2017 PokerStars Festival Bucharest

Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info

2017 PokerStars Festival Bucharest

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
k9
Prize
€117,707
Event Info
Buy-in
€1,100
Prize Pool
€706,560
Entries
736
Level Info
Level
32
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
25,000

Main Event

Day 1b Completed

Stefan Fabian Bags Day 1b Chip Lead in PokerStars Festival Bucharest Main Event

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 200 ante
Stefan Fabian
Stefan Fabian

A bumper field of 401 players showed up for Day 1b of the PokerStars Festival Bucharest, meaning that the guarantee is already eclipsed ahead of the Turbo 1c which starts later on this evening.

There will be a total of 166 players joining the 66 who advanced from Day 1a in Day 2 tomorrow, with several players boasting healthy stacks ahead of the fields combining.

The chip leader is Stefan Fabian with 279,400. Other big stacks include Nandor Solyom (257,700), Ben Barkay (226,800), Nicolae Toma (197,800) and Mustafov Fahredin (177,000).

"I'm feeling pretty good," said Fabian shortly after bagging up for the night, "I hope that I'm chip leader at the end of tomorrow as well!"

He won a huge pot during Level 6 to take him up over 100,000 for the first time. A player raised from early position and Fabian three-bet. His opponent four-bet to 6,500 and Fabian five-bet to 12,700. His opponent six-bet to 20,000 and Fabian called.

Both players checked an {a-Clubs}{k-Diamonds}{j-Diamonds} flop and Fabian called a bet of 7,000 in position on the {j-Hearts} turn. The river was the {9-Diamonds} and Fabian's opponent check-folded to a jam from Fabian for 23,000.

"I just didn't expect it," said Fabian, referring to the monster six-bet pot which helped him on his way to the overnight chip lead, "I had just moved to the table, so I was new.

"I think Bucharest is good. It's not my first time playing here."

Just like yesterday, there were a few big names dotted around the field. The biggest name of all was Chris Moneymaker, 2003 Main Event Champion and Team PokerStars Pro.

Moneymaker had an eventful day, albeit a short one. He ran Kings into Aces early on, with both players making sets by the river. However, he managed to get away when his opponent just called on the river.

However, he was eliminated a short while later. In a limped pot, Moneymaker checked in the big blind and saw a {2-}{5-}{8-} flop dealt. He got his remaining chips into the middle holding {2-}{5-} but his opponent held {2-}{2-} and their set held to eliminate the American.

Also in the field was British pro and fan favourite Sam Grafton. He told the PokerStars Blog that he qualified for the event online, and attending the Festival was a “no-brainer!”

"I've played at the Marriott here before and it's a nice venue. The thing with PokerStars, and something that I appreciate after a lot of time in Vegas is that - apart from the ten-handed - you know it's going to be an incredibly well-run tournament.

“In Vegas, the standard can be a bit inconsistent, whereas with Stars you know you're going to get a great tournament. So yeah, I'm happy to be here, and although I'm ready to play online again!”

Sam Grafton

Grafton will be taking 134,200 in chips into Day 2. Also advancing to Day 2 is Eureka Bucharest defending champion Avishai Shitrit with 53,200.

By the time registration closed at the end of Level 6, there was a total of 401 players. That, coupled with the 177 from yesterday meant that a field of 578 (one player short of the 579 who attended Eureka Prague last year) had entered this year’s Main Event. However, with the final flight this evening getting underway shortly, that figure looks set to be eclipsed.

All players who make it to Day 2 will return to blinds of 800/1,600 with a 200 ante. The levels will also to increase to 60-minutes, and there will be eight levels played, with a 15-minute break after every two levels.

Join PokerNews tomorrow from 1 p.m. local time to stay up-to-date with all the action from the “Paris of the East” as we get closer to crowning the latest PokerStars Festival champion.

Tags: Avishai ShitritChris MoneymakerFahredin MustafovNandor SolyomNicolae TomaSam GraftonStefan Fabian

End of Day 1b Chip Counts (full)

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 200 ante
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Stefan Fabian ro
Stefan Fabian
279,400
19,400
19,400
Day 1B Chip Leader
Profile photo of Nandor Csaba Solyom ro
Nandor Csaba Solyom
257,700
Day 2 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Ben Michel Barkay il
Ben Michel Barkay
226,800
Profile photo of Nicolae Toma ro
Nicolae Toma
197,800
-200
-200
Profile photo of Yaniv Avinoam il
Yaniv Avinoam
191,800
191,800
191,800
Profile photo of Fahredin Mustafov bg
Fahredin Mustafov
177,000
-8,000
-8,000
Profile photo of Alexandru Dorin Udrea ro
Alexandru Dorin Udrea
173,600
Profile photo of Andrei Gabriel Roscan ro
Andrei Gabriel Roscan
171,300
Profile photo of Imad Hachem lb
Imad Hachem
168,500
168,500
168,500
Profile photo of Lukasz Kubicki pl
Lukasz Kubicki
163,300
163,300
163,300
Profile photo of Raul Cuc de
Raul Cuc
158,100
158,100
158,100
Profile photo of Patrick Fretzert de
Patrick Fretzert
155,800
155,800
155,800
Profile photo of Bogdan Silviu Lazar ro
Bogdan Silviu Lazar
155,000
Profile photo of Daniel Nietrzebka pl
Daniel Nietrzebka
152,400
2,400
2,400
Profile photo of Asaf Levi il
Asaf Levi
144,500
144,500
144,500
Profile photo of Dorin Agavriloae ro
Dorin Agavriloae
144,100
-5,900
-5,900
Profile photo of Federico Petruzzelli it
Federico Petruzzelli
142,800
-47,200
-47,200
Profile photo of Marian Costache ro
Marian Costache
142,400
62,400
62,400
Profile photo of Jozsef Liszkovics hu
Jozsef Liszkovics
142,100
67,100
67,100
Profile photo of Dan Serban Borlan ro
Dan Serban Borlan
139,900
Profile photo of Ersoy Cagdas tr
Ersoy Cagdas
135,800
102,800
102,800
Profile photo of Iulian Iacob ro
Iulian Iacob
134,200
134,200
134,200
Profile photo of Sam Grafton gb
Sam Grafton
134,200
-35,800
-35,800
Profile photo of Yitshak Zah Bahar il
Yitshak Zah Bahar
131,500
131,500
131,500
Profile photo of Vadim Botosan md
Vadim Botosan
121,600
32,600
32,600

Read full

Last Four Hands

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 200 ante

Tournament officials have announced that there will be four more hands before players bag up ahead of Day 2 tomorrow.

A reminder that any player wishing to play in the turbo Day 1c which was scheduled for 9 p.m. local time, this will now be at 10 p.m.

Udrea Chips Up Late

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 200 ante

Alex Udrea raised to 2,700 from under the gun and an opponent three-bet to 8,600 from middle position. Udrea called.

Both players checked the {q-Clubs}{a-Diamonds}{9-Spades} flop and the turn was the {q-Hearts}. Udrea bet 9,100 and his opponent quickly called.

The river was the {8-Hearts} and both players checked.

Udrea showed {q-Spades}{j-Spades} for trip queens and his opponent folded.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Alex Udrea ro
Alex Udrea
179,000
62,000
62,000

Tags: Alex Udrea

Malay Flops Quads; Gets Paid

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 200 ante
Elvira Malay
Elvira Malay

From under the gun, a player raised to 2,600, Elvira Malay called one seat over, and the button and big blind also called. The flop was {7-Hearts}{7-Spades}{7-Clubs}, which was met by a "ding ding ding!" from one of the players at the table.

The under the gun player bet 5,400, with Malay as the only caller. On the {8-Diamonds} turn, the under the gun player bet 7,600, and Malay called again. The river was the {A-Spades} and Malay was put all in for her last 9,500, which she snap-called.

Under the gun: {J-Spades}{J-Diamonds}
Elvira Malay: {A-Hearts}{7-Hearts}

Malay got fully paid on her flopped quads and doubled up as the day draws to a close.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Elvira Malay bg
Elvira Malay
56,000

Tags: Elvira Malay

Sharp Call Skyrockets Toma

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 200 ante

With around 37,000 in the pot, Nicolae Toma and an opponent in the small blind saw the turn land on a {3-Hearts}{9-Spades}{8-Clubs}{7-Spades}. Toma's opponent open-shoved 51,200, which sent the Romanian deep in the tank. After nearly two minutes, he counted out the calling chips and put them in the middle with a strong thump.

Nicolae Toma: {10-Diamonds}{10-Clubs}
Opponent: {7-Hearts}{6-Hearts}

Toma held the best hand with pocket tens but his opponent could still catch a ten, seven or five to survive. The river {K-Diamonds} wasn't one of them and Toma took down the big pot.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Nicolae Toma ro
Nicolae Toma
198,000
198,000
198,000

Tags: Nicolae Toma

Nietrzebka Wins With Aces

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 200 ante

Pocket aces have been dealt aplenty today, and Daniel Nietrzebka just became the latest to receive the pocket rockets. Nietrzebka was tangling with Arthur Zacharov and both players had already built a pot of over 50,000 when the dealer completed the {K-Spades}{4-Diamonds}{5-Diamonds}{8-Spades}{7-Hearts} board.

Zacharov checked and Nietrzebka checked behind with his aces. Zacharov couldn't muster up more than {K-Hearts}{Q-Hearts} and the Pole scooped up the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Daniel Nietrzebka pl
Daniel Nietrzebka
150,000
150,000
150,000
Profile photo of Arthur Zacharov il
Arthur Zacharov
95,000
95,000
95,000

Tags: Arthur ZacharovDaniel Nietrzebka

Level: 10

Blinds: 600/1,200

Ante: 200