Kona Joe Alban doubled up again when he shoved from the big blind with his final 530K and a respectable Q♠ J♠. Ekrem Bozkurt called from the small blind with pocket nines. Alban rivered a Jack to keep his tournament hopes alive.

Congratulations to Satish Surapaneni from Clifton, NJ who finished fifth in our DeepStack Extravaganza I Event #31 $800 NLH (8Max) $250K GTD winning $16,475.

In this brutal hand, Spencer Champlin shoved from the small blind with K♦ 4♣ and was snap called by Satish Surapaneni in the big blind with pocket Aces. The flop came J♥ 6♣ 2♣ followed by a 10♣ turn. Unluckily for Surapaneni the river was a Q♣ giving Champlin a flush and cracking Surapaneni’s Aces.

Congratulations to John Richards from Provo, UT who finished sixth in our DeepStack Extravaganza I Event #31 $800 NLH (8Max) $250K GTD winning $12,447.

Eddie Blumenthal continues his reign of terror after he snap called Richards’ all-in bet from the small blind for Richards’ final 725K. Blumenthal was in the big blind. It was Richards’ 10♠ J♦ versus Blumenthal’s Q♣ A♣. The 8♦ 6♥ 8♣ 6♦ 9♣ board was no help to Richards.

Congratulations to Peter Nigh from St. Louis, MO who finished seventh in our DeepStack Extravaganza I Event #31 $800 NLH (8Max) $250K GTD winning $9,885.

Nigh snap called Eddie Blumenthal’s shove with his final 1.1 million chips and A♣ 9♣. Blumenthal showed 10♣ J♣. When the board ran 6♦ K♦ 7♦ J♦ 3♥, Nigh was out and Blumenthal extended his chip lead to around 5.2 million (51bbs).

Satish Surapaneni recouped some of his earlier losses. When Spencer Champlin raised to 200K from the lojack position, Surapaneni shoved from the hijack with his final 465K chip stack. It was Surapaneni’s pocket tens versus Champlin’s pocket threes, and the tens held pat.

“Kona Joe” Alban just risked his final 545K chip stack when he shoved from the lojack position with pocket Kings. After calling for a count, Satish Surapaneni called from the big blind and showed his Q♥ A♦. Alban’s Kings held up on a 10♥ 10♣ 3♥ 4♥ J♣ board. Alban now has almost 14bbs while Surapaneni is crippled with nearly 6bbs.

Congratulations to Ken Gigstead from Richfield, WI who finished eighth in our DeepStack Extravaganza I Event #31 $800 NLH (8Max) $250K GTD winning $7,688.

The short-stacked Gigstead shoved preflop from the cutoff after Eddie Blumenthal min-raised to 160K from UTG. Blumenthal snap called and showed his K♠ A♣. Gigstead flipped over 10♦ Q♦. The 2♥ 9♥ 3♠ 5♥ 8♦ board was no help to Gigstead and he was eliminated.

Congratulations to Vadim Schlez from Brooklyn, NY who finished ninth in our DeepStack Extravaganza I Event #31 $800 NLH (8MAX) $250K GTD winning $6,956.

The short-stacked Schlez shoved from the hijack position with his final 190K and was called effective by Eddie Blumenthal from the button. It was Schlez’s A♣ 3♠ versus Blumenthal’s Q♣ A♥ When the board ran 10♥ Q♦ 4♣ 7♥ 5♣, Schlez was out.

What a way to start a tournament. In this hand, Spencer Champlin raised to 110K from UTG and was called all-in by Ekrem Bozkurt in the lojack position and then all-in effective by Vadim Shlez from the cutoff. Champlin got out of the way.

Bozkurt showed pocket Aces, and Schlez turned over pocket Queens. The board ran 10♥ A♥ K♥ K♣ J♣, and even though Schlez made his straight on the river, Bozkurt had the superior full house. Bozkurt doubled up his 740K, giving him 1.6-ish million (32bbs) and leaving Shlez with approximately 200K (4bbs).

We have reached our final table in DeepStack Extravaganza I Event #37 $800 NLH (8Max) $250K GTD and our final nine players and their chip counts are:

Ekrem Bozkurt: 865,000
Joseph Alban: 1,205,000
Vadim Shlez: 860,000
John Richards: 1,995,000
(Nicholas) Eddie Blumenthal: 1,525,000
Peter Nigh: 2,000,000
Ken Gigstead: 1,575,000
Spencer Champlin: 2,385,000
Satish Surapaneni: 725,000

Good luck gentlemen.