After he won two small pots, Tom-Aksel Bedell opened to 5,000 from the hijack and he was only called by Roman Emelyanov on the button.
Bedell continued for 10,000 on the J♣A♥7♠ flop and Emelyanov called, then both players checked the 3♣ turn.
On the Q♣ river, Bedell asked for 26,000. Emelyanov eventually called, but he gave his cards to the dealer when Bedell revealed A♦Q♥. Emelyanov only showed the A♣.
Three-way on a flop of K♠A♠8♦, Aleksandr Kirichenko in the cutoff bet 6,000. Johny Jabra in the small blind check-called, but Boris Angelov in the hijack check-folded.
Kirichenko bet 22,000 on the A♥ turn. Jabra quickly check-called again, and check-called one more time for 62,000 on the 3♦ river.
First player to reveal his cards, Kirichenko turned over A♦2♦ for trips. Jabra's cards went immediately into the muck.
In a blind versus blind situation, Andrei Streltsou bet 2,000 from the small blind on J♦K♠4♦. Dominik Nitsche called from the big blind.
On the A♠ turn, Streltsou fired a second barrel of 8,000, but Nitsche snap-folded and let the pot go in Streltsou's direction.
Anvar Muratov opened to 5,000 from the cutoff, then Sergiu Sirghi on the button three-bet to 15,000. The blinds folded, and Muratov called.
The dealer fanned a flop of 10♥Q♥2♠, and Sirghi continued for 17,000. Muratov check-called, then check-called again for 32,000 on the 9♦ turn.
The 10♣ came on the river, but both players decided to check. Muratov flipped over K♠Q♦ for two pair, and he scooped the pot as Sirghi mucked his cards.
With 17 players in the tournament, cards are in the air on Day 1 of the $10,400 Mediterranean Poker Party High Roller!
Level: 1
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Ante: 2,000
Life Outside Poker w/ Connor Richards is a new podcast for PokerNews that focuses on poker players with successful careers and lives outside of poker.
For the third episode, Connor spoke with high-stakes poker player, politician and entrepreneur Antanas "Tony G" Guoga. In the interview, Tony G spoke about growing up in Lithuania, founding PokerNews in the early 2000s, getting into European politics later in life and his favorite televised poker moments.
He also opened up about clashing with players like Phil Hellmuth in televised games and even issued a heads-up challenge to the Poker Brat. Will Hellmuth take him on, or is he, like Tony G said, "afraid to ever play me again?"
The Life Outside Poker podcast is available on major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and iHeartRadio. You can also watch the interview with Tony G by heading to the PokerNews YouTube channel.
Eight players bought into the tournament, but nobody has taken their seat yet. Waiting for them, the start of the tournament is slightly delayed.
While the $5,300 Main Event is still underway, the $10,400 Mediterranean Poker Party High Roller is set to begin here at the stunning Merit Royal Diamond Hotel.
Back in 2022, the last edition of the MPP High Roller was won by none other than Tony G, who defeated the field of 149 entries to win the $257,500 first-place prize after a heads-up deal with Alex Peffly. Other notable players were on the final table, such as Stephen Chidwick and Danny Tang.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony G | Lithuania | $257,500* |
| 2 | Alex Peffly | United States | $247,500* |
| 3 | Andrea Ricci | Italy | $140,800 |
| 4 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | $100,000 |
| 5 | Danny Tang | Hong Kong | $80,000 |
| 6 | Kahle Burns | Australia | $65,000 |
*denotes a heads-up deal
As Tony G didn't show up in Northern Cyprus so far, a new winner should be crowned this year. But to finish in first place, players will have to increase their 400,000 chips starting stack on 40-minute levels, beginning at 1,000-2,000 with a 2,000 big blind ante. There will be a 15-minute break after every three levels, and a 60-minute dinner break after level 9 (approximately 8:30 p.m.).
On this two-day event, Day 1 starts at 2 p.m. and late registration remains open until the end of Level 10 (approximately 10:10 p.m.) with unlimited reentries.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be providing updates throughout the day as this star-studded field attempts to make it through the day.
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