Alexander Kravchenko has dropped to 25,000 chips within the first level of play. He's been forced out of two pots that have done most of the damage to his stack. On the first one, Kravchenko folded to a bet of 900 on a board of after tanking.
A few minutes later, the board read with over 2,000 chips in the middle. Kravchenko and one other opponent checked to a third player who fired 1,250. Kravchenko and the other player folded to give the bettor the pot.
Arnaud Mattern called a raise from an under-the-gun player to 325. Mattern was in the big blind. The flop came down and Mattern checked. His opponent fired 325 and Mattern came along.
After the turn brought the , Mattern once again passed the action to his opponent. The player fired 1,100 this time. Mattern smoothly spun his cards into the middle, relinquishing the pot and dropping to 28,000.
With just about 4,000 in the middle and the board reading , one player checked to Atanas Gueorguiev. Gueorguiev checked and then Arnaud Mattern was next to act. He checked as well.
The river completed the board when the fell. The first player checked and Gueorguiev fired 1,700. Mattern folded without restraint before the other player began counting out chips. The player then tossed out a raise to 4,200. Gueorguiev looked rather alarmed by this as his eyes widened a bit. After about a minute in the tank, Gueorguiev mucked his hand.
Gueorguiev slipped to 25,500 while Mattern is down to 19,000.
Peter Bosen from Germany was able to flop a set of sixes on a board of -X and get all of his opponent's chips in the middle. The player held pocket aces and after the turn and river blanked off, was sent to the rail as the first player out. Bosen on the other hand, shot up to 66,000 chips, making him the clear chip leader early on.
On the hand following the one where he sent the first player to the rail, Peter Bosen raised to 350 from under the gun. Peter Hedlund called out of the small blind and the big blind came along as well.
The flop was checked around between the three players after it came . The turn brought the and Hedlund led for 500. Only Bosen made the call.
The river was he and Hedlund led for 700 this time. Bosen elected to fold, to which Hedlund flashed for a turned set of threes. He is now slightly above his starting stack and sitting on 31,000.
Katja Thater and Shaun Deeb have been spotted down in the tournament room, which is located three levels below where the media room is stationed. Both don't look to be playing today and we can expect them in tomorrow's field.
The preflop action wasn't absolutely clear when we joined this hand, but it appeared that Manuel Bevand had limped into the pot under the gun, and Angel Guillen was content to take a free flop from the big blind.
The flop came out , and Guillen check-called a bet of 500. On the turn, the drew a check from both players, and the on the river double paired the board. Guillen checked again, and Bevand put out a bet of 1,275. Guillen would take a minute or two to think it over before flicking in the calling chips.
Bevand tabled , and Guillen checked his cards twice more before sending them into the muck. He's down to about 24,500 now, while Bevand moves ahead over 35,000.