Boris Angelov Bags Chip Lead in Final Flight of Eureka Main Event
Day 1d of the $1,100 Eureka Main Event, has reached a conclusion at the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Cyprus.. The final starting flight saw a total of 532 entrants with 80 players bagging for Day 2 and making the money. Of those 80 players, Boris Angelov bagged the biggest stack of the night, finishing with 964,000 chips, the second-biggest stack of all the Day 1 starting flights. Angelov is only surpassed by Day 1c chip leader Gaelle Baumann, who bagged 1,007,000.
In total, the Eureka Main Event reached a total of 2,659 entrants, the third-largest field in PokerStars history, creating a total prize pool of $2,552,640. 399 total players advanced to Day 2 across all starting flights, all of whom have made the money and will be guaranteed at least a min-cash. The full payout structure will be released Saturday October 14th before the tournament continues.
Other players to bag big on Day 1d include Andre Sammour (691,000), who busted Daniyar Aubakirov in the biggest pot of the night, Oleg Ustinovich (628,000) and Marc Foggin (495,000).
Day 1d Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boris Angelov | Bulgaria | 964000 | 161 |
| 2 | Andre Sammour | Lebanon | 691000 | 115 |
| 3 | Oleg Ustinovich | Russia | 628000 | 105 |
| 4 | Marc Foggin | United Kingdom | 495000 | 83 |
| 5 | Alain El-Hajj | France | 475000 | 79 |
| 6 | Metin Yalciner | Germany | 474000 | 79 |
| 7 | Atanas Pavlov | Bulgaria | 448000 | 75 |
| 8 | Kairat Turaliyev | Kazakhstan | 382000 | 64 |
| 9 | Marcelo Bonanata | Uruguay | 374000 | 62 |
| 10 | Anthony Khouzami | Lebanon | 366000 | 61 |
Other notables to advance to Day 2 include Tobias Peters (71,000) and PokerStars Ambassador Guillermo Sanz (50,000). Notable players who fell short of finding a bag include Ren Lin, Alexandre Reard, Alejandro Lococo, Dario Sammartino, Olga Iermolcheva, Mustapha Kanit and PokerStars Team Pros Benjamin Spragg and Parker Talbot.
Day 1d Action
With day 1d being a turbo flight, having levels that were only 20 minutes in length, the action was fast and furious from start to finish. Benjamin Spragg found himself among the big stacks early in the evening after correctly calling a river bluff with pocket aces.
Andre Sammour was among the chip leaders for most of the night but truly separated himself from the rest of the pack after coming out on the right side of a colossal pot against Daniyar Aubakirov. Sammour had flopped the nut-straight, but Aubakirov applied as much pressure as possible once a possible flush came in on the turn, ultimately moving all in against Sammour in a battle between two of the biggest stacks in the tournament at that time. Sammour ultimately found the call to knock out Aubakirov and scoop a pot worth over 700,000 chips. Sammour would later concede some of those chips to Day 1d chip leader Boris Angelov, ultimately finishing as the second-largest stack from Day 1d.
As the money bubble approached, Spragg applied as much pressure as possible with a gutshot straight draw against Metin Yalciner, who held top pair. Yalciner ultimately found the call and held to eliminate Spragg a mere two spots away from making the money. Shortly afterwards, Marco Bognanni would be eliminated on the stone bubble and play would conclude for Day 1d.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage of this event from the moment cards are in the air on Day 2 until a winner is crowned.