$5,300 MPP Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2022 Mediterranean Poker Party
$5,300 MPP Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
2022 Mediterranean Poker Party
Buy-in
$5,000
Prize Pool
$4,747,200
Entries
1,032
Level
38
Blinds
600,000 / 1,200,000
Ante
1,200,000
Entries
132
Players Left
71
Vitchenko Leads and Rezaei Toward the Top After Day 1a of the $5,300 Main Event
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Day 1a of the $5,300 Luxon Pay Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event has reached the end of the day after eight one-hour levels of play here at the pristine Merit Royal Diamond Hotel on the northern shores of North Cyprus.
The day attracted a total of 132 entries, 114 of which were unique entries and 18 were reentries. Well over half of those entries remained at the end of the day as the deep structure allowed 71 players to find a bag.
Leading the surviving players was Denis Vitchenko who bagged an impressive 538,500, most of which he accumulated in the middle part of the day and then again at the end.
Top 10 Day 1a Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
| 1 | Denis Vitchenko | Russia | 538,500 | 269 |
| 2 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | 516,500 | 258 |
| 3 | Mehdi Chaoui | France | 498,500 | 249 |
| 4 | Alexandre Vuilleumier | Switzerland | 495,500 | 248 |
| 5 | Chakib M'hiri | Tunisia | 395,500 | 198 |
| 6 | Charbel Ibrahim | Lebanon | 391,000 | 195 |
| 7 | Eduard Bargsegyan | Russia | 373,000 | 186 |
| 8 | Luca Stenavato | Italy | 348,500 | 174 |
| 9 | Giovanni Giuduce | Italy | 346,500 | 173 |
| 10 | Ondrej Drozd | Czech Republic | 325,500 | 163 |
Daniel Rezaei of Austria was next as he bagged 516,500. He was spotted at the very end of the last level with a huge stack as the majority of his wealth came in the final few hands of the night. Rezaei is certainly a player to keep an eye on moving forward as he has amassed $1.6 million in career earnings thus far.
Mehdi Chaoui was another player to bag a big stack with 498,500 and Alexandre Vuilleumier was right on his tail with 495,500.
Well-known Brazilian high roller regular Pedro Garagnani was one of the players to make an appearance today and he was able to advance to Day 2 with a healthy stack of 272,000. Andrea Ricci (207,000} and Ryan Yu (118,500) were also among the group to bag their stacks at the end of the day.
Another player to advance to Day 2 was none other than Espen Jorstad, who has made his presence here in North Cyprus felt already. The Norweigan will have to make a move on Day 2 as he bagged slightly under starting stack with 95,000.
The 71 players who advanced to Day 2 will return to action Thursday September 1 at 12 p.m. where they will join up with the survivors of Days 1b and 1c, which will take place over the next two days.
PokerNews will continue coverage of the Main Event tomorrow at 12 p.m. local time for Day 1b.
End of Day 1a Chip Counts (full)
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
538,500
18,500
|
18,500 |
|
||
|
516,500
301,500
|
301,500 |
|
498,500
498,500
|
498,500 |
|
495,500
45,500
|
45,500 |
|
||
|
395,500
-14,500
|
-14,500 |
|
391,000
-74,000
|
-74,000 |
|
373,000
373,000
|
373,000 |
|
348,500
73,500
|
73,500 |
|
346,500
-18,500
|
-18,500 |
|
325,500
200,500
|
200,500 |
|
304,500
304,500
|
304,500 |
|
295,000
70,000
|
70,000 |
|
291,000
-19,000
|
-19,000 |
|
284,000
-31,000
|
-31,000 |
|
272,000
12,000
|
12,000 |
|
270,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
259,000
234,000
|
234,000 |
|
258,500
258,500
|
258,500 |
|
250,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
238,500
-16,500
|
-16,500 |
|
238,000
68,000
|
68,000 |
|
222,500
2,500
|
2,500 |
|
220,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
209,500
154,500
|
154,500 |
|
||
|
207,000
7,000
|
7,000 |
Play Concludes
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Day 1a has finished for the night and players are bagging up their chips.
Stay tuned for a full recap of the day's action.
Vitchenko Contending for Chip Lead After Busting Volkhonskiy
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Denis Vitchenko had a raise to 60,000 in front of him from the big blind before Vadim Volkhonskiy moved all in for 159,000 in the cutoff. Vitchenko called.
Vadim Volkhonskiy: 
Denis Vitchenko: 
With the massive pot at stake, the board ran out 
. Both players finished with two pair, aces and fives, but Vitchenko's king kicker played to send Volkhonskiy to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
520,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Vuilleumier Spikes the River to Bust O'Dwyer
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Steve O'Dwyer was one of the last to jump into Day 1a, but he won't be making it through the day after losing a massive pot to Alexandre Vuilleumier.
O'Dwyer three-bet to 17,000 from the button and Vuilleumier called in early position. The flop came 
and O'Dwyer bet another 14,000.
Vuilleumier called as the 
fell on the turn. He checked and O'Dwyer continued for 48,000. Vuilleumier then shoved all in and O'Dwyer quickly called for around 150,000.
O'Dwyer had 
for top pair, while Vuilleumier showed 
for straight and flush draws. The on the river improved O'Dwyer to two pair, but it completed Vuilleumier's straight as O'Dwyer made a quick walk to the exit near the end of the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
450,000
165,000
|
165,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
Three More Hands
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Three more hands will be played before the players who survive to bag and tag for Day 2.
Jorstad Shoves on the Big Stack
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
There was a pot of about 30,000 in it on the river on a board of 
. From the small blind, Charbel Ibrahim casually tossed out a 25,000 chip for a bet to that amount and stared down Espen Jorstad on his right on the button.
Jorstad thought for about 30 seconds before he jammed all in for 67,100. Ibrahim considered it for only a few seconds before he showed the and folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
465,000
-35,000
|
-35,000 |
|
128,500
41,500
|
41,500 |
|
||
Petakovic Fires Every Street in Six-Way Pot
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Six players went to the flop on a board of 
as action checked around to Milos Petakovic on the button. He bet 9,000 and got three folds before Pedro Garagnani called in the hijack. Maxim Lykov gave it some thought from the cutoff before joining the rest of the table in the muck.
The turn came the 
and Petakovic fired out another 18,000. Garagnani again called as the 
fell on the river.
Garagnani checked and Petakovic counted out his stack for a few minutes before throwing in two green 25,000 chips for a bet of 50,000. Garagnani quickly mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
225,000
-170,000
|
-170,000 |
|
150,000
29,000
|
29,000 |
|
65,000
-20,000
|
-20,000 |
|
|
||
Late Day 1a Big Stacks
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
500,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
|
410,000
410,000
|
410,000 |
|
|
395,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
|
320,000
-105,000
|
-105,000 |
|
|
||