Paul Jurcuta opened from middle position to 8,000 and Andreas Walter three-bet from the hijack to 20,000. When the action got back to Jurcuta, he shoved for around 70,000, and Walter quickly called.
Paul Jurcuta: 8♣8♦
Andreas Walter: A♥K♦
Jurcuta was the at-risk player and fell behind on the K♣2♣5♥ flop as Walter paired his king. Only a snowman or running clubs could save Jurcuta, and the 2♦ turn eliminated the chance of a backdoor flush. The 4♠ river was also no help, which meant Jurcuta hit the rail as the money bubble edged closer.
Samy Dubonnet was already all in preflop for over 100,000 from the small blind against Ignacio Sole Aparicio, who had Dubonnet covered from under the gun.
Samy Dubonnet: A♣Q♣
Ignacio Sole Aparicio: A♥A♠
It was the worst-case scenario for Dubonnet, and the Q♠2♣4♠J♠6♦ runout kept Aparicio best with his rockets to eliminate Dubonnet late in the evening.
Martijn Kiers opened from early position to 10,000 and Stanislav Ivanov three-bet to 32,500 from the small blind. Kiers then put in a four-bet to around 65,000, and Ivanov shoved for roughly 140,000. Kiers snap-called.
Stanislav Ivanov: K♥K♦
Martijn Kiers: Q♣Q♥
Ivanov was in great shape to score a late double-up, but the flop of Q♦A♣2♠ severely dampened his plans as Kiers improved to middle set. An 8♥ on the turn wasn't any help to Ivanov, and neither was the 8♣ river, which meant he was eliminated and Kiers' stack grew to around half a million.
Jan Krahulik made it 15,000 to go from the cutoff and Kemal Aslan called on the button. Constantin Olaru then shoved for around 150,000 from the small blind, and Krahulik immediately called his stack of 117,000 off. Aslan had a decision to make with the bigger stack, but after a short time, he elected to fold.
Jan Krahulik: K♦K♣
Constantin Olaru: A♣Q♣
Krahulik was well ahead with his Cowboys, but there were still five cards to come where anything could happen. However, the only thing that happened was Krahulik doubling up as the 4♣2♦8♦5♦7♥ runout kept his pocket kings in the lead.
A massive 1,211 entries turned out for Day 1c of the Eureka Main Event at the Hilton Prague, part of the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague. By the end of the day, only 182 players secured spots in Day 2, each already in the money.
Leading the pack was Italy's Stefano Puccilli, who bagged an impressive 655,000 chips. Close behind in second place was Athanasios Kostouros with 622,000, while Germany's Andreas Walter rounded out the top three with a stack of 583,000.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Stefano Puccilli
Italy
655,000
2
Athanasios Kostouros
Greece
622,000
3
Andreas Walter
Germany
583,000
4
Jan Jorgensen
Denmark
580,000
5
Daisuke Ogita
Japan
572,000
6
Valeriu Pelinschii
Moldova
551,000
7
David Savocka
Czech Republic
538,000
8
Iraklis Manikaros
Greece
530,000
9
Nicklas Krohn Dehli
Denmark
500,000
10
Andreas Scheelen
Germany
491,000
Daisuke Ogita, who sits fourth on Japan's all-time money list, bagged up 572,000 chips, which is good for fifth in the counts. Ogita is no stranger to this event and got his hands on the trophy in Monte Carlo last year, which at the time was his career-best score of €307,160. There's no doubt that Ogita will be one to watch when Day 2 gets going on Saturday, December 7.
Benjamin Spragg ran up the biggest stack of any PokerStars Ambassador with 341,000 chips in his possession by the time the final bell rang. His wife, Marle Spragg, also made it through the day and into the money with 127,000 chips. Simon Wiciak, albeit short-stacked with 58,000, was the last member of the gang to make it through, and will have his work cut out for him come Saturday.
Ilari Sahamies
A familiar name to many poker fans, Ilari Sahamies, ended the day with an impressive 398,000 in chips. In recent years, Sahamies has been a frequent presence at the poker tables in Tallinn. His last notable EPT cash came right here in Prague back in 2019, when he made the final table of a PLO event. For those who may not know, the Finnish poker star, better known online as "Ziigmund," was a dominant force during the golden era of online poker. Renowned for his fearless and aggressive play, he was a regular at the nosebleed stakes, where he took on some of the best in the world.
Sweden's Tomas Jauring suffered the unfortunate fate of being the day's bubble player. He went all-in with pocket jacks against Nikolaos Oikonomou's king-queen, only to see a queen land on the river, ending his tournament and wrapping up play for the day. While it’s little consolation for Jauring, his elimination brought joy to 182 players who secured their spots in the money.
Max Neugebauer scraped into the money with just 15,000 chips, which was less than two big blinds when Day 1c drew its curtains in Level 18. Other notables to make it through were [Removed:548] (350,000), Sebastien Compte (345,000), Nils Pudel (325,000), Jeremie Zouari (287,000, and Gerard Rubiralta (159,500) just to name a few.
Remaining Schedule
Date
Day
Time
Blind Levels
December 6
Day 1e
11:00 a.m.
30 minutes
December 6
Day 1f
5:00 p.m.
20 minutes
December 7
Day 2
11:00 a.m.
60 minutes
December 8
Day 3
12:00 p.m.
60 minutes
December 9
Day 4
12:00 p.m.
60 minutes
The action continues on Friday, December 6, with the final two starting flights of the Main Event. Day 1e kicks off at 11 a.m. with 30-minute levels, while Day 1f, a faster-paced turbo flight, begins at 5 p.m. with 20-minute levels. This is the last chance for players to secure a stack and a spot in the money.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates and highlights from the tournament floor as the 2024 EPT Prague unfolds!
