Two big hands reached a critical stage on the river simultaneously on the outer tables.
1st Big River:
Max Heinzelmann had raised preflop, picked up Cuello Jorge Mariano and seen a check-checked flop of . The turn had been moderately bet (60k) when Mariano checked, but the river was check-raised by the young Spaniard to 320,000 (Heinzelmann fired 113,000). Heinzelmann folded.
2nd Big River:
Martin Jacobson raised to 48,000 preflop, called by Mario Adinolfi in the big blind. Adinolfi led out for 65,000 on the flop, called by Jacobson. He led the river as well (130,000) but Jacobson calmly raised all in. Covered, Adinolfi finally laid down his hand leaving himself a stack of 320,000.
Fabrice Soulier raised preflop to 52,000. It folded to small blind (and permanent ipad book-reader) Thomas Traboulsi in the big blind. So short his stack was hard to see (104,000 total, with 25,000 in the blind) he had a chat to himself before making a decision.
"Pocket two? If you have no pocket I will do it."
The rail assumed he meant get his last four big blinds in - but no, he flat called, moving all in on the . Soulier instacalled with and Traboulsi showed . He was just starting to launch into a, "How can you call" type lecture when he spiked the on the turn, slapped the table and held on the river.
Thomas Traboulsi raised to 53,000 preflop and it was passed to Fabrice Soulier in the small blind who reraised all-in. Traboulsi snap-called before Mario Adinolfi could even fold his hand.
Traboulsi:
Soulier:
Traboulsi whispered "Yessssss!" when the flop came and Soulier was already stacking chips up to pass over by the turn. The river was the making Traboulsi's boat and doubling him up to about 600,000. Soulier dropped to 420,000.
Robin Ylitalo opened to 54,000 preflop from the hijack before Cuello Jorge Mariano made it 150,000 in the cutoff. It was passed back to the Swede who thought for a bit before making it a chunky looking 364,000.
Such is the nature of tournament success, summed up neatly by Thomas Traboulsi. He wasn't prepared to take on Martin Jacobson with his newfound 500,000 stack, though, from the big blind - he passed giving Jacobson the preflop pot and showing . Jacobson returned the favour revealing his under the gun ...
The very next hand it was Trabousli raising from the small blind when it folded round to him (52,000). Jacobson checked out his stack before folding face up. Let's hope the voluntary on-their-backs stuff continues. It sparks some amusing conversations.
After his phenomenal Day 1 performance, the deck seems to have scorned Fabrice Soulier. The one-time huge chip leader now has the sort of stack size that goes in as a preflop three-bet. He did just this from the big blind when small blind Vadzim Kursevich raised to 56,000, and picked up that small pot. He's currently up around the half million chip mark.
Alessandro Laubinger opened to 51,000 in the cutoff but to his immediate left on the button Vadzim Kursevich shoved, enough to cover Laubinger. It folded back around to the German, who removed his sunglasses and tanked up long enough for three whole hands to be played out on the other table - perhaps seven minutes. Eventually someone called the clock and Laubinger folded not long after, to the disappointment of all the media surrounding the table. Kursevich's stack increased to 680,000.
So Laubinger was down to 275,000 when he open-shoved from the hijack next hand. In the small blind, the even shorter-stacked Mario Adinolfi called all in. On their backs.
Laubinger:
Adinolfi:
Laubinger threw the little rosary he'd been using as a card protector into the middle after his chips, hoping for some divine assistance. Duly Adinolfi then tossed in the little picture of Pope John Paul II that has been his companion all week behind his own chips. A good Christian coinflip.
Board:
Laubinger didn't actually see the turn and river, because as soon as the four dropped on the flop, he ran to the rail and commenced hugging a young lady we presume is his girlfriend. Adinolfi and his tiny pope take home 22nd place money, while Laubinger's rosary came good and he's back in the game on 460,000.
![[user46298]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
. The 
turn had been moderately bet (60k) when Mariano checked, but the 
river was check-raised by the young Spaniard to 320,000 (Heinzelmann fired 113,000). Heinzelmann folded.
flop, called by Jacobson. He led the 
river as well (130,000) but Jacobson calmly raised all in. Covered, Adinolfi finally laid down his hand leaving himself a stack of 320,000.
. Soulier instacalled with 
and Traboulsi showed 
. He was just starting to launch into a, "How can you call" type lecture when he spiked the 
on the turn, slapped the table and held on the 
turn. The river was the 
making Traboulsi's boat and doubling him up to about 600,000. Soulier dropped to 420,000.
. Jacobson returned the favour revealing his under the gun 
