Kaliahin Sets the Pace on Day 1a of $1,100 EAPT Cyprus
Play has reached a conclusion for the first of five starting flights in the $1,100 Eurasian Poker Tour (EAPT) Cyprus here at the Royal Diamond Hotel and Spa. The first flight attracted 176 entrants and by the end of the night, 26 players were able to find a bag and advance to Day 2 where they will be guaranteed at least a min-cash.
Ihor Kaliahin finished the night with the overall chip lead, bagging 3,040,000 chips, a stack worth 76 big blinds at the last level of play today. Kaliahin is most closely followed by Artem Tuzhik (2,760,000) and Hiroyuki Tane (2,670,000). Kaliahin was among the top stacks towards the last half of the day and pulled ahead of perennial chip leads Hassan Nashar and Tane to bag the chip lead at the end of the night.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ihor Kaliahin | Ukraine | 3,040,000 | 76 |
| 2 | Artem Tuzhik | Russian Federation | 2,760,000 | 69 |
| 3 | Hiroyuki Tane | Japan | 2,670,000 | 67 |
| 4 | Hassan Nashar | Gambia | 2,400,000 | 60 |
| 5 | Vitalii Viunchenko | Russian Federation | 2,190,000 | 55 |
| 6 | Azamat Tulepbergenov | Kazakhstan | 2,035,000 | 51 |
| 7 | Roman Timergazin | Russian Federation | 1,970,000 | 49 |
| 8 | Yuksel Savsa | Turkey | 1,735,000 | 43 |
| 9 | Joseph Mouawad | Lebanon | 1,560,000 | 39 |
| 10 | Alfredo Versace | Italy | 1,460,000 | 37 |
Other notables to advance from the first starting flight include 2007 EPT London champion Joseph Mouawad (1,560,000) and bracelet winner Guo Liang Wei (915,000). Some players who were entered Day 1a but fell before the end of the night include WPT champions Alessio Isaia and Benjamin Hamnett.
Stay tuned as PokerNews brings you all the action from this event leading to a winner being crowned on the final day on May 12.