Ercan Acar raised to 27,000 from middle position and was called by Daniël Lakerveld in the hijack & Cristian Dinu Cirja in the cutoff before Borys Rozhanovskyi shoved for around 270,000 from the big blind. Acar was thinking for a while before he decided to call, then Lakerveld and Cirja both folded.
Borys Rozhanovskyi: A♥Q♦
Ercan Acar: 9♠9♣
Rozhanovskyi paired his queen on the Q♥7♦4♥ flop then improved to trips on the Q♣ turn. Acar needed a nine on the river to snatch the pot away but the K♥ was a brick, and Rozhanovskyi raked in the pot.
Daniele Grasso raised to 25,000 in early position and Cristi Grecu moved all in for 96,000 in the hijack. Grasso quickly called without noticing that big blind Anson Tsang had yet to act.
Tsang called the floor over and asked whether Grasso's call was binding if he also called. The floor ruled that Grasso would be allowed to take back his chips if Tsang called. Tsang then reshoved and Grasso called for 260,000.
Tsang was ahead with his queens and poised for a double knockout as the flop came J♣8♥9♠. The A♣ turn improved Grecu to two pair and the lead, while Grasso overtook Tsang with top pair. The river was the 7♣ and Grecu doubled up, while Grasso took the side pot off Tsang.
Grasso apologized to Tsang after the hand. "No need to apologize. Whatever you're doing, keep doing it," a tablemate joked with him afterward.
Vladislav Khmelnitskiy shoved from under the gun for a little under 100,000 and Luc Ramos made the call from middle position.
Vladislav Khmelnitskiy: A♠J♥
Luc Ramos: A♣10♣
Khmelnitskiy had his opponent pipped, and he kept his lead throughout the hand as the board of 2♦K♦Q♦4♥6♥ meant his kicker played, which earned him the double-up.
The 1,286 entries into the event built up a prize pool of €1,500,000. The top 193 players will finish in the money and earn a min-cash of €2,400, with the eventual champion earning €213,350. The top 14 finishers also earn a seat into the €10,350 Main Event.
Heads-up on a flop of 10♦4♦10♠, Narcis Nedelcu bet 25,000 from the cutoff before Oliver Meierhofer raised to 56,000 on the button. Nedelcu then moved all in for 140,000 and Meierhofer called.
Narcis Nedelcu: Q♦3♦
Oliver Meierhofer: 6♦6♣
Meierhofer was ahead with two pair, while Nedelcu was on a flush draw. The J♣ turn was no help to Nedelcu, while the 4♥ river sealed the pot for Meierhofer and sent Nedelcu to an early exit on Day 2.
In the first hand dealt on Table #120, Jakub Sterba raised to 24,000 from early position and Walter Van Camberg shoved 176,000 from the next seat. It folded back around to Sterba, who made a quick call.
Walter Van Camberg: A♥K♠
Jakub Sterba: J♦J♣
Sterba kept his advantage after the 3♦8♣3♠ flop, but an A♦ on the turn propelled Van Camberg into the lead. Only a jack on the river would change the outcome of the hand, but instead the 7♦ rolled off, which earned Van Camberg an early double-up.
A massive field will gather inside King’s Resort in Rozvadov when Day 2 of Event #3: €1,350 Mini Main Event begins at 2 p.m. local time.
A total of 1,286 players entered the tournament over the course of four starting flights, but only 303 remain to chase the World Series of Poker Europe bracelet. Xiaohua Yang of China is the chip leader with 1,990,000, followed by Besnik Lalinovci (1,330,000) and Arturo Paduano (1,323,000).
Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Xiaohua Yang
China
1,990,000
166
2
Besnik Lalinovci
Germany
1,330,000
111
3
Arturo Paduano
Italy
1,323,000
110
4
Thomas Eychenne
France
1,316,000
110
5
Daniel Lakerveld
Netherlands
1,248,000
104
6
Stepan Budac
Moldova
1,206,000
101
7
Eusebiu Jalba
Romania
1,123,000
94
8
Stefan Schoss
Germany
1,123,000
94
9
Luigi Pignataro
Italy
1,113,000
93
10
Igor Lyubimov
Germany
1,111,000
93
French high roller Thomas Eychenne, with live winnings exceeding $2 million, is in fourth bracelet with 1,316,000 as he tries to secure his first bracelet. Other top stacks include Florian Duta (992,000), three-time bracelet winner Anson Tsang (934,000), Vladimir Troyanovskiy (821,000), Stephen Nahm (777,000), and Maria Lampropulos (637,000). Vivian Saliba won her first bracelet in the €2,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event approaching 6 a.m. this morning and will have a short turnaround as she enters Day 2 with 621,000.
Vivian Saliba
Further down the leaderboard are Fahredin Mustafov (519,000), Tobias Peters (509,000), Ran Koller (326,000), Samuel Ju (257,000), and Jessica Teusl (223,000). Sokratis Linaras won this event last year by beating a field of 1,729, but he won't be back to defend his title this time.
2023 Final Table results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
Sokratis Linaras
Greece
€310,350
2
Daniel Lehmann
Norway
€183,850
3
Jamel Ghizaoui
France
€136,750
4
Omar Eljach
Sweden
€103,350
5
Bayar Saran
Mongolia
€79,650
6
Georges Chehade
Lebanon
€62,550
7
Aleksej Grenz
Germany
€50,050
8
Francis Klar
Germany
€40,195
The action on Day 2 picks up on Level 17 with blinds of 6,000-12,000 and a 12,000 big blind ante. The schedule calls for 10 60-minute levels today, with a break after every two levels. With late registration closed, the official prize pool will be announced shortly after the start of play. The number of entries surpassed the event’s €1,500,000 guaranteed prize pool, while the top 14 players will also earn a seat in the €10,350 Main Event.
Stay tuned as PokerNews provides all the action as the 2024 WSOPE rolls on.
