Karl Skolin jammed for 108,000 from the hijack before Gab Yong Kim reshoved from the small blind as the bigger stack. Shawn Stroke got out of the way in the big blind.
Karl Skolin: 4x4x
Gab Yong Kim: QxQx
Skolin was in big trouble and found himself in deeper water after Kim made a set on the Q♣10♦2♣ flop. The 7♦ turn confirmed his departure and the 9♣ river was just a formality.
"I'm glad I didn't have Kings," laughed Stroke as Kim collected the pot.
Jan Doenges raised to 21,000 under the gun and Istvan Toth called in the small blind. Marius Gicovanu then moved all in for 80,000 in the big blind, Doenges reshoved, and Toth tanked for a minute before folding.
Marius Gicovanu: 9♠9♦
Jan Doenges: K♦Q♦
Gicovanu was flipping for his tournament life and came out in front as the board came 8♠2♦8♠6♥10♦, earning him a double up.
"You win," he asked Toth after the hand. Toth then admitted he also had king-queen.
"Why didn't you call," Gicovanu added.
"If he calls it comes king-queen on the flop," another tablemate joked.
Paul Craciunas opened to 16,000 from middle position before Vivian Saliba moved all in for 98,000 from the hijack. Andrei Spataru called off his stack of 91,000 from the big blind which prompted Craciunas to fold.
Andrei Spataru: A♣A♠
Vivian Saliba: 9♠9♥
The devilish 6♣6♠6♥ flop gave both players a full house but Saliba was still behind. The 5♥J♣ runout confirmed the double-up for Spataru.
The following hand, Saliba committed her last 7,000 and action it folded to Gianluca Gallo in the big blind who automatically called as his big blind covered Saliba's shove.
Saliba had K♦10♠ and was flipping against 3♠3♣. She paired up on the J♦10♥4♦ flop and held out to double after the 6♣ turn and K♠ river.
However, a few hands later, Saliba was seen headed to the payout desk.
Ruslan Maiseyenka raised to 18,000 under the gun before Luc Gelly moved all in for 90,000 in middle position. Hyungwoon Kim also shoved for around 100,000 on the button and Maiseyenaka called, having both opponents covered.
Luc Gelly: J♦J♠
Hyungwoon Kim: 10♦10♣
Ruslan Maiseyenka: A♣K♠
Gelly was ahead going to the 3♠2♥4♣ flop. The 9♣ turn left him a card away from a triple up, but the A♥ fell on the river and he flung his arms in the air in frustration as Maiseyenka made top pair to bust both players.
As the players start taking their seats, the payouts for the Colossus have been announced.
€200,000 has been set aside for the winner, while the 418 players who made it to Day 2 have locked up €1,065. The top 14 players will also receive a ticket valued at €10,350 for the WSOP Europe Main Event.
Event #5: €550 No-Limit Hold’em Colossus at the 2023 World Series of Poker Europe certainly lived up to its billing.
Over the course of seven starting flights, a total of 3,436 players packed into King’s Resort in Rozvadov to chase the prestigious WSOP gold bracelet. Just 418 remain when Day 2 begins at 2 p.m. local time.
Xhavit Berisha set an early benchmark that no one came close to matching. Berisha built up a massive stack of 1,375,000 on Day 1a and enters Day 2 more than 500,000 clear of the rest of the field. Rohat Arikan (864,000), Alexandr Dusco (790,000), 2020 WSOP Main Event finalist Shawn Stroke (709,000), and Fernando Gomez (681,000) round out the top five.
Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Xhavit Berisha
Kosovo
1,375,000
172
2
Rohat Arikan
Germany
864,000
108
3
Alexandr Dusco
Moldova
790,000
99
4
Shawn Stroke
United States
709,000
89
5
Fernando Gomez
Spain
681,000
85
6
Ilija Savevski
Macedonia
645,000
81
7
Guy Goossens
Belgium
643,000
80
8
Viacheslav Svyshchov
Ukraine
589,000
74
9
Siarhei Kaliankovich
Belarus
576,000
72
10
Candido Cappiello
Italy
545,000
68
Other top stacks include three-time bracelet winner Anson Tsang (470,000), Event #1 runner-up Andras Balogh (413,000), Barny Boatman (348,000), Jason Wheeler (318,000), and 2021 Main Event finalist Jareth East (317,000). Towards the bottom of the leaderboard and with work to do to build up a stack are Martin Kabrhel (207,000), WSOP all-time cashes king Roland Israelashvili (160,000), Sebastian Langrock (144,000), 2023 bracelet winner Renji Mao (144,000), and Manig Loeser (107,000).
Jason Wheeler
The action resumes on Level 19 with blinds of 4,000-8,000 and a 8,000 big blind ante. Day 2 consists of 14 levels of 40 minutes in duration. With an average stack worth just 25 big blinds at the start of the day, bustouts should come at a quick frenzy as players try to position themselves for a deep run toward the final table. Players are already in the money and guaranteed €1,065 out of a prize pool of €1,632,100. The eventual champion walks away with €200,000, with the top 14 finishers also earning a ticket into the WSOPE Main Event.
Day 2 will come to a close upon the completion of Level 33 or when 16 players remain, whichever comes first.
PokerNews is on hand following all the action and providing live updates as the field quickly whittles down chasing the gold bracelet
