Ruijs on a Rampage, Bags Monster Lead on PAPC Main Event Day 2
The second of four days in the €1,500 Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge Main Event had one man claiming the spotlight: Joris Ruijs. The Dutch high roller went on an absolute rampage during nearly eight levels of sixty minutes and bagged 1,242,000 to conclude the day. In comparison, it was nearly three (!) times as much as Kasper Mellanen, who bagged the second biggest stack with 423,000 in chips. Play continued until the bubble had burst and 20 out of 160 players will return for Day 3.
It was one of those days where Ruijs seemingly couldn't do anything wrong. While a lot of raises got through (perhaps with the worst of it), whenever Ruijs got looked up he had it. Julius Schamburg became one of the biggest victims of Ruijs' dynamism. Schamburg wielded the second biggest stack when he got moved to Ruijs' table, but lost multiple sizable pots against the Dutchman. One big pot especially, where Ruijs had flopped a flush and got paid, relegated Schamburg to spectator status in the Ruijs-show. While left severely bruised, the German did survive the onslaught and will return to the penultimate day with 119,500 in chips.
PAPC Main Event Top 5 Chip Counts After Day 2
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joris Ruijs | Netherlands | 1,242,000 | 207 |
| 2 | Kasper Mellanen | Finland | 423,000 | 71 |
| 3 | Ville Jantunen | Finland | 410,000 | 68 |
| 4 | Henri Schalin | Finland | 365,000 | 61 |
| 5 | Matias Arosuo | Finland | 308,000 | 51 |
While the young Dutchman was raking in the chips, others fell by the wayside and failed to make the money. The trio of Chino Rheem, Noah Boeken, and Robert Mizrachi, all good friends of Patrik Antonius, saw their attempt to win their friend's tournament end early in the day. Day 1 chip leader Dragos Trofimov also failed to make the money, and was joined on the rail by Micha Hoedemaker, Jason Gray, and loudmouth Veki-Pella Alakorva, who's daring king-high bluff got picked off by Kasper Mellanen two spots before the money.
Alakorva busted shortly after his ill-timed attempt, leaving the field with 21 players. They played hand-over-hand for a while before two players were all-in and at risk. Roope Tarmi was called holding ace-king on an ace-high flop, but top pair top kicker remained best to keep him alive. Sergei Istsenko was less fortunate: with pocket kings, he ran into the dreaded setup as Kaupo Tenno woke up with pocket aces to send the Russian home empty-handed.
The 20 remaining players bagged for the night directly afterward, each of them already guaranteed €2,820 for their efforts, and will return on Saturday, April 6 at noon local time to play down to 6. The winner will be crowned on Sunday, April 7, and will receive €57,200 as well as the bragging rights that come with becoming the first-ever PAPC Main Event champion.
Action at the Olympic Park Casino in Hilton Tallinn is continuing with the Player's Party downstairs, where the First Land of Poker (FLOP) app will be launched. PokerNews will cover the launch of this new social app in a separate article and will be back on the floor on Saturday as the Main Event inches closer towards a champion.
. He congratulated Tenno and made his way off the stage. All other players are guaranteed at least €2,820 and will bag for the night.
flop. The 
completed the board on the river to double up on the bubble.
.
board was a safe one for the Finn.
flop didn't pair Alakorva but did give him a gutshot straight draw, a fact not lost by Alakorva who screamed, "King, Ace, Queen" repeatedly.
came on the turn. Alakorva looked stunned after the 
, Alakorva bet 45,000 from the big blind and Mellanen called in position.
and Alakorva shoved all in for almost 170,000. Mellanen had a decision for his remaining stack of 140,000 and went deep in the tank. Alakorva, normally the liveliest player in the room, went uncharacteristically quiet, put on his sunglasses and put his hands over his mouth. Mellanen crossed his arms, studied the board and his opponent, then called it off for his tournament life.
for the airball. A relieved Mellanen slapped 
onto the felt and responded with "I was quite sure you had nothing" in his mother tongue as well.
. Scholten had 
and shoved the river on a 
board. Kasper Mellanen, who had defended his big blind earlier in the hand, called it off with 
to leave Scholten with 9 big blinds.
on the turn gave Berge the lead and the 
and it seemed like Sootla would double with 
flop, Schamburg bet 9,000 and Ruijs called. The turn brought the 
