Main Event
Day 1a Started
2018 888poker LIVE Festival Bucharest
Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2018 888poker LIVE Festival Bucharest
Buy-in
€888
Prize Pool
€360,192
Entries
469
Level
27
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
10,000
Welcome to Day 1a of the 2018 888Live Poker Festival Bucharest Main Event
The 888Live Poker Festival Bucharest festival in cooperation with Pokerfest Romania has kicked off two days ago on February 28th 2018 and the highlight of the schedule at the stunning JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel in the heart of the Romanian capital is the €888 Main Event. There are a total of three starting days and the tournament has a guaranteed prize pool of €288,000.
All players will receive 30,000 in chips and unlimited re-entries are available for the first seven levels. The blind levels on Day 1a and 1b last 45 minutes each, while the Turbo Heat 1c features a level duration of 22 minutes. Each starting day will play a total of 12 levels and the survivors of each Day 1 will then combine to one field for Day 2 as of 1 p.m. local time on Sunday March 4th 2018.
Furthermore, a 30 second Shot Clock will be featured in the Main Event. Each player has 30 seconds to make a decision, otherwise the hand is declared dead. All partcipants receive two time bank chips of 60 seconds each upon taking their seat.
€888 Main Event Day 1 Level Structure
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | Ante |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50 | 100 | 0 |
| 2 | 100 | 200 | 25 |
| 3 | 150 | 300 | 25 |
| 4 | 200 | 400 | 50 |
| 5 | 300 | 600 | 75 |
| 6 | 400 | 800 | 100 |
| 7 | 500 | 1,000 | 100 |
| 8 | 600 | 1,200 | 200 |
| 9 | 800 | 1,600 | 200 |
| 10 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 300 |
| 11 | 1,200 | 2,400 | 300 |
| 12 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 400 |
The festival in the Grand Ballroom is off to a great start as the €230 Opening Event eclipsed the guaranteed prize pool of €50,000 thanks to a total of 385 entries, creating a prize pool of €72,380. Leading the 76 survivors into Day 2 is local player Stefan Aurelian Gheorghe with 385,800, the 888poker ambassadors Martin Jacobson (92,900) and Sofia Lovgren (56,400), as well as Pasquale Grimaldi, are among the notables still in contention.
Special 888poker promotions during the festival:
· The winner of the ladies event will also win an 888poker LIVE package to 888poker live Barcelona.
· The winner of the Main Event will also win a Crazy 8’s package for the 2018 World Series of Poker.
· There will be a raffle amongst all the participants in the Main Event to win an iPhone X.
Day 1a of the €888 Main Event kicks off at 2 p.m. local time and the PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor to cover all the action.
Level: 1
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
The First List of Notables
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
According to the screens there are 45 entries already and among those seated are Ozgur Arda, Razvan Bordei and Marius Ene amongst others.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
Dimitrios Takes from Cimpeanu
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Cosmin Cimpeanu three-bet to 800 out of the big blind and was called by initial raiser Dimitros Dimitrios on the button. On a flop of 
, Cimpeanu checked and called a bet of 1,000 by Dimitrios before checking again the 
turn. Dimitrios now made it 2,000 to go and forced a fold, flashing the 
for (at least) top pair.
Right after, 888poker ambassador Vivian Saliba took a seat on the very same table.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
32,000 | 32,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
28,000 | -2,000 |
More Faces Added to the Field
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
More for Cornea and Petrescu
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Sergiu Cornea defended his big blind against a button raise by Cornel Petrescu when their tabled kicked off three-handed and the flop came 
, which both players checked. On the 
turn, Cornea checked and called a bet worth 350 before the 
river went check, check again. Cornea showed 
and that won the pot.
Petrescu more than made up for the mishap soon after when his bet of 1,200 on the river of a board 
was called and he tabled 
for top pair.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
32,000 | |
|
|
31,000 | 1,000 |
Disastrous Start for Poppinghaus
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Hristo Panteleev and Cristian Tardea were able to build their stack early on while Stefan Bucur just claimed a decent pot after calling a 3,600 bet on the river of a king-high board. His opponent mucked and Bucur took down the pot without showdown. The same table also features Philip Poppinghaus and he has had a disastrous start into Day 1a after being cut down to a mere 6,000.
Poppinghaus just now opened to 300 and was called by two opponents including Tardea and Nick Alexandru Constantin. The flop of 
was checked to Poppinghaus and he bet 500, which only Constantin called. The turn was checked through and the 
river saw Constantin bet 500 and force a fold from Poppinghaus.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
48,000 | 18,000 |
|
|
35,000 | 35,000 |
|
|
35,000 | 35,000 |
|
|
5,000 | -25,000 |
Poppinghaus Doubles
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Boaz Kolenbrenner raised to 300 from under the gun and Stefan Bucur called in the small blind. Philip Poppinghaus moved all in for 4,700 in the big blind and Kolenbrener folded, while Bucur called.
Philip Poppinghaus:
Stefan Bucur:
The board ran out 
and Poppinghaus doubled his short stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
30,000 | -5,000 |
|
|
29,000 | 29,000 |
|
|
10,000 | 5,000 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 25