Gromov, Spasov and Song Advance in Day 1b of EAPT $2,200 Grand Final
Day 1b of the Eurasian Poker Tour (EAPT) $2,200 Grand Final has come to a close here at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel and Spa in North Cyprus. When all was said and done Tibor Nyuli finished the night with the Day 1b chip lead, ending with 3,285,000 chips worth 82 big blinds going into Day 2. Colin Gillon is right behind him with 3,250,000 while Yusuf Tekin rounds out the top three with 3,150,000. Nyuli has $83,525 in recorded live tournament earnings to his name with his best cash coming from a deep run in the 2022 WSOP Main Event for $53,900.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tibor Nyuli | Hungary | 3,285,000 | 82 |
| 2 | Colin Gillon | United Kingdom | 3,250,000 | 81 |
| 3 | Yusuf Tekin | Turkey | 3,150,000 | 79 |
| 4 | Nikola Mircetic | United States | 3,075,000 | 77 |
| 5 | Aleksi Naski | Finland | 2,510,000 | 63 |
| 6 | Ludovic Periaux | France | 2,435,000 | 61 |
| 7 | Daan Mulders | Netherlands | 2,425,000 | 61 |
| 8 | Dmitry Gromov | Russian Federation | 2,225,000 | 56 |
| 9 | Andras Matrai | Hungary | 2,145,000 | 54 |
| 10 | Pavel Ignatov | Russian Federation | 1,945,000 | 49 |
Day 1b attracted 368 entrants, bringing the total entrants so far from the first two starting flights to 748. Of those 368 entrants only 56 players were able to find a bag by the end of the night and advance to Day 2.
Among the notables who made it to the end of the night is Miklos Zsuffa, who recently won the EAPT Bratislava Main Event for €32,630. In addition to the cash prize, Zsuffa also won a €5,000 package to Cyprus for this series, which included a free entry into the Grand Final. Zsuffa picked off a huge bluff from then-chip leader Ueberton De Aquino to take the chip lead midway through the day, ultimately finishing with 1,820,000 by the end of the night.
Simeon Spasov finished the night in the middle of the pack with 1,155,000. Just one month ago Spasov won the Carmen Series Merit Poker Cup here in Cyprus for $149,600 and will look to follow up that victory with another deep run in this event.
Other notables to finish the night with chips in a bag include Dmitry Gromov (2,225,000) and Stephen Song (535,000). Gromov is no stranger to tournament success here in Cyprus, where he has 25 five-figure cashes and two six-figure cashes to his name. After bagging a top ten stack in today's starting flight Gromov has momentum on his side as he looks to make another deep run along the shores of the Mediterranean.
On the other side of the spectrum, Song finds himself near the bottom of the counts with 535,000 but, with just over $6,000,000 in career tournament earnings, the American pro and bracelet winner can never truly be counted out and will be a force to be reckoned with should he manage to double up his short stack on Day 2.
Some notables to play Day 1b of the Grand Final but fall before the money include Andrew Hedley, Dean Hutchison, Guo Liang Wei and Ankit Ahuja.
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for all your live coverage needs for this event until a winner is crowned on May 08.