Money Bubble Looms at Close of PokerStars Championship Prague Main Event Day 2
All of the players who still had chips in PokerStars Championship Prague Main Event gathered in one room for the first time, with survivors of two starting days and last-minute registrants creating a field of 855 entries. At the close of six levels of play, that number has been reduced to only 140 hopefuls, just a few eliminations from the money bubble that will take place when 128 remain.
The top 127 will get chunks of a prize pool finalized during the opening hour of play, totaling over €4.1 million and paying out €775,000 to the winner.
The players who have best positioned themselves to claim that windfall after 14 levels include Paul Michaelis (630,500), Omid Mojaverian (597,500) and Erik Walfridsson (536,500).
Michaelis, who won a bracelet in 2015 in one of the last pot-limit hold'em events ever at the WSOP, will try to continue the modern poker tradition of Germans sweeping up all of the money out there. In a big hand late in Day 2, he got three streets of all-in value with a turned set of tens in a three-bet pot against a player who had paired on the flop with ace-king. Just before the day came to an end, Michaelis flopped another set and ultimately sent Romain Lewis to the rail to claim the top spot.
Day 1 chip leader and local Czech standout Michal Mrakes also followed up his big Day 1 with a solid Day 2. While his nearly $1 million in cashes speaks to his overall success, Mrakes seems to do especially well here in his home country, with cashes of €200,000 and €46,594 already this year.
While Mrakes couldn't hold his overall lead on the field, he still increased his stack from 202,700 to 333,000, good enough for almost two times the average.
Team PokerStars also performed well, with Fatima Moreira de Melo, Igor Kurganov, Jake Cody, Maria Konnikova and Marcin Horecki all still carrying the banner heading into Day 3.
Players who weren't so fortunate and found themselves hitting the rail on Day 2 included Timothy Adams, Koray Aldemir, Davidi Kitai, John Juanda and Adrian Mateos.
Jasper Meijer van Putten, the Dutchman who won the final EPT Prague here last year, also busted. He got his chips in way behind with top pair against a set held by Boris Kolev, and though a sweat arrived when Meijer van Putten turned trips, he was felted when the river bricked off.
Day 3 play picks up Friday at noon at Level 15 (2,000/4,000/500) and will see a switch to 90-minute levels. Come back to PokerNews then to continue following the development of one of the last big tournaments of 2017.
Official top Chip Counts 10 After Day 2
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Michaelis | Germany | 630,500 |
| 2 | Omid Mojaverian | Iran | 597,500 |
| 3 | Erik Walfridsson | Sweden | 536,500 |
| 4 | Boris Kolev | Bulgaria | 510,500 |
| 5 | Daniel Barriocanal | Spain | 504,000 |
| 6 | Dimitrios Kalaroutis | Greece | 417,000 |
| 7 | Paraschos Stavridis | Greece | 414,000 |
| 8 | Fatima Moreira de Melo | Netherlands | 406,000 |
| 9 | Kalidou Sow | France | 405,000 |
| 10 | Robert Heidorn | Germany | 394,500 |
Main Event Day 3 Seat Draw
| Table | Seat | Name | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | 151,500 | 38 |
| 1 | 2 | John Mooney | UK | 182,000 | 46 |
| 1 | 3 | Louis Salter | Ireland | 195,000 | 49 |
| 1 | 4 | Daniel Barriocanal | Spain | 504,000 | 126 |
| 1 | 5 | Omid Mojaverian | Iran | 597,500 | 149 |
| 1 | 6 | Arsenii Karmatckii | Russia | 232,000 | 58 |
| 1 | 7 | Alexis Fleur | France | 212,500 | 53 |
| 1 | 8 | Georgios Zisimopoulos | Greece | 88,000 | 22 |
| 2 | 1 | Dominik Panka | Poland | 320,500 | 80 |
| 2 | 3 | Cathal Shine | Ireland | 135,000 | 34 |
| 2 | 4 | Martin Staszko | Czech Republic | 78,000 | 20 |
| 2 | 5 | Fatima Moreira De Melo | Netherlands | 406,000 | 102 |
| 2 | 6 | Michael Koran | Switzerland | 101,000 | 25 |
| 2 | 7 | Ihar Soika | Belarus | 44,000 | 11 |
| 2 | 8 | Aleksandr Mordvinov | Russia | 296,500 | 74 |
| 3 | 1 | Gabriele Lepore | Italy | 339,500 | 85 |
| 3 | 2 | Yury Kanunnikov | Russia | 182,000 | 46 |
| 3 | 3 | Yorane Kerignard | France | 44,000 | 11 |
| 3 | 4 | Paraschos Stavridis | Greece | 414,000 | 104 |
| 3 | 5 | Justas Vaiciulionis | Lithuania | 56,000 | 14 |
| 3 | 6 | Marco Regonaschi | Italy | 65,000 | 16 |
| 3 | 7 | Matas Cimbolas | Lithuania | 271,000 | 68 |
| 3 | 8 | Quentin Lecomte | France | 63,500 | 16 |
| 4 | 1 | Ondrej Pulec | Czech Republic | 107,000 | 27 |
| 4 | 2 | Xixiang Luo | China | 377,500 | 94 |
| 4 | 3 | Petr Svoboda | Czech Republic | 92,500 | 23 |
| 4 | 4 | Jonathan Proudfoot | UK | 58,500 | 15 |
| 4 | 5 | Boris Kolev | Bulgaria | 510,500 | 128 |
| 4 | 6 | Jacek Pustula | Poland | 140,000 | 35 |
| 4 | 7 | Valon Budima | Albania | 33,000 | 8 |
| 4 | 8 | Vitaliy Li | Russia | 55,500 | 14 |
| 5 | 1 | Igor Kurganov | Russia | 160,000 | 40 |
| 5 | 2 | Boris Kuzmanovic | Croatia | 208,500 | 52 |
| 5 | 3 | Paul Michaelis | Germany | 630,500 | 158 |
| 5 | 4 | Marcin Horecki | Poland | 132,000 | 33 |
| 5 | 5 | Ji Zhang | Germany | 296,000 | 74 |
| 5 | 6 | Asi Moshe | Israel | 192,500 | 48 |
| 5 | 7 | Alex Foxen | USA | 133,000 | 33 |
| 5 | 8 | Sebastian Kappenberg | Germany | 52,000 | 13 |
| 6 | 1 | Gavin O'Rourke | Ireland | 146,000 | 37 |
| 6 | 2 | Jake Cody | UK | 252,500 | 63 |
| 6 | 3 | Carlo Savinelli | Italy | 130,000 | 33 |
| 6 | 4 | Jakutis Povilas | Lithuania | 131,000 | 33 |
| 6 | 5 | Charles La Boissonniere | Canada | 68,500 | 17 |
| 6 | 6 | Walter Oaquim | Brazil | 199,000 | 50 |
| 6 | 7 | Harry Lodge | UK | 235,500 | 59 |
| 6 | 8 | Josip Simunic | Austria | 200,000 | 50 |
| 7 | 1 | Jean Montury | France | 166,000 | 42 |
| 7 | 2 | Milos Lalovic | Serbia | 47,000 | 12 |
| 7 | 3 | Michal Mrakes | Czech Republic | 333,000 | 83 |
| 7 | 4 | Daniel Belov | Estonia | 227,000 | 57 |
| 7 | 5 | Robert Heidorn | Germany | 394,500 | 99 |
| 7 | 6 | Vlad Darie | Romania | 81,500 | 20 |
| 7 | 7 | Aleksandr Merzhvinskiy | Russia | 146,000 | 37 |
| 7 | 8 | Shabtai Koren | Israel | 142,500 | 36 |
| 8 | 1 | Thomas Mercier | Belgium | 222,500 | 56 |
| 8 | 2 | Yang Zhang | China | 71,500 | 18 |
| 8 | 4 | Daniel Juncadella | Spain | 75,500 | 19 |
| 8 | 5 | Pierre Calamusa | France | 219,000 | 55 |
| 8 | 6 | Yuliyan Kolev | Bulgaria | 94,500 | 24 |
| 8 | 7 | Kamil Dobosz | Poland | 89,500 | 22 |
| 8 | 8 | Maria Konnikova | USA | 29,500 | 7 |
| 9 | 1 | Liwei Sun | Italy | 117,500 | 29 |
| 9 | 2 | Rui Neves Ferreira | Portugal | 167,000 | 42 |
| 9 | 3 | Jan Bednar | Czech Republic | 215,000 | 54 |
| 9 | 4 | Serhii Popovych | Ukraine | 156,500 | 39 |
| 9 | 5 | Yuki Ko | Korea | 65,500 | 16 |
| 9 | 6 | Anton Yakuba | Russia | 134,000 | 34 |
| 9 | 7 | Ivan Soshnikov | Russia | 298,000 | 75 |
| 9 | 8 | Ghassan Yared | Lebanon | 234,500 | 59 |
| 10 | 1 | Gianluca Speranza | Italy | 202,000 | 51 |
| 10 | 2 | Stefanita Fechete | Romania | 140,000 | 35 |
| 10 | 3 | Dimitrios Kalaroutis | Greece | 417,000 | 104 |
| 10 | 4 | Alex Bilokur | Russia | 103,500 | 26 |
| 10 | 5 | Tuukka Meklin | Finland | 62,500 | 16 |
| 10 | 6 | Anatolii Zyrin | Russia | 242,500 | 61 |
| 10 | 7 | Dermot Blain | Ireland | 194,000 | 49 |
| 10 | 8 | Norbert Szecsi | Hungary | 147,000 | 37 |
| 11 | 1 | Edgaras Kancaitis | Lithuania | 74,500 | 19 |
| 11 | 2 | Diego Zeiter | Switzerland | 330,000 | 83 |
| 11 | 3 | Marti Roca De Torres | Spain | 225,500 | 56 |
| 11 | 5 | James Mitchell | UK | 236,000 | 59 |
| 11 | 6 | Nir Levy | Israel | 383,000 | 96 |
| 11 | 7 | Michel Dattani | Portugal | 95,000 | 24 |
| 11 | 8 | Viliyan Petleshkov | Bulgaria | 123,000 | 31 |
| 12 | 1 | Cesar Garcia | Spain | 155,000 | 39 |
| 12 | 2 | Kalidou Sow | France | 405,000 | 101 |
| 12 | 3 | Jean-Jacques Zeitoun | France | 163,000 | 41 |
| 12 | 4 | Lawrence Bayley | UK | 89,500 | 22 |
| 12 | 5 | Fiodor Martino | Italy | 152,500 | 38 |
| 12 | 6 | Colin Robinson | USA | 333,000 | 83 |
| 12 | 7 | Ali Reza Fatehi | Iran | 132,000 | 33 |
| 12 | 8 | Assaf Ben Yosef | Israel | 174,000 | 44 |
| 13 | 1 | Valery Yantsevich | Belarus | 150,000 | 38 |
| 13 | 2 | Maksim Paddubniak | Belarus | 88,000 | 22 |
| 13 | 3 | Valentyn Shabelnyk | Ukraine | 258,500 | 65 |
| 13 | 4 | Nick Maimone | USA | 109,500 | 27 |
| 13 | 5 | Fabian Wahlers | Germany | 72,000 | 18 |
| 13 | 6 | Amjad Nader Mustafa | Saudi Arabia | 111,500 | 28 |
| 13 | 7 | Rasmus Vogt | Denmark | 87,500 | 22 |
| 13 | 8 | Fidan Zahiti | Sweden | 194,500 | 49 |
| 14 | 1 | Viacheslav Goryachev | Russia | 33,500 | 8 |
| 14 | 2 | Guillaume Pau Davy | France | 59,000 | 15 |
| 14 | 3 | Jason Wheeler | USA | 221,000 | 55 |
| 14 | 4 | Alexandr Resko | Czech Republic | 146,000 | 37 |
| 14 | 5 | Xia Lin | China | 62,500 | 16 |
| 14 | 6 | Samy Ouellani | France | 110,000 | 28 |
| 14 | 7 | James Akenhead | UK | 257,500 | 64 |
| 14 | 8 | Antonio Palma | Portugal | 170,000 | 43 |
| 15 | 1 | Dmitry Ponomarev | Russia | 258,500 | 65 |
| 15 | 2 | Yordan Dimitrov | Bulgaria | 51,000 | 13 |
| 15 | 3 | Sonny Franco | France | 174,500 | 44 |
| 15 | 4 | Jukka Paloniemi | Finland | 198,500 | 50 |
| 15 | 6 | Andrzej Siemieniak | Poland | 242,500 | 61 |
| 15 | 7 | Konstantin Farber | Germany | 270,000 | 68 |
| 15 | 8 | Christopher Andler | Sweden | 201,000 | 50 |
| 16 | 1 | Francois Tosques | France | 224,500 | 56 |
| 16 | 2 | Markus Durnegger | Austria | 195,000 | 49 |
| 16 | 3 | Thomas Lentrodt | Germany | 161,000 | 40 |
| 16 | 4 | Alessio Isaia | Italy | 249,000 | 62 |
| 16 | 5 | Hon Cheong Lee | Hong Kong | 241,500 | 60 |
| 16 | 6 | Ivan Kiselev | Russia | 110,000 | 28 |
| 16 | 7 | Liviu Ignat | Romania | 79,000 | 20 |
| 16 | 8 | Petar Kalev | Bulgaria | 141,000 | 35 |
| 17 | 1 | Oleg Vasylchenko | Ukraine | 39,000 | 10 |
| 17 | 2 | Bartosz Stasiewicz | Poland | 96,000 | 24 |
| 17 | 3 | Erik Walfridsson | Sweden | 536,500 | 134 |
| 17 | 4 | Jack Sinclair | UK | 92,500 | 23 |
| 17 | 5 | Oleksandr Trokhymenko | Ukraine | 92,500 | 23 |
| 17 | 6 | Aleksandr Orlov | Russia | 206,500 | 52 |
| 17 | 7 | Wagner Da Gloria Felicio | Portugal | 40,500 | 10 |
| 17 | 8 | Hari Bercovici | Israel | 285,000 | 71 |
| 18 | 1 | Petr Targa | Czech Republic | 102,000 | 26 |
| 18 | 2 | Navot Golan | Israel | 305,000 | 76 |
| 18 | 3 | Mikhail Korotkikh | Russia | 173,500 | 43 |
| 18 | 4 | Mattia Baccassino | Italy | 224,000 | 56 |
| 18 | 5 | Mihai Manole | Romania | 44,500 | 11 |
| 18 | 6 | Mathew Frankland | UK | 69,000 | 17 |
| 18 | 7 | Nikolaos Iliakis | Greece | 228,000 | 57 |
| 18 | 8 | Arnaud Enselme | France | 281,000 | 70 |