Congratulations to Ari Engel, Winner of the Mega Millions XVIII!

We caught up with the action on the final hand of the event on the turn, with the board showing [5s][5d][3h][9d]. Min Zhang fired out 5,000,000 and Ari Engel raised to 11,500,000. Zhang called, and the [10h] completed the board. Zhang once again fired out 5,000,000, and Engel thought for a bit before raising to 16,750,000. Zhang immediately moved all in, and Engel sighed before asking for a count.

"You have pocket 10's?" Engel asked Zhang, who stayed silent. The all in was for 25,000,000 total, and Engel made the call with [Ac][5c]. Zhang showed [Qc][Qs] for two pair that was no good. 

It was an amazing run for Zhang, who qualified through a Day 1 session but busted early on Day 2. She wasn't planning on buying in for $4,300, but she told us she hit a dragon bonus in the Baccarat room, and decided to press her luck. It worked out for her greatly, as she will take home $178,565. 

However, the day belongs to Ari Engel, who adds yet another massive score to his already impressive poker resume. Engel will take home $315,142, and if that wasn't enough, Engel also stands as the last Day 2 buy-in player left, meaning he will have a free $4,300 seat to the next Mega Millions in August. 

Congratulations again to Ari Engel, and thank you to everyone who came out to make this one of the biggest Mega Millions events yet! 

We will have another series in June, so we will see you guys then! 

David Marshall Eliminated in 3rd Place ($116,350)

David Marshall and Ari Engel got into an all in confrontation preflop, with Marshall holding [Ks][Jh], while Engel had [10c][10s]. As they have done for most of the final table, the pair won the flip, as the board ran down [9d][3c][6h][5c][6d].

Marshall, who started Day 3 as the chip leader yesterday, nearly quadruples his previous highest cash, taking home over $116,000.

This leaves us heads up, with Ari Engel holding 66,500,000 to the 40,000,000 of Min Zhang.

Pat Lyons Eliminated in 4th Place ($90,080)

David Marshall raised to 1.25 million, and Pat Lyons reraised to 5 million. It folded to Ari Engel, and he four bet it to 14 million. Marshall folded, and Lyons shoved all in for a bit more. Engel called, and the cards were flipped.

Lyons: [As][10h]
Engel: [Ah][Kc]

The flop of [5h][3d][5d] gave Lyons some chop outs, but he wouldn't catch anymore help, as the board finished [8d] and [Qh].

This gets us down to three, with Engel having a nice chip leader over the other two.

Igor Zektser Eliminated in 5th Place ($68,585)

Igor Zektser was all in with pocket eights, and he was racing against the Ace-Queen of Ari Engel. An ace came right on the flop, and Zektser wasn't able to catch up from there. 

This leaves us with just four players. They are currently taking a 15-minute break.

Updated Counts From the Final Five

Blinds: 200,000-400,000 Average: 21,250,000

Ari Engel - 32,000,000
David Marshall - 24,000,000
Min Zhang - 23,000,000
Pat Lyons - 21,000,000
Igor Zektser - 6,800,000

Danny Ghobrial Eliminated in 6th Place ($53,590)

Danny Ghobrial started the action with a raise to 1.1 million. Ari Engel popped it up to 2.875 million, and it folded back around to Ghobrial. He four bet shoved, and Engel made the call.

Ghobrial: [Jc][10h]
Engel: [Jd][Js]

Ghobrial was in about as bad a shape as you can be, and the flop of [Qc][3s][2d] didn't provide him much help. The [9c] on the turn suddenly gave Ghobrial some outs, but the [2c] on the river was no good.

We will be getting fresh counts from the final five shortly, so stay tuned.

Lyons Doubles Through Zhang

For the second time in about 15 minutes, we saw a massive coin flip featuring pocket sixes against Ace-King. It was Lyons who held [6s][6d], while Min Zhang had [Ah][Kh]. The flop of [Js][8s][7s] was great for Lyons, as Zhang was down to just four outs now. The [4h] came on the turn, and the [Qd] came on the river to give Lyons a huge double to over 23 million.

On the other side, Zhang losses the chip lead for the first time all day.

Brandon Zuidema Crippled, Eliminated in 7th Place ($42,290)

Brandon Zuidema and David Marshall get into a massive coin flip preflop, with Zuidema holding [Ac][Kc] to the [6c][6s] of Marshall. The board ran down [7d][5h][2s][2h][3d], and the mid pair held for Marshall to ship a huge double up to him.

Marshall doubled to over 22 million, while Zuidema is knocked down to less than a big blind. Zuidema would get one double up after that with pocket queens, but he would get knocked out on the next hand by Pat Lyons.

Zuidema Doubles Through Ghobrial

Ari Engel kicked off the action by raising to 725,000 from under the gun. It folded around to the small blind, Brandon Zuidema, and he moved all in for 5.5 million. Danny Ghobrial was in the big blind, and he thought for a while before calling. Engel quickly folded, and they were off to the races.

Zuidema: [Js][Jc]
Ghobrial: [As][Kh]

The board ran down [5d][3d][2c][9c][8h], and the jacks held for Zuidema, who doubled up to 11 million.

Russel Nygren Eliminated in 8th Place ($33,350)

On a flop of [Ac][9s][7d], Russel Nygren checks to Igor Zektser, who bets 500,000. Nygren calls, and after the [Jc] turn, he moves all in for just over three million. Zektser slides in the call, and the cards are tabled.

Zektser: [As][Qc]
Nygren: [8c][6c]

Nygren needed a ten, five, or club to win, but the [2h] came on the river to give Zektser the win.

Ghobrial Doubles Through Marshall

After a raising war preflop, Danny Ghobrial got his final eight million in with the best hand in hold'em: [As][Ac]. David Marshall held [Jh][Jd], and it looked like the [Ah] door card was disaster for him, but it ended up looking ok, as the flop was [Ah][Qh][9h]. Now, Marshall could catch any heart to win as long as the board didn't pair, but the [4c] turn and [9c] river were safe for Ghobrial.

Ghobrial is now one of the big stacks with over 16 million in chips.

Nygren Doubles Through Engel

After a raise from Ari Engel on the button, Russel Nygren moved all in for a little over two million. Engel made the call with [As][6c], and he would need help against the [Kc][Ks] of Nygren. It looked like he would get it with the window card, but the flop of [Ac][Kh][3h] would actually shoot Nygren out into a huge lead. The [Qs] on the turn left Engel drawing dead, and Nygren scooped the double to over 4.5 million.

Yiming Cui Eliminated in 9th Place ($25,745)

After a raise from David Marshall, Yiming Cui moved all in from the big blind, a bet that was quickly called by Marshall.

Cui: [Qh][10h]
Marshall: [Ah][As]

Cui had a sweat after the flop came [10d][7s][3c], but the [3d] on the turn meant that only a ten would do now. The [4h] completed the board, and Marshall scored the knockout to get us down to just eight.

Zektser Triples Up

Igor Zektser was the short stack to start the final table, but after getting a couple of shoves through, he was able to built it up to over 2.5 million before this hand saw him scoop a huge pot.

Action started with Min Zhang raising to 600,000. Two seats over, Yiming Cui reraised to 1.35 million. It folded around to Zektser, who moved all in for 2.5 million. Both players called, and they checked to the flop of [As][10c][7c], and the [7d] turn. The [6s] came on the river, and Zhang bet enough to put Cui all in.

Cui thought for a bit before folding, and Zhang showed [Kh][Qd] for just king high. Zektser tabled [Ad][Kd] for aces up, and he scooped the pot to triple up to over eight million, making him a threat once again at this final table.

By the Numbers: Opening $250,000 Guaranteed Flight of the Day

The first of two flights today drew a crowd of 102 players, meaning that 10 more Day 2 tickets will be punched from that flight. The second flight of the day is currently in full swing, with registration open until 7 PM today.

Remember that tomorrow are the final two flights for this event, so don't miss out!

1-10th. Advance to Day 2 + $400

Mega Millions XVIII Final Table Now Underway

The final nine players are in their seats, and we are ready to get the action going once again! We will be posting the eliminations and big double ups as they are happening here. Below you will see how the final nine stand right now. Stay tuned to find out who wins!

Seat 1: Ari Engel - 24,700,000
Seat 2: Russel Nygren - 4,225,000
Seat 3: Igor Zektser - 1,425,000
Seat 4: David Marshall - 16,600,000
Seat 5: Pat Lyons - 10,325,000
Seat 6: Min Zhang - 26,650,000
Seat 7: Brandon Zuidema - 7,300,000
Seat 8: Yiming Cui - 6,625,000
Seat 9: Danny Ghobrial - 12,050,000

Second Flight of the Day Underway

It's 4 PM, which means that it's time to start up another flight of the $250,000 Guaranteed Event. Registration for this flight will be open until 7 PM, and the top 10% will be cashing for $400 and moving on to the finals on Saturday.

If you can't come out for this flight, you will have two final chances tomorrow at 11:30 AM and 4 PM. Good luck all!

Cards in the Air: Opening Session of the Day

It's time to start up another day of action in the $250,000 Guaranteed Event. Over 30 players have already punched their Day 2 tickets, and this is your first of two chances to qualify today. Registration will be open until 2:30 PM, with the second flight starting up at 4 PM.

Good luck all!

WSOPC / WOG Event #25 Mega Millions XVIII Return List