2009 WPT Merit Cyprus Classic

Day 1b completed

Posted 09-07-2009 23:10 GMT+4

Cut It and Print It; Day 1b is a Wrap

Another five levels of poker are in the books at the WPT Merit Cyprus Classic, and 90 new players have traversed through the tournament room here at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino; 62 of whom will return for Day 2 tomorrow afternoon.

Your unofficial Day 1b chip leader is Team Full Tilt pro Phil Gordon, whose late surge and last minute elimination of fellow Team Full Tilt pro John Juanda catapulted him to the top of the leaderboard with just over 157,000 in chips.

Not far behind him is Jean Robert Bellande-slayer Jan Skampa, who bagged right around 156,000 in chips at night's end.

Play is scheduled to recommence tomorrow afternoon at 12:00 p.m. sharp, when the survivors from both Day 1 flights -- 125 of them in total -- merge to form one field and begin the next leg of their journey to the final table.

Official chip counts and a Day 2 seating chart will magically appear in this space as soon as they are made available to us.

Join us tomorrow afternoon for our continued coverage of the 2009 WPT Merit Cyprus Classic, live from the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.

Until then, good night and good luck!

Tags: Phil Gordon.

Juanda Eliminated

As we did yesterday, today we played only one hand after the tournament clock was paused. According to table-mate Phil Gordon, short-stacked John Juanda seemed somewhat tilted that there was only one further hand to be played. He opened from under the gun, all in for about 17,000. Action passed to Gordon. He called with pocket eights and found himself against Juanda's pocket fives. Eights held to send Juanda to the rail.

That pot may have put Gordon in the chip lead. He finished the night with 157,000. The biggest stack we counted prior to the last hand was Jan Skampa's 155,000.

Tags: John Juanda, Phil Gordon.

Pause the Clock

With 17:39 left on the clock, tournament staff have paused the tournament. We're on the last hands of the night before players bag their chips.

Torelli Knocked Down and then Out

Alec Torelli has just been done in by Engin Sancalctaroglu, the result of two hands that took place in a span of about five minutes.

In the first, Torelli failed to push Sancalctaroglu off his by moving all over the top of a preflop reraise holding . "You're good," Torelli told Sancalctaroglu as he tabled his bluff. A nine-high board followed and Sancalctaroglu took down the pot -- worth just over 60,000 in chips -- on the strength of his ace-high.

Minutes later, a visibly frustrated Torelli opened with a raise to 6,500 -- not quite his entire stack, but most of it -- and Sancalctaroglu came over the top with a 15,000 reraise, which was more than enough to put Torelli all in. A call was made and Torelli tabled a meager , which was dominated by Sancalctaroglu's . The board filled out and once again, ace-high was good enough for Sancalctaroglu, who now sits with just over 70,000 in chips.

Tags: Alec Torelli.

Kerzhapkin Comes Roaring Back

Yury Kerzhapkin had been on a long, gradual descent. But his stack has been re-energized after being doubled up by James Akenhead. We didn't see the preflop action, but on a flop, Kerzhapkin managed to get all 23,150 of his chips in the middle, with Akenhead matching them. Kerzhapkin's set of deuces were in a commanding lead over Akenhead's pocket jacks. There was no two-outer miracle for Akenhead; the board bricked out and to give Kerzhapkin the double-up.

Counts after the hand:

Akenhead - 67,000
Kerzhapkin - 52,000

Tags: James Akenhead, Yury Kerzhapkin.

Table of Instantaneous Death

The next time you complain about your table draw in your local nightly tournament, just remember how much worse it could be. Table 6 now contains just two unknowns:

Seat 1: An Unlucky Man
Seat 2: Va Shon Watkins
Seat 3: Patrik Antonius
Seat 4: Howard Lederer
Seat 5: Chris Karagulleyan
Seat 6: Albert Yakoub
Seat 7: Another Unlucky Man
Seat 8: Phil Gordon
Seat 9: John Juanda

Yikes.

Words of Wisdom From Mike Matusow

"I never get dealt cards that even remotely connect. If jack-deuce were two aces, I'd have all the chips."

Tags: Mike Matusow.

Two for Gordon

We caught up with a pot just as John Juanda was betting out 1,500 on a flop of . Phil Gordon was on the button, and he quickly put in the call to see the turn card bring the . Juanda loaded the gun with 3,000 more chips and fired them into the middle. Gordon called even quicker this time. The last card off was the , and both players check-checked. Gordon showed his first, and Juanda returned his cards to the muck.

*****

On the next hand, Va Shon Watkins and Chris Karagulleyan checked a flop of . Gordon was in position again, and he put out a bet of 5,000 even. Watkins made the smooth call, folding Karagulleyan out of the way. Heads up now, the turn came the , drawing checks from both players. The river card was the , and Watkins checked it over again. Gordon picked 5,300 as his number and slid the chips out in front of him. After a minute or so of deliberation, Watkins matched the bet. Gordon tabled , and it was good enough to win him his second pot in a row.

After those two quick chip-ups, the author/commentator/poker player has moved his stack up close to 120,000.

Tags: Phil Gordon.

Strong Bet Works for Bansi

It's not often you see a five-way raised pot, but that's what we spotted at Praz Bansi's table. There were 8,000 chips in the middle for a flop of . Both blinds checked before a player bet 4,500. Bansi and the button both called that bet, leaving three players contending for the pot on the turn.

The original bettor must have sensed something was wrong; he checked. Bansi then made a very strong lead of 20,000. As soon as the bet was made, the button player glanced to his right at Bansi and then leaned back in his chair. He took two long sips from a water bottle, glanced at Bansi a second time, and then folded. The original bettor also folded, allowing Bansi to drag the pot uncontested.

Tags: Praz Bansi.