2015 WPT Amsterdam Main Event Day 1b: Champions Club Member Giacomo Fundaro Leads
The second starting day of the first-ever World Poker Tour event in Amsterdam was a huge success with 194 total entries, 26 of which were reentries. This brought the total entries for this tournament up to 324, while late registration and reentries remain available until the start of Day 2.
At the end of Day 1b, WPT Champions Club member Giacomo Fundaro came out on top after he bagged up a huge stack worth 234,000 in chips. He was followed by Dennis Lavrijsen with 150,400, which shows just how big his lead was.
On Day 2, 153 total players will return, plus whoever decides to enter or reenter.
At the start of Day 1b, we immediately noticed Sorel Mizzi in the field. He came off winning the biggest online tournament of his poker career just a few hours prior after he took down the big SCOOP 03-H: $2,100 NLHE event on PokerStars for nearly $355,000. PokerNews' own Frank Op de Woerd caught up with Mizzi during one of the breaks, and here's what he had to say:
download the mp3 file (15:12/14,6mb)
Mizzi also had a good day on the live felt, as he bagged 141,200 in chips. Some of those came from the stack of Bryn Kenney, who he managed to knock out. Kenney, who also busted twice on Day 1a, opted not to reenter, but he told our live reporting team he would buy in again before the start of play on Day 2.
Local hero Joep van den Bijgaart fired two bullets on Day 1a, and quickly needed his fourth entry on Day 1b after busting out again. Van den Bijgaart's fourth bullet proved to be a little luckier, and he will return to Day 2 with 50,100 in chips.
Dutch World Series of Poker bracelet winner Marcel Vonk survived Day 1b on his second bullet, and he bagged up 41,500.
Both David Boyaciyan and Clyde Tjauw Foe reentered on Day 1b as well, and both managed to make it through to Day 2. Boyaciyan sat next to Fatima Moreira de Melo all day, and they shared some fun banter. Moreira de Melo had a quiet day, but one double up guaranteed her a spot on Day 2 with 67,900 in chips.
Moreira de Melo, a three-time Olympic medalist, also appeared on the Remko Report podcast this week, and you can listen to that below. On the episode, Moreira de Melo discusses at length her Olympic career, her development as a poker player, and her personal life. Plus, she also gave us unique insights into her win on the Dutch Survivor-style show Expeditie Robinson.
WPT Champions Club member and three-time WSOP bracelet winner Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi entered again as well, but he couldn't get anything going. Mizrachi eventually busted out holding ace-eight against Jolmer Meelis' ace-king. Dominik Nitsche, also a WPT Champions Club member, had a quiet day and survived with 13,600 in chips.
Other players that were eliminated included Dan Heimiller, Yann Dion, Louis Salter, and Micha Hoedemaker. Dutchman Pim van Riet closed out with a big stack worth 110,900, while Belgian Guy Goossens did a bit better with 115,000. Other locals, Wouter van der Pijl (98,600), Jonas ten Cate (94,700), and Floris van der Ven (89,200), also had very good starting days.
Former European Poker Tour champions Pieter de Korver (81,000), Steve O'Dwyer (72,900), Salvatore Bonavena (48,000), Kent Lundmark (43,000), and Jean Montury (35,300) also managed to survive, which makes for an impressive Day 2 to come.
Play will resume on Wednesday at 2 p.m. CET, and PokerNews.com will be right there with you for the second day of action. The levels from then on will be 90 minutes long, and tournament director Christian Scalzi confirmed that the tournament will likely not reach the money until Day 3.
Want to stay atop all the latest in the poker world? If so, make sure to get PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!
