There were a total of 102 entries on Day 1A of the Opening Event of the 888Live Rozvadov Festival, and 19 have survived to play on the final day on Sunday. The festival got underway at 6 p.m. local time, and the tables were quickly humming with the activity of players, some of whom won their seats in the afternoon's turbo satellite.
The second 888Live Festival, following the success of the London leg last year, comes with a guarantee of over €600,000, with €150,000 of that coming in this event. The 19 players are all still in with a chance of winning some big money come the end of the tournament, but will have to sweat through the remaining three flights to find out just how much they stand to win!
At the end of today's 15 levels of play, it is Bartosz Szafraniec who stands atop the pile of players who are advancing. He amassed a whopping 407,500 chips. Behind him is Tariq Ulla (345,000), Adam Jaguscik (251,500), Elena (203,000) and Patrick Sarca (195,000)
Szafraniec was busy all day, including doubling up against the player who amassed the second most chips Tariq Ulla. In one hand Ullah raised from the button and Szafraniec called from the small blind.
The flop was and Szafraniec checked. Ullah bet 4,800 but Szafraniec re-raised to 12,000. Ullah then moved enough chips forward to put his opponent all in.
Szafraniec called and showed for top pair, and Ullah showed for ten-high. The turn was the and the river the meaning Szafraniec doubled up, one of many he secured over the course of the day.
Here are the full chip counts at the end of Day 1A.
Player
Country
Chip Count
Bartosz Szafraniec
Poland
407,500
Tariq Ulla
Germany
345,000
Adam Jaguscik
Germany
251,500
Marc Meden
Germany
215,000
Elena Litvinyuk
Germany
203,000
Patrick Sarca
Romania
195,000
Fabien Baldelli
France
165,500
Alex Poberjnii
Germany
164,500
Georgios Kotoumpas
Germany
157,000
Christopher Fricke
Germany
151,000
Oliver Knoll
Germany
143,500
Mikael Hen
Israel
115,000
Musa Jusaj
Kosovo
96,000
Joan Verlaguet
France
94,000
Ivan Curic
Croatia
78,500
Perez Molina
Spain
75,000
Paul Olar
Romani
65,500
Pranay Kapoor
India
55,000
Dominik Martan
Czech Republic
54,500
Join us tomorrow (Friday) when PokerNews will be covering Flight 1A of the €195+30 Opening Event live from King's Casino in Rozvadov from 6 p.m. local time.
Tariq Ullah raised to 3,000 from the button and Bartosz Szafraniec called from the small blind.
The flop was and Szafraniec checked and his opponent bet 4,800. The Pole then re-raised to 12,000 and Ullah then moved enough chips forward to put his opponent all in.
Szafraniec had around 45,000, and thought carefully about his decision. He eventually called and showed for top pair, and Ullah showed for ten-high. The turn was the and the river the meaning Szafraniec doubled up.
Patrick Sarca may very well be the chip leader on Day 1A of the 888Live Opening Event here at King's Casino in Rozvadov.
On a flop of he check-raised his opponent Tomas Holmann's bet of 5,500 to 11,000 and Holmann called. The turn was the and Sarca lead for 15,000. His opponent thought for a long time, eyeing up his opponents stack and exchanging a few words.
A third player at the table called for time, but before the floor could reach the table, Holmann had shoved all in for just under 30,000 and Sarca had snap-called.
Sarca showed and his opponent muttered to himself as he showed . The river was the and Holmann was eliminated halfway through Level 8.
With that Sarca increases his stack to over 150,000, which is five starting stacks. There is plenty of time left in the day, but perhaps we may already have our chip leader!
Earlier today it was announced that Parker "TonkaaaaP" Talbot, one of Twitch's hottest poker streamers, is to join Team 888. Talbot was already scheduled to appear later this week at the 888Live Festival in Rozvadov to commentate alongside David Tuchman, but this announcement means that he will be streaming action from 888poker at least five days a week, as well as representing the site at their many live events around the globe.
Talbot said that he was a big fan of 888poker, as he plays a large percentage of his online volume there.
“When presented with the opportunity to become an 888poker Ambassador, it became apparent that this could turn into something very exciting!” said Talbot, who has streamed on Twitch and neverlucky.tv for the past 13 months.
Suuuuupppppperrrr excited for the year ahead and happy to join the team! #888poker https://t.co/PHO2dmHdMU
Welcome to the Czech Republic for the second 888Live Festival held at the renowned King’s Casino in Rozvadov. The festival features more than €600,000 in guaranteed prize money, with half of that coming in the €888 Main Event which starts a week today. Before we get to that, there’s a whole host of satellites and side events for players to take in, starting with the first flight of the Opening Event. At €225 it’s sure to draw a big crowd, and with four starting flights, including two on Saturday, a big field is expected.
Players are taking their seats ahead of Day 1A kicking off at 18.00 local time. The starting stack is 30,000 with a 30 minute clock. Players are allowed two re-entries per flight.