POY Leader Matt Salsberg Eliminated by Rocco Palumbo

Level 14: 3,000-6,000, 1,000 ante

WPT Player of the Year points-leader Matt Salsberg (pictured) moves all in UTG+1 for 125,000, and Rocco Palumbo calls from the cutoff with QQ. Salsberg turns over KQ, and he'll need to improve to stay alive.

The board comes 753104, and Salsberg flops a spade flush draw but improves no further. Palumbo wins the pot with his pocket queens to eliminate Salsberg from the tournament.

Rocco Palumbo  -  590,000  (98 bb)
Matt Salsberg  -  Eliminated

Now that Salsberg has busted out of the tournament, the fate of the WPT Player of the Year title is out of his hands. He can only sit back and wait to see how the other three contenders finish -- Marvin Rettenmaier, Amir Babakhani, and Jonathan Roy.

Rettenmaier will win the POY with a third-or-better finish, while Babakhani and Roy need a victory to win the POY award.

Busted with 33 left.Pretty disappointed.Open jammed KQss with 20bbs ran into QQ flopped a flush draw but bricked.

— matt salsberg (@msalsberg) May 21, 2013

Matt Salsberg Back in Business

Level 8: 800-1,600, 200 ante

Matt Salsberg has busted out of the WPT World Championship but he went straight over to the cashier cage to purchase his single re-entry in the tournament.

Salsberg is now back alive to try and protect his lead in the WPT Season XI Player of the Year race.

Matt Salsberg Gets Low

Level 8: 800-1,600, 200 ante

Galen Hall raises to 3,100 preflop from middle position and Matt Salsberg reraises to 10,000 from late position. The small blind calls and Dominik Nitsche folds from the big blind.

Galen folds and the flop is dealt KJ6. The small blind bets 16,250 and Salsberg folds his hand. Salsberg has less than 60,000 after the hand.

Matt Salsberg - 58,000 (36 bb)

Matt Salsberg vs. Dominik Nitsche

Level 6: 500-1,000, 100 ante

The flop reads 1072 when Matt Salsberg raises to 4,000 from the big blind. Dominik Nitsche calls on the hi-jack and the 4 falls on the turn.

Both players check to the J on the river and Nitsche fires out 6,000 after Salsberg checks. Slasberg calls and flips over A10. Nitsches mucks his cards and Salsberg holds close to 60,000 after the hand.

Matt Salsberg - 57,500 (57 bb)
Dominik Nitsche - 127,400 (127 bb)

POY Pts Leader Matt Salsberg Doubles Thru Galen Hall

Level 6: 500-1,000, 100 ante

Galen Hall enters the pot from UTG+1, Matt Salsberg moves all in with a short stack from UTG+2, and Hall calls with AJ. Salsberg turns over 99, and he'll need it to hold to stay alive.

The board comes K62K3, and the pocket nines hold up for Salsberg to win the pot and double up.

Matt Salsberg  -  37,000  (37 bb)
Galen Hall  -  86,000  (86 bb)

Salsberg is the current points leader in the WPT Player of the Year race, and his closest competition (Paul Volpe) is not playing in this event.

But that hardly clinches the award for Salsberg, as there are still 11 players in the field who could potentially pass him in this event. The biggest threat to Salsberg's lead is WPT L.A. Poker Classic champion Paul Klann, who will pass Salsberg if he makes the TV final table (6th place or better).

Tony Gargano Eliminated By Matt Salsberg

Level 5: 400-800, 100 ante

A short-stacked Tony Gargano is all in for 9,100 from middle position with AJ against Matt Salsberg's 44 in the cutoff. 

The board runs out 5436K, bringing no help to Garagno and giving Salsberg a set.

Matt Salsberg - 120,000 (150 bb)
Tony Gargano - Eliminated