Stefan Drusca open-jammed withe 10♠6♣ out of the small blind and Marcin Kacprzak called in the big blind with the A♥7♦ for his last 920,000 behind.
The J♦9♦5♦ flop kept Kacprzak ahead and so did the 7♥ turn. However, the 10♥ river improved Drusca and knocked out his opponent in 18th place for €3,700.
After an open and call, Stanislav Koleno continued on the button for 200,000 after the 3♠Q♥2♠ flop. Roland Schweinstetter check-called in the big blind to the J♦ turn.
Schweinstetter checked again and called when Koleno fired 550,000 into the middle. The K♦ river saw Schweinstetter check one last time before Koleno bet enough to put his opponent all in.
Schweinstetter called instantly, showing K♥Q♣ for two pair. Koleno turned over A♠7♠ for a missed flush draw, as a good portion of his stack slid to the left.
Iman Ghashayar raised it up from middle position and Schayan Schakeri defended the big blind. They headed to the A♠10♦8♣ flop on which Schakeri check-raised from 190,000 to 770,000. Ghashayar stuck around to the 9♠ turn on which Schakeri gave it some thought and then jammed, Ghashayar snap-called.
Schayan Schakeri: 10♠10♥
Iman Ghashayar: Q♦J♣
Schakeri needed the board to pair but the 7♥ river was a blank, knocking out Schakeri in 19th place for €3,700.
What started with a battle of the blinds with an open raise to 370,000 by Frank Leykauf would turn into a lengthy hand as Stanislav Koleno stuck around in the big blind.
Leykauf bet the A♠K♣10♣ flop for 340,000 and Koleno called before the former checked the 4♣ turn. Koleno bet 550,000 and Leykauf reluctantly called.
After the 5♦ river, Leykauf checked and Koleno bet 2,000,000 for most of his stack. That sent Leykauf into agony and he tanked for four minutes before he tossed in a single chip for the call.
Koleno tabled the Q♣5♣ for a flush and Leykauf's K♦3♣ were shown before his stack was counted. Leykauf only had 1,950,000 at his disposal and was thus eliminated in 21st place.
Roland Schweinstetter opened to 260,000 on the button and Iman Ghashayar defended in the big blind to see the 2♣8♥J♠ flop.
Ghashayar checked and called when Schweinstetter continued for 200,000 to the 4♥ turn. The action repeated, this time with a bet of 625,000 from Schweinstetter.
Schweinstetter then moved all in for around 850,000 on the K♥ river and Ghashayar went into the tank. After taking a few minutes, Ghashayar slid his cards into the muck.
Schweinstetter took down the pot, showing a grin and letting out a sigh of relief while adding to his stack.
Hristofor Kolev moved his short stack of 480,000 all in from under the gun and was at risk when Schayan Schakeri shoved on the button. William Kang then also moved all in from the big blind, covering both stacks.
Hristofor Kolev: 10♣10♦
Schayan Schakeri: A♠K♥
William Kang: Q♠Q♦
Schakeri was looking for help and found it on the 7♥K♠5♦ flop to take the lead. The 8♦ turn and 8♠ river changed nothing, leaving Schakeri with the best hand while eliminating Kolev in 23rd place.
The first piece of hardware is set to be awarded today at the 2023 World Series of Poker Europe in in Event #1: €350 NLH Opener. The final 23 remaining players will return to King's Resort in Rozvadov for the third and final day of action before the top prize of €110,000 will be claimed.
Leading the way is Stefan Drusca, who amassed nearly 7,000,000 chips in his bag at the end of Day 2 good for almost 60 big blinds. He is followed by Lukas Pazma as the only players returning with more than 5,000,000 chips in their stacks.
All of the remaining contenders are chasing the largest share of the €1,048,272 prize pool, to go along with the coveted WSOP gold bracelet. There is also some extra incentive for the players, as the top 12 will also lock up a ticket to Day 1a of Event #13: €10,350 Main Event NLH European Championship.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Stefan Drusca
Romania
6,985,000
58
2
Lukas Pazma
Czechia
5,910,000
49
3
Emil Bise
Switzerland
4,965,000
41
4
Stephan Glausch
Austria
4,850,000
40
5
Wladimir Gerner
Germany
4,600,000
38
6
Stanislav Koleno
Slovakia
4,565,000
38
7
Stefan Pezzarossa
Italy
4,265,000
36
8
Iman Ghashayar
Netherlands
4,190,000
35
9
Alfredo Vega Meister
Spain
3,935,000
33
10
Frank Leykauf
Germany
3,075,000
26
Among the names giving chase is two-time WSOP Europe bracelet winner Emil Bise, sitting third in chips while looking to make more history at King’s Resort. Stephan Glausch is the only other player bringing a stack of 40 big blinds into play today, while Wladimir Gerner rounds out the top five.
Day 3 begins at 1:00 p.m. local time, with the clock showing 22:13 remaining in Level 31. Blinds will continue at 60,000/120,000 with a 120,000 big blind ante, and all of the action will be streamed on the King’s Resort Twitch and YouTube channels on a one hour delay.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews team covers all of the exciting action as the first WSOP gold bracelet is set to be handed out in Rozvadov.