Drozd Leads After Day 1b as Seven-Figure Guarantee is Met Once More
The 2022 WSOP International Circuit at the King's Resort in Rozvadov is one step closer to crowning a champion, yet it is a long way to go for poker enthusiasts from near and far in Europe's biggest poker arena. One thing is for certain already, though. The crown jewel of the festival has once again covered the €1,000,000 guarantee as the €1,700 Main Event has attracted a field of nearly 700 entries so far.
On Day 1b, a total of 361 entries emerged and 136 players advanced, joining all Day 1a survivors the following day. Several contenders were gunning for the top spot until the very end and it was Ondrej Drozd who held the edge after claiming 460,000 to his name. Cecil Moagi would have had by far more if it wasn't for an unfortunate split pot via runner-runner in a three-way all-in, as he ultimately made it through with 389,000.
Among the notables in the top ten are also Gheorghe Butuc and Michael Strauch, the latter of which finished runner-up in a bracelet event during the 2021 World Series of Poker Europe.
| Position | Player | Nationality | Chip Count | Big Blinds for Day 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ondrej Drozd | Czech Republic | 460,000 | 230 |
| 2 | Cecil Moagi | Germany | 389,000 | 195 |
| 3 | Marco Rebergen | Netherlands | 350,500 | 175 |
| 4 | Laviniu David | Romania | 321,500 | 161 |
| 5 | Angelo De Marco | Italy | 314,500 | 157 |
| 6 | Gheorghe Butuc | Moldova | 311,500 | 156 |
| 7 | Joachim Beilharz | Germany | 296,500 | 148 |
| 8 | Gordon Hegner | Germany | 277,500 | 139 |
| 9 | Michael Strauch | Germany | 270,000 | 135 |
| 10 | Romain Hamouche | France | 267,500 | 134 |
Just outside of the top ten is Josef Gulas, who bagged up 259,000. His son, 2021 WSOP Europe Main Event champion Josef Gulas Jr, also advanced albeit with a far smaller stack of 70,500. After failing make it through Day 1a, defending champion Andrea Ricci (189,500) and 2021 finalist Aliaksandr Shylko (226,000) also made the cut this time around.
Notables that will have to re-enter on Day 2 in order to take a shot at the seven-figure prize pool are Uri Gilboa, Tobias Peters,
Andrea Cortellazzi, David Taborsky, Emil Bise, Yehuda Cohen and Tom Dingenen as they all busted throughout the nine levels of 60 minutes each.
The late registration and re-entry period remains open for another two levels on Day 2, which gets underway at 2pm local time. Returning blinds then will be 1,000-2,000 with a big blind ante of 2,000. Once more, nine levels are scheduled and that will lead the field towards and beyond the money bubble. After the first break, live stream action of three feature tables will commence as well on the King's Twitch channel.
Another three days remain to crown a champion as the €1,700 Main Event will play down to a winner on Tuesday, January 25, 2022. The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor until the river card has been dealt.