Two times Unibet Open winner Mateusz Moolhuizen three-bet to 1,700 on the button after Georgios Tavoularis opened to 300 from under the gun, and Monica Vaka called from early position.
Moolhuizen bet 2,400 on the flop 2♥5♥6♦ and made Tavoularis fold. But Vaka check-raised to 5,100. Moolhuizen eventually called, and called again when Vaka fired a second barrel of 8,500 on the turn 7♣.
The 7♦ landed on the river, and Vaka moved all in for 13,200.
"You have deuces, sixes or fives," said Moolhuizen. He explained he couldn't fold, so he called with K♥K♦. Vaka showed A♥10♥ for a missed flush draw that she turned into a bluff, and stood up to leave the tournament area. She is the first player eliminated of the day.
Andrei Wauters raised to 300 from the hijack, and was called by both players in the blinds.
All three of them checked the flop 9♥Q♣4♥. But on the turn 6♣, Chris Clark in the big blind took the lead and bet 1,000. Surprised by this big bet, the dealer asked him again the amount, but Clark confirmed.
It didn't take long for the big blind and Wauters to fold, and to move on to the next hand.
With only three players seated on Table 9, Mihnea Potcoava opened to 300 from the button, and Vlad-George Mercori called from the big blind.
On a flop of K♣Q♦Q♣, Potcoava continued with a bet of 300. Mercori check-called. There was no more action on the turn 9♣ and the river 9♠, as both players checked.
First to reveal his cards, Mercori showed K♦8♥ for two pair. Enough to scoop the pot, as Potcoava only showed the A♣.
Five years after its last stop in Romania, Unibet comes back to Bucharest from November 29 to December 3 for the 2023 Unibet Open Bucharest at JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel.
After the first events of the festival started yesterday with the €330 Opener and the €2,200 High Roller, the €1,100 Main Event is set to start today, Thursday, November 30.
Day 1a will kick off at noon local time, with all players receiving a 30,000 starting stack and playing 60-minute levels. It will be possible to enter the tournament a maximum of two times, but those running out of chips on Day 1a and Day 1b can only reenter into the turbo Day 1c on Friday, December 1, at 8 p.m. local time. For all three flights, late registration will remain open until the start of Level 7.
Hundreds of players are expected to compete, led by Unibet Ambassadors Dara O'Kearney and David Lappin. Among these players, more than 135 qualified from all over Europe. They will have the opportunity to share moments both on and off the felt as they are invited to Thursday’s Welcome Drinks at the Champions Sports Bar and Saturday’s Players Party at Face Club.
The PokerNews team will be here in Bucharest to cover the event on-site from start to finish.
