Demidov called. The 3d turned and Schwartz fired out 2.5 million, which Demidov also called, and they saw the 6h on the river, which filled any flush draws. Schwartz now slowed down and checked, but he was going nowhere when Demidov slid in 3.7 million. Schwartz called and showed Kc-10c for flopped two pair, which had outdrawn Demidov's Ad-Kd.

Schwartz now has more than 40 million.

At the other end of the ladder, Kelly Kim finally got his micro-stack in the middle and earned the double up he was looking for. Demidov raised pre-flop from the small blind and Kim called all in for all of his 1 million chips from the big. He was in good shape with pocket kings, especially against Demidov's Kd-10d. No diamonds on the board and none on the turn and although Demidov picked up an inside straight draw, he didn't hit his three outer and Kim is still breathing.

In other time-passing news, we've seen a number of familiar faces in the crowd today. One-time EPT champion Tim Vance is here in support of Dennis Phillips. Hevad Khan and Barry Greenstein have been seen in the crowd. Greenstein wrote of the big Dennis Phillips vs Ivan Demidov earlier in his live blog, "It looks like two Queens folded to Aces or Kings, but we'll see on TV later. Dennis wouldn't tell me at the break, but he said he was dealt the first cooler."

If the action here isn't keeping you busy enough, we're keeping up with the WSOP Final Table chip counts. We also have a ton of great videos over at PokerStars.tv.