Day 1b Set to Provide Plenty of Thrills Beginning at Noon Local Time
The weather is phenomenal and so is the poker action at the Luxon Pay Mediterranean Poker Party held at the luxurious Merit Royal Diamond Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus.
Day 1b of the $500 PokerNews Cup, which boasts a massive $250,000 guarantee, is about to kick off at noon local time after Monday's sizzling Day 1a play, where 16 players survived from a field of 108 entries. All 16 players, who hail from 11 different countries, are now in the money and will now wait and see who joins them from Tuesday's pair of flights for Wednesday's Day 2.
Leading the pack after play came to an end on Monday is Russian player Vladislav Fedoseev, who bagged a very impressive 365,000 chips.
Not far behind was Germany's Ismail Kalkan, who was very active both with his table talk and with his chips. Kalkan finished the day with 326,000 in the bag. Veselin Petrov (321,000), Viktor Utrobin (271,000), and Konstantinos Nanos (262,000) made up the rest of the top-five.
$500 PokerNews Cup Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vladislav Fedoseev | Russia | 365,000 |
| 2 | Ismail Kalkan | Germany | 326,000 |
| 3 | Veselin Petrov | Bulgaria | 321,000 |
| 4 | Viktor Utrobin | Russia | 271,000 |
| 5 | Konstantinos Nanos | Greece | 262,000 |
| 6 | Shakir Dadabaev | Uzbekistan | 226,000 |
| 7 | Gabriel Akiki | Lebanon | 215,000 |
| 8 | Gheorghe Butuc | Moldova | 199,000 |
| 9 | Elie Farah | Lebanon | 194,000 |
| 10 | Serge Noel | Canada | 182,000 |
Once cards are in the air at noon, players will complete using the same exact structure as Day 1a. Players are able to reenter the tournament as much as they want until the end of the break following the conclusion of Level 12. Levels will be 40 minutes in length and players will begin the day with 30,000 chips and with the blinds at 100/100. A big blind ante comes into play at the start of Level 2. There will be a 15-minute break every three levels with a 60-minute dinner break at the end of Level 9.
Play will come to a halt once the field has been whittled down to the last 15% of all entries, where players will bag for Day 2 already in the money.
For those who prefer some higher-paced action, the third and final flight of the competition will commence at 8 p.m. local time, where players will play 20-minute turbo levels instead.
As always, PokerNews will be on site providing all of the latest updates and high-flying drama here at the Luxon Pay Mediterranean Poker Party at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel and Casino. Stay tuned for all the PokerNews Cup coverage until the final hand is dealt and a champion is crowned on Thursday.