Eljach Leads the Final Nine in Event #2: �550 Pot Limit Omaha 8-Max
The action has concluded on Day 2 of Event #2: �550 Pot Limit Omaha 8-Max here at King��s Resort in Rozvodov. 109 players began the day out of the total field of 719 entrants to create a total prize pool of �341,925. Of those 109 players, only nine found a bag at the end of the night and advanced to the final table which will take place on Day 3.
Last year��s World Series of Poker Europe Main Event winner Omar Eljach bagged the chip lead, ending Day 2 with a staggering 5,665,000 chips. He is most closely followed by three-time bracet winner Anson Tsang (2,760,000) and Patrik Jaros (2,420,000). Other notable players to make the final table include bracelet winner Michael Rodrigues (2,350,000) and Roland Israelashvili (655,000).
Day 3 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Omar Eljach | Sweden | 5,665,000 | 113 |
| 2 | Anson Tsang | Hong Kong | 2,760,000 | 55 |
| 3 | Patrik Jaros | Czechia | 2,420,000 | 48 |
| 4 | Michael Rodrigues | Portugal | 2,350,000 | 47 |
| 5 | Martino Cito | Italy | 1,800,000 | 36 |
| 6 | Michal Mrakes | Czech Republic | 1,310,000 | 26 |
| 7 | Roland Israelashvili | United States | 655,000 | 13 |
| 8 | Ihar Pliashko | Belarus | 515,000 | 10 |
| 9 | Diana Volcovschi | Portugal | 440,000 | 9 |
Day 2 Action
All players to start the day today were guaranteed at least a min-cash of �824, but all eyes were undoubtedly on the top prize of �65,900. Notable players to cash but fall short of making the final table included WSOP bracelet winners Ilija Savevski (99th - �824), Sebastian Langrock (45th - �1,404) and Renji Mao (31st - �1,882).
Mao got off to a hot start today when he turned a wheel straight to crack Sebastian Geisler set of kings in an early highlight.
Rodrigues, coming off a breakout year at the WSOP in Las Vegas this past summer, was a force to be reckoned with throughout the day today. At one point the WSOP bracelet winner scored a double knockout after getting the chips in with flush and straight draws, only to make runner runner two pair to send Wiktor Weiner to the rail and greatly reduce the stack of Levan Rcheulishvili, who would follow Weiner out the door shortly afterward.
The eliminations came fast and furious once the field was down to three tables. Rodrigues drew first blood after the redraw after turning a straight and then rivering a flush to crack Javier Francort who had flopped a set of aces. Next to fall after Francort were Aleksandar Stefanovic, Mejzel Juseinov and Daniele Sacchi, who were all eliminated in quick succession.
It was around this time that Eljach began picking up steam after he eliminated Dario Alioto with a full house. Volodymyr Khakhula would go out shortly after, falling to Israelashvili��s trip tens. Meanwhile, Eljach continued to pick off the short stacks, next eliminating Christian Stoyanov in a preflop confrontation.
Eran Carmi would go out next in dramatic fashion after his straight was bested by Tsang who had turned a king-high straight flush. Jelka Andelic was eliminated at nearly the same time after getting her pocket-kings cracked by Eljach, who had turned a straight, paving the way for the final two tables.
The pace slowed down slightly with fifteen players left, with the one constant being Eljach accumulating more and more chips as the night went on. He would bust Sebastien Lucina in a massive pot where both players held a full house to extend his lead. Lucina was followed out the door by Luc Ramos after being eliminated by Georgi Dangel and then by Pascal Foged who fell to the turned flush of Michal Mrakes.
Eljach��s winning ways continued with the elimination of Alan Mehamed, who got the chips in good preflop with pocket-aces only for Eljach to spike a set of nines to send him packing. Dangel would go out next after finding himself short-stacked and running top pair into Martino Cito��s two pair.
Play slowed down considerably on the final table bubble and on several occasions, a player would find themselves all in and at risk only to double up. Diana Volcovschi notably doubled up twice during this period, at one point flopping a pair of aces to beat the pocket-kings of Patrik Jaros and keep herself in contention.
Eljach would score the final elimination of the night after making a straight on the river to send Danail Zhelev to the rail.
Play will resume at 1 p.m. local time tomorrow with 29 minutes and 12 seconds left on level 29. Blinds will be at 25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 big blind ante. Action will be streamed on the King��s Resort Twitch and Youtube channels.
Event #2: �550 Pot Limit Omaha 8-Max Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | � 65,900 |
| 2 | � 40,700 |
| 3 | � 29,100 |
| 4 | � 21,000 |
| 5 | � 15,500 |
| 6 | � 11,500 |
| 7 | � 8,700 |
| 8 | � 6,700 |
| 9 | � 5,200 |
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action for this and every other WSOP gold bracelet event here at the World Series of Poker Europe at King��s Resort.