We've gotten used to seeing Artem "veeea" Vezhenkov's username high on the leaderboards in big events on PokerStars. Before this week the he had collected a WCOOP title in 2013 (in a $320 Stud event) and a SCOOP win this past spring ($109+R NLH, Big Antes). He'd also won multiple Super Tuesdays, so it was no surprise to see his avatar showing up again at this week's Sunday Million final table.

Nor was it a surprise to see Vezhenkov finish the deal yet again to add a Sunday Million title to his list of accomplishments, topping a field of 5,925 to take away a $183,675 first prize.

That big field meant a prize pool of $1,185,000, beating the $1 million guarantee. It would take just over five hours for that starting field to play down to 855 players and the money bubble to burst, at which point João "soleeJ" Ferreira enjoyed the chip lead.

More than four hours later they were down to just 18 players with João "soleeJ" Ferreira having just been sent railward in 24th ($2,784.75). HU4FU was the new chip leader then, sitting on a stack of more than 8.2 million with nearest challenger Artem "veeea" Vezhenkov with almost 6.9 million.

Lancelot AA (18th), LAPT4 Uruguay champion and WSOP Europe bracelet winner Alex "komarolo22" Komaromi (17th), and Eric "psuNYY51" Ladny (16th) next went out, each earning $3,318. Rui "sousinha23" Sousa (15th), H.Oussalé (14th), and Jonas "Palsgaard1" Palsgård (13th), taking away $5,095.50 apiece. Then Brusk21xerab (12th) and Josh "PocketAcesA5" Thibodeau (11th) were successively eliminated, both picking up $6,873.

The last 10 players played hand-for-hand at two tables for a short while thereafter, then came two knockouts on simultaneous hands.

On one table berches88 pushed with [Ah][Ts], was called by DaNteisKing who had [Kd][Qh], and when the board brought two kings berches88 was ousted in 10th ($6,873). Meanwhile JJdyno99 was all in and at risk with [7d][7s] versus Artem "veeea" Vezhenkov's [As][Qh], and a queen on the board spelled a ninth-place finish for JJdyno99 ($9,243).

With one seat already vacant and HU4FU still the pace-setter with more than 14 million, the final table was underway.

Seat 1: Bario_03 (Austria) -- 6,325,587
Seat 2: Indigo4life (Austria) -- 2,525,560
Seat 3: empty
Seat 4: pilsuhng (United Kingdom) -- 3,064,640
Seat 5: prsalute (Greece) -- 9,469,163
Seat 6: Artem "veeea" Vezhenkov (Russia) -- 6,094,223
Seat 7: HU4FU (Sweden) -- 14,048,483
Seat 8: DaNteisKing (Germany) -- 12,333,891
Seat 9: topoz (Israel) -- 5,388,453

On the very first hand of the final table came another knockout. The blinds were 125K/250K when Indigo4life open-shoved from the cutoff for just over 2.5 million with [Ah][6d], and pilsuhung reraised all in from the button with [9h][9c], chasing the blinds. The board came [8c][3c][5h][Tc][3h], and Indigo4life was done in eighth.

Just two hands after that a short-stacked Bario_03 was already all in after posting not quite enough for a full big blind, and after pilsuhung raised from UTG everyone else stepped aside. It was [2h][2s] for Bario_03 and [Kh][Ks] for pilsuhung, and after a king flopped Bario_03 was already drawing dead by the turn to finish in seventh.

The remaining six players pushed through the next break marking the tournament's 10-and-a-half-hour mark, then about 25 minutes after that the blinds were up to 200K/400K when DaNteisKing min-raised from early position, then topoz reraised all in for about 3.85 million from a seat over. It folded back to DaNteisKing who called immediately. topoz had [Ah][Js] but had run into DaNteisKing's [Ad][Ac], and five cards later -- [Qs][Jh][Kc][5h][4d] -- topoz was sent railward in sixth.

About 20 minutes after that it was prsalute open-pushing from the cutoff for about 5.54 million (about 11 big blinds), then Artem "veeea" Vezhenkov reraised all in from the button and the blinds folded. prsalute had [As][9c] and needed to improve versus Vezhenkov's [Tc][Th]. The [Jd][Jc][5c][4h][7d] board provided no such help, however, and prsalute's Sunday Million run ended in fifth.

Four-handed play continued nearly a half-hour more, with Vezhenkov moving out in front with nearly 23 million. Then with the blinds at 300K/600K it was pilsuhng opening from the button with an all-in raise for a little under 4.75 million, then Vezhenkov reraised all in from the small blind and HU4FU folded the big blind. pilsuhng had [Kd][Jc] and a couple of live cards versus Vezhenkov's [Th][Td]. The board then rolled out nine-high -- [8d][6s][9c][6h][9s] -- and pilsuhng was eliminated in fourth.

It wasn't long after that hand that Artem "veeea" Vezhenkov min-raised to 1.2 million from the button, HU4FU three-bet to 3.3 million from the small blind, then DaNteisKing reraise-shoved for a little less than 12.2 million from the big blind. Vezhenkov folded, but HU4FU made the call showing [9c][9h] to DaNteisKing's [2s][2d]. The flop came [9d][4h][5c] to improve HU4FU to a set, then after the [4c] turn made a full house for HU4FU the river was no matter for DaNteisKing who was out in third.

That pot helped HU4FU edge in front of Vezhenkov to begin heads-up play with 30,951,344 versus the latter's 28,298,656. But Vezhenkov immediately seized the lead once more, and by the 10th hand between them had already built up to just over 48.5 million to HU4FU's not quite 10.7 million.

The blinds had increased again to 400K/800K, and that's when Vezhenkov pushed all in from the button and got a call from HU4FU. Vezhenkov had [Kd][8s] and a slight preflop edge versus HU4FU's [Qh][9s]. The [Ad][4s][7d] flop changed nothing, but the [9d] paired up HU4FU.

Then came the river... the [Ks]! A better pair for Vezhenkov who collected the pot and the win!

Congratulations to Artem "veeea" Vezhenkov who as noted above adds the week's Sunday Million title and a handsome first prize of $183,675 to his WCOOP title, his SCOOP title, and those Super Tuesday wins.

11/15/15 Sunday Million ($215 No-Limit Hold'em) results
Entrants:  5,925
Prize pool: $1,185,000.00
Places paid: 855

1. Artem "veeea" Vezhenkov (Russia) $183,675.00
2. HU4FU (Sweden) $136,275.00
3. DaNteisKing (Germany) $95,985.00
4. pilsuhng (United Kingdom) $66,537.75
5. prsalute (Greece) $49,770.00
6. topoz (Israel) $37,920.00
7. Bario_03 (Austria) $26,070.00
8. Indigo4life (Austria) $14,812.50
9. JJdyno99 (United Kingdom) $9,243.00

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Let's take a little journey back in time, poker fans. It was April, 2007. Jamie Gold was the reigning WSOP Main Event champion, the European Poker Tour was just just finding its legs, and Dutchman Steven Van Zadelhoff was a wide-eyed amateur player eyeing a pro career in a booming online poker landscape. That month, Van Zadelhoff, encouraged by his girlfriend, entered the Sunday Million and came away with his first major title and a $160,000 bankroll infusion. That score paved the way for Van Zadelhoff to play full-time and he added hundreds of thousands more in earnings that year with a runner-up finish in an FTOPS event and an 11th-place finish at the inaugural WSOP-Europe Main Event. More than eight years later, Van Zadelhoff has earned over $3 million in online MTTs and another $1.2 million live, good for 14th on the all-time Money List in his native Netherlands. Tonight, playing from his adopted home of Malta, Van Zadelhoff added another feather in his cap with a victory the Sunday Warm-Up and an $80k score.

This week's Warm-Up drew a crowd of 2,556 players. 378 of them earned a share of the $511,200 prize pool, with $80,769.86 set aside for the winner.

The blinds were up to 65,000/130,000 with ten players remaining. Four of them had stacks hovering around the 10BB mark as play went hand-for-hand on the final table bubble. With the action folded to him in the small blind, JLlama open-shoved for 1.18 million with [Jh][5h] hoping to steal the blinds, but ran headlong into Jerman027's [Ad][Kd]. An ace on the flop and a king on the river gave the pot to Jerman027 and a disappointed JLlama hit the rail in tenth place.

Final table chip counts

Seat 1: dirty.brasil (1,389,577 in chips)
Seat 2: Jerman027 (9,055,287 in chips)
Seat 3: Kabotajoe (4,857,353 in chips)
Seat 4: The_SeS (1,393,136 in chips)
Seat 5: gostyniak (490,571 in chips)
Seat 6: zapolini (826,416 in chips)
Seat 7: Madcandle (1,718,716 in chips)
Seat 8: SvZff (4,576,560 in chips)
Seat 9: oberrammler (1,252,384 in chips)

Two short stacks scored double-ups in the first two hands. On Hand #1, gostyniak's [Ac][4c] held up against Kabotajoe's [7s][Ts] to take his stack up to 1.2 million and on Hand #2, zapolini's pocket jacks held up against dirty.brasil's pocket tens. Dirty.brasil was left with only 693,000 after the hand and was eliminated in ninth place a short time later, his [Ac][3s] falling to Kabotajoe's [8c][9d] when a nine hit the flop. Then, on the very next deal, Madcandle four-bet shoved for 2.12 million with [Ad][Kh] and Jerman027 looked him up with [Js][Jc]. Although Madcandle hit an ace on the flop, a jack was right behind it and Jerman027 raked in the 4.6 million pot with a set, ending Madcandle's run in eighth place.

With the blinds up to 80,000/160,000 gostyniak slipped below a million in chips and committed the rest of his stack preflop with [6s][6d]. Kabotajoe answered the call with [Ah][Jh] and flopped an ace, sending gostyniak to the rail in seventh place. Next out the door was oberrammler, who pushed from the small blind with [Qh][Jd] and ran into Jerman027's [Ah][6c] in the big. Jerman027 flopped an ace and rivered aces up on the [Ad][Js][5h][7h][6h] board, finishing off ovverrammler in sixth place.

Three hands later, The_SeS open-shoved for 1.43 million on the button with [Ks][Js] and zapolini immediately reshoved from the small blind with [Ac][Kd]. The [8d][5s][5c] flop was safe for zapolini, but his dominating hand was crushed by the [Jh] that fell on the turn. The river was the [9s] and The_SeS doubled to 3.1 million, leaving zapolini on only 449,000. Zapolini moved in on the next deal with [Kh][4s], but couldn't beat the flush Steven "SvZff" Van Zadelhoff turned with [Ad][8d].

During four-handed play, Kabotajoe turned his attention to chip leader Jerman027 and won a coinflip for all his chips when his pocket eights held up against Jerman027's [As][Qc]. The hand boosted Kabotajoe to 6.9 million and left Jerman027 with 8.9 million. However, Jerman027 instantly rebounded when he made aces and sixes against SvZff's sevens and sixes on the next hand. The blinds rose to 100,000/200,000 when Kabotajoe found [Ac][Qd] and made it 450,000 to go, only to be met with a three-bet shove for 3.4 million from SvZff. Kabotajoe called and was up against [As][Kd]. Van Zadelhoff's dominating hand held up on the [5s][3d][3h][6c][2s] board and he vaulted to 7.1 million in chips.

Van Zadelhoff's rush continued when The_SeS made a 2.25 million small blind shove and he woke up with [As][Qc] in the big blind. The_SeS's [Ks][5d] got no help from the [Qd][6d][2h][4s][Td] board and he went out in fourth place while Van Zadelhoff chipped up to 9.27 million.

When three-handed play commenced, Jerman027 held 9.63 million, Van Zadelhoff was close behind with 9.27 million, and Kabotajoe was the short stack with 6.66 million.

Van Zadelhoff seized the chip lead when Kabotajoe limped in from the small blind with [4h][5s], giving him a free look at the flop with [Kc][3c]. The flop fell [7c][3d][2s] --middle pair for Van Zadelhoff and an open-ended straight draw for Kabotajoe. Kabotajoe led out for 216,200 with his draw and Van Zadelhoff called. Van Zadelhoff hit the perfect card when the [Ks] turned, giving him kings and threes. Even better, Kabotajoe did his bidding for him, leading out for 567,592. Again, Van Zadelhoff smooth-called. The [9s] river wasn't what Kabotajoe was looking for, but nevertheless, he bluffed at the pot for 1,275,998 with his busted draw. Van Zadelhoff called and took down the 4.58 million pot with kings up. Kabotajoe sank to 3.92 million while Van Zadelhoff assumed the chip lead with 12.1 million.

A few hands later, Kabotajoe opened his button for 562,500 and Jerman027 defended his big blind. The flop came down [Th][7d][6h] and Jerman027 check-called Kabotajoe's 782,750 bet. The turn was the [Jh] and Jerman027 moved all-in for 3.96 million. Kabotajoe quickly called off his remaining 2.29 million and turned up [Ac][As], but they were no good against Jerman027's flush with the lowly [3h][5h]. The river was the [9d] and Kabotajoe was out in third place, setting the stage for a fierce heads-up match.

Heads-up chip counts

Seat 2: Jerman027 (9,139,040 in chips)
Seat 8: SvZff (16,420,960 in chips)

Jerman027 and SvZff battled for over 40 minutes with the lead swinging back and forth several times. Jerman027 struck first in a pot where he happened to be bluffing with the best hand. On a [8s][7c][2h] flop, SvZff check-called 577,500 from Jerman027 and check-called another 1.21 million when the [As] turned. When the [3d] rivered, SvZff checked a third time and Jerman027 gave up and checked behind. SvZff had only [5s][6s] for a busted straight draw and Jerman027 walked off with the 4.63 million pot with [Jc][4h]... ace high with a jack kicker. Jerman027 moved up to 11.2 million and SvZff fell to 14.4 million.

At this stage, Jerman027 asked Van Zadelhoff if he was interested in a deal. "Naaah, let's gamble," the Dutchman replied.

Jerman027 evened the chip counts when he three-bet to 1.75 million preflop and shoved on the [9c][6c][5h] flop. SvZff gave up his hand and was left with 12.9 million to Jerman027's 12.65 million. However, Van Zadelhoff roared back when his [Kd][8h] flopped two pair against Jerman027's [Ah][4h]. Jerman027 checked the [Qh][Qd][8s] flop, SvZff bet 588,240 and Jerman027 raised to 1.18 million. SvZff called and they went to the turn, which fell the [5d]. Jerman027 led out for 1.5 million and SvZff called. The river was the [7c] and Jerman027 slowed down and checked. SvZff checked behind and raked in the 6.72 million pot with queens and eights. SvZff was up to 14.4 million while Jerman027 slipped to 11.1 million.

Van Zadelhoff pulled away when he three-bet to 1,548,000 out of the big blind and checked the ensuing [9d][8c][5c] flop. Jerman027 bet 1.8 million, Van Zadelhoff moved all-in and Jerman027 gave up his hand, saving his last 6.2 million. Then, with the blinds up to 200,000/400,000, Van Zadelhoff picked up [Ad][Kh] and opened for 872,000 on the button. Jerman027 moved all-in with [Ac][Th] and Van Zadelhoff snap-called. Jerman027's dominated hand did not improve on the [Qs][6d][4d][9s][Js] board and Van Zadelhoff locked up his first Sunday Warm-Up title.

Congratulations to Steven "SvZff" Van Zadelhoff on a brilliant performance! He banked $80,769.86 for the win, while runner-up Jerman027 earned $60,321.60.

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up results for 11-15-2015

Players: 2,556
Prizepool: $511,200.00
Places paid: 378

1. Steven "SvZff" Van Zadelhoff (Malta) $80,769.86
2. Jerman027 (Cyprus) $60,321.60
3. Kabotajoe (Germany) $42,940.80
4. The_SeS (Netherlands) $29,900.08
5. zapolini (Slovenia) $22,237.20
6. oberrammler (Germany) $17,125.20
7. gostyniak (Poland) $12,013.20
8. Madcandle (Finland) $7,412.40
9. Noah "dirty.brasil" Vaillacourt (Canada) $4,345.20

The 2015 Asia Player of the Year race was one of the most hotly contested in history. It came right down to the wire this week with the ACOP finishing up as the last chance for players to earn themselves points. Now that all is said and done and the numbers have been calculated we have an official winner.

That honour goes to Hong Kong's Alan King Lun Lau who has had himself a stellar year on the felt.

Lau posted up an impressive 18 cashes throughout Asia, including two final tables and both the ACOP Platinum Series X Megastack and the ACOP Platinum Series IX Deepstack titles. His biggest score, however, came when he finished runner up in the MPC23 Baby Dragon for HK$272,700 (~$35,000).

For his Asia Player of the Year achievement, Lau becomes a part of poker history. His name will soon be engraved into the permanent APOY trophy and he earns himself a one-year sponsorship with PokerStars LIVE.

Lau had a sweat this week before emerging on top of the leader board. KC Wong was hot on his heels in second place and making a deep run in the ACOP Main Event. That tournament would see the top 10 finishers receive APOY points, so when Wong ultimately finished in 11th place after losing a flip with ace-king to pocket tens, Lau locked up the APOY title.

The award ceremony just concluded here at PokerStars LIVE Macau which saw Lau surrounded by a group of friends and his partner Amy. He took to the microphone to thank the PokerStars staff for all their hard work this year, and then had something special in mind.

"Now that I have won APOY" he announced, "I would like to propose to Amy."

Amy's jaw dropped and the crowd cheered as Lau got down on one knee and presented her with a ring. Those who had gathered around let out a roar of excitement and chanted as he slid the ring on her finger and gave her a kiss.

What a way to top off an Asia Player of the Year title.

Congratulations Alan!

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Just like that we've already lost half of the six final tablists in the first two hours here.

It was poker legend Erik Seidel who would hit the rail first this afternoon. Seidel shoved all in three hands in a row, and while the first two got through, the third saw him behind and at risk of elimination when Anton Astapau called from the big blind with a dominant hand.

Astapau: [ac][td]
Seidel: [ad][7s]

Seidel was dead by the turn on the [kc][8h][4d][th][tc] run out and would head to the cashier to collect HK$1,696,000 (~$219,000).

And following Seidel out the door was Belarusian Anton Astapau. His final hand saw Astapau open to 200,000 before Andy Andrejevic popped it up to 575,000. Astapau came back over the top for his whole 2,800,000 and Andrejevic didn't hesitate to call.

Astapau: [qs][qd]
Andrejevic: [ah][kd]

They were flipping for the huge pot and Astapau jumped into the lead spiking top set on the [qh][jd][8d] flop. Andrejevic needed a ten for Broadway and received immediate service on the [tc] turn. Astapau was desperate for the board to pair but it wasn't to be as the [5h] completed the board to see him eliminated in fifth place.

Joining Seidel and Astapau on the rail was reigning champion Steve O'Dwyer. He was so close to going back to back but unfortunately for O'Dwyer he comes up three short today. The American had gotten short and moved in for his last 1,975,000 over an open from chip leader Andy Andrejevic. The latter called it off and players tabled their cards.

O'Dwyer: [kc][qs]
Andrejevic: [ac][th]

It was an interesting [kd][qc][jc] flop with Andrejevic flopping the nuts and O'Dwyer chasing four outs to a full house. The [5c] turn and the [8h] river wouldn't cooperate and O'Dwyer headed to the exit in fourth.

So now only three remain in the hunt. It's Andrejevic with the substantial chip lead over Bryn Kenney and John Juanda. Here's how their stacks look.

ACOP Super High Roller Final Three Chip Counts

Andy Andrejevic - 13,000,000
Bryn Kenney - 6,385,000
John Juanda - 6,230,000

At the moment the players have just stepped away for a 10-minute respite. Play will recommence momentarily as we play down to an ACOP Super High Roller Champion!

Now that the Main Event has wrapped up it's time for the final table of the HK$500,000 Super High Roller! As predicted the tournament attracted a stellar field and six of those players return this afternoon to chase a HK$8,725,000 (~$1,125,000) first place prize.

Those back among the action have all locked up a payday as the bubble was burst on the final hand of last night. It was Phanlert Sukonthachartnant with that unfortunate seventh place spot. While he was able to ship the HK$250,000 High Roller earlier this week he would come up one shy of the money in this Super High Roller.

The man who knocked Sukonthachartnant out of the running was none other than reigning Super High Roller champion Steve O'Dwyer. The hand saw O'Dwyer limp the button before Sukonthachartnant raised it up to 240,000 from the small blind. O'Dwyer called and the flop landed [jc][2d][8s].

Sukonthachartnant checked the action to O'Dwyer who made a bet of 160,000. Then came a check-raise from Sukonthachartnant who popped it up to 450,000, only to be met with a shove from O'Dwyer. Sukonthachartnant went in to the tank but eventually called it off for his remaining 780,000.

Sukonthachartnant: [kd][8h]
O'Dwyer: [jd][8d]

O'Dwyer was in good shape to burst the bubble and he did exactly that when the [ah] turn and [5h] river rolled off. That marked the end of the day and a table redraw for today's action where six are still in contention.

Among them is reigning EPT Barcelona champion John Juanda. He considers himself lucky to be at this final table after a miracle runner-runner yesterday. He outlined the hand for his followers on Twitter.

"All-in 66 vs @mustacchione's (Mustapha Kanit) 22. Flop 22x so I was ready to walk out the door then turn 6, river 6. Now FT w/5.1M (3/6) #ACOP2015 SHR #Luckbox" read the tweet.

While Juanda starts the day third in chips, our current chip leader is Andy Andrejevic. He won his seat via a PokerStars LIVE Macau satellite and bagged up 6,255,000 last night. Andrejevic has been in fine form lately - taking home three six-figure scores in September alone.

ACOP Super High Roller Final Table Draw
Seat 1: John Juanda (Indonesia) - 5,110,000
Seat 2: Bryn Kenney (USA) - 2,390,000
Seat 3: Anton Astapau (Belarus) - 3,950,000
Seat 4: Erik Seidel (USA) - 1,800,000
Seat 5: Andy Andrejevic (USA) - 6,255,000
Seat 6: Steve O'Dwyer (USA) - 6,010,000

Today's proceedings have just kicked off and play will resume on Level 15 with blinds at 50,000/100,000 (10,000). We'll be following all the action so stay with us here at the PokerStars Blog!

Congratulations to our new ACOP Main Event champion Jimmy Zhou!

It's been an action-packed week here at PokerStars LIVE Macau and after five days of play another Main Event is in the books. The Chinese American overcame New Zealand's Thomas Ward in a back and forth heads up match to emerge as champion and take home HK$5,885,000 (~$792,000).

Heads up began almost dead even with Zhou slightly ahead on 4,025,000 to Ward's 3,775,000 in chips. Ward came out swinging and before long reclaimed the chip leader back from the eventual champion, but chips ebbed and flowed as the lead changed hands several times.

An hour into the match the two went on a 50-minute dinner break and it was when they returned that Zhou started to really apply the pressure. He chipped away at Ward but the New Zealander was proving tough to finish off.

They got back to almost even when the final hand presented itself around three-and-a-half hours after heads up play had begun. Ward limped the button before Zhou jammed all in and Ward snap-called it off.

Zhou: [5s][5d]
Ward: [Ah][Jc]

It was a coinflip and the [tc][8h][6h][kc][7h] rolled out to see Zhou river a straight and lock up the victory.

Before the heads up clash though there were five other players who hit the rail. The first was Xixiang Luo when he pushed all in with ten-nine suited and ran into Ward's pocket aces. Luo would flop a pair and turn a straight draw but ultimately brick off to lose the remainder of his chips and finish in seventh spot.

Next to go was Qi Luo who lost his stack to a bad beat. Holding [ad][kc] Luo got the money in preflop and looked good to scoop a big pot against the [ac][qd] of eventual champion Zhou. He faded danger through the turn but the river left him wondering 'what if?' when the board ran out [3d][2h][2d][8h][qh].

And following Luo out the door was Connor Drinan in fifth place. He took a few hits early and found himself down to 10 big blinds. He would move them all in with jack-ten but failed to improve when Zhou called it off with ace-nine. Drinan collects HK$1,519,000 (~$196,000) for his showing here this week.

It was Hsien Yuan Yang who would be the next to come up short. Despite flopping top set with [kc][kh] on a [ks][7c][6h] flop, Ward would get the money in and turn a straight holding [5c][4h] to send Yang packing. For his fifth place finish Yang scores HK$1,928,000 (~$249,000).

The following elimination of Nan Tu would mark the beginning of heads up play. Tu had top two-pair when all the money went in but again Ward would find a straight to send his opponent to the rail. Tu received HK$2,411,000 (~$311,000) for his third place finish.

And that brought us to the heads up match where Zhou would prove too good for Ward. In the post-match interview Zhou went on to thank his supportive rail that included Connor Drinan, Jason Mo, Pratyush Buddiga and Kitty Kuo.

"I want to thank my friends for their support. They were cheering me all day!" Zhou said.

ACOP Main Event Final Table Payouts
1st: Jimmy Zhou (China) - HK$5,885,000
2nd: Thomas Ward (New Zealand) - HK$3,736,000
3rd: Nan Tu (China) - HK$2,411,000
4th: Hsien Yuan Yang (Taiwan) - HK$1,928,000
5th: Connor Drinan (Mexico) - HK$1,519,000
6th: Qi Luo (China) - HK$1,205,000
7th: Xixiang Luo (China) - HK$964,000

That's all we have for you tonight here in Macau. We hope you can join us tomorrow for our coverage of the HK$500,000 Super High Roller!

It took some time this afternoon for the first three final table eliminations but almost as soon as Connor Drinan was sent to the exit in fifth place, Hsien Yuan Yang followed suit.

Yang opened the action to 125,000 from the button and Thomas Ward had a look from the big blind. The flop landed [ks][7c][6h] and Yang continued for another 125,000 after Ward's check. The latter put the pressure on, moving all in with enough to cover Yang who snapped it off with the current nuts.

Yang: [Kc][Kh]
Ward: [5c][4h]

Yang was happy to get the money in but Ward had a good chance to eliminate him with the open-ended straight draw. And that's exactly what he did as he competed the straight on the [8c] turn and faded a board pair with the [as] river. Ward extended his chip lead as Yang found the exit in fourth place.

Third place went to Nan Tu after he also fell at the hands of Ward. It was an uncannily similar hand, with Tu holding top two pair instead of top set, and Ward again with the open-ended straight draw. Tu held [ad][7d] on a [ah][7c][6s] flop when all the money went in. The board, however, ran out poorly for Tu with the [9s] and [8s] river completing Ward's straight.

And with that, heads up play is set! Here's how the players stack up.

ACOP Main Event Heads Up Chip Counts
Thomas Ward - 3,775,000
Zhou Zhou - 4,025,000

It's neck and neck now as the action gets back underway. Both players have locked up HK$3,736,000 (~$482,000) and will be hoping to go one better and secure HK$5,885,000 (~$759,000) and the illustrious Main Event trophy.

Let's see who closes it out!

It took around 90 minutes to see our first final table casualty here this afternoon. Xixiang Luo started as one of our shorter stacks and found the exit when his opponent Thomas Ward woke up with the best preflop hand possible.

Ward: [As][Ah]
Luo: [ts][9s]

Luo would need help after his all-in jam was called and he got a little on the [jh][9h][3c] flop. The [8s] turn also gave him an open-ended straight draw but ultimately the [6s] river bricked off to eliminate Luo. He would have to be content with seventh place and a HK$964,000 (~$124,000) payday.

Following Luo to the rail was the other player at the table with the same last name. Qi Luo was knocked out in sixth place after a sick river in a hand with Zhou Zhou. The action began with Zhou opening to 90,000 before Luo moved all in over the top for around 500,000. Zhou gave it some thought before committing the chips to put Luo at risk.

Zhou: [Ac][Qd]
Luo: [Ad][Kc]

Luo was in great shape to score a double up and stay alive until a cold river rolled off on the [3d][2h][2d][8h][qh] runout. Luo would exit five from the title to collect HK$1,205,000 (~$155,000).

And our most recent elimination was perhaps our most entertaining player on this final table, Connor Drinan. Much as he had been all week, Drinan was again enjoying a bottle of red wine, before finishing this Main Event in fifth place.

Drinan had a rough day at the table as far as cards were concerned and was down to 10 big blinds during the hand that responsible for his exit. He pushed all in with [jd][tc] and was called by Zhou Zhou who held [ac][9d].

Drinan was live until the [6d][as][6h] flop left him in dire straits. The [2s] turn meant he was drawing dead and the inconsequential [5c] river rolled off to seal his demise. For this fifth place finish Drinan pockets HK$1,519,000 (~$196,000).

So after these eliminations only four remain in the hunt for the ACOP Main Event title. It's Thomas Ward leading the way at the moment with 2,760,000 in chips and the blinds at 25,000/50,000 (5,000). Join us here on the PokerStars Blog for the home stretch!