Four players were at the turn with 15,000 in the pot and a board of A♠6♦4♥2♣. Lior Tal bet 5,500 from the big blind and got folds from the small blind and hijack, but Dmitrii Nazarov called from the cut off.
The 2♠ completed the board and Tal bet 21,500 which got a quick fold from Nazarov.
Things are heating up at the $5,400 Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event, at the beautiful Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, with the last chance to advance to Day 2 of the $5 million guaranteed tournament.
The good news for players is that there are two opportunities to make it to Day 2 with Day 1c and the turbo Day 1d flights. They will join the 77 players who have already qualified from the 514 entries attracted so far.
Ondrej Drozd
Last night saw Czech player Ondrej Drozd bag the Day 1b chip lead with 3,280,000 chips; however, this only makes him 5th overall, with China's Hao Zhu the overall chip leader with 3,650,000.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Ondrej Drozd
Czechia
3,280,000
66
2
Aren Bezhanyan
Armenia
2,910,000
58
3
Tahsin Cankurtaranli
Turkey
2,515,000
50
4
Ivan Bryksin
Russian Federation
2,375,000
48
5
Nuri Hadioglu
Turkey
2,365,000
47
6
Mehmet Biskin
Turkey
2,360,000
47
7
Raphael Schreiner
Austria
2,320,000
46
8
Danesh Zargaran
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
2,295,000
46
9
Damir Gabdullin
Russian Federation
2,115,000
42
10
Volodymyr Drokin
Ukraine
2,050,000
41
Day 1c begins at 1 p.m. local time. Players start with 200,000 chips and blind levels run for 40 minutes, with a break after every three levels. Late registration remains open until the start of Level 10 after the dinner break.
The later Day 1d flight starts at 8.30 p.m. local time, and the blind levels are cut in half with a 20-minute clock. Everyone who bags from the starting flights will return for Day 2 already in the money.
PokerNews will provide live updates of Day 1c and will provide chip counts for Day 1d once play concludes.
MPP Main Event Remaining Schedule
Day
Date
Time
Blind Levels
Day 1c
Friday 25 September
1:00 p.m.
40 minutes
Day 1d
Friday 25 September
8:30 p.m.
20 minutes
Day 2
Saturday 26 September
1 p.m.
60 minutes
Day 3
Sunday 27 September
1 p.m.
60 minutes
*Structure and blinds are subject to change. Day 3 blinds are reduced as players are eliminated on the final table.
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Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates straight from the tournament floor as reporters follow the MPP Main Event all the way down to a winner.