W HIGHROLLER ($5,000)

The action heats up, the remaining 12 players are now on a break, with the bubble drawing closer. Hoang Hai Nam is currently in the driver's seat, holding a commanding lead with 2 million in chips.

David Erquiaga opened the action with a raise, only to be met with a 3-bet from Craig Jones. Erquiaga responded by moving all in, and Jones quickly called, putting all his chips on the line.

David Erquiaga revealed A♦ 2♦, while Craig Jones tabled Q♦ Q♠ .

The board ran out T♥ 8♥ K♠ 5♦ 4♠, clean for Jones as his queens held strong against Erquiaga’s ace-high.

With the win, Craig Jones secured a full double up, while Erquiaga took a hit to his stack in this late-stage clash.

The pressure is rising as only 13 players remain in the tournament, and the money bubble is quickly approaching. With just a few eliminations left before the payouts begin, every decision is becoming more crucial.

Among the recent bustouts are John Matsuda and Titov Oleg, both of whom fell short of reaching the final table and a potential payday. The remaining players are now fighting not only for a spot at the final table, but also to avoid becoming the last to leave empty-handed.

Play will continue until we reach the final 9, where the real prize chase begins.

Neng Zhao opened to 17,000 from utg and got a call from David Erquiaga in the hijack.

The flop came 5♣ 7♣ A♠ and both players checked. The turn brought the 9♣ , and again, action checked through.

On the river 8♣ , Zhao bet 28,000 and Erquiaga made the call.

Zhao showed J♣ J♠ for a flush, while Erquiaga tabled 8♠ 8♦ for a rivered set. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t enough to beat Zhao’s turned flush, who scooped the pot.

Zhifan Ye opened to 10,000 from early position and got called by David Erquiaga on the cutoff and the big blind.

The flop came T♣ 7♦ T♦ . It checked around to Erquiaga, who fired 30,000. The big blind folded, and Ye made the call.

Both players checked the turn 5♥ and the river 9♥ .

Ye showed A♣ K♣ for just ace-high, but Erquiaga tabled 5♣ 3♣ for two pair and raked in the pot.

Zhifan Ye continues to dominate the field with a towering stack of around 290 big blinds, comfortably holding the chip lead as play continues deep into the tournament.

Trailing behind is Abhijith Cheruku, who also sits in a strong position with approximately 190 big blinds, well above the current average stack of 80 big blinds.

With deep stacks still in play, there's plenty of room for maneuvering, and both Ye and Cheruku are in prime position for a deep run. The rest of the field will need to make moves soon if they hope to catch up.