The pot stood at approximately 13,000 with two players looking at a board that read 2♣6♥K♥6♦.
Peter Jorgne, in the big blind, bet out for 6,500 into opponent Patrick Berger, who was under the gun. Berger called.
The 3♦ river saw Jorgne empty the clip, moving all in for 10,200. Berger almost beat him into the pot as he made the call. Jorgne tabled A♠Q♦ for ace-high, while Berger sent him to the rail with A♥K♣, for top pair.
Ciprian Paunescu opened from under the gun before George Chiriac three-bet to 5,200 from the small blind. Paunescu called and the pair went off to a flop of 8♦10♥8♠.
Chiriac continued for 4,500 and Paunescu made the call. The 9♥ turn was then put on the felt and Chiriac decided to put Paunescu all-in for his 18,500 remaining chips.
Paunescu thought better of it and quickly let his hand go, growing's Chiriac already immense stack even more.
Andrzej Powalka raised to 800 from under the gun, Andre Sammour three-bet to 1,800, Julien Sitbon called in late position, and Powalka called.
The flop came Q♦9♠Q♣. Action checked to Sitbon, who bet 2,000. Both Powalka and Sammour called.
The turn was the 10♣. Powalka checked and Sammour bet 6,000. Sitbon had a think before folding, then Powalka check-raised all in for 21,000. Sammour made the call and was covered as players turned their cards.
Sammour showed A♥Q♠ for trip queens. Powalka, however, flipped Q♥9♥ for a flopped full house.
The river came the 7♣. Powalka held to win the pot and near-double his stack, while Sammour was eliminated early.
Patrick Berger raised to 700 from late position and Toni Kaukua three-bet to 2,800 from the button. Berger four-bet to 8,200 and Kaukua moved all in for 32,900. Berger got the count and then made the call. Players flipped their cards, with Kaukau at risk.
Toni Kaukua: A♠3♠
Patrick Berger: A♣K♣
The board ran out 5♥8♦2♥8♣3♥. Kaukua was dominated, but the the three on the river gave him a pair and secured him a huge early double up.
Berger had already won some chips in previous hands and so avoided elimination. He stoically took his bad beat as his stack dropped down to around 15,000.
Wouter Beltz raised to 600 from middle position and Michele Nizzardelli came along from the small blind. Abraham Serrano then raised the price to 3,000 from the big blind, and only Nizzardelli called.
He checked the K♥10♥3♣ flop for Serrano to make a bet of 4,500. Nizzardelli called and the 7♦ was turned. Another check followed from Nizzardelli before Serrano downsized to 2,600.
Nizzardelli was not deterred by that bet and stuck in another call for the 2♠ river to complete the board. The deuce caused Nizzardelli to lead out promptly, for 10,000 chips.
Serrano snap called and showed his A♥K♣ for top pair. However, Nizzardelli had him beat with his 7♥2♥, who flopped a flush draw but made runner-runner two pair to scoop a big pot in the early stages of Day 1a.
The PokerStars Eureka Poker Tour continues today at the Hilton Prague with the first starting flight of Event #18: €2,200 Eureka Poker Tour High Roller. The event is scheduled to kick off at 12 p.m. local time and is expected to attract high numbers after this week's Eureka Main Event has already smashed last year's record number of entries.
In 2022, Sander Ostlyngen bested a field of 1,534 to claim the trophy and title, alongside €463,850, in last year's high roller event. Ostlyngen put on an impressive display in Prague taking down both the Eureka High Roller and the €1,000 Super Hyper Turbo within the same series, and is sure to be looking to repeat his success this year.
€2,200 Eureka High Roller Final Table Results
PLACE
PLAYER
COUNTRY
PRIZE (IN EURO)
1
Sander Ostlyngen
Norway
€463,850
2
Stanislav Koleno
Slovenia
€289,420
3
Jorge Ufano
Spain
€206,470
4
Andrew Hulme
United Kingdom
€159,020
5
Nichita Verbitchii
Moldova
€122,330
6
Kasparas Klezys
Lithiunia
€94,130
7
David Hu
Netherlands
€72,390
8
Marius Gicovanu
Romania
€55,680
9
Hugues Mazerolle
France
€42,830
The Eureka High Roller starts at Level 1 with blinds of 100/200 with a 200 big blind ante. Those who enter will receive a starting stack of 30,000 chips and play through levels of 40 minutes, with a 20-minute break every three Levels. A 75-minute dinner break is scheduled after Level 10, which is when late registration will end. Players are allowed unlimited re-entries.
Day 1 of this two-day event will play down to the money. The bubble will burst once approximately 15% of the field remains; all those to progress to Day 2 will have secured a minimum cash.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for the coverage of this event from the moment cards are in the air until a winner is crowned on the 11th of December.
