Neuville Bags the Chip Lead Heading Into Day 3 of the Winamax Poker Open’s €500 Main Event in Bratislava
The Winamax Poker Open (WPO) at Banco Casino in Bratislava continued today with Day 2 of the €500 Main Event. Over five starting flights, a total of 1,577 entries were made, of those, 271 players progressed to the second stage of the tournament. After 9 hours of play, just 13 players remain.
Of the finalists, it is Pierre Neuville who bagged the all-important chip lead and will be taking through a stack of 11,250,000 for the Day 3 restart tomorrow, Saturday 23. Neuville is no stranger to deep runs and tournament success; in fact, this event will be his 32nd live cash of 2023.
End of Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pierre Neuville | Belgium | 11,250,000 | 70 |
| 2 | Victor Hoogstoel | France | 9,820,000 | 61 |
| 3 | Richard Miklosovic | Slovakia | 8,070,000 | 50 |
| 4 | Victor Fryda | France | 7,925,000 | 50 |
| 5 | Davidi Kitai | Belgium | 7,555,000 | 47 |
| 6 | Martin Bartos | Slovakia | 5,880,000 | 37 |
| 7 | Leo Margets | Spain | 5,420,000 | 34 |
| 8 | Maxime Large | France | 5,395,000 | 34 |
| 9 | Leo Colin | France | 5,090,000 | 32 |
| 10 | Alexis Andre | France | 4,845,000 | 30 |
Winamax Team Pro were out in full force today. Of the nine Team Pro members to return to the felt this afternoon, only two remain; Leo Margets (5,420,000) and Davidi Kitai (7,555,000). Both with sizeable stacks, all eyes will be on the pair as this main event plays to its conclusion.
Unfortunately, those to hit the rail included Romain Lewis, Alexane Najchaus, Maxime Manzone, Pierre Calamusa, Mehdi Chaoui and Gaelle Baumann.
Baumann had a particularly impressive run, but unfortunately fell to the hands of Adrien Guyon late into Level 34.
As the main event is played to it’s conclusion, those who enjoyed today’s Chess Master challenge and the Bongo Loco can look forward to the Winamax closing party at Manifest Bohéma where the Main Event Final Table will be broadcast on the big screen. At the culmination of the final table, there will be a welcome entrance for the eventual winner.
Day 2 will start tomorrow, Sunday, September 24, at 12:30 p.m. The play will recommence on Level 37 with blinds at 80,000/160,000 with a 160,000 big blind ante. The length of the levels will be increased to 40 minutes as we play down to a winner.
Payout For WPO Bratislava 2023
| Place | Gain | Place | Gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 000€ | 7 | 12 300€ |
| 2 | 64 500€ | 8 | 9 000€ |
| 3 | 42 000€ | 9 | 9 000€ |
| 4 | 28 000€ | 10-11 | 7 000€ |
| 5 | 21 000€ | 12-13 | 5 560€ |
| 6 | 16 000€ |
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow to bring you more coverage of the Winamax Poker Open here at Banco Casino in Bratislava as we crown a new main event champion, so stay tuned.