button in SafariRaul Yunusov Demolishes Competition on Day 1b of Triton ONE $5K Mystery Bounty
When Day 1b of the Triton ONE North Cyprus $5,000 NLH 8-Handed Mystery Bounty was done and dusted, one man stood tall above the 72 survivors at Merit Royal Diamond Hotel & Spa. Raul Yunusov was the first player to turn the starting stack of 200,000 into a seven-figure stack halfway through, and he did not relinquish his lead once throughout the rest of the day.
When all was said and done, Yunusov bagged 3,435,000, worth over 170 big blinds. With the bounties coming into play from the start of Day 2, Yunusov will cover all 151 returning players. With a total field of 607 entries, the total bounty prize pool up for grabs amounts to $1,214,000. Those unlucky enough to miss out on the biggest bounties can still go home with massive prizes, as the regular prize pool stands at $1,545,422.
Meanwhile, Yunusov's nearest contender on Day 1b was Asaf Groofi, whose late-night surge saw him end with 1,920,000. Aleksandr Razinkov completes the top three with 1,715,00, while high-stakes regulars Armin Rezaei and Emilien Pitavy also bagged top ten stacks.
End of Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raul Yunusov | Russian Federation | 3,435,000 | 172 |
| 2 | Asaf Groofi | Israel | 1,920,000 | 96 |
| 3 | Aleksandr Razinkov | Russian Federation | 1,715,000 | 86 |
| 4 | Armin Rezaei | Austria | 1,700,000 | 85 |
| 5 | Harry Halim | Indonesia | 1,615,000 | 81 |
| 6 | Zhuoqun Zhang | China | 1,530,000 | 77 |
| 7 | Agharazi Babayev | Azerbaijan | 1,460,000 | 73 |
| 8 | Stefan Ionita | Romania | 1,430,000 | 72 |
| 9 | Emilien Pitavy | France | 1,395,000 | 70 |
| 10 | Andrei Mashinistov | Russian Federation | 1,355,000 | 68 |
Triton ONE champions Huu Dung Nguyen (1,190,000) and Yoko Sasaki (1,145,000) also bagged seven-figure stacks, while 2019 WSOP Main Event champion Hossein Ensan will be looking to turn his 940,000 into his first Triton cash in over two years. Ensan's fellow world champion Stoyan Madanzhiev also made it through, although with 170,000, he bagged the shortest stack of all.
Some other European regulars still in the mix include Fahredin Mustafov (880,000), Aliaksei Boika (710,000), Boris Kolev (520,000), and Joris Ruijs (490,000). Meanwhile, Triton regulars Yu Zhang (785,000), Winfred Yu (505,000), and Biao Ding (495,000) also remain in contention.
Day 2 will kick off on September 9 at noon local time, with roughly 15 minutes left to play in Level 14: 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 big blind ante. The mystery bounties will come into play from the start of the day, and the duration of the levels will increase to 40 minutes each. Day 2 is scheduled to be the final day of the tournament, meaning a marathon day could be in the cards for those who run deep.
PokerNews will be back on the floor tomorrow, bringing you all the latest news regarding the payouts and mystery bounties, as well as major hands and frequent chip counts en route to a champion. Make sure to tune back in for what promises to be an exciting Day 2.