On Tuesday night, ESPN aired episodes 3 and 4 of the Big One for ONE DROP tournament from the 2014 World Series of Poker.
The initial two episodes saw the participant count in the $1 million buy-in tournament increase to 42 players, with the prize pool reaching $37,333,338. However, players were eliminated as quickly as they joined, leaving only 16 competitors at the commencement of Episode 3.
The two latest episodes provided viewers with everything, ranging from painful eliminations to intriguing players to watch. Moreover, the player field was narrowed down from 16 to the final nine who occupied seats at the ultimate table.
Episode 3: Exciting Notion of Repeat Heads-Up Match from 2012 Squashed
The TV episode began with Artist N-Q delivering his slick verse about the Big One for ONE DROP tournament.
The most prestigious poker tournament has already begun.
Thus far, we have witnessed all-ins, significant bluffs, and the postponement of million-dollar dreams.
We’ve observed some players transforming disadvantages into advantages.
However, the pressure is only escalating towards the biggest stage.
It is said that you are the creator of your own destiny.
I can’t wait for tonight when we’ll reduce to a final table.
First, however, we will see who passes the test and keeps up the pace.
Because poker isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon race.
The action began with Tom Hall leading in chips and the blinds set at 60K/120K with a 15K ante.
The episode began with a highlighted story about Antonio Esfandiari and Sam Trickett making it to the top 16. Notably, they ended in first and second place at the 2012 Big One event, respectively, sparking much chatter about a potential rematch.
Norman Chad, the commentator, stated that it would rank as the fifth most memorable rematch in history, following Ali vs Frazier, Magic vs Bird, John Quincy Adams vs Andrew Jackson, and Wile E. Coyote vs Road Runner.
The following players and their respective chip stacks were arranged on the feature table:
- Antonio Esfandiari has 15,825,000, Daniel Colman has 11,730,000, Sam Trickett has 8,985,000, Tobias Reinkemeier has 7,420,000, Phil Galfond has 5,635,000, Paul Newey has 5,305,000, Daniel Negreanu has 4,105,000, and Scott Seiver has 3,695,000.
Negreanu began by doubling up against Colman, holding pocket aces over tens. The Player Tracker indicated Negreanu’s rise to sixth place on the leaderboard. He continued to gain chips from Esfandiari, but ended up losing some to Reinkemeier.
In the meantime, Esfandiari won a pot from Trickett as they competed with relatively low cards. Esfandiari began with T-7 and hit a straight when 9-8-J appeared, while Trickett held a 9-6 that evolved into a lower straight after the 5 and 7 finalized the board. Esfandiari claimed the pot of 5.82 million chips.
In his first-ever WSOP tournament, Christoph Vogelsang was running low on chips at the outer table. However, he managed to double up through Ivey by having kings over tens.
Alert for a knockout: Anthony Gregg, who was short-stacked, went all-in with his last 12 big blinds using A-2 but faced Vogelsang’s pocket threes. The board revealing T-Q-5-T-T led to Gregg’s elimination, finishing in 16th place.
After taking a large pot from Cary Katz, Rick Solomon moved up to third place on the overall leaderboard with 11.6 million chips.
Reinkemeier won a pot worth almost 4.5 million chips from Negreanu, back at the feature table.
Warning of a potential elimination: Negreanu’s chip stack was experiencing fluctuations, but the forever self-assured Kid Poker stayed in the game. He went ahead and raised the stakes with J-9 of diamonds, to which Trickett responded by raising the bet from the small blind with pocket aces. Negreanu accepted the challenge, and the 6-9-5 rainbow flop resulted in two checks. Trickett placed a bet when the T appeared on the turn, and Negreanu responded with a call. When the 9 appeared on the river, Negreanu was handed a set. Trickett risked all his remaining 3,865,000 chips, and Negreanu decided to risk most of his chips in response, which resulted in Trickett’s elimination in the 15th position.
Though Esfandiari still had a chance to repeat the win, the hope of Trickett making it to the heads-up play again was no more.
Colman won a substantial pot of 8.38 million chips from Galfond, causing the latter to drop to ninth place in the chip counts. Subsequently, Newey managed to double through Galfond using A-K against A-Q, securing his position in the game. Meanwhile, Galfond’s chip count dwindled to 2.32 million, landing him in the last place on the board.
Vogelsang lost chips to Hall on another table, allowing Hall to retake the overall lead. Vogelsang then suffered more losses to Katz. Katz went all-in with his 3.65 million chips and A-Q, which Vogelsang responded to with K-8 of spades. This allowed Katz to double up to seventh place, while Vogelsang dropped to ninth place.
Alert for player elimination: Phil Ivey had been struggling all day and finally found himself in a hand with A-8 of hearts against Katz’s A-Q. The flop revealed Q-5-Q with two hearts, leading Katz to place a bet. Ivey countered with an all-in check-raise, which Katz quickly called with his three queens. The turn and river did not alter the situation, resulting in Ivey’s exit in the 14th position.
Episode 4: Esfandiari Runs the Opposite of His 2012 ONE DROP Performance
At the start of this episode, only 13 players were left, with Tom Hall leading the pack with 21,185,000 chips. Katz was a close second with 14,435,000 chips, followed closely by Rick Salomon in third place.
This feature table showcased these players along with their respective stacks of chips:
- Scott Seiver has 12,450,000; Daniel Colman has 12,100,000; Antonio Esfandiari has 11,845,000; Tobias Reinkemeier has 9,685,000; Daniel Negreanu has 7,385,000; Paul Newey has 7,125,000; and Phil Galfond has 2,310,000.
Galfond didn’t waste much time in going all-in with his short stack using Q-T from the big blind. The game began with Esfandiari raising an A-Q from the button, with Negreanu answering from the small blind with a K-J of clubs. Galfond also entered the fray, leading to a flop of 7-2-4, all clubs. Galfond, holding the queen of clubs, went all-in, prompting Esfandiari to call. However, Negreanu raised the stakes by going all-in with the flush, leading to an annoyed Esfandiari folding. The game ended with a J-2, leading to Galfond’s exit in 13th place.
At that point, Negreanu was in fifth place and became a key part of the episode’s narrative as it followed his ascent in the chip counts. However, his performance was contrasted by the challenging action experienced by the reigning champion, Esfandiari.
Esfandiari managed to break away from the downward spiral by winning a pot worth 15.28 million chips from Reinkemeier, which propelled him into third place.
Salomon demonstrated his prowess on the outer table, using K-T of hearts to challenge Vogelsang’s A-K. Despite the board yielding no results, Vogelsang ultimately decided to fold, resulting in a 9.53 million-chip pot for Salomon. With his earnings, Salomon secured second place with over 17 million.
Caution: Gabe Kaplan was in a tough spot for awhile and risked just under 3 million chips, going all-in with A-Q. Unfortunately, he came up against Salomon’s pocket sixes. The T-T-T-5-7 board resulted in Kaplan being eliminated, finishing in 12th place.
Salomon then assumed the chip lead with 2,550,000 chips, accounting for 16 percent of all those in play. He soon expanded his lead by winning an additional 8 million-chip pot from Hall, the former chip leader.
Negreanu’s journey through the episode was not without hiccups; he began by surrendering 8 million chips to Reinkemeier. However, he managed to win about 5.2 million chips from Colman. Additionally, Negreanu discussed the ONE DROP tournament with ESPN.
The One Drop tournament stands out from other similar events because of a unique aspect – it is not just the staggering $1M buy-in, but the significant fact that nearly $5M is generated to provide water to those less privileged who lack access to clean drinking water. This is the factor that truly sets it apart. Without this, it would simply be a gathering of affluent individuals wagering large sums of money they can easily spare. What I appreciate most about this event is its charitable angle.
Despite the situation, a significant sum of money was up for grabs, and Vogelsang was keen on winning a portion. He managed to double against Brandon Steven using pocket nines over A-K, pushing Vogelsang up to the third position. Steven was visibly frustrated by the turn of events, now left with only 475K chips.
Warning of a bustout: Steven went all-in with Q-9, risking his last chips, and Katz responded by calling with T-7. Katz then got lucky on the river, drawing another seven. This resulted in Steven being eliminated unhappily in 11th place.
Colman outranked Seiver at the feature table and ascended to fourth place. He also aggressively went all-in with A-J, following an initial raise from Esfandiari who also held A-J. This clearly irked Esfandiari, who consequently folded.
The broadcast incorporated Colman’s refusal to interact with the media. As Norman Chad read out parts of Colman’s biography, he highlighted Colman’s lack of interest in speaking to the media, attributing it to his inner conflict about the game and disinterest in promoting poker. Chad then gave his take on the situation, remarking, “Huh. So evidently, the most effective way to abstain from promoting poker is to participate in a $1 million buy-in event broadcasted on national TV.”
Esfandiari’s difficulties persisted in his fight against Reinkemeier. Reinkemeier went all-in, betting over 7 million chips with A-K, while Esfandiari responded with A-9 suited. The board showed no help, resulting in Reinkemeier’s doubling to 14.7 million chips. Meanwhile, Esfandiari was left as the short stack with only 5.65 million chips remaining.
By winning a pot worth over 11 million chips from Reinkemeier, Colman moved towards the top of the leaderboard.
Alert for a knockout: Reinkemeier was not finished yet. He studied his A-J hand and eyed Esfandiari’s stack. Reinkemeier made a raise, but Esfandiari responded by going all-in with an A-5, betting his remaining 5 million chips. Reinkemeier accepted the challenge, holding the upper hand, and his position only got better when a jack appeared on the turn. Defending champion Esfandiari was eliminated, finishing in tenth place.
When the episode ended, Reinkemeier was on top of the chip counts.
The final nine players counted out their stacks, which averaged at 14 million chips each.
- Tobias Reinkemeier 22,700,000
- Rick Salomon 20,175,000
- Daniel Colman 20,025,000
- Daniel Negreanu 17,800,000
- Tom Hall 13,125,000
- Cary Katz 11,775,000
- Christoph Vogelsang 10,925,000
- Scott Seiver 6,100,000
- Paul Newey 3,375,000
Don’t forget to join us next week for the finale!
