Main Event
Day 2 Completed
2015 Master Classics of Poker
Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2015 Master Classics of Poker
Buy-in
€4,000
Prize Pool
€1,152,360
Entries
291
Level
27
Blinds
30,000 / 60,000
Ante
10,000
36 Remain in 2015 Master Classics of Poker Main Event, with Donald Rae Leading
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante
The 2015 Master Classics of Poker €4,250 Main Event saw another 13 players enter the competition before registration closed at the start of Day 2 to bump the overall field to 291 entries. All but one of those late registrants busted before the end of the day, with just Andrew Leathem advancing through to Day 3 with a stack of 201,000 in chips. But, all eyes will be on the United Kingdom's Donald Rae, as he bagged the overnight lead with 682,000.
The Englishman was followed by 2015 World Series of Poker Europe bracelet winner Makarios Avramidis (635,000) and fellow Greek Georgios Zisimopoulos (550,000). [Removed:172] (536,000) and Timothy Adams (507,000) completed the top five.
Day 2 was all about making the money, and the money bubble burst at the start of Level 18 when Zisimopoulos open-shoved the button with jack-three and Juha Helppi called with ace-nine suited from the blinds. A jack and a three appeared on the flop, and that proved the end of the road for Helppi.
Many other notables didn't even make it as far. Ludovic Geilich, Kevin Killeen, Fatiy Aydin, and Bryn Kenney all fell in the first level of the day, along with Tom Hall, Paul Hoefer, Micha Hoedemaker, Matthias de Meulder, and Jason Wheeler.
Antoine Vranken had started as one of the biggest stacks, but he departed in the second level of Wednesday's action. Avramidis then took care of Aviv Meiri and EPT Malta champion Jean Montury shortly after to soar into the lead.
Thomas Muehloecker, Noah Boeken, Eugene Katchalov, Farid Chati, Rodrigo Caprioli, Matas Cimbolas, and Paul Berende had nothing to show for either following their eliminations.
Berende saw his pocket aces cracked by start-of-the-day chip leader Martin Finger, and German wunderkind Ole Schemion sent over the remainder of his stack to Kramer.
Ari Engel's stack melted in four big hands, and a crazy two minutes saw the simultaneous eliminations of [Removed:17], Raoul Refos, and 2011 MCOP champion David Boyaciyan.
Govert Metaal also lost a flip towards the end of Level 17 before the bubble burst.
Notables to make it through to the penultimate day included Przemyslaw Piotrowski (419,000), Joep van den Bijgaart (406,000), Ilan Boujenah (378,000), Pieter de Korver (293,000), Anton Wigg (212,000), Bryan Paris (212,000), Jussi Nevanlinna (208,000), Pascal Vos (201,000), former November Niner Michiel Brummelhuis (195,000), Steven van Zadelhoff (195,000), Tobias Peters (182,000), Steve O'Dwyer (152,000), defending champion Ruben Visser (86,000), and the aforementioned Day 1b leader Finger (38,000).
With 36 players left, all have locked up a min-cash of €5,762 for their efforts. But, all eyes will be set on the unique winner plate and first-place payday of €299,614.
Play will resume on Thursday at 14:00 local time with 90-minute levels. The blinds continue at 3,000/6,000 with a running ante of 1,000, and you can find live coverage in the PokerNews Live Reporting section.
PokerNews Podcast Episode #344: IRS Binks and Pennsylvania Gets Closer to Online Poker
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante
Rich Ryan and Donnie Peters discussed the big winners from the 2015 WSOP Main Event on last week's podcast, but neglected to mention the biggest winner, the U.S. Government. They break down some of the massive tax payments the IRS will receive from the November Niners, and discuss the online gaming bill moving swiftly through the Pennsylvania State Legislature.
Don't forget, you can call the show and leave a voicemail at 774-77-PNPOD.
You can subscribe to the entire iBus Media Network on iTunes here, or you can access the RSS feed here. The PokerNews family of podcasts is now available on Stitcher.
End-of-Day Chip Counts (full)
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
682,000 | 2,000 |
|
635,000 | 35,000 |
|
550,000 | -32,000 |
![[Removed:172]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
|
536,000 | 176,000 |
|
507,000 | -68,000 |
|
419,000 | -61,000 |
|
406,000 | 13,500 |
|
378,000 | 148,000 |
|
367,000 | 197,000 |
|
293,000 | -7,000 |
|
251,000 | 51,000 |
|
243,000 | -67,000 |
|
230,000 | -40,000 |
|
228,000 | 113,000 |
|
212,000 | 42,000 |
|
212,000 | 12,000 |
|
208,000 | -97,000 |
|
201,000 | 79,000 |
|
201,000 | -84,000 |
|
200,000 | -100,000 |
|
195,000 | 75,000 |
|
195,000 | 15,000 |
|
182,000 | -38,000 |
|
180,000 | 130,000 |
|
175,000 | 30,000 |
Day 2 Finished; 36 Come Back Tomorrow
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante
Immediately after the bubble burst, the players bagged the chips and Donald Rae is the chip leader with 682,000 chips, followed by Makarios Avramidis with 635,000. The full counts will be available shortly.
Helppi Bubbles the Main Event
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante
Georgios Zisimopoulos open-shoved the button and Juha Helppi called from the small blind for an effective stack of 186,000, putting himself at risk of elimination.
Zisimopoulos: 
Helppi: 
The Greek found some magic on the flop 
and neither the 
turn nor the 
river changed anything anymore to let the bubble burst in bizarre fashion. "I know he jams any two, that's why I called. If I win the hand I have a good chance to win the tournament," Helppi said after walking away from the crime scene.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
582,000 | 180,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 18
Blinds: 3,000/6,000
Ante: 1,000
De Korver is Happy; Hendriks Shows Set
Level 17
: 2,500/5,000, 500 ante
Andrew Leathem raised to 11,000 from under the gun and was called by Pieter de Korver and Donald Rae in the big blind. On the flop, the action checked to de Korver and he bet 22,000. Only Rae called and the duo checked the turn before the Brit fired the 
river for 42,000.
De Korver called and then smiled, turning over 
as winning hand. Rae was playing the board and his busted gutshot with 
never came.
Chris Dowling raised to 12,000 and Rob Hendriks called to see a flop of 
. Dowling continued for 15,000 and then folded when Hendriks shoved for 62,000, showing for middle set. Jan Jansma celebrated, saying he had folded 
preflop.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
650,000 | -112,000 |
|
|
300,000 | 230,000 |
|
95,000 | 56,700 |
The Bubble Trouble
Level 17
: 2,500/5,000, 500 ante
As per casino regulations in the Netherlands, the house has to close at 3 a.m. local time and this may result in the players returning on the money bubble tomorrow if the money is not reached within a reasonable time tonight still.
For now, the tournament direction has decided to continue playing.
Van den Bijgaart Leads Feature Table
Level 17
: 2,500/5,000, 500 ante
A pot of 160,000 chips emerged on the feature table and Georgios Zisimopoulos had turned a flush draw with 
while Joep van den Bijgaart's 
flopped a gutshot and rivered top pair. Both players checked through and the pot was shipped to the Dutchman, who now holds the biggest stack on the feature table.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
392,500 | 222,500 |