Miegel Leads After Day 2 of WSOP International Circuit Rotterdam Main Event; Moreira de Melo In Contention As Bubble Looms
After the second of four days of the €1,650 World Series of Poker International Circuit Rotterdam Main Event, a field of 273 entries has been dwindled down to 35 hopefuls. The pack still needs to shed 5 of them before the money is reached. All remaining players are still in contention to collect the first place prize of €94,349, which will be awarded to the winner on Saturday night, along with the coveted WSOP Circuit ring.
The second day saw the rise of Jakob Miegel, who soared towards the top and bagged the overall chip lead with 680,000. Miegel held a top 10 spot on the leaderboard throughout the day and dragged a few substantial pots off Day 1a chipleader Eric Sfez during the last two levels of the night to clinch the lead. Sfez still ended up high and bagged the 3rd stack with 484,500, behind Day 1b chipleader Lawrence Bayley (582,000), who sits in second.
One of Bayley's biggest pots was against €3,500 WSOPC Rotterdam High Roller winner Hakim Zoufri. Holding pocket sixes, Bayley four-bet shoved into Zoufri's pocket jacks for heaps. A six landed on the flop to give the Brit the winner and a top stack at the end of the day, and ended Zoufri's attempt at a back-to-back victory in brutal fashion.
Other notables that bagged on Day 2 are Govert Metaal (253,000), Bart Lybaert (195,000), Kees van Brugge (176,000), Fatima Moreira de Melo (106,500), Tobias Peters (95,500), and James Gilbert (71,000). Gilbert, the only American in the field, Metaal, and Peters all reached the same $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Bounty final table at this year's 2017 World Series of Poker, and a unique reprisal could happen at this WSOP event in Holland Casino Rotterdam.
People who fell by the wayside on Day 2 included Joep van den Bijgaart, Sander van Wesemael, Ioannis Angelou-Konstas, Bryan Paris, Michiel Brosky, Georgios Zisimopoulos, Michal Mrakes, Rens Feenstra, Jasper Meijer van Putten, Joris Ruijs, Mark Roovers, and Dave Kroon. Kroon's elimination was one of the most spectacular hands of the day. Holding the nut flush on a board containing three eights, Kroon opted to turn his hand into a bluff by check-raising all in. It was a bold move by Kroon, who, unfortunately for him, ran into the quads he was trying to represent to end his tournament on the spot.
Day 3 will start at 2 p.m. local time and blinds will resume in level 17 with blinds at 2,500 / 5,000 and a running ante of 500. Play will continue until the final table has been reached, and chips will then be bagged and tagged. Keep following PokerNews over the next days to see who will win the inaugural WSOP International Circuit Main Event in The Netherlands.