[user66118]
After a pre-flop raising war, all of Denis Noykin's ~28,000 chips went into the middle, and Brian Green came right along with the covering stack. He turned over , but he would soon find out that he was in bad shape as Noykin tabled .
Noykin would nearly fall out of his chair when the dealer revealed the right in the door. Not to worry though, Mr. Noykin. The rest of the flop showed up and to give both men their sets. With Green drawing to only the case king, the turn and river brought the useless and respectively. With his triple aces, Noykin had notched himself a double up to 57,000.
"What can you do?" mumbled Green. "I'm not gonna fold." He's left with about 16,000 to try and mount a little comeback.
Shamus
Mihaylo Demidenko
Mihaylo Demidenko opened with a raise to 1,525 from middle position, Mikhail Mazunin called, then Oleksandr Ziv reraised to 6,000 from the cutoff. It folded back around to Demidenko who called, as did Mazunin.
The flop came . It checked to Ziv who bet 10,000, then Demidenko check-raised to 20,000. Mazunin got out, and Ziv quickly called.
The turn brought the , and both players quickly checked. The river was the . Demidenko paused a bit then checked, and an exhaling Ziv checked as well.
Ziv showed for a set, but Demidenko turned over for a better one. Demidenko moves up over 150,000 with that one, while Ziv still has a big stack of 125,000. Mazunin, meanwhile, is sitting with 25,500.
Shamus
Michael Naletov continues to enjoy his 100,000-plus chip stack. And Alem Shah continues to chase him with nearly 80,000.
Meanwhile, Arnaud Mattern and Raoul Refos both are nearing 60,000. Artem Litvinov did decide to get that massage. And it appears to have had good effect, as he now has close to 50,000 chips.
Wendy Mokowsky -- the only woman among our starting group of 129 today -- has spent most the day just above or below the starting stack of 30,000. She has 28,500 at the moment.
And Alex Kravchenko and Miami John Cernuto have both been active throughout the day, but each presently sits below 25,000.
[user66118]
Luca Pagano - Eliminated
In early position, Luca Pagano opened with a raise to 1,100, and Alex Dovzhenko put in the call a couple seats over. Around in late position, a third player stuck in a re-raise to 2,000, which Dovzhenko adamantly argued wasn't a legal raise. The floor was called over to set him straight, and both Pagano and Dovzhenko eventually called.
Three-handed, the flop came . Those first two guys checked, and the raiser fired out another 2,000 chips. After some consideration, Pagano made a check-raise to 5,000, Dovzhenko quickly called, and the third man came along as well.
Fourth street brought the , and Pagano kept the betting lead in a big way. He cut down his chips and fingered them for a moment before announcing, "All in," sliding his technicolor towers forward. Dovzhenko instantly called the 14,675, and the man across the table made a reluctant fold.
Showdown
Pagano:
Dovzhenko:
Pagano had turned two pair, and it was about to cost him his tournament life. The on the river was a blank, and Pagano's day is indeed done.
Shamus
We've begun a new level, with blinds of 200/400 and antes now 50. The plan is to play two more levels today (with no dinner break). There will be one more 15-minute break after this level.
[user66118]
Alex "Assassinato" Fitzgerald
A player in the cutoff seat opened the pot with a raise to 1,000 to start the action. Next door, Vadim Shlez re-raised to 3,100 on the button, drawing a quick fold from the small blind. In the big blind though, Alex "Assassinato" Fitzgerald wasn't so quick to act. He capped his cards, hit pause on his iPod, and slipped his headphones off one ear. Double-checking that he had the action right, Fitzgerald eventually elected to call, folding the initial raiser. Before the player's cards were even fully in the muck, Fitzgerald said, "I check," in the dark.
Heads up then, the flop came out . Action was on Shlez, and he opted to check behind. The turn card brought the and a raise of the eyebrow from Fitzgerald. He reached for chips and dropped 4,100 of them onto the table with a loud rattle. Shlez quickly made the call, and the river brought the . Both players checked this time.
"Ace-queen," said Fitzgerald.
"You have ace-queen? Show."
Fitzgerald did just that, clumsily flipping over . Shlez grimaced and shook his head, flashing before mucking his losing cards. After that exchange, Fitzgerald has moved up to 42,000, dropping Shlez down to 24,000 in the process.
Shamus
Michael Naletov, who has built up a sizable stack during the first four-plus levels of play today, opened with a raise to 900 from the cutoff and got a caller in the big blind.
The flop came . The big blind checked, Naletov continued with a bet of 1,000, and his opponent called. The came on the turn, completing a possible flush. Both players checked.
The river brought the , pairing the board. The big blind pushed out a bet of 3,500, and Naletov raised him the minimum to 7,000. After some thought, Naletov's opponent called. Naletov turned over for nines full of fours, and his opponent mucked.
That pot pushes Naletov up to 106,000, the first player we've seen with more than 100,000 in front of him.
Shamus
"You get good massage?" said Russian player Artem Litvinov to one of his tablemates. The other player looked up quizzically. "Your chips," he pointed.
"Yes, yes," replied the other with enthusiasm, noting how indeed he'd accumluated quite a few chips during his recent massage.
"Maybe I should get one now," answered a smiling Litvinov. He currently has about 38,000. We'll keep an eye on whether he gets that massage -- and if so, what effect it may possibly have on his chips.
[user66118]
Tables in the foreground with the spectators looking on from above
The Kyiv Sports Palace that is hosting this opening EPT event is vaguely reminiscent of a large high school gymnasium. We've heard a few mumbled complaints about the venue, but all in all, things aren't so bad. There is a huge main floor which is covered with an admittedly ghastly light blue carpet. Underneath, your feet can feel the wood floor and the creaking of metal spacers that have been put in place. The tournament is taking up less than a quarter of the floor space, and there are a side event and a few sit-n-go's occupying another quarter. A full half of the palace is curtained off for the media and other logistical offices.
Along the rail, a procession of spectators has been shuffling in and out. The day began with a strong cheering section up in the bleachers, but the crowd has begun to thin a bit as the day has progressed. We can't imagine why; it's awfully exciting to watch a poker tournament from 50 yards away.
![[user66118]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, but he would soon find out that he was in bad shape as Noykin tabled 
.
right in the door. Not to worry though, Mr. Noykin. The rest of the flop showed up 
and 
to give both men their sets. With Green drawing to only the case king, the turn and river brought the useless 
and 
respectively. With his triple aces, Noykin had notched himself a double up to 57,000.
. It checked to Ziv who bet 10,000, then Demidenko check-raised to 20,000. Mazunin got out, and Ziv quickly called.
for a set, but Demidenko turned over 
for a better one. Demidenko moves up over 150,000 with that one, while Ziv still has a big stack of 125,000. Mazunin, meanwhile, is sitting with 25,500.
, and Pagano kept the betting lead in a big way. He cut down his chips and fingered them for a moment before announcing, "All in," sliding his technicolor towers forward. Dovzhenko instantly called the 14,675, and the man across the table made a reluctant fold.
on the river was a blank, and Pagano's day is indeed done.
. Both players checked this time.
. Shlez grimaced and shook his head, flashing 
before mucking his losing cards. After that exchange, Fitzgerald has moved up to 42,000, dropping Shlez down to 24,000 in the process.
. The big blind checked, Naletov continued with a bet of 1,000, and his opponent called. The 
came on the turn, completing a possible flush. Both players checked.
, pairing the board. The big blind pushed out a bet of 3,500, and Naletov raised him the minimum to 7,000. After some thought, Naletov's opponent called. Naletov turned over 
for nines full of fours, and his opponent mucked.