PokerStars EPT Sochi: Ustimov Leads Day 1B, Sapozhnikov Builds Biggest Day 1C Stack
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On Monday, both starting flights Day 1B and Day 1C of the PokerStars EPT Sochi were played at Casino Sochi.
Viktor Ustimov Tops EPT Sochi Main Event Day 1b Field
In stark contrast to the EPT Sochi Main Event Day 1A starting flight, it was a much more competitive affair when it came to the end-of-day chip leader on Day 1B. Several players battled it out over the closing exchanges, but eventually, it was Viktor Ustimov who bagged the chip lead with 305,700 after a field of 359 was whittled down to 137.
Ustimov has over $700,000 in lifetime earnings, with several big scores and deep runs coming from Casino Sochi. Last year he followed up a runner-up finish in the EPT National for ₽4,745,000 ($82,191) with a 42nd place run in the EPT Sochi Main Event.
In September last year, he also final-tabled the EPT Open Sochi High Roller, finishing fourth for a further ₽2,321,160 ($35,445).
Other big stacks advancing include Serafim Kovalevsky (233,900), Leonid Semenyuk (195,200), Aleksey Falko (192,900) and EPT favourite Yuriy Guliy (191,300).
Also advancing is last year's EPT Main Event runner-up Viktor Shegay who bagged 41,800. He will be joined by 2018 EPT National Sochi champion Matous Houzvicek (118,000) and the 2019 EPT National Sochi champion Yury Masliankou (28,300) along with 2018 EPT Open Sochi Main Event final tablist Nikolay Fal and Leonid Bilokur (64,200).
Aditya Sushant had started the day in blistering form, moving up to around 80,000 within a blink of an eye. However, a chastening last two levels knocked him down and will have to settle for 53,300 when play resumes on Day 2.
Several players had even worse luck and were eliminated, meaning they would have to make it through Day 1C. They include defending champion Arseniy Karmatskiy who fired two bullets with no success. Also failing to advance from Day 1B were Andrey Andreev, Boris Mondrus, Maksim Panyak, Sarkis Karabadzhakyan, Ezequiel Waigel, and Andrey Guliy.
Top 5 EPT Sochi Main Event Day 1B Chip Counts
| Position | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viktor Ustimov | Russia | 307,500 |
| 2 | Serafim Kovalevsky | Russia | 233,900 |
| 3 | Leonid Semenyuk | Russia | 195,200 |
| 4 | Sihao Zhang | Luxembourg | 194,200 |
| 5 | Aleksey Falko | Belarus | 192,900 |
Sapozhnikov Finishes Top of the Counts as Day 1c of the Main Event Drew to a Close
The third and final starting flight of the Main Event concluded, and it was Denis Sapozhnikov who had the most productive day on 1C. His impressive run began with a bit of good fortune when Sapozhnikov got it in with jack-nine suited on a nine-high flop against Mikhail Galitskiy's pocket-queens. He hit a backdoor straight by the river, and the pot saw him take the chip lead, sending Galitskiy to the rail in the process. This all happened in Level 4, and for the next six levels, he didn't relinquish the lead once.
There were 82 entries in total and by the end, half were still standing when level ten reached its conclusion. The other success stories of the night were Sergey Chaban (163,000) who finished in second, Yang Wang (153,300) in third, Andrey Andreev (124,300) in fourth, and Garik Tamasyan (124,300) bagged the fifth largest stack.
There were several other familiar faces who took to the felt and made it through to Day 2. Reigning Champion Arsenii Karmatckii (78,100) will return on Day 2 to continue defending his title. He will face stiff competition though from Sergey Baburin (63,700), Konstantin Puchkov (60,800), Volodymyr Drokin (56,800), Jean Souprayenmestry (49,500), and Maxim Panyak (33,800).
It wasn't good news for all the notables who took a seat today. Sedrak Bagdasaryan got very close but busted in the last hand of the night. Jia Tang, Ezequiel Waigel, Ariel Malnik, Mikhail Kovalyuk, Gor Kazaryan, Bernard Boutboul and Timur Azizov were some other casualties. It may not be the last we have seen of any of them though as late registration closes when Day 2 gets underway. That gives any hopefuls one last shot if they so choose.
Top 5 EPT Sochi Main Event Day 1C Chip Counts
| Position | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denis Sapozhnikov | Russia | 207,700 |
| 2 | Sergey Chaban | Russia | 163,000 |
| 3 | Yang Wang | China | 153,300 |
| 4 | Andrey Andreev | Russia | 124,300 |
| 5 | Garik Tamasyan | Armenia | 124,300 |
EPT Sochi Live Reporting
The total number of players who have advanced is 306 plus any last minute registrations. The man to catch is Aleksandr Denisov who is the overall chip leader with a monstrous 498,600 chip stack. Play resumes at Level 11, with blinds at 800/1600 and a big blind ante of 1600.
As always PokerNews will be live at Casino Sochi to bring all the latest news from the Main Event from start to finish. Check out the PokerNews Live Reporting with PokerStars EPT Sochi Main Event live updates.
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Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.
