2012 World Series of Poker

Things did not go well for Brock Parker in his match with Joseph Cheong. It's over.

Cheong opened the last hand to 10,000 from the button. Parker only had about 75,000 chips left, and his was plenty good enough to go with. Cheong called with , though, and he was a favorite to advance.

The flop was a bad start for Parker, putting him in a big hole with two to come. The turn gave him another few outs to make Broadway, but the river slammed the door. The was the last card off the deck and the last card of Parker's day. He's out in the Round of 16, and Cheong is movin' on — three matches from a bracelet.

Over at Randy Haddox's table we found him limping in preflop from the small blind. Ryan Leng then checked and both players saw a flop. It was here that Leng checked and Haddox bet out 11,000. A call was made and both players were off to the turn.

A on the turn brought checks from both players. With a river Leng check-raised to 34,000 after a 15,000 bet from Haddox. Haddox then moved all in, and was called by Leng. Haddox flipped over for a full house fives over aces while his opponent Leng flipped over the and was eliminated.

Mike Matusow just showed up along the rail. He's loud. Craning his neck to see who was here, Matusow found himself disappointed.

"I've only ever seen one person here in my life."

We're pretty sure that 'one person' is Joseph Cheong, but we've got a pretty solid field left right now, regardless of what The Mouth thinks. There's this kid named Marvin Rettenmaier, for starters...

Joseph Cheong has just taken a big lead in his tough match with Brock Parker.

The two men tangled up in a preflop raising war that ended with Parker five-bet shoving. Cheong had opened to 11,000, Parker made it 30,000, then Cheong popped it back up to 81,000. Cheong was the shorter of the stacks with 318,500 chips when they got it all in, and he quickly called it off for his tournament life. He was in a great spot to double.

Showdown
Cheong:
Parker:

There was no funny stuff on the board. Cheong's aces up held the better kicker, and he's doubled his way into a big chip lead.

We've just found our first Elite Eight-er.

From the button, Hugo Lemaire opened with a raise, and Aaron Jones reraised to 18,000. Lemaire shoved in, and Jones made the call for his last ~115,000 chips. He was well ahead and poised for a double.

Showdown
Jones:
Lemaire:

The glowed right in the window as the dealer spread the flop, and Jones would not catch back up. The board rolled out , and Jones has run out of chips. He's out in the Round of 16, good for nearly $25,000.

Ryan O'Donnell had started his match off trending positively, but Warwick Mirzikinian has just erased those gains.

There was more than 125,000 in the pot by the time the river card dropped on the board, and Mirzikinian fired out 107,500. O'Donnell needed a few minutes to think it over, but he eventually settled on the call for a significant chunk of his remaining stack.

Mirzikinian tabled for the full house, and that was plenty good. O'Donnell flashed his as he dumped them into the muck, and he's now facing a 2:1 deficit as he tries to climb back into the match once again.

Aubin Cazals started a recent hand by making it 7,500 preflop from the button. Toby Lewis in the big blind completed and both players were granted access to a flop.

It was here that Lewis check-called a 8,500 bet from Cazals. A fell on the turn and brought checks from both players. The on the river allowed for Lewis to take control of the hand by betting out 26,500. A fold was made by Cazals and Lewis raked in the pot.

There was about 60,000 in the pot already when we walked up to the turn of a board. Aaron Jones was the one leading the betting, and he put out 42,500. Huge Lemaire raised to 114,000, and Jones flatted to see the last card.

It was the , and Jones knocked the table. Lemaire liked his spot, and he moved all in for his last 183,500. Jones made the call, but we'd never get to see his cards. Lemaire's had flopped the flush, and that pot gives him a huge double.

The match is suddenly polarized with Jones facing a more than 5:1 deficit.