€888 Main Event
Day 1cd Completed
2023 888poker LIVE Bucharest
€888 Main Event
Day: 1c
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1c
2023 888poker LIVE Bucharest
Buy-in
€888
Prize Pool
€138,898
Entries
191
Level
25
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
100,000
Entries
88
Players Left
36
Nicolae Balea Dominates Day 1c of the 888poker LIVE Bucharest Main Event
Level 11
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Nicolae Balea seized control of the chip lead and ran away with it on Day 1c of the €888 888poker LIVE Bucharest Main Event.
Balea doubled up with the nut flush over Roman Stoica’s second nut flush to take an early lead and never looked back from there. He later busted Stoica to climb near 800,000, nearly double his closest challenger, before ending the night with 663,000 and atop the leaderboard among 36 surviving players.
Marius Gicovanu busted Levente Pal with pocket jacks on the last hand of the night to jump into second place with 582,000. Nicolae Bordianu (432,000), Valentin Dumitrache (350,000), 2022 888poker LIVE Madrid champion Abel Aspas (342,000), and Josef Huber (305,000) are also big stacks.
Day 1c Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicolae Balea | Romania | 663,000 | 166 |
| 2 | Marius Gicovanu | Romania | 582,000 | 146 |
| 3 | Nicolae Bordianu | Romania | 432,000 | 108 |
| 4 | Valentin Dumitrache | Romania | 350,000 | 88 |
| 5 | Gusti Sas | Romania | 348,000 | 87 |
| 6 | Abel Aspas | Spain | 342,000 | 86 |
| 7 | Josef Huber | Czech Republic | 305,000 | 76 |
| 8 | Ionut Alexandru Aldea | Romania | 285,500 | 71 |
| 9 | David Arbel | Romania | 278,000 | 70 |
| 10 | Ladislav Cerveny | Slovakia | 270,000 | 68 |
Members of the 888poker team had a mixed showing on Day 1c. Ricardo Freire Mateus, playing on his birthday, finished with 124,000, while 888poker Ambassador Lucia Navarro bagged up 106,000. 888poker Stream Team member Nick Eastwood spent much of the later part of the night playing on the main feature table but busted right before the end, as did Andrei Cosmin Calenciuc.
A total of 88 players packed into the Poker Room Bucharest over the course of 11 45-minute levels, making this the largest opening flight yet. The combined field stands at 182 through three starting flights, with a turbo 1d flight still to come tomorrow at 11 a.m. local time and late registration open until the start of Day 2. The 36 remaining players will combine with the survivors on Days 1a and 1b as 74 return tomorrow when play resumes at 5:30 p.m.
The players will approach the money bubble and the final table during play tomorrow in what will surely be an action-packed day of action. Stay tuned as PokerNews will be on hand providing all the live updates as the field begins to whittle down.
End-of-Day Chip Counts (full)
Level 11
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
663,000
-47,000
|
-47,000 |
|
||
|
582,000 | |
|
432,000
160,500
|
160,500 |
|
|
350,000
70,000
|
70,000 |
|
348,000
38,000
|
38,000 |
|
342,000
22,000
|
22,000 |
|
305,000
-77,000
|
-77,000 |
|
|
285,500
-34,000
|
-34,000 |
|
278,000
-82,000
|
-82,000 |
|
270,000
115,100
|
115,100 |
|
262,000
12,000
|
12,000 |
|
244,000
89,500
|
89,500 |
|
244,000
88,000
|
88,000 |
|
|
239,000
14,000
|
14,000 |
|
|
214,000
97,000
|
97,000 |
|
|
207,000
207,000
|
207,000 |
|
200,000
-50,000
|
-50,000 |
|
|
193,000
193,000
|
193,000 |
|
192,000
-8,000
|
-8,000 |
|
|
189,000
14,000
|
14,000 |
|
|
167,000
77,000
|
77,000 |
|
158,000
-130,000
|
-130,000 |
|
|
152,000
152,000
|
152,000 |
|
139,000
-15,000
|
-15,000 |
|
|
133,000
133,000
|
133,000 |
Play Concludes
Level 11
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Day 1c has come to an end with 36 players remaining.
Stay tuned for full chip counts and recap of the day's action.
Gicovanu Wins a Monster Off Pal at the End
Level 11
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Players on other tables were already bagging up their chips as Levente Pal and Marius Gicovanu saw a flop of 8♣3♣5♠. Pal had a bet of 80,000 in front of him before Gicovani moved all in, covering his last 130,000. Pal tanked for several minutes before he committed his remaining chips.
Levente Pal: 7♣5♣
Marius Gicovanu: J♠J♥
Pal had called with middle pair and a flush draw, but needed to improve against Gicovanu's jacks. The 3♠ turn was no help, and neither was the 10♠ river as Gicovanu scooped the massive pot to bust Pal.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
582,000
289,000
|
289,000 |
|
Busted |
Two More Hands
Level 11
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Tournament officials announced that players will see two more hands before bagging up for the night.
Navarro Gets a Late Shove Through
Level 11
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Gusti Sas raised to 7,000 and Cosmin Voinea called in the hijack before Lucia Navarro, on the button, moved all in for her last 85,000.
Sas gave the decision some thought but eventually settled on a fold. Voinea quickly mucked and Navarro took the pot with just a few minutes left in the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
310,000
-40,000
|
-40,000 |
|
|
250,000
123,000
|
123,000 |
|
105,000
-37,000
|
-37,000 |
|
||
Indrei Gets Sticky
Level 11
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Heads-up on a flop of 5♦6♠9♥, Rares Alexandu Indrei bet 10,000 from middle position before the big blind raised to 22,000.
Indrei called to the 5♠ turn, where he faced another bet of 40,000. Indrei again called after some thought and the J♦ fell on the river.
The big blind slowed down and checked, and Indrei checked behind and turned over 8♣8♥. His opponent flashed Kx10x for a bluff as Indrei took the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
225,000
56,000
|
56,000 |
Gero Runs Into Aces
Level 11
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Gergely Gero raised to 7,000 from early position and was called by Gusti Sas and Abel Aspas in the big blind.
The flop came J♠8♣8♠ and Gero continued for 11,000. Sas called, while Aspas got out of the way.
Gero bet another 25,000 on the 5♠ turn and Sas this time raised enough to put him all in. Gero snap-called for his last 75,000 and turned over Q♠Q♣, but Sas showed him A♣A♦.
The river came the 8♦ and Gero was sent to the exit as Sas collected the knockout.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
350,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
|
320,000
-100,000
|
-100,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Balea Denied Another Knockout
Level 11
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Nicolae Balea raised to 8,000 from early position and was called by an opponent in middle position before Milos Paul Adrian moved all in for 85,500. Balea reshoved and the middle-position player got out of the way.
Nicolae Balea: A♣A♥
Milos Paul Adrian: 7♠7♦
Balea was poised for another bustout to add to his colossal stack until the Q♣7♣10♦ flop gave Adrian a set. The board ran out 4♦9♠ and Balea's run through today's field finally encountered a bump.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
710,000
-40,000
|
-40,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
175,000
87,000
|
87,000 |