Zdenek Zizka Continues His Breakout Year by Bagging the Chip Lead on Day 2 of the BSOP $100,000 Super High Roller Main Event
Zdenek Zizka is already a superstar and champion in backgammon, but the young Czech native is fast proving a master at poker.
Zizka will take the chip lead over the remaining six players into tomorrow’s final table of the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) R$500,000 ($100,000 US) Super High Roller Main Event, riding a three-way all in all the way to 7,495,000 to close out Day 2.
With the final table rapidly approaching, Zizka picked up aces against Alisson Piekazewicz’s kings and Vladimir Minko’s ace-king, scooping the nearly 5,000,000-chip pot that catapulted him all the way to a massive chip lead. He then brought the night to a close when he busted Fausto Martello on the money bubble.
Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zdenek Zizka | Czechia | 7,495,000 | 94 |
| 2 | Felipe Boianovsky | Brazil | 3,560,000 | 45 |
| 3 | Renan Bruschi | Brazil | 3,160,000 | 40 |
| 4 | Martin Kabrhel | Czechia | 1,835,000 | 23 |
| 5 | Ottomar Ladva | Estonia | 985,000 | 12 |
| 6 | Gabriel Tavares | Brazil | 960,000 | 12 |
Zizka has already been enjoying a banner year on the felt. He won his first WSOP bracelet earlier this summer and has more than $1 million in live earnings this year, quickly establishing himself as one of the best up-and-comers on the tournament poker scene. In between, he also fit in winning a major backgammon title, the game in which he was already regarded as one of the world’s best.
Felipe Boianovsky is in second place with 3,560,000. The Brazilian superstar already won one title here at the WTC Sheraton in Sao Paulo this week, taking down the $50,000 Super High Roller for $640,000 just a few days ago. He doubled up right before the final table when he hero-called Daniel Rezaei on the river with just ace-high, moving up into contention for a second trophy once action resumes tomorrow.
Renan Bruschi was among the last players to take advantage of late registration, but wasted no time accumulating a big stack. He doubled up twice at the final table, including dominating Martin Kabrhel’s ace-jack with his ace-king, then winning a flip with ace-queen against Gabriel Tavares’ tens as he ended up in third place with 3,160,000.
Kabrhel’s day was, as usual, not without a fair bit of controversy. After a hand at the final table, Bruschi accused Kabrhel of intentionally marking cards. Kabrhel protested, an argument ensued, and the tournament had to be paused for several minutes while the situation was resolved. Kabrhel, the $30,000 Super High Roller champion earlier this series, sits in fourth place entering the final day with 1,835,000, while Ottomar Ladva (985,000) and Tavares (960,000) are the short stacks.
Day 2 began with 12 players joining the 17 Day 1 survivors before the end of late registration, building a field of 36 entries and a prize pool of more than R$17,000,000 ($3,438,000 US). Among those to bust before the final table were Yuri Dzivielevski, Kelvin Kerber, Brian Rast, Leonardo Rizzo, Team PokerStars Pros Rafael Moraes and Andre Akkari, as well as Joao Simao.
The elimination of Piekazewicz and decimation of Minko on that same hand against Zizka brought the field down to a final table of nine, but only six would make the money. Rezaei was the first to fall, as Kabrhel showed down a pair of aces and Rezaei could only reveal a missed flush draw. Kabrhel then spiked a set of jacks to crack Mehdi Chaoui’s kings for another bustout, bringing the field down to the money bubble. Martello eventually shoved for 345,000 with king-ten, but he couldn’t survive a flip against Zizka’s eights and the Sao Paulo city councilman was eliminated on the bubble to end the night.
The action on Day 3 picks up at 4 p.m. local time with five hands remaining in Level 20 with blinds of 40,000/80,000 and an 80,000 big blind ante. Each subsequent level will be 28 hands long. The players have locked up R$1,193,600 ($238,700 US) for surviving the money bubble, but all eyes will be on the massive R$6,000,000 ($1,200,000 US) first prize as well as the coveted trophy tomorrow.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow following all the action and providing live updates as the Super High Roller Series concludes with the crowning of a $100,000 champion.