Following an open-raise, Tarik Ugural called, then the big blind three-bet to 2,200. Only Ugural called to see the flop, which came Q♥Q♣5♠. The big blind checked and Ugural made it 1,200. The big blind then check-raised to 5,500 and Ugural folded his cards.
Christopher Rossos had a reraise of 25,000 out in the middle from late position, worth a quarter of a starting stack. Aleksandras Rusinovas then pushed all his chips into the middle. Rossos had seen enough and mucked his cards, giving Rusinovas the pot.
The 2026 Mediterranean Poker Party continues today with the final starting flights of the $2,200 Global Poker Championship. Expect packed rafters as the tournament strives to meet its immense $2 million guarantee. Day 1c commences at 12 p.m. local time at the stunning Merit Crystal Cove Casino.
Sergei Petrushevskii topped Day 1a/b with 2,420,000 chips after an excellent run that included a late double knockout with pocket aces to skyrocket his stack beyond the two million mark, with Felipe Costa trailing close behind.
Top Ten Day 1a/b Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Sergei Petrushevskii
Russian Federation
2,420,000
81
2
Felipe Costa
Brazil
2,135,000
71
3
Omar Lakhdari
Algeria
1,325,000
44
4
Serkan Sariaslan
1,245,000
42
5
Andreas Mavromoustakis
Cyprus
1,135,000
38
6
Andrei Mashinistov
Russian Federation
1,130,000
38
7
Orhan Ates
Turkey
1,100,000
37
8
Daniel Thaller
Austria
1,030,000
34
9
Andrej Desset
Slovakia
1,020,000
34
10
Moussa Ahmad
Lebanon
880,000
29
Sergei Petrushevskii
Day 1b chip leader Omar Lakhdari bagged for 1,325,000, putting him in third place overall in the standings. Other notable players who are still in contention include Onyx Super High Roller winner Moussa Ahmad, Dmitry Gromov, and Cyrpus' all-time money list leader Yiannis Liperis.
Day 1c has the same structure as Day 1a, with 100,000 starting chips and 30-minute blinds. A 15-minute break is scheduled every four levels. Day 1d will be the final chance for players to bag for Day 2, which starts on September 19. Anyone who bags from the starting flights will already be in the money when the tournament resumes.
$2,200 Global Poker Championship Remaining Schedule
Day
Date
Start Time
Blind Levels
Day 1c
Sept 18
12 p.m.
30 mins
Day 1d
Sept 18
8 p.m.
15 mins
Day 2
Sept 19
12 p.m.
50 mins
Day 3
Sept 20
12 p.m.
60 mins
*Day 1d structure subject to change. Day 3 blind levels set to reduce as players are eliminated on the final table.
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