Level eight started and that is the last level where players can register for the EPT Cup. The clock shows 265 entries right now and that is exactly the number of entrants the tournament attracted on Day 1a.
We will know the final number after 20 more minutes and we will know how many players will make it through to Day 2.
Level: 8
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 800
Sergei Popov took down a pot and he's trying to get redemption from yesterday. He didn't manage to cash in the tournament and he's taking another shot today.
He checked on the 
board to Marius Lussi who fired a bet of 2,400. Popov called and they saw the 
river. Popov checked again and Lussi fired another bet of 3,100. Popov bumped it up to 6,500 and he got a call.
Popov showed 
and that won him the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
44,000 | 10,000 |
|
32,000 | 32,000 |
Valeriy Chupin took down a pot after he fired a bet of 3,200 on the 
board. His opponent folded and Chupin picked up a nice little put to boost his stack to 39,000.
Chupin is seen a lot on the European circuit but he hasn't bagged a win in any EPT event yet.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
39,000 | 19,000 |
Level: 7
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 600
Players were sent on their first 20-minute break of the day. Registration is open for two more levels before we have the final number of entrants for the event.
Habib Esses is chipping up after he took down another pot. Esses limped from middle position and Erwin Wiechers raised to 1,800 from late position. The player in the big blind called and so did Esses.
The flop fell 
and the player in the big blind checked. Esses decided to lead out with a bet of 3,000 and that was more than enough to make both Wiechers and the player in the big blind fold.
Esses is now up to almost three times the starting stack of 20,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
56,000 | |
|
10,000 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
64,000 | 24,000 |
|
32,000 | 32,000 |
|
17,500 | |
|
7,000 | |
|
|
6,500 |
Level: 6
Blinds: 200/500
Ante: 500
The tournament will play down to the final 5% of the field today. As of know that would mean that 13 players would make Day 2 along with the 13 that made Day 2 yesterday through Day 1a. Registration is still open though and an extra player will make it through for every 20 players registered in the event.
