$10,400 High Roller
Day 1 Completed
$10,400 High Roller
Day 1 Completed
It's been a very long day on Day 1 of the $10,400 Mediterranean Poker Party High Roller, here at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel in Northern Cyprus. The main explanation is that instead of twelve, fourteen 40-minute levels were played. As a result, only 33 players managed to find a bag at the end of the night out of 159 entries (ten more than the last edition). In total, this field generated a prize pool of $1,526,400.
Among these qualified players, Michel Molenaar ended up as the chip leader with 4,135,000 chips, ahead of David Miscikowski (4,050,000), who follows closely behind. EPT Monte-Carlo Jovan Kenjic is in third place so far, with a 3,870,000 chip stack.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michel Molenaar | Netherlands | 4,135,000 | 69 |
| 2 | David Miscikowski | United States | 4,050,000 | 68 |
| 3 | Jovan Kenjic | Serbia | 3,870,000 | 65 |
| 4 | Robert Heidorn | Germany | 3,560,000 | 59 |
| 5 | Stoyan Madanzhiev | Bulgaria | 3,300,000 | 55 |
| 6 | Ermanno Di Nicola | Italy | 3,285,000 | 55 |
| 7 | Nikita Kuznetsov | Russia | 3,115,000 | 52 |
| 8 | Nikita Kalinin | Russia | 3,035,000 | 51 |
| 9 | Marcin Dziubdziela | Poland | 2,485,000 | 41 |
| 10 | Damir Zhugralin | Kazakhstan | 2,425,000 | 40 |
WSOP winners Stoyan Madanzhiev (3,300,000) and Ermanno Di Nicola (3,285,000) both secured big stacks for Day 2, and the same goes for Damir Zhugralin (2,425,000) or Ehsan Amiri (2,350,000).
Steven Warburton (1,900,000), Samuel Ju (1,870,000), Roman Gadzhiev (1,825,000), Igor Pihela Jr (1,635,000), Timo Kamphues (1,445,000), Andrey Pateychuk (1,180,000), Mehdi Chaoui (1,120,000), and Ami Barer (1,070,000) will also be back on Day 2 with a stack just below average.
After having one of the biggest stacks in the field earlier in the day, Boris Kolev didn't bag more than one million chips (900,000), but his stack will still be bigger than Weiran Pu's 635,000-chip stack. Dmitry Zakharov doubled up during the last minutes of the day, but with 590,000, he'll only have 10 blinds for Day 2. Same situation for Jon Vallinas Santos and his 575,000 chips.
Day 2 begins tomorrow at 1 p.m. local time and will pick up on Level 15, with blinds of 30,000-60,000 and a 60,000 big blind ante. The first goal of the day will be to reach the money, as 23 players will be paid with a minimum cash-prize of $17,000. Then, the tournament will continue until a winner is crowned and wins $365,000.
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $365,000 | 9 | $34,400 |
| 2 | $250,000 | 10-12 | $29,000 |
| 3 | $165,000 | 13-15 | $25,000 |
| 4 | $122,000 | 16-18 | $21,500 |
| 5 | $95,000 | 19-21 | $18,500 |
| 6 | $75,000 | 22-23 | $17,000 |
| 7 | $58,000 | ||
| 8 | $45,000 |
PokerNews will be back at the felt with the players at that time, bringing you all the action.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,135,000
985,000
|
985,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
4,050,000
850,000
|
850,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,870,000
2,570,000
|
2,570,000 |
|
|
3,560,000
2,160,000
|
2,160,000 |
|
|
3,300,000
3,300,000
|
3,300,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,285,000
1,835,000
|
1,835,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,115,000
415,000
|
415,000 |
|
|
3,035,000
3,035,000
|
3,035,000 |
|
|
2,485,000
2,485,000
|
2,485,000 |
|
|
2,425,000
445,000
|
445,000 |
|
|
2,350,000
1,910,000
|
1,910,000 |
|
|
2,085,000
150,000
|
150,000 |
|
|
1,995,000
1,995,000
|
1,995,000 |
|
|
1,965,000
1,215,000
|
1,215,000 |
|
|
1,930,000
1,020,000
|
1,020,000 |
|
|
1,900,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
|
1,870,000
1,660,000
|
1,660,000 |
|
|
1,825,000
630,000
|
630,000 |
|
|
1,635,000
820,000
|
820,000 |
|
|
1,445,000
1,445,000
|
1,445,000 |
|
|
1,235,000
1,235,000
|
1,235,000 |
|
|
1,200,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
|
1,180,000
315,000
|
315,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,120,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
|
|
1,070,000
630,000
|
630,000 |
|
|
||
Day 1 came to an end with 33 remaining players.
Stay tuned for full chip counts and a recap of the night's action.
Three last hands will be dealt tonight before the tournament director brings the bags to the tables.
Moments before the end of the day, Dmitry Zakharov shoved for 195,000 from the hijack. All the other players folded to Anatoly Nikitin in the big blind, who hesitated for a long time before making the call.
Dmitry Zakharov: A♠9♦
Anatoly Nikitin: J♦3♥
It was a very light call by Nikitin, but luck was not on his side as on 4♠6♠10♦9♣7♦, Zakharov hit a pair to double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
690,000
560,000
|
560,000 |
|
|
465,000
240,000
|
240,000 |
Garik Tamasyan opened to 105,000 from the cutoff, then Nikita Kuznetcov in the small blind three-bet all-in for 1,365,000. Tamasyan went deep into the tank, and eventually opted for a call, becoming the player at risk.
Garik Tamasyan: 9♦9♣
Nikita Kuznetcov: Q♥10♥
Tamasyan's pair held on the 4♠3♥6♦ flop, but the 10♣ came on the turn to give the best pair to Kuznetcov, sending Kuznetcov to the rail after the 8♥ river.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,700,000
1,200,000
|
1,200,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Level 14 just started. It is the last level of the day before wrapping up.
Level: 14
Blinds: 25,000/50,000
Ante: 50,000
Igor Pihela Jr opened to 80,000 from the hijack, and he was called by Alexander Zubov in the big blind.
Both players checked the 6♠6♦3♦ flop, leading to the 10♣ turn where Zubov led out for 55,000.
Pihela made the call to see the 7♦ river where Zubov bet 185,000, almost all his stack. Pihela went into the tank, and he eventually called with A♣J♦. But he ran into Zubov's full house with 7♠6♣.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
815,000
445,000
|
445,000 |
|
|
710,000
340,000
|
340,000 |