Two-Time WPT Champion Cornel Cimpan Eliminated by ... Santa Claus?

Cornel Cimpan, one of the few players to ever win multiple WPT titles, is all in with a short stack preflop as Robert Pyne (a.k.a. "Santa Claus") battles for a side pot.

The flop comes [10s9c5s], Pyne bets, and his opponent folds.

Pyne shows [As4s] for a spade flush draw, and Cimpan turns over [KhQc] for king high.

The turn is the [9s], the river is the [8c], and Pyne wins the pot with a spade flush on the turn to eliminate Cimpan from the tournament.

Robert "Santa Claus" Pyne  –  545,000  (109 bb)
Cornel Cimpan  –  Eliminated

There are three remaining members of the WPT Champions Club as the field approaches the money bubble:  Victor Ramdin, Steve Brecher, and Jeff Forrest.