Mikita Badziakouski Wins Event #2 at SHRS Europe; Can Koon Catch Up on Sunday?
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Mikita Badziakouski held off Phil Ivey in heads-up play to win Event #2: $50,000 Short Deck in the Super High Roller Series Europe at Merit Crystal Cove Resort and Casino in North Cyprus.
The Belarusian, who was shrouded in the Ukrainian flag as the final cards fell, locked up the $756,000 first prize and his first win since taking down the $50,000 High Roller at the 2021 World Series of Poker.
This was Ivey’s fourth cash of the combined Triton Poker/SHRS Europe series, and he moves into third place on the PokerGO Tour leaderboard with the runner-up finish.
Jason Koon continued his solid run through the combined series with a third-place finish, and Stephen Chidwick picked up his second cash of the series in fourth. Lun Loon finished in fifth place and Wai Kiat Lee made another Short Deck final table after finishing in second in Triton Poker’s Event #3: $75,000 Short Deck.
SHRS Europe Event #2: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Makita Badziakouski | Belarus | $756,000 |
| 2 | Phil Ivey | United States | $504,000 |
| 3 | Jason Koon | United States | $336,000 |
| 4 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | $231,000 |
| 5 | Lun Loon | Malaysia | $168,000 |
| 6 | Wai Kiat Lee | Malaysia | $105,000 |
Ivey also extends his lead on the SHRS Europe series leaderboard with the finish, which puts him over $2.2 million on the series. Badziakouski jumped into fifth with the win and Koon makes an appearance in eighth on the heels of his third-place finish. The top finisher at the end of the series will take home the SHRS Europe Championship and a $25,000 bonus.
SHRS Europe Championship Standings
| Rank | Player | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Ivey | United States | 1,341 |
| 2 | Andras Nemeth | Hungary | 700 |
| 3 | Winfred Yu | Hong Kong | 700 |
| 4 | Elton Tsang | Hong Kong | 653 |
| 5 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | 633 |
| 6 | Tom Vogelsang | Netherlands | 616 |
| 7 | Laszlo Bujtas | Hungary | 606 |
| 8 | Jason Koon | United States | 575 |
| 9 | Wai Kiat Lee | Malaysia | 567 |
| 10 | Ivan Leow | Malaysia | 537 |
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Event #3 Gets Underway
Danny Tang is the chip leader at the end of Day 1 of Event #3: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em, and sits with a clear margin over Romania's Liviu Ignat in second. The tournament drew 64 entrants to generate a prize pool of $1,600,000.
Ali Imsirovic remains in the hunt yet again this week, and he has secured at least $64,000 in prize money, meaning he will add to his lead on the PokerGO Tour leaderboard with a cashing finish. Koon is also back in the mix, continuing his consistent run of Day 2s in North Cyprus. Andras Nemeth will look to add another victory to his impressive week, while Matthias Eibinger looks to do the same after also winning during the Triton portion of the festival.
Each of the returning nine players has their sights set on the top prize of $432,000.
SHRS Europe Event #3: $25,000 NLH Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Name | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danny Tang | Hong Kong | 1,885,000 |
| 2 | Liviu Ignat | Romania | 1,100,000 |
| 3 | Matthias Eibinger | Austria | 1,005,000 |
| 4 | Ali Imsirovic | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 840,000 |
| 5 | Andras Nemeth | Hungary | 825,000 |
| 6 | Jason Koon | United States | 660,000 |
| 7 | Sinan Unlu | Turkey | 645,000 |
| 8 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | 640,000 |
| 9 | Marius Gierse | Germany | 405,000 |
Click for live updates from the PokerGO Live Reporting team
Where to Watch the Final Table?
The livestream will kick off once the final table is reached on Sunday, April 10 and the action will air with David Tuchman and Brent Hanks doing the commentary on the PokerGO YouTube channel. Action is expected to go live after the first elimination when the event begins at 7 a.m ET and 4 a.m. PT.
*Images courtesy of Merit Poker
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Las Vegas-based PokerNews Live Reporting Executive, originally from Chicago, IL
