The remaining five players in the €555 Open-Face Chinese are now in the money.
It was Sweden’s Eva “Chic” Jiretorn and France’s Maxime Tanneur who were playing against each other, while the third player on their table, Johnny Johansen, was in Fantasy Land and constructing his hand at a nearby table. Jiretorn and Tanneur were the shortest and the second shortest stacks in the tournament; they realized the magnitude of this hand.
The two players distributed their first five cards:
Eva Jiretorn:
- Top: A♣
- Middle: 5♠
- Bottom: J♠7♦7♥
Maxime Tanneur:
- Top:
- Middle: 9♠
- Bottom: Q♠Q♦Q♣3♦
On her first round of drawing, Jiretorn improved to a two-pair on the Button before saying, “I trust you,” to the dealer. She put an ace up top and decided to discard the 5♦:
Eva Jiretorn:
- Top: A♣A♦
- Middle: 5♠
- Bottom: J♠7♦7♥J♦
Maxime Tanneur:
- Top:
- Middle: 9♠7♣6♦
- Bottom: Q♠Q♦Q♣3♦
Jiretorn didn’t get much help on the second run of drawing:
Eva Jiretorn:
- Top: A♣A♦
- Middle: 5♠3♠2♦
- Bottom: J♠7♦7♥J♦
Maxime Tanneur:
- Top: K♥
- Middle: 9♠7♣6♦10♦
- Bottom: Q♠Q♦Q♣3♦
The third round of drawing wasn’t much more kind to the Swedish Mixed Games enthusiast:
Eva Jiretorn:
- Top: A♣A♦K♣
- Middle: 5♠3♠2♦
- Bottom: J♠7♦7♥J♦K♦
Maxime Tanneur:
- Top: K♥6♠
- Middle: 9♠7♣6♦10♦6♣
- Bottom: Q♠Q♦Q♣3♦
Jiretorn was praying for a miracle, but the fourth round of drawing didn’t see her wish come true. She received A♥10♦8♥, meaning she couldn’t qualify. Tanneur completed his hand:
Maxime Tanneur:
- Top: K♥6♠J♥
- Middle: 9♠7♣6♦10♦6♣
- Bottom: Q♠Q♦Q♣3♦7♠
When Johansen returned with his fantasy hand, Jiretorn’s tournament life came to an end. “Boat, boat,” Johansen proudly announced, and revealed his holdings:
- Top: J♣10♣9♥
- Middle: 4♥4♠4♦2♠2♥
- Bottom: 8♥8♣8♦3♣3♥
Jiretorn became the unfortunate bubble boy, while Tanneur, Johansen, Vidar Assersen, Mati Pirn, and Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk are now all in the money, guaranteed €1,500. Assersen and Franke in particular are looking for redemption; Franke bubbled the €350 Open-Face Chinese yesterday, and Assersen finished in second place after coming up short against Riku Koivurinne.
