"This was my biggest live win," said Michael Bernstein as he was processing the win and getting set for his winner's photo. It was  a hard-fought battle today. After a marathon Day 2 session that went for almost 14 hours to leave four players still alive, they came back to finish it out today on Day 3.

Blair Stevens hit the rail pretty quickly for fourth place, but 3rd place Michael Khan, runner-up Ian Alvarado, and Berny had quite a battle three-ways before Khan was chipped down and sent back to Ottawa in 3rd. That left Alvarado and Berny heads-up and they went at it for more than two levels of play. The lead bounced back and forth between them and both players had chances to win it.

Alvarado's best shot came in the middle of the second to last level of the day when the money went in on the turn with both players on a flopped pair of kings. Alvarado had the best kicker for the lead at that moment, but Berny was drawing to a flush and rivered it to survive with a double. In the final hand, the stacks were reversed with Berny on about 3/4 of the chips in play and he open-shoved ace-four off. Alvarado called it down at risk with a suited king, and the board whiffed on both hands, leaving Berny's ace-high the best.

Bernstein's previous best live score was just shy of $30k (Canadian) from a 2019 Deepstacks win here in Edmonton so this one is nearly 3x his previous best. He had about $130k USD in live earnings coming into this series, so once the exchange is factored he'll likely be closing in on $200k for his Hendon total.

It was a bit of a marathon today but the game is over. Ian Alvarado and Michael Bernstein traded the lead back and forth during the two-way play, and both players had shots to take it down. In the end, it cam down to a pretty standard heads up hand with Berny shoving the button with an ace and Alvarado calling off with less on a suited king. The board of missed both hands so the ace played for Bernstein to take it down. Alvarado picked up $51,760 for his work this weekend.

Michael Bernstein is leading now with about 9 million to 3 million.

They are roughly even again after a huge hand where the money went in on the turn. Ian Alvarado raised to 400k preflop and Michael Bernstein called. Berny check-called for 500k on the flop, but it all kicked off on the turn. Alvarado shoved the covering stack and Berny hit the tank with a pained expression.

"I hate this spot," he said, "but I don't think I can fold." He eventually made the call with , slightly behind the king-queen off for Alvarado, but with a huge diamond draw. The river got there for him, and he doubled his 2.92 million stack into a slight lead.

Ian Alvarado has been chipping away at Muchael Bernstein to take a lead, but Berny just evened it up a bit. He open-shoved his button and after a count, Alvarado called off 1.53 million. Alvarado was gapped with against and Berny flopped his king to take it down.

Shortly after, Berny rivered quads for another double and they are close to even now with Berny closing in on 6 million

They are still playing near equal stacks with Ian Alvarado slightly ahead still. In a recent hand, Alvarado raised to 400k and got a call from Michael Berstein. Berny check-called for 300k on the flop and they both checked the turn and river.

"King high," announced Alvarado while Berny showed a pair of fours for the win.

It looks like they are pretty close to even right now with both players sitting around 6 million. They'll be on a break in 15 minutes and I'll do an exact count then.

They are heads up now after Michael Khan shoved his button for about 8 big blinds and Ian Alvarado called from the big blind. Khan was on against for Alvarado.

Khan flopped a nine on but Alvarado rivered it when the board ran out . That puts Alvarado in the lead to start heads-up play.

Michael Bernstein called from the small blind, then called again when big blind Ian Alvarado raised it up to 460k. Berny check-called for 420k on the flop but on the turn he switched it up to a check-raise from 400k to 1.1 million. Alvarado called to the river, but then mucked when Berby open-shoved.

A limped pot preflop got pretty big after that. Michael Khan fired 240k on the flop and Michael Bernstein called to the turn. Khan switched is up with a check-call for 500k to see on the river for backdoor clubs on the board.

Khan checked again, then hit the tank hard when Berny slid out 1.6 million. After about two minutes in the tank, Khan slid his hand to the muck.

Ian Alvarado has the chip lead now, but there's not much in it with everyone within 1 million of each other.

After a raise from Ian Alvarado on the button, Michael Khan three-bet to 840k. Alvarado shoved sending Khan into the tank. "You're playing different today," he muttered, finally mucking his hand, showing Alvarado one card (which I didn't see). Alvarado showed pocket jacks as he collected the pot. "Good hand," said Khan. "I was way behind."

Michael Khan shoved hs button for 1.24 million and Ian Alvavarad called off pretty quickly with against pocket fives. Khan hit his five on the flop and then boated up on the turn and river.

I arrived at the action on the flop reading and both players checked to the turn. Ian Alvarado bet 150k and Michael Khan called from the button.. Alvarado fired 300k on the river and Khan called but mucked when Alvarado showed for rivered two pair.

It didn't take long for the first exit to happen on Day 3. I missed the action as I was still getting set up for the day, but as I was escorting him to the cage for his payout, Stevens said "Should have folded. Patience." We can probably al relate to the feeling.

Michael Bernstein is suddenly surging with more than 5 million in chips after decimating Van Le right before he busted. Le raised to 300k under the gun and got a call from Bernstein. Le check-called for 200k on the flop, then again for 500k on the turn. They both checked the river and Berny's paint of eights left Le's ace-queen with a short stack. The rest of Le's money went in on the next hand and his chips moved over to Michael Khan's stack.

They are now playing the final hand of the night and the final four will be back at 11:30 am tomorrow to finish it out.

Michael Khan raised to 200k from the button and got calls from both Van Le and Michael Berstein in the blinds. The flop came and it checked around to the turn. Le led for 200k, then called when Berny raised it to 600k while Khan mucked his hand. Le checked the river and Berny bet 1.3 million which got a quick call from Le, but his king-queen was no good against the six-five boat-up for Berny.

There are just over 20 minutes remaining in Level 28 and they'll bag up the chips at the end of this level. They've been playing five ways since the start of the level and as Michael Berstein noted, it's pretty even right now. There have been very few showdowns this level and while there may be more action in the final 20 minutes, at this point it looks like they'll bag up five players shortly.

They are down to 5 remaining now with about 15 minutes left in Level 27. Garett Maybery shoved his big blind over a 200k open from Ian Alvarado. Alvarado called to set up a race between the tens of Maybery and king-queen for Alvarado. There was a queen on the turn for the overs to take the lead, and Maybery couldn't catch up.

After limped preflop action blind on blind, Michael Khan bet 80k on the flop. Van Le called to see on the turn, then faced a bet of 310k. He made the call and the river was a trey. Khan fired 530k but Le snap-called with jack-four for the second pair against the three-four for Khan.

Deven Lane made it 330k from the button, then called off the rest of his stack when Garett Maybery raised enough to put Lane all in. Maybery had against and Lane whiffed the board while Maybery rivered his five.

They are down to 7 after Francis Fan defended his small blind to a raise from Blair Stevens. Fan flopped a pair and a flush draw with and shoved but ran into the aces for Stevens. No more help came for Fan and they are down to 7 left

With 8 players still alive it's increasingly obvious they won't finish this tonight. The decision has been made to play two more levels tonight and bring the remaining players back tomorrow to finish the game out.

Michael "Berny" Bernstein raised to 120k from the hijack and Blair Stevens called from the cutoff. Both players checked the flop but Berby led for 60k on the turn, then folded when Stevens raised to 140k.

Van Le raised to 120k and Michael Bernstein called from the hijack. The flop came and Le fired 120k again. Berny called to the turn when the action repeated for 120k. The same happened on the river and when the cards were revealed Berny's ace-jack was ahead of the ace-eight for Le.

While most of the other stacks were going up and down all day, Maddie Sharma always seemed to be on 300-500k when ever I checked her stack today. She was the most consistent stack in the game through most of it, and that was enough to secure her a final table spot. She was the first to bust the final table, though I missed the action while using the washroom.

I just caught up with the Sharma'a at the bar and they were happy to relate the action to me. After an under-the-gun raise from Deven Lane, it folded to Sharma in the small blind and she shoved. Michael Khan was in the big blind and he tand-shoved after a couple of minutes of thought. That got Lane out of the way and Sharma looked good for another double with aces into ace-queen. Khan hit Broadway on the river, though, to send Sharma out in 9th. The aces weren't working well for her today as earlier on the final table she got a walk in her big blind before showing aces to the table.

Michael Khan raised the cutoff to 100k before Van Le shoved the small blind. Khan asked if it was less than 500k and when Le said yes, he called. Le had pocket queens against ace-queen for Khan and the queens held on a board of . Le had 415k and doubled to around 900k.

Blair Stevens raised early to 120k and Van Le called from the small blind. Le check-called for 140k on the flop but when he checked the tur and faced the shove from Stevens, he reluctantly gave up his hand.

The remaining nine players will be on a break in about 3 minutes and I'll update the chis then.

Final Table Players

Ryan Cairns has been nursing a short stack for a couple of levels now and has appeared to be card dead and blinding down. He finally decided to shove the cutoff for around 500k, but his king-deuce ran into ace-king and couldn't get there.

I'll grab some FT pictures shortly.

Francis Fan limped from the cutoff, and both blinds came along to the flop of they all checked to the turn where Ian Alvarado checked his small blind before Michael Khan bet the big for 40k. Both Fan and Alvarado called to the river.

Alvarado shoved and both players folded. While the deal was happening, the was accidentally exposed as one of Alvarado's cards. It became the first bur card as Alvarado got another card to complete his hand. When the hand was over he revealed queen-eight and said that the eight was the replacement for the burned king, so either way, he would have rivered the straight.

It was a race between the pocket threes of Maddie Sharma and ace-king for Van Le. The board of ran clean for the pair leaving Sharma with fours full for the double.

It folded to Francis Fan in the small blind and he shoved for 365k. Blair Stevens thought for just few seconds before tossing in the call. Fan was on against for Stevens. Fan flopped a king and held on the board of to get the double and move up to about 800k while Stevens is down to about 1.25m.

In the first hand, Ryan Cairns raised under the gun to 60k, then folded after Maddie Sharma shoved her big blind. In the following hand, with Sharma in the small, it was Van Le who opened to 60k, then folded to the Sharma Shove.

Michael Khan opened the hijack to 80k but Deven Lane three-bet the cutoff to 160. Khan made the call to a flop of . He chack-raised from 120k to 300k, but then snap-mucked when Lane reraised all in. Lane offered to show one card, but Khan said "You had me beat."

Michael Khan is the big stack with about 2.8 million right now and he just picked up some dead money. Francis Fan raised the cutoff to 60k and Ian Alvarado called from the small blind before Khan checked out both stacks and then three-bet to 280k. That was enough to push the others off the hand for some dead money.

There is a break upcoming in just under ten minutes and I'll do another round of counts then.

They are down to 10 left now after Geordi Lobe, Dylan Webb, and Keith Stick busted in recent hands.

They are down to 13 left at the start of Level 22 after Gord Pettit and Aman Dhaliwal busted near the end of Level 21.

Michael Bernstein raised to 40k from the middle before Dylan Webb shoved his big blind for 255k. Berny made the call with pocket sixes for a race against ace-seven. Webb spiked an ace on the flop and held for the double.

Taran Parmar and Justin Pennell were the most recent casualties from the Main Event to bring the field to 15.

They are down to 17 left now after Richard Rex hit the rail in 18th place.

Zeyu Huang busted just before the break to bring the field to 19 left while Ryan Comely busted shortly after the break to make it down tot he final two tables. Below is a look at the current chips from break.

Stephen Dauphinais was the most recent bust from Day 2 to bring the field down to 20 just moments from the end of Level 20.

Ian Alvarado raised to 32k from the button before Stephen Dauphinais shoved his small blind for 163k. After a count, he put in the call but his was dominated by the for Dauphinais. Dauphinais turned the ace and that was all he needed to double to stay alive.

There is a break in just under 20 minutes, and I'll do another full round of chip counts then.

They are down to 21 after three quick eliminations. I was at the table when Todd Oakley shoved his button over a raise from Micahel "Berny" Bernstein. Berny made it 30k to go from the middle, then called off when Oakley shoved for 263k. Berny was best with ace-queen into ace-jack and he held for the win. Meanwhile, Zoran Pribilovic and HH also busted at the same time from other tables.

Gord Pettit raised early to 30k, then smooth-called when small blind Van Le raised to 120k. On the flop of Le fired out 40k, but then tank-folded to the shove from Pettit. Meanwhile, Quinn Vandermeer busted from another table to bring the game down to 24 left.

Shortly after Jan Rofuli hit the rail for 28th, Shane Brotherwood and Sean O'Reilly both busted on the same hand. Brotherwood had the most chips so he took 26th place while O'Reilly took 27th.

Jan Rofuli was the bubble to the final three tables tonight in 28th place. Zoran Pribilovic raised early to 25k, then called when Jan Rofuli bet 144k, leaving just 5k behind. The rest of it went in on the flop with Rufoli on against for Pribilovic. The turn was safe for Rofuli, but the river gave Pribilovic two pair and the win.

They are down to 29 players left with about 35 minutes to play in Level 19 after Xinrui Cui and Jon Jacquard lost their stacks today.

There are 31 players left in the game with about 5 minutes to play in Level 18 and a break scheduled following this level. I'll grab chip counts at the break to see where the remaining players are, but Pav Braich was the most recent exit to bring them down to 31.

They are down to 32 players left in the game now with about 20 minutes to play in Level 18. Andy Truong and Paul Brar were the most recent exits from the game with full prizes to date loaded under the payouts tab.

They are down to 34 remaining now on the final four tables after the exit of Ukrainian-Canadian Oleksandr Pugach, Matt Clark, and Jimmy Lee.

They are down to 37 players left in action today with about 45 minutes to play in Level 18 and a break scheduled following this level. Full prizes are posted under the payouts tab.

It's been pretty quick action so far today with 10 players already collecting their cashouts. The field is now down to 42 remaining with about 10 minutes to play in Level 17.

They are down to 45 players left now on five full tables and the min-cash slots are now full. The next player to bust in 45th gets the pay jump from $1,770 to $2,150. Full prizes so far will be loaded under the Payouts tab shortly

There are 52 players left in the game for Day 2 play with $75k and change up top for the win. There are 53 paid spots in the game, but #53 is already claimed by Taran Parmar, who busted on Day 1a after they were already at the money line.

The big stack from yesterday was Todd Oakley, bagging a few more chips than Michael Khan. I was cautious last night as I thought the name I saw was someone who prefers to remain anonymous, but since chatting with him today I realized I got the name wrong and he's not who I thought he was, so I'm naming him now.

Action is now underway for Day 2 with the final few minutes of Level 16 before they move into 1-hour levels for Level 17.

Day 2 is set with 2 stacks in the 700k range. One of them belongs to Michael Khan from Ottawa while the other belongs to a player who usually likes to remain anonymous. Van Le, Taran Parmar, and Maddie Sharma round out the Day 2 top five with Day 1a leader Zeyu "Skytrain" Huang in 6th place for Day 2.

There were 408 total entries in the game this time around and white the prizes didn't quite hit $400k, they came pretty close with $383,724. First place will pay a little more than $75k.

Day 2 action gets going at 1 pm and players are asked to be in the room by 12:45 to get the bags open for a 1 pm start. They will most likely play down to a winner on Sunday, but it's at least possible they'll come back to finish it out on Monday. Stay tuned for the Day 2 seats coming shortly.