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$1,100 Eureka Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2023 PokerStars EPT Cyprus
$1,100 Eureka Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
2023 PokerStars EPT Cyprus
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
Buy-in
$1,100
Prize Pool
$2,552,640
Total Entries
2,659
Level
37
Blinds
300,000 / 600,000
Ante
600,000
Entries
717
Players Left
108
Players Left 1 / 2,659
Filter
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
The first of four flights in the $1,100 buy-in Eureka Main Event has wrapped up after over 12 hours of play as a kickoff of the first-ever PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Cyprus in the sunny and balmy Mediterranean. Moldova's Alexandr Dusco bagged the chip lead over fellow big stacks Milen Stefanov (676,000), Karen Nazarian (575,000) and Vladas Tamasauskas (546,000), who is fresh off a tear at the Poker Masters in Las Vegas where he won two high roller events.
Day 1a of the Eureka Main Event drew 717 runners with 108 players making the money and advancing to Day 2. The day ended with a rapid-fire of eliminations, including of high-stakes crusher Biao Ding, who jammed with ace-eight only to be looked up by the ace-jack of Andrei Bocharnikov, as well as Evgenii Sboev, who stone bubbled in a hand against Milen Stefanov that got underway before hand-for-hand play could begin.
Other big stacks at the end of Day 1a include Jason Wheeler, Federico Macori and 2022 EPT London champion Ian Hamilton.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexandr Dusco | Moldova | 696,000 | 116 |
| 2 | Milen Stefanov | Bulgaria | 676,000 | 113 |
| 3 | Karen Nazarian | Russia | 575,000 | 96 |
| 4 | Vladas Tamasauskas | Lithuania | 546,000 | 91 |
| 5 | Jason Wheeler | United States | 527,000 | 88 |
| 6 | Ian Hamilton | United Kingdom | 461,000 | 77 |
| 7 | Federico Macori | Italy | 446,000 | 74 |
| 8 | Gerard Carbo | Spain | 425,000 | 71 |
| 9 | Dietrich Fast | Germany | 401,000 | 67 |
| 10 | Viktor Iarilov | Russia | 389,000 | 65 |
Day 1a Action
It was an exciting first day of action in the Eureka Main Event as both flights 1a and 1b got underway. There was no shortage of big names in the field early as hundreds of players took their sides inside the massive tournament ballroom, including EPT champions Tom Middleton and Dominik Panka and PokerStars Ambassadors Alejandro Lococo and Benjamin Spragg.
Lucien Cohen, who recently conquered the biggest live field in PokerStars history as he took down the €1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event at EPT Barcelona for €676,230, wasted no time building a stack as the "Ratman" cracked the queens of Azamat Tulepbergenov with a set of jacks to send the Kyrgyzstanian to the rail in just the first level of play.
In another early highlight, Ukraine's Andrii Zaika scored a double knockout of [Removed:511] and Nicolaou Sakis as his Cowboys held up against pocket queens and Big Slick. Eliyahu Elyashiv was less lucky with kings as he had them cracked by the jacks of Pablo Brito Silva in a three-way all in that saw the Israeli hitting the rail as Mehmet Dalkilic was left with crumbs.
There are still two more flights to play in the Eureka Main Event before the Day 1a survivors return for Day 2 on Oct. 14. Day 1c and 1d will take place on Oct. 13 and will follow similar structures as the previous two flights.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team is on-site here in North Cyprus will provide updates throughout the remaining tournament and the rest of the inaugural EPT Cyprus stop.
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Hand-for-hand play had yet to even begin before Evgenii Sboev was eliminated by Milen Stefanov on the money bubble.
The remaining 108 players are now in the money and bagging up their chips for the night. Stay tuned for a full recap of the day's action.
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
With 109 players remaining, play is going hand-for-hand on the money bubble until there is one more elimination.
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Biao Ding open-jammed a stack of around 100,000 from the button and Andrei Bocharnikov gave it some thought before calling off with a bigger stack.
Biao Ding: A♥8♦
Andrei Bocharnikov: A♦J♦
Ding was dominated and got no help from the runout of 3♠7♠5♥K♠6♥ to be eliminated on the soft money bubble.
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Emin Mugulov three-bet to 43,000 in the small blind before Rui Bouquet four-bet to 66,000 in the cutoff. Mugulov called and they saw a flop of K♥K♠4♥.
Bouquet then continued for 15,000 and Mugulov called. Both players checked the 3♦ turn.
The river came the 4♦ and Mugulov announced he was all in. Bouquet practically beat him into the pot with his last 92,000 and turned over K♦K♠ for flopped quads.
A collective "wow" arose from the table as even Mugulov had to stop and take a picture of the board before giving up the pot.
At the same time at another table, Yiannis Liperis raised to 14,000 and was called by Andrii Zaika before Quan Zhou three-bet to 43,000 on the button.
Only Zaika called to the 4♦Q♦2♠ flop, where Zhou bet another 28,000. Zaika called and the K♣ fell on the turn. Zhou then slid forward a tower of chips to put Zaika all in, and Zaika quickly folded.
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
On the first hand back from break, Jan Muller pushed all in for his last 67,000 from the cutoff. Vladas Tamasauskas asked for a count on the button before reshoving as the rest of the table got out of the way.
Jan Muller: A♥K♠
Vladas Tamasauskas: Q♠Q♦
Muller picked up a straight draw on the 5♣J♥10♠ flop but improved no further on the 9♠ turn or J♠ river as Tamasauskas' queens sent him to the exit a few spots short of the money.
Level: 17
Blinds: 3,000/6,000
Ante: 6,000
Level 16
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
The remaining 113 players are now on a 20-minute break.
There are just five more eliminations to go before play concludes for the night.
