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$2,200 Eureka High Roller
Day 1b Completed
2024 PokerStars EPT Cyprus
$2,200 Eureka High Roller
Day: 1b
Event Info
2024 PokerStars EPT Cyprus
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1b
Buy-in
$2,200
Prize Pool
$2,610,600
Total Entries
1,374
Level
38
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Entries
408
Players Left
61
Players Left 1 / 1,374
Filter
Level 19
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
PokerStars Ambassador Fintan Hand was one of the final of the 408 entries on Day 1b of the $2,200 Eureka High Roller at the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Cyprus. He registered just after an unsuccessful bullet in Day 1a, right before the registration for Day 1b would close.
Like any of the late registrants, he was sat down with 30,000 chips, worth 20 big blinds at that point. However, Hand spun up his stack to an enormous mountain of 644,000 by the end of the day, worth 129 big blinds when play resumes on Day 2 and the second biggest of the 61 players who got in the money and progressed.
Hand steadily grinded his stack throughout the day, until he got on a late-night heater. First, he eliminated Brandon Sheils when Hand four-bet bluffed ace-three into Sheil's ace-queen. Hand hit a three to win the big pot, after which he held with aces against Ryan Mandara's nines only a few hands later.
Hand maintained his big stack throughout the bubble phase, only narrowly beaten by Mateusz Szymanski at the end of play. Szymanski bagged 684,000 on the hunt for his first PokerStars trophy, netting him a third position overall when Day 1a and 1b combine tomorrow. Other big stacks who progressed on Day 1b include Diogo Coelho, who busted Sergi Reixach during hand-for-hand play to gain a significant portion of his stack, and "Ratman" Lucien Cohen.
End of Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mateusz Szymanski | Poland | 684,000 | 137 |
| 2 | Fintan Hand | Ireland | 644,000 | 129 |
| 3 | Hassan Nashar | Gambia | 642,000 | 128 |
| 4 | Alessandro Pichierri | Italy | 562,000 | 112 |
| 5 | Mukhtor Nasiradinov | Russian Federation | 532,000 | 106 |
| 6 | Diogo Coelho | Portugal | 476,000 | 95 |
| 7 | Lucien Cohen | France | 378,000 | 76 |
| 8 | Grzegorz Popiolek | Poland | 367,000 | 73 |
| 9 | Alessandro Siena | Italy | 306,000 | 61 |
| 10 | Mahdi Mehraba | Cyprus | 299,000 | 60 |
Hand's fellow Team Pro Kenny Hallaert also survived Day 1b with a stack of 107,000. Other notables include EPT Main Event champions Arsenii Karmatckii (142,000) and Sebastian Malec (79,000), EPT Paris runner-up David Kaufmann (80,000), recent $10,200 Mystery Bounty winner Marcelo Manfredini (156,000) and European regulars like Krasimir Yankov (266,000), Simeon Spasov (152,000), and Antoine Labat (145,000).
Those who will have to wait until EPT Prague to be crowned Eureka High Roller champions include Stephen Song, Ren Lin, Mustapha Kanit, Samuel Ju, Jessica Teusl, Andrey Pateychuk, Boris Angelov, Nicolas Chouity, and Jon Kyte, all of whom fired one or more bullets on Day 1b but did not manage to make the money.
The 61 who did will reconvene at 12:30 p.m. local time at Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa tomorrow, October 14, with the 145 survivors of Day 1a. Blinds will recommence in Level 16: 2,000/5,000 with a big blind ante of 5,000. The tournament is set to crown a winner tomorrow, so a marathon session might be in the cards for the returning players.
All 206 returning players are in the money, but exactly how the $2,610,600 prize pool which the 1,374 total entries created will be distributed remains unknown for now.
Check back in with PokerNews tomorrow to find out what exactly will be up for grabs for the $2,200 Eureka High Roller Champion and who will conquer the long road to that victory.
Level 19
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
For the complete seat draw to this and all EPT Cyprus events, be sure to get the PokerStars LIVE App.
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EPT event seat draws can also be found online here.
Level 19
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Level 19
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
With that, Day 1b has come to an end. Stay tuned for full chip counts and a recap of the day.
Level 19
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Bora Kurtulus had gone all in for 70,000 preflop and was looked up by Iurii Saiapin in the seat next to him.
Bora Kurtulus: J♠J♣ 
Iurii Saiapin: K♠K♥
The 7♥2♥6♥ flop left Kurtulus with one out, which did not come in on the 7♦ turn or 8♥ river.
Saiapin made a flush to eliminate Kurtulus in 62nd as the latter became the bubble boy of Day 1b.
The remaining 61 players celebrated as they bagged and tagged for Day 2.
Level 19
: 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Sergi Reixach had jammed in his stack of 180,000 from early position and was called by Diogo Coelho in the big blind.
Sergi Reixach: K♦J♣
Diogo Coelho: A♦A♣
Coelho locked up the pot on the turn when the 8♦5♠2♥4♥3♥ board emerged from the deck, leaving the field on the stone bubble.
Level: 19
Blinds: 5,000/10,000
Ante: 10,000
Level 18
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Alessandro Pichierri raised under the gun to 16,000. Lucien Cohen called in the small blind and a flop of 3♦Q♣5♠ was dealt.
Pichierri continued for 12,000, which Cohen check-called. The J♥ turn and K♥ river were checked through for Cohen to show 3♥3♣.
His bottom set took down the pot as he dented Pichierri's massive stack.
Level 18
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Grzegorz Popiolek opened for 16,000 in early position and was called by Malcolm McKinlay in middle position. Dimitrios Gkatzas then jammed all in for 66,000 in the hijack and was called by Popiolek.
Dimitrios Gkatzas: J♥J♣
Grzegorz Popiolek: A♠Q♦
With live commentary by Hassan Nashar, the 5♥9♦A♥ flop saw Popiolek shoot ahead in the flop. The 6♦ turn and 4♣ river could not save Gkatzas as he was the first player to depart during hand-for-hand.
