€4,300 Main Event
Day 1a Started
2019 Master Classics of Poker
€4,300 Main Event
Day: 1a
The Main Event of the Master Classics of Poker Kicks Off at 2 PM
At 2 p.m. local time, the first day of the €4,300 Main Event here at the renowned Master Classics of Poker is set to start with Day 1a at the dazzling Holland Casino Amsterdam. The 2019 edition features two starting flights compared to the three it used to offer in previous years. Day 1a will be the flight that features 60-minute levels while Day 1b will be the turbo starting day with 20-minute levels. Due to the change in the setup, Day 1a is expected to be a busy one for the casino in the Dutch capital.
The defending champion is Alberto Stegeman who turned his €4,300 buy-in into €240,183 after defeating a 293-strong players field. In 2017 it was Claas Segebrecht who was victorious in the Netherlands when he overcame 284 other players. The Master Classics of Poker boasts a rich history, the first-ever Main Event took place in 1992 and featured seven-card stud as the game to play. The first-ever winner was Eng Angh from the Netherlands who won HFL18,600 (Dutch Guilders) which would now equal around €8,370. Belinda Blokker was the first and only woman to have ever won the Main Event in Amsterdam.
Here is an overview of the previous winners:
| Year | Winner | Country | Entries | Buy-in | 1st Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Alberto Stegeman | Netherlands | 293 | €4,300 | €240,183 |
| 2017 | Claas Segebrecht | Germany | 285 | €4,300 | €235,087 |
| 2016 | Abdelhakim Zoufri | Netherlands | 356 | €4,250 | €275,608 |
| 2015 | Jussi Nevanlinna | Finland | 291 | €4,250 | €300,000 |
| 2014 | Ruben Visser | Netherlands | 298 | €4,250 | €225,000* |
| 2013 | Noah Boeken | Netherlands | 298 | €4,250 | €306,821 |
| 2012 | Ole Schemion | Germany | 212 | €5,250 | €286,200 |
| 2011 | David Boyaciyan | Netherlands | 294 | €5,000 | €382,200 |
| 2010 | Marcel Bjerkmann | Norway | 249 | €6,000 | €403,380 |
| 2009 | Kristoffer Thorsson | Sweden | 342 | €6,200 | €636,120 |
| 2008 | Jan Sorensen | Denmark | 335 | €6,200 | €623,100 |
| 2007 | Trond Eidsvig | Norway | 428 | €5,100 | €620,600 |
| 2006 | Ali Jalali | Germany | 345 | €5,000 | €700,000 |
| 2005 | Thomas Middelthon | Norway | 264 | €5,000 | €528,000 |
| 2004 | Robert Mizrachi | United States | 188 | €5,000 | €372,240 |
| 2003 | Johan Storakers | Sweden | 205 | €3,020 | €243,540 |
| 2002 | Angelo Yu | China | 198 | €3,020 | €168,000 |
| 2001 | Graham Hiew | United Kingdom | 170 | ƒ5,040 | ƒ336,600 |
| 2000 | Steve Liu | United Kingdom | 159 | ƒ5,000 | ƒ314,820 |
| 1999 | Ram Vaswani | United Kingdom | 135 | ƒ5,000 | ƒ276,300 |
| 1998 | Asher Derei | United Kingdom | 125 | ƒ5,000 | ƒ247,500 |
| 1997 | Bjorn Janson | Germany | 90 | ƒ5,000 | ƒ178,200 |
| 1996 | Mike Magee | Ireland | 122 | ƒ1,000 | ƒ80,360 |
| 1995 | Belinda Blokker | Netherlands | 96 | ƒ1,000 | ƒ84,909 |
| 1994 | G Hawass | Unknown | ƒ1,075 | ƒ56,050 | |
| 1993 | Surinder Sunar | United Kingdom | ƒ2,000 | ƒ41,800 | |
| 1992 | Eng Angh | Netherlands | ƒ1,000 | ƒ18,600 |
*denotes a three-way deal
This year's Master Classics of Poker has been dominated by the Fins up till now. Nine "bordjes" (plates as trophies) have already been awarded and six of them have gone to Finland. Kasper Mellanen, Santeri Piriroinen, Hassan Sey, Simo Raikkonen, Kimmo Kurko, and Mattias Knaapinen will all be looking for their second bordje in the Main Event. The other bordjes were claimed by Nusret Atmaca, Chin Sin Chang, and Vojtech Ruzicka.
Players will get 30,000 in chips when they take their seats at the table and play 60-minute levels. Nine levels are scheduled for Day 1a with a break taking place after every two levels. A 90-minute dinner break should take place after Level 4. The late registration and reentry period will remain open until the start of Day 2. One reentry is allowed per flight so players can do a maximum of 5 entries in the worst-case scenario. Day 1b will take place on Thursday, November 28, at 12:30 p.m. and play 9 levels of 20 minutes each. Day 2 will start on the same day but at 7 p.m. local time.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be roaming the floor to bring you all the action from Holland Casino Amsterdam so make sure to keep following along!
Day 1 Structure
| Level | Duration | Small Blind | Big Blind | BB Ante |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60 | 100 | 100 | |
| 2 | 60 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Break | 15 | |||
| 3 | 60 | 100 | 200 | 200 |
| 4 | 60 | 100 | 300 | 300 |
| Break | 90 | |||
| 5 | 60 | 200 | 400 | 400 |
| 6 | 60 | 200 | 500 | 500 |
| Break | 15 | |||
| 7 | 60 | 300 | 600 | 600 |
| 8 | 60 | 400 | 800 | 800 |
| Break | 15 | |||
| 9 | 60 | 500 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
Slight Delay
The tournament announcer has just informed all Main Event players that the tournament is planned to start at 2:15 p.m. local time.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/100
Ante: 0
Shuffle Up and Deal
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
The players have been welcomed to the tables and the dealers have been instructed to shuffle up and deal.
First Familiar Faces
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
With just over 100 players in their seats, these are the first familiar faces who have been spotted in the first section of the tournament area:
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
27,200 | |
|
3,000 |
More Familiar Faces in the Field
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 |
Another Bunch of Notables
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
My Stack App Activated
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
PokerNews has activated the My Stack App for this event, allowing you to directly adjust your chip counts in our live reporting blog using your iPhone or Android phone.
You can download the app for iPhone or Android now to get started. Then, create a new PokerNews account or update your current one to start updating your status immediately. Your followers can see all the live action that you're involved in.
Click here to download the My Stack app for iPhone, or click here to download the My Stack app for Android.
Biz Busts to Albers
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
Mustafa Biz had 16,600 left when he raised from under the gun. Gert Jan Albers three-bet from the late position and action folded back to Biz who four-bet for Albers to five-bet shove with the bigger stack. Biz shrugged and made the call.
Mustafa Biz: 
Gert Jan Albers: 
The board ran out 
for Albers to hold with the pocket kings to send Biz out of the Main Event for now.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
50,000 | 50,000 |
|
|
50,000 | 20,000 |
|
|
32,000 | 2,000 |
|
|
28,000 | -2,000 |
|
|
Busted |