Winning is a Family Affair in Turlock

Tou Xiong Wins Main Event a Year After His Sister Did Same 

By Dan Ross - HoldemRadio.com 

One of the top stacks for much of day 2, and with the defending champion - his own sister - on his rail throughout - Tou Xiong took down the 2015 Players Championship Series Main Event last weekend at Turlock Poker Room in central California. 

The 253-entry main event field - with a $122,705 prize pool - took on a family-reunion feel to it as Xiong had his sister Mai - the 2014 PCS Main Event winner - his wife, his mother, brothers, sisters and more, 9 family in all on his rail as he worked his way patiently through the field to take down the $34,257 first prize. 

An example of his patience, 3-handed play took nearly two hours for a single elimination as Xiong worked methodically to put himself in position to defeat Paul Mayer (2nd) and Seay Vay (3rd). Xiong, Mayer and Vay all spent time as 3-handed chipleader, although Xiong only gave up the top spot for a few hands each time before regaining control.  

Once heads-up, Mayer pushed all-in and doubled up quick, but a few hands later Xiong was on the winning end of an all-in, and the 13-hour final day came to a close, with Xiong embraced by family and enjoying the celebration of the family's second Main Event win in two years. 

With family gathered all around, talk turned to who would be the next Xiong to win as the family goes for a three-peat next year. Tou's wife said she wants to be next, while Mai said "She doesn't know how to play … yet .. but we'll teach her how and have her here next year!" 

The final table began with Damion Underwood - the eventual overall Series Champion - as chipleader, with Xiong, Ken Huynh and Tuan Mai as the other top stacks. Play was as methodical as Xiong early on, then a rapid series of bustouts brought the field from 9 down to 4 players in barely one 40-minute level. 

Underwood lost his chiplead being on the wrong end of on all-in to Mayer with 6 players remaining, then he battled as a shortstack until claiming 4th place. That finish, along with a victory in Event 7 and a 4th place in the opening event of the series, gave Underwood the overall series title and a fantastic prize. 

As Series Champion, Underwood receives one complimentary entry into every Turlock Poker Room tournament - there's two tourneys most days - for a full year. This prize, along with the winner's jacket, trophy and his photo banner to be hung in the poker room, is valued at more than $25,000. 

There was suspense down to the end for who would earn the Series Champion title, however. Ben Silva had cahsed in the Main Event, earning additional points, and was entered in the final series event, a $115 with $50 bounties. Silva, Nabil Esho, Rick Peterson and Stephen Herrera all had a shot at the overall title based on how Underwood finished. With Underwood out 4th in the main, Silva was the only one left who could take the overall title, and he needed an Event 9 win. 

There was no last-minute win to be found, and Underwood claimed the title and the year's worth of complimentary tournament entries. 

Turnout for every event of the series was strong, with the 253-entry field for the $550 buyin Main Event setting an all-time record for field size for a Turlock Poker Room tournament. The overall Series Championship title kept a large group of players coming in daily in search of the top prize, with the top-10 in points constantly shuffling around. 

Main Event Results

1	Tou Xiong	Merced, CA	$34,357
2	Paul Mayer	Turlock, CA	$20,246
3	Seay Vay	Merced, CA	$13,498
4	Damion Underwood	Turlock, CA	$9,387
5	Tuan Mai	San Jose, CA	$6,994
6	Armando Perez	Modesto, CA	$5,399
7	Mike Espinoza	Stockton, CA	$4,172
8	Jose Covarrubias	Turlock, CA	$3,068
9	Tony Martin	Modesto, CA	$2,209

Other winners during the 2015 Players Championship Series included. 

Connor Henderson - Event 1 - $180 with $50 Bounties 

Rick Peterson - Event 2 - $230 Hold'em 

Jeremy Gates - Event 4 - $75 'Raise It' 

Stephen Herrera - Event 5 - $100 with $25 Bounties 

Howard 'Tahoe' Andrew - Event 6 - $125 Omaha8 

Damion Underwood - Event 7 - $115 with $50 Bounties 

Rodney Washburn - Event 9 - $115 with $50 Bounties

Event 8 Results - $550 Main Event

Here are the results for Event 8 - $550 Main Event - in the 2015 Players Championship Series.

10/8-11/15
253 Entries
$122,705 Prize Pool
Paying 27 Places

Place	Name	City	Payout
1	Tou Xiong	Merced, CA	$34,357
2	Paul Mayer	Turlock, CA	$20,246
3	Seay Vay	Merced, CA	$13,498
4	Damion Underwood	Turlock, CA	$9,387
5	Tuan Mai	San Jose, CA	$6,994
6	Armando Perez	Modesto, CA	$5,399
7	Mike Espinoza	Stockton, CA	$4,172
8	Jose Covarrubias	Turlock, CA	$3,068
9	Tony Martin	Modesto, CA	$2,209
10	Ken Huynh	San Jose, CA	$1,718
11	Allan Kwong	Oakland, CA	$1,718
12	Justin Hall	Riverbank, CA	$1,718
13	Jashti Kumar	San Ramon, CA	$1,472
14	AK	Dublin, CA	$1,472
15	Anacleto Sandoval	Newman, CA	$1,472
16	Marty Fletcher	Turlock, CA	$1,288
17	Cheryl Svensen	Tracy, CA	$1,288
18	Richard Patterson	Turlock, CA	$1,288
19	Kevin Swift	Turlock, CA	$1,104
20	Lisa Jacobs	Merced, CA	$1,104
21	George Youkhanna	Modesto, CA	$1,104
22	Amador Igarta	Manteca, CA	$1,104
23	Joseph Smith	Hilmar, CA	$1,104
24	Raymond Whitmore III	Stockton, CA	$1,104
25	Anthony Winters	Livermore, CA	$1,104
26	Polol Babamirza	Turlock, CA	$1,104
27	Ben Silva	Turlock, CA	$1,104

  

Xiong's Two-Peat

Tou Xiong matched the results of his sister Mai's from last year and the Xiong family has now won back-to-back Turlock Poker Players Championship Series Main Events.

Xiong defeated Paul Mayer heads-up for the title and the $34,357 first prize.

Mayer started the day with just 41,700 chips, only 13BB, and played that all the way to a $20,246 cash.

2015 Players Championship Series Results

Here are the results from the 2015 Turlock Poker Room Players Championship Series.

Thursday, Oct. 1 
Event 1 - $180 w/$50 bounties - Connor Henderson winner

Sunday, Oct. 4
Event 2 - $230 Day 2 - Rick Peterson winner

Monday, Oct. 5
Event 4 - $75 'Raise it'  - Jeremy Gates winner

Tuesday, Oct. 6
Event 5 - $100 with $25 Bounties - Stephen Herrera winner

Wednesday, Oct. 7
Event 6 - $125 Omaha8 - Howard 'Tahoe' Andrew winner
Event 7 - $115 with $50 Bounties - Damion Underwood winner

Sunday, Oct. 11
Event 8 - $550 Main Event - Tou Xiong winner
Event 9 - $115 with $50 Bounties - Rodney Washburn winner

Even Again

Paul Mayer moves all in on an A-K-9 flop, and Tou Xiong calls. Mayer has a K but Xiong has a A and Xiong doubles, moving the chipstacks back to even

Barry Greenstein

Paul Mayer is all in for 2.535 million and Tou Xiong calls.

Mayer - A8
Xiong - 44

The flop is T-3-7, Q on the turn, and Barry Greenstein, "Ace On The River," and Mayer takes a commanding 5.2 million to 1.2 million chiplead.

Keep Playing

Paul Mayer is down to his last 8BB, and moves all in, called by Tou Xiong

Mayer - Q♦️3♥️
Xiong - K♠️8♠️

No help with the A♣️4♣️5♠️ flop or the 7♥️ turn, but that's a Q♥️ on the river. Mayer doubles to 2.2 million, and Xiong is at 4.15 million.

Back to Where They Started

Chipstacks are back now to where heads-up play began.

Tou Xiong - 4.9 milly
Paul Mayer - 1.4 milly

Blinds 60,000/120,000
Antes 20,000

All Square

Paul Mayer doubles through Tou Xiong, A8>AJ when Mayer catches his 8, and both players now have 3.15 million chips ... we're all square here in Level 31, blinds of 60,000/120,000 with 20,000 antes.

Each player has 26 BB.

2 for a Trophy

Paul Mayer, left, and Tou Xiong, right, are playing for the Players Championship Series Main Event title, $34,357, and the trophy in the middle.

Mayer Doubles

Paul Mayer is all in on the first heads up hand and Tou Xiong calls.

Mayer - J9

Xiong - A4

The board goes T-J-5-2-6 and Mayer doubles up

Xiong - 3.5 million

Mayer - 2.8 million

Heads Up for the Title

Tou Xiong has 4.9 million

Paul Mayer has 1.4 million

We're heads up for the 2015 Players Championship Series Main Event title.

$34,357 to the winner
$20,246 to the runner-up

Seay Vay -3rd Place

Seay Vay moves all in for his last 750,000 with A3 and is called by the AT of Tou Xiong.

The board runs out 7-K-Q-5-J and Vay is eliminated in 3rd place, collecting $13,498.

Xiong Takes the Lead

Seay Vay and Tou Xiong are mixing it up with the board showing A-7-A-8.

Vay bets 300,000.

"You have pocket 8s I hope you call me," says Vay, and Xiong makes the call

The 5d hits the river and Xiong leads out for 400,000, leaving 1.3 million behind, and Vay has 1 milly behind.

Vay exposes a 7d and does not fold, talking for a full two minutes, asking the payout difference between 2nd and 3rd place, then makes the call with T7.

Xiong shows KK and wins a huge pot.

Xiong - 3,800,000

Vay - 600,000

Paul Mayer - 1,900,000

Another Level

The blinds are up to 50,000/100,000 and 15,000 antes here in Level 30. Three-handed play has been going for an hour and a half now.

Tou Xiong - 2,350,000

Seay Vay - 2,200,000

Paul Mayer - 1,800,000

Oh Seay Can You See

No, he really can't, as Seay Vay just moved all in dark after losing with 77 all in to Paul Mayer's QQ.

He didn't get called.

Event 9 Results - $115 With $50 Bounties

Here are the results for Event 9 - $115 With $50 Bounties - in the 2015 Players Championship Series.

10/11/15
43 Entries
$2,150 Prize Pool
Paying 7 Places

Place	Name	Payout
1	Rodney Washburn	$380
2	Stefan Gomez	$380
3	Stephen Herrera	$380
4	Christine Merafuentes	$380
5	Shayne Heine	$380
6	Steven Abuah	$125
7	Kevin Swift	$125

  

Mayer Doubles

Paul Mayer slid down to his last 820,000 and moved all in, getting a call from Seay Vay.

Mayer - QQ

Vay - 77

The ladies hold and Mayer moves to 1.7 million.

Tu Xiong has 2.9 million as chipleader

Players Series Champion Results

Here are the point standings for the top 10 overall finishers in the 2015 Turlock Poker Room Players Championship Series.

Place	Name	Points
1	Damion Underwood	226.8
2	Stephen Herrera	162.8
3	Richard Peterson	151.2
4	Rodney Washburn	150.6
5	Benjamin Silva	138.2
6	Nabil Esho	125.8
7	Connor Henderson	118.8
8	Jeremy Gates	115.0
9	Victor Martinez	108.4
10	Dee Timmons	106.2

An Hour 3-Handed

Tou Xiong, Seay Vay and Paul Mayer have played 3-handed for more than an hour now. Here's what the chipcounts looks like.

Xiong - 3 million
Vay - 2.2 million
Mayer - 1.1 million

Level 28

Blinds 40000/80000

Antes 10000

Even 3-handed Stacks

2,190,000 - Seay Vay

2,125,000 - Tu Xiong

2,010,000 - Paul Mayer

Level 27

Blinds 30000/60000

Antes 10000

Event 9 - $115 With $50 Bounties - PayTable

Here are the payouts for Event 9 - $115 With $50 Bounties - in the 2015 Players Championship Series.

10/11/15
43 Entries
$2,150 Prize Pool
Paying 5 Places

Place	Payout
1	$775
2	$537
3	$344
4	$279
5	$215

  

Mayer Doubles Through Xiong

One of the first hands back from break, Paul Mayer picks up JJ and doubles through Tou Xiong.

Mayer - 2,000,000
Xiong - 1,650,000

3-Handed Break

the final three players in the Main Event are on a 15-minute break. Here are their chipcounts

3,010,000 - Seay Vay

2,555,000 - Tou Xiong

1,365,000 - Paul Mayer

Underwood Wins Series Championship Title

With a 4th place finish in the Main Event, along with a win in Event 7 and a 4th in the opening weekend $230 Hold'em,  Damion Underwood takes down the 2015 Players Championship Series title.

Be prepared to see Damion around Turlock Poker Room a LOT in the coming 12 months, as he just won one complimentary entry into EVERY onsite tournament from Nov. 1, 2015 through Oct. 31, 2016.

New Chipleader

The board reads 7♦️Q♦️4♥️5♥️ and here's where the action gets fun.

Seay Vay makes it 80,000 and Tu Xiong raises to 260,000. Vay 4-bets to 585,000 and Xiong takes his time before making the call.

Vay has 1,130,000 behind and when the 6♠️ hits the river he goes ahead and moves all in. There's a bit of quiet time, then Vay gets up and jokes that he's headed away from the table for a bit.

Xiong folds and Vay says, "Want me to show?"

Before he gets an answer, Vay turns over A♣️6♥️ for 3rd pair, top kicker

Seay Vay - 2,650,000
Tu Xiong - 2,355,000

Paul Mayer - 1,320,000

Raise, Win

Tou Xiong, Seay Vay and Paul Mayer are playing three-handed raise-it-take-it right now as we haven't seen a flop in the last 12 hands.

Level Up

3 players now in Level 27, blinds of 25000/50000 with 5000 antes. The SB is the same size as the Day 1 starting stack.

3-Handed Chipcounts

3.4 Million - Tou Xiong

1.5 Million - Seay Vay

1.4 Million - Paul Mayer

Silva Can Win Out

Ben Silva needs to win Event 9 - $115 with $50 Bounties - to take the 2015 Players Championship Title. Damion Underwood is atop the standings with 226.8 and Silva has 138.2 - with 100 points awarded to the winner of the bounty tourney.

Underwood out 4th

With a bit of preflop action already taken place, Damion Underwood moves all in for his last 325,000, and Seay Vay is trying to decide whether to call off 45 percent of his remaining chips.

You ain't called yet, you ain't ahead, I'll tell you that much," says Underwood.

Im gonna have to gamble sometime," says Vay ... who eventually adds, "OK, I'm gonna gamble now."

"Oh, maybe you do have me," says Underwood as he gets called

Vay - 66
Underwood - A9

"I tried to talk him into a fold," says Underwood and neither of his overcards hit and he is eliminated in 4th place, winning $9,387 and holding a huge lead in the Series Title race, albeit Ben Silva has a sliver of a chance now.

Series Champ Update

Ben Silva has 10BB with 19 players left in Event 9 - $115 with $50 Bounties.

Damion Underwood has 12 BB in Event 8 - $550 Main Event.

Underwood holds the Series Points lead, with Silva in third. Underwood closes out the title with a 1st or 2nd place finish.

Silva has an outside shot at the series title if underwood finishes 3rd or 4th.

4-Handed Chipcounts

2.5 million - Tu Xiong

2.2 million - Paul Mayer

1.2 million - Seay Vay

500,000 - Damion Underwood

Family Back-to-Back?

Tuan Mai rivers a straight, but he was drawing dead as Tu Xiong had turned a full house and now Xiong - whose sister Mai won this event a year ago - has 2.7 million of the 6.4 million chips in play 4-handed.

Mai earns $6,994 for his 5th place finish.

Xiong, with the baseball cap, is pictured at the final table with family in the background, including sister Mai - 3rd from right. (Mario Alvarez Photo)

5-Handed Chipcounts

Paul Mayer - 1,695,000

Tuan Mai - 1,450,000

Tu Xiong - 1,370,000

Seay Vay - 1,300,000

Damion Underwood - 475,000

Straight, Meet Straight

Armando Perez turns a straight, all-in for his tournament life against Paul Mayer, only to see Mayer river Broadway and knock Perez out in 6th place. Perez cashes for $5,399

Right before that, we lost Mike Espinoza in 7th, ($4,172) Jose Covarrubias in 8th ($3,068) and Tony Martin in 9th. ($2,209)

The bustouts are fast and furious right now at the final table.

4 Can Win Series Points Title

We're down to 4 players who can still win the 2015 Players Championship title.

-- Damion Underwood - 8-handed in the Main Event.

-- Ben Silva, Nabil Esho and Stephen Herrera - all playing the $115 with $50 Bounties. There's a bunch of mathematical ways these three can win the title, but here's the simplest way to start.

• Herrera is eliminated if Underwood finishes 5th or better
• Esho is eliminated if Underwood finishes 4th or better
• Silva is eliminated if Underwood finishes 1st or 2nd

Payouts 10-18th

Here are the payouts in 10-18th place in the 2015 Players Championship Main Event.

Place	Name	City	Cash
10	Ken Huynh	San Jose, CA	$1,718
11	Allan Kwong	Oakland, CA	$1,718
12	Justin Hall	Riverbank, CA	$1,718
13	Jashti Kumar	San Ramon, CA	$1,472
14	AK	Dublin, CA	$1,472
15	Anacleto Sandoval	Newman, CA	$1,472
16	Marty Fletcher	Turlock, CA	$1,288
17	Cheryl Svensen	Tracy, CA	$1,288
18	Richard Patterson	Turlock, CA	$1,288

  

Down to 9

We couldn't get through the crowd gathered at the rail in time to see what hand brought the end of the night of Ken Huynh, but we are at the official 9-handed final table now.

They're Baaaaack

An hour of 10-handed play and an hour dinner break ... here they go with blinds now at 15000/30000 and 5000 antes ... 10 FTW

40 Bounties

40 entries so far in the final event of the 2015 Players Championship Series - a $115 with $50 bounties .. and there's still about 30 minute left in registration.

Dinner Break Chipcounts

Here are the chipcounts for the final 10 players in the Main Event as they take a well-deserved hour-long dinner break.

1,515,000 - Paul Mayer
1,130,000 - Tuan Mai
860,000 - Tu Xiong
740,000 - Seay Vay
530,000 - Armando Perez
520,000 - Damion Underwood
355,000 - Jose Covarrubias
255,000 - Ken Huynh
190,000 - Mike Espinoza
170,000 - Tony Martin

Big Chip Swing

Damion Underwood makes it 62,000 from the button and Paul Mayer bumps it to 144,000 from the BB. Mayer seems rather eager to let Underwood see he has some 600,000 or so behind ... and Underwood makes the call.

The flop is 9♣️2♥️4♣️ and Mayer slides 100,000 out in front of him. Underwood announces all-in and Mayer snap-undershoves.

Underwood - 77
Mayer - JJ

There's a J on turn, Underwood drawing dead and preparing to send a boatload of chips Mayer's way as the dealer counts out 594,000, Mayer's stack.

Paul Mayer - 1,512,000
Damion Underwood - 520,000

Give 'em a Dinner Break, Adam

The remaining 10 players have reached their hour-long dinner break for the day. When they return, blinds move to 15000/30000 and 5000 antes.

Series Title Still Up For Grabs

Damion Underwood's finish place here in the Main Event is going to determine whether anyone can catch him for the 2015 Players Series Championship and the top prize of a year's worth of complimentary entries to every Turlock Poker Room tournament.

So, Who can catch Underwood today based on how he finishes? Remember, he is chipleader at the 10-handed final table,, but ... here's who could catch Underwood based on where he finishes ..

9th or 10th place finish
Rick Peterson, Ben Silva, Nabil Esho, Connor Henderson, Jeremy Gates, Stephen Herrera, Victor Martinez, Dee Timmons, Brandi Boehme, Tahoe Andrew, Nate Bolinger or Vincent Filipinas

8th place finish
Peterson, Silva, Esho, Henderson, Gates, Herrera, Martinez, Timmons, Boehme, Andrew

7th place finish
Peterson, Silva, Esho, Henderson, Gates, Herrera, Martinez, Timmons,

6th place finish
Peterson, Silva, Esho, Henderson, Gates, Herrera,

5th place finish
Peterson, Silva, Esho, Henderson,

3rd or 4th place finish
Peterson, Silva,

1st or 2nd place finish
Nobody could catch Damion.

And Then There Were 10

We have achieved final table status here in the 2015 Players Championship Series Main Event. Here are the players in seat position order - with official chipcounts.

1. Tony Martin - 110,000
2. Paul Mayer - 742,000
3. Seay Vay - 891,000
4. Armando Perez - 287,000
5. Ken Huynh - 280,000
6. Tu Xiong - 977,000
7. Jose Covarrubias - 321,000
8. Mike Espinoza - 297,000
9. Tuan Mai - 913,000
10. Damion Underwood - 1,597,000

Hall 12th

Tu Xiong raises to 60,000 and Justin Hall in the BB moves all in for his last 110,000 and Xiong makes the call

Hall - KQ
Xiong - A4

The board blanks 6-6-4-8-9 and Hall is eliminated in 12th place, cashing for $1,718.

Mayer Doubles

Paul Mayer leads out for 60,000 and Ken Huynh asks to see how many chips Mayer has behind. There's 3 stacks of 5k's, so at least 300,000. Huynh announces all-in, having Mayer covered - a move Huynh has done a few times here preflop with 12 remaining.

Mayer calls and we're off to the flop

Mayer - AQ
Huynh - KJ

The board runs out 8-T-8-8-A and Mayer doubles.

Paul Mayer - 670,000
Ken Huynh - 265,000

Leaders at 1.2 Each

Tuan Mai and Damion Underwood - both at Table 8 - both have 1.2 million in chips with 12 players remaining.

The two chipleaders combine for 38 percent of all the chips in play right now.

30 Minutes to $50 Bounties

Event 9 - the final event in the 2015 Players Championship Series - a $115 with $50 bounties, kicks off here at 6pm

10,000 stacks, 20-minute blinds, late registration and unlimited re-entries until about 8:15pm, the start of Level 7.

Underwood Goes Set

Damion Underwood - the overall  leader in the Series Championship points race - just hit a set of tens on the flop against the AK of Anacleto Sandoval for a 775,000 pot, leaving Sandoval with just 3 antes.

Sandoval was eliminated on the very next hand,  cashing in 15th place for $1,288.

Underwood is in a strong position to close out the Series Championship in the main event, taking home a year's worth of complimentary entries into all Turlock Poker Room tournaments.

17th for Cheri

Cheri Svensen came back from break with just 62,000 chips and the blinds going to 8000/16000. She said she was looking for a quick double up and a few more after that.

She did get a double through Mike Espinoza, then moved all in again with TT against her opponent's AQ, but an A came on the turn, and Svensen is eliminated in 17th place, cashing for $1,288

Level 22

Blinds 8000/16000

Antes 200

Players 16

Champ Family

Mia Xiong won the 2014 Players Championship Series Main Event and now her brother Tu is making a serious run at the 2015 title.

Xiong just knocked Richard Patterson out in 18th place, moving to more than 600,000 chips and a top-5 stack.

Photo by Sophia Leon

Lets Play More

The final 18 players are back from a 15-minute break, scattered across two tables.

Level 22

Blinds 8000/16000

Antes 2000

Players 18

Updated Chipcounts

Here are updated chipcounts for the remaining 18 players in the 2015 Players Championship Series.

1,119,000 - Tuan Mai
777,000 - Seay Vay
723,000 - Armando Perez
673,000 - Damion Underwood
555,000 - Tu Xiong
458,000 - Jashti Kumar
437,000 - Anacleto Sandoval
284,000 - Ken Huynh
269,000 - Jose Covarrubias
216,000 - Paul Mayer
199,000 - Justin Hall
175,000 - Mike Espinoza
127,000 - Tony Martin
113,000 - AK
87,000 - Allan Kwong
81,000 - Richare Patterson
62,000 - Cheri Svensen
48,000 - Marty Fletcher

Payouts 19-27th

Here are the payouts in 19-27th place in the 2015 Players Championship Main Event.

Place	Name	City	Cash
19	Kevin Swift	Turlock, CA	$1,104
20	Lisa Jacobs	Merced, CA	$1,104
21	George Youkhanna	Modesto, CA	$1,104
22	Amador Igarta	Manteca, CA	$1,104
23	Joseph Smith	Hilmar, CA	$1,104
24	Raymond Whitmore III	Stockton, CA	$1,104
25	Anthony Winters	Livermore, CA	$1,104
26	Polol Babamirza	Turlock, CA	$1,104
27	Ben Silva	Turlock, CA	$1,104

  

Silva First Out

Ben Silva, who started the day 2nd in chips, is the first player eliminated in the money in today's Main Event, collecting $1,104 for his 27th place finish.

Level 21

6000/12000

Antes 2000

Players 26

The Final 27

Here are the final 27 players, by seat assignment, in the 2015 Players Champioinship Series.

Table 6
1. Mike Espinoza
2. Amador Igarta
3. Cheri Svensen
4. Richard Patterson
5. Marty Fletcher
6. Lisa Jacobs
7. Seay Vay
8. Tu Xiong
9. Kevin Smith

Table 8
1. Raymond Whitmore III
2. Justin Hall
3. Geoge Youkhanna
4. Paul Mayer
5. Joe Smith
6. Tuan Mai
7. Ken Huynh
8. Anacleto Sandoval
9. AK

Table 10
1. Jashti Kumar
2. Damion Underwood
3. Poloc Babamirza
4. Armando Perez
5. Jose Covarrubias
6. Anthony Winters
7. Allan Kwong
8. Tony Martin
9. Ben Silva

Money, Money, Money, Moooney

Josh Montgomery's KK didn't hold up against the 99 of Tuan Mai as Mai goes 4-flush on him, and the bubble has burst. One table breaks, we get a host of players moving around and we've totally lost track of everyone.

We'll get you a new seatmap here in a few moments.

Hand-for-Hand

We're on the money bubble here in the Main Event, a $1,104 mincash at least for 27 players and one goes home empty-handed.

Damion Underwood's gutshot gets there against the flopped two pair of Mark Fujimoto.

Level  20

Blinds 5000/10000

Antes 1000

Players 28

No Bubble Bust

There was a proposal to take $550 from both first and second places to pay 28-29th places their money back, but at least one player said no, so we play on.

Level 20

Blinds 5000/10000

Antes 1000

Players 28

Short Stack Ninja Time

Both Lisa Jacobs and Joe Smith have moved all in as short stacks here with 29 left, only to get no callers, so we remain 2 from the money

Bounty Tourney Tonight

Don't forget the final event of the 2015 Players Championship Series goes at 6pm today - Event 9, a $115 with $50 bounties.

A LOT of players still have a shot at taking down the overall Series Championship title and the one comped entry into a year's worth of Turlock Poker Room tournaments. Be sure to get your money into the prize pool tonight.

Players start with 10,000 chips and play 20-minute levels. Late registration is open until about 8:15pm, the start of Level 7.

One From the Bubble

29 remain as Jackie @MamaJaws Wesley is among those eliminated early in this level, leaving us just one away from hand-for-hand play today.

Level 19

Blinds 4000/8000

Antes 1000

Players 29

Updated Chipcounts

Here are updated chipcounts - by table and seat - for the remaining 32 players in today's 2015 Players Championship Series Main Event.

Table 6

208,000 - Anthony Winters

333,500 - Allan Kwong

89,000 - Kevin Swift

103,000 - Josh Montgomery

256,000 - Mike Espinoza

355,500 - Paolo Babamirza

129,500 - Paul Mayer

196,500 - Tuan Mai

Table 7

51,400 - Jashti Kumar

182,000 - George Youkhanna

85,500 - Joe Smith

453,500 - Raymond Whitmore III

261,000 - Anacleto Sandoval

469,000 - Damion Underwood

123,000 - Mark Fujimoto

Table 8

44,500 - AK

178,500- Richard Patterson

261,000 - Amador Igarta

20,000 - Jackie Wesley

244,000 - Ben Silva

255,500 - Ken Huynh

164,000 - Cheri Svensen

60,500 - Rick Peterson

65,000 - Jose Covarrubias

Table 10

277,000 - Tony Martin

89,000 - Lisa Jacobs

301,000 - Seay Vay

121,500 - Justin Hall

262,000 - Tu Xiong

519,000 - Armando Perez

170,500 - Marty Fletcher

92,000 - Victor Martinez

Whitmore Gets Hinchcliffe

Chris Hinchcliffe moves all in on the last hand before break and gets called by Raymond Whitmore III.

Hinchcliffe - QQ
Whitmore - KK

The board goes K♦️6♦️4♦️, but neither player has a diamond. The Q♦️ on the turn makes it set over set, and the 4♥️ is boat over boat.

Hinchcliffe is eliminated in 34th place, 7 from the money, and Whitmore moves to a top-5 stack with 453,000.

The players are now on a 15-minute break, we'll have chipcounts for everyone when we return.

One for Sandoval

Chris Hinchcliffe makes it 15000 from the SB and Anacleto Sandoval obliges from the BB, and we're off to the flop.

A♣️9♠️6♣️

Hinchcliffe checks, Sandoval makes it 40,000 and Hinchcliffe calls. Both players check the 2h♥️ turn and the J♠️ river.

Hinchcliffe shakes his head as Sandoval tables bottom two from the flop - 69 - and scoops the 117,000-chip pot.

No Thunder for Avalos

Justo Avalos of Elk Grove has a history of #RunGood at his home poker room of Thunder Valley - where he won the 2014 Ante Up World Championships and this year was runner-up in the same event.

Today, Avalos comes up 8 players shy of the money. On his final hand he picks up AK against 66, catches his A on the flop, then sees his opponent river a flush to end the day.

Gold a Bit Lower Today

Craig Gold is one of the best shortstack tournament players we've seen on the West Coast. Granted, he'd like to have more chips always, but a short stack never deters him and he can play that many times into the money.

Today, however, was not one of those days, and Gold is out 9 from the money in our Main Event.

1 Table to Bucks

We're down to 4 9-handed tables now, 36 in the Main Event. Two of the 4 shortstacks to start the day, both Jackie Wesley and Lisa Jacobs are making a run to turn those stacks into cash.

Bolinger Out

Nate Bolinger has been running well in northern California tournaments the past few months. Today, late in Level 16, Bolinger moves in and is called by Poloc Babamirza.

Bolinger - 99
Babamirza - AA

No improvement for Bolinger and he is eliminated 10 from the money.

10 to the $

Down to 37 players, and 27 make the money here as we approach Level 17 today, with $34,357 to the winner. A lot of well-chipstacked players have headed to the rail here and stacks are moving a lot.

Blinded Out

Well, folks, we asked y'all to go find Daryl Cortez and let him know Day 2 has started and his chips were in play. None of ya succeeded, apparently, as Cortez was just officially blinded off here in Level 17.

Level 17

Blinds 2500/5000

Antes 500

Players 39

What are They Playing For?

Here are the payouts for Event 8 - $550 Main Event With $75,000 Guaranteed - in the 2015 Players Championship Series.

10/8-11/15
253 Entries
$122,705 Prize Pool
Paying 27 Places

Place	Payout
1	$34,357
2	$20,246
3	$13,498
4	$9,387
5	$6,994
6	$5,399
7	$4,172
8	$3,068
9	$2,209
10-12	$1,718
13-15	$1,472
16-18	$1,288
19-27	$1,104

  

Paging Daryl Cortez

Hey, has anyone seen Daryl Cortez from Hayward? He's a no-show 35 minutes into the tourney. He only started with 43,500, and blinds are 2000/4000 so he's going to blind off before the money if her doesn't get here soon.

Dier Down

Here in the first level of Day 2, Darrel Dier runs his QQ into his opponent's KK and is eliminated 17 from the money.

Level 16

Blinds 2000/4000

Antes 500

Players 43

Today's Table of Death

Over at Table 5 are the three Day 1 overall chipleaders, lined up like a modern-poker-day version of Murderer's Row with Damion Underwood (Day 2), Mike Espinosa (Day 2) and Ben Silva (Day 1) all in a row there.

Underwood playfully asked who did the seat draw, Satan?

um, uh, Satan here, folks .. my bad....

Decorum, Please

10 minutes in to Day 2 and the whole room turns to hear a lot of yelling from table 10, and Armando Perez running towards the front door, slapping the ground and cheering because he knocked a player out, then yelling back at the player why he was so excited.

Come on, man. No matter how happy you are that you won, remember someone else just lost, and you don't want to be yelled at like that when you lose a hand, so don't yell at others.

No Magic for Angel

Um, uh, nope, not Chris Angel .. this was Joey Angel, the tournament's shortstack to start Day 2 with but 4BB. Apparently he couldn't make other stacks magically appear in front of him, and he is the first elimination of the day.

Off We Go

49 players remain here in Day 2 of the 2015 Players Championship Series Main Event, and cards are in the air with everyone looking long and hard at the $34,000-plus first prize.

Level 16

Blinds 2000/4000

Antes 500

Players 49

Day 2 Seat Assignments

Here is the Table Draw for Day 2 of the 2015 Players Championship Series Main Event.

Table 5

Seat	Name	City	Chipcount
1	Jashti Kumar	San Ramon, CA	170,400
2	George Youkhanna	Modesto, CA	214,900
3	Joe Smith	Hilmar, CA	210,300
4	Daryl Cortez	Hayward, CA	43,400
5	Chris Hinchcliffe	Olympia, WA	184,600
6	Anacleto Sandoval	Newman, CA	74,000
7	Adrian Espinoza	Merced, CA	47,900
8	Mark Fujimoto	Turlock, CA	132,800
9	Craig Gold	Belmont, CA	48,200

  

Table 6

Seat	Name	City	Chipcount
1	Anthony Winters	Livermore, CA	97,300
2	Brent Bixby	Modesto, CA	87,000
3	John Bettencourt	Stockton, CA	48,800
4	Josh Montgomery	Modesto, CA	61,900
5	Nathan Bolinger	Oakdale, CA	149,400
6	Open	x	x
7	Paul Mayer	Turlock, CA	47,100
8	Justo Avalos	Elk Grova, CA	108,400
9	Tuan Mai	San Jose, CA	167,900

  

Table 7

Seat	Name	City	Chipcount
1	Raymond Whitmore III	Stockton, CA	119,000
2	Justin Hall	Riverbank, CA	114,600
3	Joey Angel	Turlock, CA	15,000
4	Damion Underwood	Turlock, CA	223,500
5	Mike Espinosa	Stockton, CA	343,600
6	Ben Silva	Turlock, CA	318,200
7	Kevin Swift	Turlock, CA	142,700
8	Open	x	x
9	Tu Xiong	Merced, CA	168,600

  

Table 8

Seat	Name	City	Chipcount
1	AK	Dublin, CA	92,900
2	Richard Patterson	Turlock, CA	241,500
3	Amador Igarta	Manteca, CA	147,200
4	Jackie Wesley	Hanford, CA	40,100
5	Mike Cox	Turlock, CA	79,600
6	Ken Huynh	San Jose, CA	55,400
7	Cheryl Svensen	Tracy, CA	119,600
8	Open	x	x
9	Jose Covarrubias	Turlock, CA	91,500

  

Table 9

Seat	Name	City	Chipcount
1	William Wendling	San Jose, CA	47,100
2	Ryan May	Davis, CA	203,100
3	Poloc Babamirza	Turlock, CA	200,000
4	Rick Peterson	Oakdale, CA	120,000
5	Seay Vay	Merced, CA	196,200
6	Marty Fletcher	Turlock, CA	115,800
7	Nic Vu	San Rafael, CA	75,200
8	Allan Kwong	Oakland, CA	271,200
9	Open	x	x

  

Table 10

Seat	Name	City	Chipcount
1	Todd Crosswell	Hanford, CA	87,400
2	Tony Martin	Modesto, CA	166,200
3	Lisa Jacobs	Merced, CA	24,800
4	Open	x	x
5	Darrel Dier	Sacramento, CA	168,500
6	Jacob Morrow	Turlock, CA	82,900
7	Armando Perez	Modesto, CA	239,300
8	John Lozano	Fresno, CA	174,400
9	Victor Martinez	n/a	64,400