MrPaulSeaton
Mihai Croitoru has the chip lead, but can he claim the coveted WSOP Circuit ring?
The final eight players remaining in the WSOP Circuit €1,650 Main Event have returned to action at King's Casino in Rozvadov to play to a winner.
Romania's Mihai Croitoru has the chip lead with 6,925,000 chips, having won a late coinflip with pocket queens to take a slim lead over the other big stack, Ivan Banic. The Croatian has just over six million chips and will be a force to be reckoned with after eliminating Oriol Fernandez late on Day 3 to give himself a great shot at taking home the WSOP Circuit ring and €232,241 top prize.
Croitoru and Banic won't have everything their own way, however, with all eight remaining players desperate to take down the title and improve on the €25,102 they'll be guaranteed for being the next man to exit.
Here's how the players will line up when they return to the tail-end of the 30,000/60,000 blind level, with an ante of 10,000.
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Marco Topic
Germany
3,175,000
2
Ivan Banic
Croatia
6,035,000
3
Yehuda Cohen
Germany
800,000
4
Michal Kadziela
Poland
2,315,000
5
Mihai Croitoru
Romania
6,925,000
6
Stefan Drabert
Germany
1,450,000
7
Henning Wendlandt
Austria
2,750,000
8
Georgios Vrakas
Germany
2,220,000
With play set to begin at 2.00pm local time, the live stream with hole cards will be broadcast from 2.30pm CET on a 30-minute delay. Who will win themselves the gold WSOP Circuit ring as we play to a finish?
Stefan Drabert could not catch-up against Ivan Banic, but cashed for a first live result of €25,102!
Hand #11: Drabert was eliminated in eighth place in the very next hand after moving all-in for 650,000 after paying his ante with .
Drabert was called by Ivan Banic with , and the board of sent Stefan Drabert home in eighth place for his first ever live result of €25,102 - a superb achievement.
Local player Chikita (Yehuda Cohen) Doubles Back into contention
Polish player Michal Kadziela made it 235,000 with but Croitoru raised to 500,000 with . Kadziela counted out his chips and with just fourteen big blinds behind, couldn’t carry on with the other short stacks around him. Both chip leaders are taking advantage of their lead by putting the other five remaining players in the cage as they glance at the pay-outs throughout.
Marco Topic moved all-in pre-flop with and got it through, before Croitoru moved all-in with from the small blind. The big blind was Wendlandt and he dodged any trouble. Banic raised with an ace then c-bet the ace-high flop as the status quo was maintained.
Two hours into play, Ivan Banic has benefitted most, building himself a chip-leading stack. Overnight leader Mihai Croitoru has maintained his table control, however, while Stefan Drabert busted in eighth place. Of the remaining seven players, Michal Kadziela has endured the most pain, hardly winning a hand and having to fold in some horrible spots.
Henning Wendlandt busted after running into two strong pairs here in Rozvadov.
Henning Wendlandt moved all-in from the button with for 1,585,000 and he was called by Georgios Vrakas in the small blind with . Topic got out of the way in the big blind, and with 3.3 million in the pot and almost identical chip stacks, the board of sent Wendlandt down to just a couple of chips.
Those were into the middle straight away with , but the German had run into Ivan Banic and the board of sent the German home, running into two very strong hands to bust.
On a less than dramatic board until the river, Ivan Banic put in a big bet of 1.4m on a board of J .
Croitoru had the decision and called with , but he was wrong to do so with Banic holding and a thrilling 2.2m swing in chips saw Banic take the lead.
the chips now show exactly how disparate the stacks are divided, with Banic and Croitoru both massive favourites to make the heads-up battle. Everyone else is considering ICM with each move.
Banic opened to 560,000 with and Croitoru raised to 1,040,000 with on the button. Banic just called. The flop of saw Croitoru lead for 1,550,000 and Banic check-called.
The turn of saw Banic check to his opponent and Croitoru made it 2.4 million! Banic again made the call to create a ten million chip pot and the biggest of the tournament so far.
The river of saw Croitoru give up and Banic swept the pot, giving him a huge chip lead. Croitoru fired two barrels but the Croat held firm and his reward is holding more than double the chips of either of his opponents.
. 
, and the board of 
sent Stefan Drabert home in eighth place for his first ever live result of €25,102 - a superb achievement.
but Croitoru raised to 500,000 with 
. Kadziela counted out his chips and with just fourteen big blinds behind, couldn’t carry on with the other short stacks around him. Both chip leaders are taking advantage of their lead by putting the other five remaining players in the cage as they glance at the pay-outs throughout. 
and got it through, before Croitoru moved all-in with 
from the small blind. The big blind was Wendlandt and he dodged any trouble. Banic raised with an ace then c-bet the ace-high flop as the status quo was maintained. 
for 1,585,000 and he was called by Georgios Vrakas in the small blind with 
sent Wendlandt down to just a couple of chips. 
and the board of 
sent the German home, running into two very strong hands to bust.
. 
, but he was wrong to do so with Banic holding 
and a thrilling 2.2m swing in chips saw Banic take the lead. 
saw Kadziela depart in 5th place after a really difficult day at the felt never really saw the Polish player get any traction.
on the button and Vrakas moved all-in with 
on the button. Banic just called. The flop of 
saw Croitoru lead for 1,550,000 and Banic check-called. 
