Mihai Niste opened from the hijack to 600,000 and Konstantin Voronin called from the cutoff.
The pair saw a flop of 4♦Q♣3♦ which went check-check to the 5♣ turn, Niste made a bet and Voronin called.
When the 9♦ hit the river, Niste sized up with a bet of 2,700,000, which got Voronin to use some extra time. After thinking it over, Voronin elected to fold.
On the adjacent outer table, Hayk Manasyan just lost the last of his short stack to Adrian Strobel.
Vlado Banicevic has been a bit unfortunate in a few hands today but when it mattered most, luck was on his side.
Banicevic raised to 600,000 from middle position and Lachezar Petkov made it 3,000,000 to go from the hijack. When it got back to Banicevic, he shoved, and Petkov called off his remaining 700,000 behind.
Lachezar Petkov: K♥K♠
Vlado Banicevic: 9♠9♣
Petkov was well in the lead with his Cowboys and a flop of 10♦5♥8♦ looked pretty safe. However, the 7♠ turn gave Banicevic an open-ended straight draw to make things a little sweaty.
The straight draw came in when the 6♠ hit the river, which meant Petkov was eliminated while Banicevic's stack climbed to around 12,500,000.
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After ten fast-paced levels on Day 2 of the $2,200 Luxon Pay Grand Final, the field of 247 entries has been trimmed down to just 28 survivors, all of whom will return tomorrow for the third and final day of play.
Leading the charge is Dmitry Kukhtarev, who bagged a huge bag of 30,875,000 chips to secure the overnight chip lead. He’ll come back in pole position when the action resumes inside the luxurious Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, with the title, trophy, and a share of the $2,787,840 prize pool now firmly in sight.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Dmitry Kukhtarev
Serbia
30,875,000
77
2
Alexandru Lupuleac
Romania
23,600,000
59
3
Adrian Strobel
Germany
22,375,000
56
4
Tymofii Savkin
Ukraine
17,650,000
44
5
Alvaro Gonza
Spain
15,900,000
40
6
Sebastian Ionita
Romania
14,800,000
37
7
Konstantin Voronin
Russian Federation
13,075,000
33
8
Wojciech Frankowski
Poland
12,650,000
32
9
Vlado Banicevic
Montenegro
11,550,000
29
10
Sergey Aleksandrov
Russian Federation
11,325,000
28
The first objective for players returning for Day 2 was to make the money, and with 215 spots on offer, it meant that 32 players would be going home empty-handed. Unfortunately for Robert Heidorn, he was the last player to leave without a prize after his flopped top set with pocket queens fell to the pocket nines of Kukhtarev, who turned a flush, From then on, every player eliminated would earn at least a min-cash of $4,000.
Alexandru Lupuleac took second in the counts after he amassed 23,600,000 by the time the claxon rang on Day 2, mainly thanks to a huge pot against Pablo Beltran. Lupeleac had rivered quads holding pocket tens and got his river shove paid off as Beltran turned a straight holding eight-seven. That pot, along with several others, helped steer Lupuleac onto the podium and in a great position to make a run at the final table.
Alex Lupuleac
Adrian Strobel rounds out the top three with 22,375,000 chips, having eliminated several opponents in the closing levels of the day. Meanwhile, Tymofii Savkin (17,650,000) and Konstantin Voronin (13,075,000)—the respective chip leaders from Day 1c and Day 1d—were the only opening flight leaders to survive Day 2 and secure a seat on the final day.
Lachezar Petkov (32nd), Kirill Burtin (38th), Dan Borlan (46th), Lukas Pazma (55th), and Espen Jorstad (65th), were just a handful of names that fell throughout Day 2.
With just 28 players remaining, everyone still in the hunt is now guaranteed at least $16,700 for their efforts. But with a massive $375,000 up top for the winner, there’s still plenty to play for. Pay jumps will start coming quickly tomorrow, with the final nine locking up $37,540 and the eventual runner-up set to take home $250,500. All eyes, however, will be on the top prize—and the prestigious Luxon Pay Grand Final title.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize (USD
Place
Prize (USD)
1
$375,000
8
$46,000
2
$250,500
9
$37,540
3
$177,000
10-12
$30,000
4
$130,000
13-15
$24,000
5
$95,000
16-23
$19,800
6
$72,000
24-28
$16,700
7
$57,200
Stay tuned to PokerNews for exclusive chip counts, live updates, and all the key hands as we crown a champion tomorrow in Northern Cyprus.
