Today's second and final starting flight of the last ever Eureka Prague Main Event felt a little like three days in one.
There was the initial "And they're off!" start back during the noon hour, when (before long) a thousand players were in action. Then came a second wave that lasted throughout the afternoon as hundreds of alternates eventually filled seats vacated by the unfortunate ones busting early on.
Then -- finally -- things settled somewhat before and after dinner. When that last phase ended, 450 of the more than 1,400 who took part remained with chips, with Shyam Srinivasan edging ahead of Gabriel Nassif at the very end to claim the Day 1B chip lead with 255,300.
Gabriel Nassif had an eye-popping stack of his own, having spun it up to 254,100 by the end.
That turnout means more than 2,000 entries (!) for this last installment of Eureka Prague Main Event -- easily a new record, and more than six times what the first Eureka Prague event drew back in March 2011 (also the very first Eureka stop, period). It also means a prize pool hovering close to the €2 million mark.
Other big stacks close to the top two to end the night included Alessandro Giordano (246,900), Emil Lukac (245,300), Eliyahu Saado (240,100), Marco Caza (225,000), and Bilal Bensahnoune (221,400).
That means Day 1A leader Mathias Jensen will be starting tomorrow with the chip lead among the 600-plus players remaining after bagging 311,200 a night ago.
There was one red spade sporter around at the end, too -- Marcin Horecki of Team PokerStars Pro (who has final-tabled this event before) who ended the night with 62,000.
Click here for complete chip counts for all 450 players who made it through Day 1B. Good night, and see you back here tomorrow at 12 noon local time for Day 2 of the largest ever Eureka Prague Main Event! --MH
Day 1B coverage
11:10pm: Day 1B concludes
That's that for Day 1B. Amid the last roundup it appeared either Shyam Srinivasan or Gabriel Nassif had emerged with the possible Day 1B chip lead, as both were hovering at the quarter-million chip mark as the last hands were dealt. No one, however, appears to have approached Mathias Jensen's 313,200 from last night.
Back in a few with a recap of the day. --MH
11pm: Three more hands
Level 12 - Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)
They've paused the clock and made the announcement. The end is nigh. --MH
10:50pm: Wigging it
Level 12 - Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)
EPT6 Copenhagen winner Anton Wigg is still hanging around here in the business end of Day 1B. He just opened a hand to 4,500 and got one caller - Thierry Gogniat in the big blind. The flop was the [6c][js][as] and and it checked to Wigg who continued for 3,800. Gogniat called.
The turn came the [5d] which both checked, followed by the [8h] on the river. Gogniat led out for a bet, but Wigg folded so quickly we couldn't even catch how much the bet was for. Wigg is left with 33,000, while Gogniat is up to 96,000. --JS
10:35pm: Big stack report
Level 12 - Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)
Okay... there's still a lot of players left in the Day 1B field, but after a sweep of all the tables here's a look at some of the bigger stacks standing out from the crowd as the last level begins.
Emil Lukac -- 205,000
Michal Casnocha -- 200,000
Gabriel Nassif -- 190,000
Alessandro Giordano -- 188,000
Petr Hlavacek -- 182,000
Lorenzo Lagana -- 170,000
Aleksandr Gofman -- 170,000
Dawid Borkowski -- 170,000
Gergo Gecsek -- 165,000
Rytis Sandaras -- 160,000
Benjamin Philipps -- 160,000
Keith Cummins -- 155,000
Marc Chazal-Martin -- 148,000
Julijonas Merkelis -- 145,000
Julian Galan Romero -- 138,000
Dmitrii Deviatov -- 135,000
Irina Zhelezniak -- 132,000
Lukasz Winski -- 130,000
Sandrine Zeitoun -- 118,000
No one appears to be approaching Day 1A leader Mathias Jensen's leading stack of 313,200 just yet -- or if anyone has, he or she has escaped our notice to now. We'll see, though, if anyone can make a last-level push like Jensen did last night and come near or catch him. --MH
10:30pm: Last level of the day
Level 12 - Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)
There are just 45 minutes remaining before the chip bags come out. --JS
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 300 |
10:25pm: Farrell shows his face
Level 11 - Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)
We saw Niall Farrell's name on the player list, but up until now we hadn't actually seen him. The EPT12 Malta champ just got moved to Eva Slovic's table carrying a 23,000 stack, while Slovic herself sits with a little more at 26,000. --JS
10:10pm: Marques hits the mark
Level 11 - Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)
With the board showing [Ah][Th][Qs][5h], Carlo Emeringer checked, Pedro Marques bet 8,500, then Emeringer check-raised all in for 44,000 total. Marques tanked a bit, then emerged with three questions.
All were short, and to the point.
"Ace-jack? Ace-king? Tens?"
Emeringer just smiled in response, and eventually Marques decided he would call.
The answer to the first of his questions was yes, as Emeringer tabled [Ac][Jc]. Marques had that bested with his [Ad][Qh] for two pair, and after hte [4s] river Emeringer -- whose first-level double with aces versus kings won him the title of "early leader" -- was eliminated.
Marques now has 110,000, and continued chatting about the hand afterwards with his neighbor to the left, Joao Vieira, who has about 25,000. --MH
10pm: Team Pro still alive
Level 11 - Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)
Poland's Marcin Horecki is the only PokerStars red spade wearer still in (we think), and he's just took down a pot.
Leandro Gaone was on there button and when there was no action in front of him he came in for an open top 3,300. Horecki was in the small blind and he decided to bump it up to 8,100. Gaone called and they went to a flop.
The dealer spread the [5c][ks][8s] and that prompted Horecki to make a c-bet. The amount was 7,500, and that was enough to get Gaone gone.
Horecki is up to 52,000 currently. --JS
9:50pm: Looking up for Romanov
Level 11 - Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)
Picking on the "uncharted territory" theme of my colleague Jack's last entry...
All day the five tables up on the main stage at the front of the tournament room -- like all the tables today -- have been occupied. They are just a few steps up from the rest of the field, although seem a bit isolated from the crowded field below, as though it is a kind of VIP area almost.
Playing on the stage, Alexey Romanov just elevated his circumstances relatively speaking, earning a double-up with pocket eights versus the ace-nine of Gary Bluston. The latter slips just below 70,000, while Romanov is still looking to move higher if he can with his recently-bolstered stack of about 30,000. --MH
9:45pm: In the far, distant corner...
Level 11 - Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)
In a room so full of poker players there are always going to tables you haven't focused on yet. I ventured over to a far corner of the room, one with players not seen so far today, and found a good hand going on.
It started with an open to 3,000 from Daniel Thoma, which was flat called by Sweden's Amanda Sidark to Thoma's left. Action then folded to the button, and the man behind it was Guiseppe Comitini. He looked like he was considering a shove, but ultimately just decided to flat call. But that let the man to his left - Pasquale Braco - do a bit of shoving of his own. He jammed for 18,000 total.
Play was back on Thoma and he wasn't done with this one. He had a big stack and shoved over the top, getting Sidark to let go of her hand instantly. It wasn't so easy for Comitini, who looked a little frustrated that he had to fold.
Thoma - [ah][js]
Braco - [th][8d]
Braco admitted before he turned his hand over that he was raising light, but it actually paid off. The board ran out [7c][2h][td][4h][3c] giving him top pair and the win. He has around 46,000 now, while Braco has around 60,000 remaining. It's Comitini who's left in the danger zone with 13,000 left. --JS
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 800 | 1,600 | 200 |
9:30pm: Beresford bearing up
Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200 (200 ante)
Conor Beresford is nursing a short stack. He's also nursing a bit of a grudge against poker, but he's getting by.
Down to about half the starting stack, he watched Stefan Huber raise from the cutoff and after studying his hand with a less-than-enthusiastic look Beresford made the call.
"Guess my hand," he said to Huber. "Could be anything."
The flop came [5d][Kc][Qc], when checked to Huber bet, and Beresford folded. "Guess my hand," grinned Huber. "It could also be anything," replied Beresford with mock-weariness.
"Ahh... I hate this game," he added.
Huber raised the next hand from the hijack and Beresford called again from the small blind. This time, though, Alex Brand reraised to 10,000 from the big blind, and after Huber folded Beresford again was expressing something less than enthusiasm when he called all in for his last 7,000 or so.
Beresford had [Qs][Jh] and Brand [As][Kd], but two jacks among the community cards helped Beresford stay in the game -- and momentarily improved his feelings about it, too. He has about 24,000 now, Huber 60,000, and Brand 115,000. --MH
9:20pm: Egermann down
Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200 (200 ante)
Stefan Egermann is out, the German losing the last of his stack to the Czech Republic's Dominik Martan just now.
Egermann put his last chips in behind [Ks][Qs] versus Martan's [Ac][4s], but the latter's hand held through a [Qh][Ad][7c][5h][6c] board to end things for Engermann.
He's not the only one to lose chips to Martan today. He's up around 150,000 now and has one of the bigger stacks in the room. There are still 750 players left, but soon we'll do some scouting to find out who else has joined the race for the end-of-night chip lead. --MH
9:15pm: Stokkan's gone
Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200 (200 ante)
Preben Stokkan stone bubbled the €10K single re-entry earlier today, and he hasn't had much luck in this one either.
After Qinnan Wei made it 2,700 to go, Karol Radomski just called in the hijack. Stokkan then shoved for 27,000 in the cutoff, and it folded back to Radomski who decided his hand was worth a call.
Stokkan - [qs][qc]
Radomski - [ac][tc]
Unfortunately for the Norwegian the flop came [ks][ad][7s], giving Radomski the lead. He'd need a queen but couldn't find one in the [8h] turn or [kh] river. Radomski is up to 165,000 now. --JS
9:10pm: Food for thought
Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200 (200 ante)
Sergey Sergeev has certainly returned from the dinner break with a spring in his proverbial step. First he three-bet to 7,500 from the small blind over Vasileios Tsanos' 2,500 button open, which got through. He flashed the [ad] as he collected the chips.
Next there was a misdeal and he was guessing people's hands. Tsanos accidentally had the [ts] exposed from his hand, and Sergeev was insistent that his other card was a ten too. We'll see how long his post-dinner energy lasts as he continues with his 55,000 stack. --JS
9:05pm: Lehtonen doubles through Feng
Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200 (200 ante)
As play resumes post-dinner, the big board shows 770 players remaining from the 1,410 Day 1B starters. Just now Pasi Lehtonen of Finland nearly made that number 769, but he avoided elimination after an all-in versus Yongjie Feng of China.
Lehtonen had [Ad][Kh] versus Feng's [Ac][Jh], and a [7c][6s][7h][Th][Qd] was amenable for the Finn who doubles to about 45,000. Meanwhile now Feng is in danger of causing that players left number to decrease by one, as he's down to 6,000. --MH
8:55pm: Back at it
Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200 (200 ante)
Dinner is done. We overheard a couple of players at the buffet wondering about how many more levels are left to play in Day 1B. The answer? Three 45-minute levels, then comes the bagging. Let's go! --MH
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 600 | 1,200 | 200 |
7:40pm: Dinner time
From the 1,410 who came for Day 1B, around two-thirds of them are still battling, and those who remain are now off on a 75-minute dinner break. When they return around 8:55pm, they'll play three more 45-minute levels before calling it a night. --MH
Wish you were playing in this event? You can qualify online in a number of satellites. So if you haven't got one already, click here to open a PokerStars account.
7:30pm: Doeser done
Level 9 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
Magnus Doeser was just all-in and at risk with [Ts][Td] versus Alessandro Soliman Essmeil's [Qh][Js]. Alas for Doeser, he couldn't dodge his opponent's overcards -- in fact, the [7h][Ad][Qs][Jd][7c] hit both of them -- and Doeser is out.
Essmeil has about 80,000 with the dinner break approaching. --MH
7:20pm: Sandaras back above starting stack
Level 9 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
We've seen Aistis Sandaras from Lithuania move his short stack all-in quite a few times, but he's never been able to find someone to call him until now.
Tomasz Ranisewski kicked off the hand with an under-the-gun raise, which Sandaras then moved all-in over the top of for 13,500. Marco Caza was in the big blind and he then shoved all-in over the top of that, which got the opener to fold.
Sandaras - [jd][js]
Caza - [ad][kc]
The board fell favourably for the jacks, as there was no ace or king on the [td][8c][5d][qd][9h] runout (although there were flush and straight sweats on the turn).
Sandaras now has around 29,000, while Caza dips to 44,000. --JS
7:15pm: Cowboys hold for Huxley
Level 9 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
Yarslov Shklyar opened from middle-position, Phillip Huxley three-bet his whole stack of 14,200 from the button, and Shklyar called.
It was Huxley's [Kc][Ks] versus Shklyar's [As][Kd]. The queen-high board was safe for the at-risk player, coming [2s][3h][7d][9h][Qs], and Huxley bounces back to around 30,000. Shklyar now has 35,000. --MH
7:10pm: Bicknell battling
Level 9 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
Kristen Bicknell -- the two-time WSOP bracelet winner and a 60th-place finisher in the EPT12 Grand Minal in Monaco -- is battling with a short stack during this last level before the dinner break. Just now she put that stack at risk with an open-raise from middle position and earned folds all around. She's playing about 20,000 at the moment. --MH
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 500 | 1,000 | 100 |
7:05pm: Treble up for Malone
Level 8 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
Stephen Malone has just managed to increase his stack by 300%. Here's how it went down.
The hand begun with a 1,800 open from Anton Wigg, which was three-bet to 4,100 by Vladimir Ovshinov. Action then folded to Bence Szasko who called, before Malone jammed for 10,800. Wigg folded, but both Ovshinov and Szasko called creating some potential side pot action.
That potential was quickly quashed after Ovshinov jammed on the [5s][4h][6s] flop. Szasko folded ace-king face up, which was trailing the [jd][js] of Ovshinov. Malone was in front though, as he had the [qs][qd].
The turn and river fell [tc] and [2s] and Malone moved up to 32,000, while Ovshinov has 25,000 and Szasko 22,000. --JS
7pm: More knockouts
Level 8 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
As Level 8 comes to an end, the big board shows 950 players left from a revised total of 1,410 who registered for Day 1B. An announcement was made a while ago inviting all remaining alternates to take seats, and so it appears there's no one left waiting to be a part of what has become a record-breaking Eureka Prague Main Event.
Among the many who have been knocked out, we just saw Orpen Kisacikoglu heading for the exits.
Miroslav Lelek is also out, his [As][9s] failing to outrun an opponent's ace-queen.
And Benjamin Millian was just eliminated after falling victim to Alexander Sack's pocket queens. But he still looks like a Millian. --MH
6:45pm: A straight serves von Perger
Level 8 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
Jan Subik raised from middle position to 1,700 and it folded around to Jamila von Perger who defended her big blind with call. The flop fell [Qs][6s][9h] and von Perger checked. Subik continued for 2,500 and von Perger called.
The turn then brought the [8h] and von Perger checked again. This time Subik bet 5,000, then von Perger check-raised to 13,200. Subik hesitated a few moments, then called the raise.
Following the [7d] river, von Perger pushed all in with her last 22,300 -- almost as much as Subik had left, too. He thought about a minute and finally set out his stack to call, and von Perger tabled [Jd][Td] -- she'd turned a queen-high straight. Subik showed his [6s][6d] for a set of sixes that were second-best, and the 23rd-place finisher in the EPT10 Barcelona Main Event collected the pot.
She's up to about 80,000 now, while Subik fell all of the way down to just 1,500 and would be eliminated shortly thereafter. --MH
6:40pm: Piquette and Owen out
Level 8 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
After Odeen Jim made it 1,800 under the gun, Jean-Philippe Piquette shoved all-in for 15,500. It folded back to Jim and he made a quick call, after which Piquette quickly tabled ace-queen. Jim had pocket rockets and they held up, eliminating the Canadian.
At the same time, the UK's Adam Owen was seen wondering out of the tournament room. He's been eliminated too. --JS
6:30pm: Lucky Ludo
Level 8 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
We've just clocked our first sighting of Ludovic Geilich in this event, who we're guessing was a late alternate entry. He was pretty short stacked when I arrived at the table, down to just 10,600.
After a player at his table folded his hand aggressively in a "I haven't had a hand in hours!" type of way, Geilich jokingly shoved all his chips all-in aggressively too. It folded to the player in the big blind, Atanas Kavrakov, and he made the call with the [ah][ts].
"Ace ten?" said Geilich, surprised. "That's a crying call!"
He was well behind with the [jd][th] - albeit to the river. The board ran out [qs][qh][2d][8d][jh] and that lucky jack brought him back to life with 22,000. --JS
6:25pm: An Ionescu play
Level 8 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
Preflop action between Mika Surakka of Finland and Adrian Ionescu of Romania resulted in Surakka being all in and at risk with [Kh][Ks] versus Ionescu's [Ac][Qs].
The flop brought one of those aces kings always seem to attract, coming [5c][Jh][As], and Surakka nodded as if he were expecting as much. Neither the [5s] turn nor [Td] river helped matters, and Surakka is out. Meanwhile Ionescu marches onward with about 65,000. --MH
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 400 | 800 | 100 |
6:10pm: The busto brief
Level 7 - Blinds 300/600 (100 ante)
The big board is showing 1,200 players still left from a Day 1B starting field of 1,432, although we're reasonably certain more than 232 players have hit the rail by now (and are still waiting to see if that number of Day 1B players is completely totally for sure.)
Among the eliminated, Konstantin Puchkov has punched out. Amgd Nadr reached bottom. And Shola Akindele-Deadman is no longer alive in the event.
Others departing so far include Georgios Zisimopoulos, Marc Macdonnell, Gilles Silbernagel, and Tsugunari Toma. --MH
6:05pm: Kassouf's up to his old tricks
Level 7 - Blinds 300/600 (100 ante)
"You raise my blind? I have a red card and a black card, so more chance of making a flush. I call."
Pretty standard reasoning from the mind of Will Kassouf, who defended his big blind against the 1,300 open by Izak-Ron Young. They saw an [ah][5c][9c] flop and both checked, before the [as] hit the turn. They both checked that street too.
Finally the [4s] completed the board, and Kassouf needed to find out where he was at. "You have any of this?" he asked Young. "I haven't looked!" came the reply.
Kassouf urged him to look and told him that he had jack-nine for two pair. Young must have believed him as he folded, showing the [ks] as he did. Kassouf didn't show a thing and moved up to 35,700, while Young has 46,000. --JS
5:55pm: Arrocha can't fill draw
Level 7 - Blinds 300/600 (100 ante)
Picking up the action following a [9d][6s][3h] flop, Mario Navarro Arrocha checked over to Ari Varonen who bet 2,100, then Arrocha check-raised all in for 6,200 and after some thought Varonen called the shove.
Arrocha had [5s][4s] for an open-ended straight draw while Varonen had a pair of sixes with [6h]. The turn was the [Ks], adding a flush draw for Arrocha, but the river was the [6h] and he was eliminated. Varonen has 62,000 now. --MH
5:45pm: Fang gets the double
Level 7 - Blinds 300/600 (100 ante)
PokerStars Team Online's Giada Fang hasn't been able to get much going today. She found herself down to just 10,0000, but then found a great spot to double up.
Damianos Aslanidis opened to 1,200 and Fang shoved to his direct left. It folded back to Greek and he made the call with the [ah][qd], which trailed Fang's [qc][qs].
The board ran out [7h][kh][6d][jc][2h] and the ladies held up. Fang has just shy of 21,000 now, while Aslanidis is still healthy with 76,000. --JS
5:35pm: Nanev knocks out Tzakos
Level 7 - Blinds 300/600 (100 ante)
Following a [8s][Tc][9h] flop, there was a leading bet and a call from Rumen Nanev, then Marios Tzakos pushed his short stack all in and only Nanev stuck around.
Nanev had flopped a set with [Th][Td], but Tzakos had straight with [7s][6s]. The [Jh] turn kept Tzakos in the lead, but the board-pairing [Jc] on the river made a full house for Nanev and ends Tzakos's tournament here at the start of Level 7. Nanev is up around 55,000 now. --MH
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 300 | 600 | 100 |
5:05pm: Break it up
Players are off once more on another 20-minute break. --MH
Wish you were playing in this event? You can qualify online in a number of satellites. So if you haven't got one already, click here to open a PokerStars account.
5pm: Beyond greed and fear
Level 6 - Blinds 250/500 (75 ante)
There's a paperback book sitting on a table in between two players, Anna Wegscheider and Fabian Wahlers, provocatively titled Beyond Greed and Fear.
As we stood by contemplating to whom it might belong -- and how its argument might apply to a poker tournament -- a hand arose that saw a middle-position player open and Christoph Rueegg call from the button. Wahlers folded, then Wegscheider asked to get a look at Rueegg's stack before calling.
The flop came [Qh][6h][Ks], and it checked to Rueegg who bet and only Wegscheider called. Both then checked down the [7c] turn and [Ac] river.
Wegscheider hesitated before showing one of her cards, saying "queen" as she turned over the [Qc]. "And?" asked Rueegg, and Wegscheider showed her [9d]. The kicker mattered, as Rueegg had [Qd][Jd].
Rueegg is up around 55,000 now while Wegscheider has about 20,000. Like everyone else they continue to battle -- both their opponents, and perhaps greed and fear, too. --MH
4:50pm: Keep calm and Kassouf
Level 6 - Blinds 250/500 (75 ante)
Will Kassouf is all about personalisation. Take his new car for example:
Just got the Aston Martin DB9 High Like A Boss with my own plate:
— William Kassouf (@WilliamKassouf) December 3, 2016
WIII KSF. Say my name, bitches!
Weee! Lol 🤑😂🙈🎉👍#Coconuts #9HighLikeABoss pic.twitter.com/HPfmebWFZT
It appears that branding also applies to his clothing. Today he's wearing a t-shirt that reads 'KEEP CALM, I'M THE BOSS'.
Kassouf qualified for this event in a €200 satellite last night, and so far has a stack of 33,000. --JS
Eureka Main Event Day 1B
— William Kassouf (@WilliamKassouf) December 10, 2016
Around 2,000 players expected in total. It's time to get the party started! Weee lol 🤑💶🎉👍#Coconuts#9highlikeaBoss pic.twitter.com/c6WjvXN8MI
4:40pm: Semaska sunk
Level 6 - Blinds 250/500 (75 ante)
Multi-way action preflop was finally whittled down to an all-in Vytautas Semaska (at risk for his last 11,650), Benjamin Jones (in for his stack of about 35,000), and Team PokerStars Pro Felipe Ramos.
Playing from the blinds, Ramos had to think for a while before deciding to fold and preserve his 23,000 or so. He was probably glad he did, as Semaska showed [Ad][Ks] and Jones [Kd][Kc].
The flop fell [Kh][5c][7h], the case king giving Jones a set and making the [Ac] turn a bit of an anticlimax. Another ace would still have saved Semaska, but the river was the [4c] and he's out while Jones is up over 50,000. --MH
4:35pm: Strong's out, Kan's in
Level 6 - Blinds 250/500 (75 ante)
Earlier on we told you that Macau Poker Cup Championship winner Raiden Kan was in the field. Turns out we were kind of right; he was on the alternate list, and after an hour or so queueing has finally managed to take his seat in this record-breaking event.
Of course, in order to make room for the new players we have to lose some. As Kan was sitting down, Rodrigo Strong was standing up. The LAPT9 Chile champion will have to make some new plans for the rest of his day as he's been eliminated. --JS
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 250 | 500 | 75 |
4:25pm: Now the field gets smaller
Level 5 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
After reporting all day on the field getting larger and larger, now we can finally talk about the total number of players starting to shrink.
Heinz Traut, Gerardus Englebert, and Aleksandr Orlov are among the eliminated here during the first half of Day 1B.
The big board appears to be settling on 1,441 as a total number of entries today (we await the official word on the number), with the great majority of those still either with chips or part of the now dwindling group of players yet to be seated. --MH
4:20pm: No seat for Siitonen
Level 5 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
Three players were vying before the flop, though one eventually droppped out leaving Olli Siitonen and Vladas Burneikis.
"That's good!" said Sittonen when he saw Burneikis table [Ts][Td]. He was referring to the fact that both of his cards were live as he showed [Ad][Qc].
But a ten on the flop produced another response from the Finnish player.
"That's not good," said Siitonen, seeing how Bernekis had made a set.
The turn and river didn't help the situation, and Siitonen thought he was out, but actually had 1,050 left behind. That went in on the next hand behind a pair of treys, but one of his two opponents made a pair of aces and Siitonen lost his seat. --MH
4:15pm: Unpredictable hand sees Bendik bust
Level 5 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
This hand seemed to switch gears more times than a driver trying to navigate Central London. Ultimately, it would see EPT12 Grand Final winner Jan Bendik drive off into the sunset.
It started with a 900 under-the-gun open from Konstantin Maslak, which was called by Makram Saber, Charalampos Zymvragakis, and Bendik in the big blind. They all saw the [5h][qh][6h] flop land, which Bendik checked. Maslak decided not to c-bet, also checking over to Saber who made it 1,100 to go. Everyone called.
The four players went to the [3d] turn and Bendik checked again, as did Maslak. Saber now put out a bet of 2,700, which Zymvragakis called. Bendik then moved all-in for 13,600, and Maslak - who since opening pre-flop had shown no real interest in the pot - just flat called. That resulted in Saber shoving all-in over the top for 25,000 more, which got rid of Zymvragakis but was called by Maslak.
AAAAnnnd breathe. Still with me? Good.
Bendik - [5c][5d]
Maslak - [6c][6s]
Saber - [ah][3h]
Both Bendik and Maslak had flopped sets, but Saber had flopped the nut flush. The river bricked both full house draws meaning Bendik was outta here, while Maslak lost most of his chips. Saber is now up to around 75,000. --JS
3:55pm: Ladny will gladly take that call
Level 5 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
Jacek Ladny was all in for his last 8,075. The was about 10,000 in the pot, the board read [4c][4h][8s][Ks][3d], and his opponent, Khabat Jahany, was contemplating what to do.
"Do you want me to call?" asked Jahany. Ladny remained quiet.
Then Ladny's cell phone rang, and the table laughed. "That was a call," grinned Ladny, who shut off his phone and resumed his previously stoic, silent look.
Jahany continued talking through the hand, saying how he had an eight, but wasn't sure what to do.
At last he did call, and Ladny turned over [As][4s] for trip fours. "Good hand," said Jahany who showed he was speaking truthfully as he had [9c][8c]. Ladny is up over 26,000, and Jahany down under 10,000. --MH
3:45pm: Kristiansen gets short stack in, survives
Level 5 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
Nachal Lawental min-raised to 800 from under the gun and it folded around to Alexandru Waleed Gavrilut who called from the button. Then Tove Kristiansen reraised all in for 3,100 total from the small blind. It folded to Lawenthal who reraised, forcing a fold from Gavrilut.
Kristiansen had [Th][8h], but saw that was ahead of Lawental's [9s][5s]. The board ran out [8c][3d][6c][2c][Qc], and Kristiansen survives with about 10,000. Lawental still has a healthy 70,000. --MH
3:40pm: No more!
Level 5 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
The late registration window has at last closed, although it will be a little while before we'll know for sure just how big the Eureka Prague Main Event field turned out to be. --MH
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 200 | 400 | 50 |
3:35pm: Nothing on TV
Level 4 - Blinds 150/300 (50 ante)
You know when you're at home on the sofa, TV remote in hand, and you spend 15 minutes flicking through the channels but you can't find anything decent to watch? Poker blogging can sometimes be a bit like that. You walk around the room, from table to table, witnessing the beginning of hands you think might go somewhere, but then realise there's nothing to watch after all.
The last 15 minutes have been a bit like that. Here's the TV guide:
Channel 457: Ari Engel opens to 700 from the hijack but gets three-bet to 2,300 by the cutoff. He folds. Let's see what else is on.
Channel 612: David Lappin makes it 725 to go from middle position and gets three callers. The flop comes [4c][5c][9d] and it checks to the button who tosses in a 5,000 chip. We don't hear the bet size but it doesn't matter anyway as everyone folds. Surely there's something better than this.
Channel 891: Felix Stephensen makes it 800 on the button after it checked to him on a [5d][5h][6s] flop. The bet's called and the turn comes the [ad]. It checks to Stephensen again and he bets 2,600. His opponent folds.
Excuse me while I throw my TV out the window. --JS
3:25pm: Lodge's ladies
Level 4 - Blinds 150/300 (50 ante)
Checking in with the UK's Harry Lodge, he was in amongst the action when we arrived. There had clearly been a raise and two callers pre-flop judging by the size of the pot, and the flop had fallen [js][2d][8d]. It checked around and the turn came the [jc], pairing the board. This time Sergei Nikitin led out for 3,500, which got one fold, but Lodge stuck around.
The river came the [2h] and Nikitin led again for 6,500. Lodge took a minute or so to think before making the call, after which Nikitin turned over the [9c][7c] for a busted gutshot. Lodge had the [qd][qs], and the ladies meant he chipped up to 50,000. --JS
3:20pm: Murray's tournament comes to a screeching halt
Level 4 - Blinds 150/300 (50 ante)
There's a very familiar sound in the non-carpeted tournament room here at EPT Prague -- the screeching sound of a chair being pushed back when a player stands to leave. Usually the sound comes as a kind of punctuation mark following a player's elimination, but sometimes it comes at different times, such as in a recent hand between Ioannis Konstas and Niall Murray.
With the board showing [Qd][2s][3c][9c], the first-to-act Murray had pushed all in, and Konstas tanked for a while before coming up with a call.
"Scre-e-e-e-ch!"
That was the sound of Murray standing up while turning over his hand [6c][5c]. He knew that despite having both a gutshot straight draw and a flush draw, he was certainly going to be behind whatever Konstas had, and indeed the latter tabled [7s][7d].
The river was the [9d], and Murray departed, with no sound accompanying his exit. Konstas now has about 40,000. --MH
3:05pm: Much ado
Level 4 - Blinds 150/300 (50 ante)
With 5,000 in the middle and the board reading [4c][5h][3h][7c], Emmanouil Chrysovergis led with a nearly pot-sized bet, then Konstantin Farber raised all in. Chrysovergis thought a while and called, turning over [Ad][2d] for a five-high straight, and saw Farber show he'd made the same hand with [Ac][2c].
The [7s] river made no difference, and after splitting the pot both players are again playing with the 20,000 or so with which they'd begun the hand. --MH
2:55pm: Beyond 2,000
Level 4 - Blinds 150/300 (50 ante)
Some of us are old enough to remember when the year 2000 seemed like science fiction, a go-to figure always used generically to mean "the future."
But what used to be the future is now the past. (Insert "mind blown" gif.)
Just as the year 2000 is behind us, so, too, is the milestone of 2,000 total players registered for the Eureka Prague Main Event one that has already been crossed. More than 1,400 are taking part in today's Day 1B, which added to the 602 from yesterday means an already record-breaking total of 2,000-plus.
There's still one more 45-minute level's worth of late registration to go, so we'll keep an eye on just how big the final number turns out to be -- and, in turn, how big of a future the winner will enjoy thanks to what is going to be a mind-blowing first prize. --MH
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 150 | 300 | 50 |
2:30pm: Break time
We'll be back in 20 minutes. --JS
Wish you were playing in this event? You can qualify online in a number of satellites. So if you haven't got one already, click here to open a PokerStars account.
2:25pm: Muslawi must be livid
Level 3 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
Tough break for Yosef Muslawi just now. When I arrived at the table Mihaita Croitoru had five-bet jammed for 20,000 over the top of Muslawi's 5,100 four-bet. He called with the [kc][kh] and would need to dodge an ace as Croitoru had [ad][kd]. But the [as] was first out in the window of the flop to give Croitoru a double up. Muslawi still has 30,000 though. --JS
2:20pm: One man's lost cause is another's frightening prospect
Level 3 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
I just saw a hand that reminded me of certain NFL football games, such as one from last week involving my team, the Carolina Panthers.
With Carolina down 30-7 to Seattle in the third quarter, I just couldn't bear continuing with the game and had to shut it off. I didn't mind not knowing how exactly the game ended with the Seahawks winning 40-7.
That was kind of how Mauricio Cottin Ibacache must have felt just now. With 15,000 in the middle and the board showing [8c][7h][Jd][4d], he'd checked and then watched Aleksey Ponakov go all in for his last 6,900. After thinking a short while Ibacache called, but after Ponakov tabled [Kd][Ks] Ibacache felt immediate regret.
"Do I have to show?" Ibacache asked, and the dealer nodded that he did (of course), as there was still a river card to come.
He turned over [9h][9d] -- in about as bad of shape as the Panthers were Sunday night -- and after the [2s] river Ponakov won the pot to move up to nearly 30,000 while Ibacache fell to 24,000.
"You want to know the river, don't you?" asked a grinning Fabrice Soulier, sitting to Ibacache's right, and Ibacache chuckled in response. "You never know!" added Soulier.
"I didn't want to see the river," chimed Ponakov, glad to have dodged Ibabache's outs. --MH
2:25pm: Feshchenko chipping up
Level 3 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
Daria Feshchenko is a woman of many talents. Not only is she a professional poker player, a quick Google search also tells us she moonlights as Miss Bikini Eurasia (not quite sure what that is) and also Miss Tourism Belarus (again, not sure).
She's started well here today. After an open to 500 which Team Pro Felipe Ramos called in the cutoff, she three-bet squeezed it up to 1,700 on the button and both called. The flop came [tc][4h][ah], and when it checked to her she tossed in a c-bet of 3,200. That got both to fold, and brought her stack up to 30,000. Ramos, meanwhile, is on 19,000. --JS
2:10pm: Deuces do it for Giordano
Level 3 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
At one of the outer "spill-over" tables just outside of the tournament room, three players were still battling for a pot on fourth street after the turn made the board read [3c][Qs][2c][7s].
Acting first, Sergei Illarionov checked, Maksim Ivanov bet, and Alessandro Giordano called. Then Illarionov check-raised all in for about 10,000 more, and Ivanov tanked a while before folding and keeping his 18,000. But Giordano didn't have to think about it at all, calling right away.
Illarionov had [Qd][2d] for two pair, but he was in bad shape against Giordano's [2s][2h] for a set of deuces. The river was the [Kd] and Illarionov was eliminated, while Giordano is now up to 62,000. --MH
2:05pm: A Rudelitz awakening for Cuomo
Level 3 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
You've got to love a six-bet all-in and call hand. It started with a 525 open from Silvio Panoscha which was then three-bet to 1,075 by Italy's Daniele Cuomo on the button. Enrico Rudelitz from Germany was in the big blind and he wanted to play higher, putting in a four-bet to 3,000. That got rid of Panoscha and the action was back to Cuomo.
He wasn't done. He counted out a five-bet, taking back his original bet and sliding in 7,650 to replace it. But then Rudelitz jammed for 22,075 total! Cuomo snap-called, and the cards were on their backs.
Cuomo - [qd][qs]
Rudelitz - [kc][kh]
Cuomo shook his hand and started talking to fellow Italian Giovanni Salvatore who was sat in between the two. Sadly my Italian isn't up to scratch, so what was said will remain a mystery.
The board would show the [ah][6s][4d][8c][7s] when it was completed, giving Rudelitz a nice early double up. He has 44,800 now, while Cuomo is crippled with just 3,000. --JS
1:50pm: Believe it
Level 3 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
"Unbelievable," said Gerardus Englebert as he stood to leave, echoing the oft-spoken parting words of many a tournament poker player.
Holding ace-queen on a board with two aces made Englebert's trips seem promising. But his opponent Tomas Hajek had ace-nine and there was a nine on the board, too, making Hajek a full house and ending Englebert's tournament early in the third level.
Hajek has 53,000 now. --MH
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 100 | 200 | 25 |
1:40pm: Another Prague-ress report on the growing field
Level 2 - Blinds 75/150
Speaking once again of the still growing field, it's still growing.
There's room to seat around 1,000 players, which means there's a long list of alternates. A schedule shows players when they might expect to be seated, with the times running all afternoon right up until the dinner break. The alternates are number up to 400 and beyond, meaning the later registrants aren't going to get seated for a good while. Meanwhile late registration will be open another hour-and-a-half or so.
All of which means we'll be looking at a full house for the better part of the day today, as seats emptied by busting players get quickly filled by new ones. --MH
1:35pm: Van Zadelhoff and running
Level 2 - Blinds 75/150
It hasn't been the best start to the day for Steven Van Zadelhoff. He'd lost more than half his stack by the midway point of Level 2, but he's just managed to claw a few chips back.
The Dutchman called a 350 open, as did three other players, including Georges Sultanem in the big blind. The flop fell [4h][2h][kc] and it checked to Van Zadelhoff, who led out for 700. Only Sultanem called.
The dealer burned and turned the [6s] and both players checked to see a river card. It came the [8h] and Sultanem checked a final time. Van Zadelhoff thought for a moment before tossing in a single blue 5,000 chip - a big overbet to the pot. It worked; his opponent folded and he moved up to 14,000. --JS
1:29pm: Join the queue
Level 2 - Blinds 75/150
The queue of players waiting to join the alternates for this event is getting bigger and bigger. The total field size when all is said and done is going to be quite something! --JS
1:26pm: Friends reunited
Level 2 - Blinds 75/150
Two good friends of the PokerStars Blog are in the field today: Team Pro Felipe 'Mojave' Ramos and Ireland's Dara O'Kearney. Now, we can't show any favouritism here, but...ah screw it, GO TEAM MOJAVE/KEARNEY! --JS
1:24pm: Vu Anh Giang - the man with the plan
Level 2 - Blinds 75/150
Vu Anh Giang from right here he Czech Republic came in for an open to 400 and picked up two callers, one of whom was Shay Rozenbaum of Israel. The three saw a [qh][jd][4h] flop and the big blind checked to Giang. He made a c-bet for 650 but only Rozenbaum stuck around to see the turn.
It came the [td], putting three to a straight out there and also making two flush draws available - diamonds and hearts. Giang led out again, this time for 1,300 and got a call from Rozenbaum.
The [4s] completed the board (but none of the draws) and Giang fired a third street for 2,850. Rozenbaum made a quick call, but we'd never see his hand. He mucked when Giang turned over the [qd][jh] for top two pair.
Giang bet every street when he was ahead, and got paid with the best hand. That sounds like a pretty good plan to us. --JS
1:20pm: "It's too early for that"
Level 2 - Blinds 75/150
Following the turn action, there was about 20,000 in the middle as the dealer completed the board -- [6c][7s][5h][7d][Jc] -- and Kevin Bismuth paused just a few seconds before announcing he was all in.
His lone opponent, Roberto Da Silva, looked at Bismuth's bet and saw it was more than the 20,000 or so he had behind. He thought for a while, finally rechecking his cards and then starting to talk to Bismuth. But the latter was wearing headphones, and offered no response to Da Silva's queries about a possible full house.
Finally Da Silva called, and Bismuth nodded as he showed his [4d][4h]. Da Silva revealed he had [Ah][Ac], and claimed the pot. He's now up around 60,000 while Bismuth slips to 10,000.
"It's too early for that!" said a relieved Da Silva as he exhaled. --MH
1:05pm: 1,306 and climbing
Level 1 - Blinds 75/150
They've moved into the day's second level, with the big board now showing 1,306 players having signed up for Day 1B. Again, late registration is open though Level 4.--MH
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 75 | 150 | 0 |
1pm: Double, double, toil and trouble
Level 1 - Blinds 50/100
We've seen a couple more double-ups -- and early busts -- here in the first level today.
Speaking of doubles, Sergey Sergeev is in the field, the Russian having taken 20th in the most recent EPT Main Event in Malta.
So is similarly double-named Andrey Andreev who cashed twice in Barcelona and once in Malta this year.
And while we're on the subject, a couple of EPT Main Event winners are in the field here today, too, both seeking another bit of EPT hardware in the last ever festival for the tour. Ongyan Dimov, winner at EPT11 Deauville is taking part today, as is Jan Bendik who took down the EPT12 Grand Final in Monaco. --MH
12:55pm: Hello, Horecki
Level 1 - Blinds 50/100
Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki has joined the fray. Horecki has a couple of third-place finishes in EPT Main Events to his credit, and finished seventh in this very Eureka Main Event three years ago, a finish he's looking to better this week. --MH
12:50pm: Nice start for Radovic
Level 1 - Blinds 50/100
We just caught PokerStars Team Online's Giada Fang in her first pot of the day. The hand started with a 300 under-the-gun open from Mirko Radovic which was called by Damianos Aslanidis, Fang, Ioannis Mameros in the small blind and Jakub Kyrian in the big.
Five players saw the [4h][9d][9h] flop and it checked to the pre-flop raiser. Radovic continued for 800, which Fang called, before Kyrian raised it up to 2,800. Only Radovic called this one and it went heads-up to the turn.
The [ks] fell, and that killed the action temporarily. Both checked to see the [5h] river, and Kyrian checked once more. Radovic reached for chips and made a bet of 4,500 which Kyrian snap-called. He'd muck, though, when he Radovic turn over the [kh][th] for top pair that had rivered a flush.
Kyrian drops to 15,000 while Radovic is up to around 38,000 already. --JS
12:40pm: Emeringer early leader
Level 1 - Blinds 50/100
"Chip leader, eh?"
So said Szymon Wysocki just now to Carlo Emeringer of Luxembourg sitting across the table from him. Emeringer nodded and shrugged, accepting the title after having just doubled his starting stack following a big early confrontation versus Charles Laczny.
Arriving at the end with a board showing [5c][3h][3s][4d][Td], Emeringer's [As][Ac] had bested Laczny's [Ks][Kh], catapulting Emeringer up to around 50,000 and sending Laczny to the exits early. --MH
12:30pm: Who's here?
Level 1 - Blinds 50/100
With the tables now filling up, we're starting to spot more and more faces. PokerStars Team Online's Gaida Fang is in the crowd, as is 'nine high like a boss' himself, Will Kassouf. Poker player and model Eva Slovic of Slovakia (currently living in Sweden) is here, too.
We've also got former November Niners James Akenhead and EogHan O'Dea, LAPT9 Chile winner Rodrigo Strong, the bearded Dutchman Steven Van Zadelhoff, Macau Poker Cup winner Raiden Kan, EPT13 Barcelona third-place finisher Adam Owen, Swedish pro Anton Wigg, French legend Fabrice Soullier, and IPT7 Malta winner Georgios Zisimopoulos.
More and more players keep flooding in, too. --JS
12:15pm: And they're off!
Level 1 - Blinds 50/100
Cards are in the air for today's Day 1B, with the total number of players registered for today's second and final starting flight already over 1,200 -- nearly double the 602 who played Day 1A.
A year ago this same event drew 1,893 entries, so that mark looks like it will be challenged. Late registration remains open through the first four levels today. --MH
| LEVEL | SMALL BLIND | BIG BLIND | ANTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50 | 100 | 0 |
12:05pm: Early arrivals
Orpen Kisacikoglu, UKIPT6 London winner Usman Siddique, Harry Lodge, and UKIPT6 Dublin champ Vladas Tamasauskas are just a few of the recognisable faces we clocked in their seats ten minutes prior to play starting. --JS
12pm: It's going to be a big one
We're still about 10 minutes away from getting started, as a little extra time has been allotted to get players in their seats. The big board is showing over 1,100 having registered for today's Day 1B, which means the entire tournament area will be filled along with extra tables set up just outside the room. --MH
10:30am: Another busy day ahead!
Yesterday, on Day 1A of the Eureka6 Prague Main Event, we had a massive 602 players take to the felt. Today is Day 1B, and we expect the field to be even bigger. So if you want to play, get down early! You have just four levels of play to enter.
When chips were bagged last night just 168 players remained, and the chap leading them all was a 19-year-old casino employee from Denmark. Mathias Jensen turned his 25,000 starting into 311,200 over the course of 12 45-minute levels (although he got a bit of luck to get there, hitting a two-outer to eliminate two players and surge up the chip counts).
Take a look at all of the Day 1A survivors' chip counts here.
Can a player or two overtake Jensen's count today? You'll have to stick around on the PokerStars Blog to find out. The action starts at 12pm, so make sure you join us then. --JS
Wish you were playing in this event? You can qualify online in a number of satellites. So if you haven't got one already, click here to open a PokerStars account.
Take a look at the official website of the EPT, with tournament schedule, news, results and accommodation details for EPT13 Prague.
Also all the schedule information is on the EPT App, which is available on both Android or IOS.
PokerStars Blog Reporting Team at Eureka6 Prague: Martin Harris and Jack Stanton. Photos by Tomas Stacha. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter: @PokerStarsBlog