An eye-searing semifinal: a "master" versus a master

With the ring of the starting bell, the semifinals officially began with the first match after the draw.

The first match was Akweiler versus Zhizhi.

Zhizhi played just as cautiously and sneakily as ever.

He called every round, but never raised beyond the minimum allowed.

Akweiler's style was completely different. Throughout this match, he almost never initiated a raise and simply called.

Then, at every showdown, his hand always happened to be just a little better than Zhizhi's.

After three rounds, Zhizhi had lost half his chips. Both he and the spectators realized the problem: if Akweiler kept bleeding him dry like this, he would probably lose the match entirely within a few more rounds.

Once he realized this, the Goblin gambling expert could not help growing agitated. Even the fine hairs on his ears began to bristle. In the fourth round, whether through a stroke of luck or some other reason—

Zhizhi actually drew three of a kind, an unprecedentedly good hand for him.

Realizing this was one of his few chances to turn things around, Zhizhi immediately gritted his teeth and decided to take the initiative, going straight all in. To everyone's surprise, Akweiler also went all in. When the dealer officially revealed their cards, Zhizhi's three of a kind appeared before the crowd.

But even more shockingly, Akweiler also had three of a kind—and the highest possible set, aces. That ended the match without a shred of suspense. In an instant, Zhizhi's chips dropped to zero.

The first semifinal match came to a complete close in less than ten minutes.

After losing, Zhizhi stared blankly at Akweiler across from him. His mouth opened, as though he wanted to say something, but he ultimately just sighed. Under the crowd's sympathetic gazes, he jumped down from his chair, bowed