Murat Olpak opened to 800 under the gun and was faced with a three-bet to 2,000 by Kai Lach in middle position. Action folded back to Olpak, who wasted little time in moving all in with the covering stack. Lach got the rest of his stack, totalling 13,200, into the middle just as quickly.
Kai Lach: A♠K♥
Murat Olpak: K♣K♠
Lach had only one overcard versus Olpak's pocket kings, but an ace was in the window on the A♣2♣2♥ flop, and Lach secured the double-up after the Q♦ turn and 5♥ river completed the board.
But it's not just the home nation who have some support, as brave soul Manuel Cachinero, despite his German passport, makes it clear his heart lies with his Spanish roots.
A player limped under the gun and Huso Besic raised to 300, receiving a call from Christian Ballstadt. Marc Fehsenfeld then produced a three-bet to 1,000 from the small blind. The limper folded, but both Besic and Ballstadt came along for the ride.
On the A♥6♥J♦ flop, Fehsenfeld continued with a bet of 800, and both of his opponents called.
The 6♠ rolled off on the turn, and Fehsenfeld fired out a bet of 1,500, which again failed to shake off either opponent.
The 9♠ river completed the board and was checked through. Fehsenfeld showed A♣10♠ for a pair of aces.
When he did this, Besic claimed he had not checked. The dealer and both of his opponents were clear they thought it was a clear check (for the record PokerNews agreed).
Ballstadt then turned over A♠K♦ for a better ace than Fehsenfeld's, but Besic turned over A♦9♣ for the rivered two pair, and scooped the pot.
A day of reckoning awaits for Germany today at Euro 2024 in their mouth-watering quarter-final clash with Spain, while the same applies to any poker players hoping to book their spot in Day 2 of the €1,100 Main Event at PokerStars Eureka Hamburg.
Day 1c, the final starting flight, is due to kick off at 4:00 p.m. local time Friday, July 5, at Casino Schenefeld.
Two starting flights have already been completed, attracting a total of 374 entrants, generating a current prize pool of €355,300. With big numbers expected today, the event looks set to be a potential record-breaker.
Axel Junker of Germany (421,500) is the current overall chip leader, having bagged 140 big blinds, and he holds a comfortable lead over his closest challengers, Kent Roed of Norway (279,500) and Mengshi Tian (262,500) of China.
Axel Junker
Overall Top Ten Chip Counts Days 1a-1b
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Axel Junker
Germany
421,500
140
2
Kent Roed
Norway
279,500
93
3
Mengshi Tian
China
262,500
87
4
Gregory Kehren
France
269,500
89
5
Andrzej Powalka
Poland
252,000
84
6
Stefan Teckenburg
Germany
212,000
70
7
Mateusz Sikora
Poland
208,500
69
8
Marcin Puczylowski
Poland
203,500
67
9
Andre Hegendorf
Germany
192,500
64
10
Nicola Karl
Germany
191,500
63
Young guns and rising European stars Marcin Puczylowski (203,500) of Poland and Nicola Karl (191,500) of Germany also bagged top ten stacks and these are definitely two names to watch out for.
Marcin Puczylowski
Players will start with 30,000 chips at blind level 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante, and will play 40-minute levels. Play will continue until the end of Level 13, with a single reentry permitted. Late registration is open until the start of Level 11.
Day 2 takes place on Saturday, July 6 at 3:00 p.m., with the final day beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 7. Days 2-3 will feature 60-minute levels.
A stream of the Day 1c action will be on PokerStars Team Pro Felix Schneider's Twitch channel operating on a 30-minute delay, a link to which will be available here as soon as we are able.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all your coverage of what is guaranteed to be a bumper day of poker action involving plenty of thrills and spills.
