2009 PokerStars.net EPT Kyiv

€5,000 EPT Kyiv Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info

2009 PokerStars.net EPT Kyiv

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
49
Prize
€330,000
Event Info
Buy-in
€4,700
Prize Pool
€1,391,200
Entries
296
Level Info
Level
28
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
5,000

Level: 15

Blinds: 2,000/4,000

Ante: 400

Let's Play Poker

The remaining 46 players are back in their seats and cards are in the air. We're approaching that cash bubble, as the top 40 spots pay.

After a manic first level today (Level 13), in which 17 players were eliminated, the pace slowed somewhat in Level 14 when we lost just five.

Chip Leaders

Michele Limongi -- 715,000
Maxim Lykov -- 504,000
Vitaly Tolokonnikov -- 452,000
Jonas Kronwitter -- 420,000
Kirill Boydachenko -- 374,000
Joram Voelklein -- 356,000
Adrian Schaap -- 300,000
Michael Jurgen Meyburg -- 300,000
Anatoly Zharnitsky -- 290,000
Vyacheslav Rotach -- 286,000

Slowing Down

For the first time all tournament, the action has begun to slow noticeably. Very few multi-way pots are being played right now, and the majority of the hands are being won uncontested with a single preflop raise or a continuation bet on the flop. Those pots that do go to showdown are being played very passively and safe for the most part, with bets usually only on one of the three rounds. And not just the action, but the pace of play has dragged to a crawl as well as all eyes gaze toward the big board showing that we are just five spots from the money.

Who's going to be the bubble boy?

Nikita Not Little

With the board showing {10-Diamonds}{A-Clubs}{8-Spades}{2-Clubs}{A-Diamonds} and about 100,000 in the middle, Albert Sungatullin checked and Nikita Nikolaev bet 30,000. Sungatullin took several minutes to think about his decision, and eventually the clock was called. Finally Sungatullin folded, and Nikolaev showed {A-Hearts}{Q-Spades} as he dragged the pot.

Sungatullin slips to 145,000, while Nikolaev now has 320,000.

Tags: Albert SungatullinNikita Nikolaev

Lykov Likes Flop

There was 120,000 already in the pot when the flop came {9-Spades}{10-Clubs}{J-Diamonds}. Maxim Lykov clearly liked what he saw, so much so that he pushed out two towers of yellow chips, signifiying a bet of 200,000. Vyacheslav Rotach tanked for three minutes, then finally let it go.

Lykov pushes closer to chip leader Michele Limongi. Lykov now has 675,000. Meanwhile Vyacheslav slips to 136,000.

Tags: Maxim LykovVyacheslav Rotach

44 Remain

Play continues to crawl along at a snail's pace. We did have one elimination within the last little while -- David Sonelin of Poland in 45th place -- meaning we have four more to go before reaching the money.

Two More Down

Two more eliminations to report -- Vasyl Lagutin (Ukraine) and Fabio Bianchi (Italy). We're down to 42 players, playing seven-handed around the last six tables.

Bubble Doubles

The superstitious Artem Litvinov opened with a raise, and Volodymyr Pilyavskyy re-raised enough to put his man all in. Litvinov eventually called, committing his final ~45,000 chips to the pot with {4-Spades} {4-Diamonds}. He would soon find out that he was racing for his tournament life against his opponent's {A-Hearts} {9-Spades}.

The board would run out {10-Hearts} {4-Hearts} {6-Diamonds} {Q-Diamonds} {A-Diamonds} to hold Litvinov's pair and double him up. Those trip fours are good enough to move him up to just about 100,000 and save him from an untimely pre-bubble exit.

*****

Simultaneously on an adjacent table, Ilya Gorodetskiy moved all in for about 40,000 after a raise from Michele Limongi. He called with {A-Clubs} {K-Spades}, and Gorodetskiy was in fine shape to double with {A-Hearts} {A-Diamonds}.

"You could still lose," reminded Limongi, but his words would fail to come to fruition. The board came out {6-Clubs} {3-Clubs} {6-Spades} {Q-Diamonds} {3-Diamonds} to double up another of the short stacks.

Forty-two players remain, and if we keep doubling the shorties, the bubble could last quite a while.