button in SafariMiguel Coussement Leads Five Day 1b Survivors
If the bubble took a long time to burst on Day 1a of the World Series of Poker Circuit Middelkerke Main Event, it took even longer this Thursday on Day 1b. The main reason was the relatively small field of 32 entries, which left eight players in contention by the time late registration closed, with only five spots available for Day 2.
That number quickly dropped to six, but with a very high average stack and no real short stacks among them, especially after Bechara Koyess tripled up, the situation remained unchanged for two levels. It eventually took two hours for the bubble to burst, with Koyess being the one to hit the rail with top pair against Miguel Coussement's two pair.
The pot, however, propelled Coussement into the chip lead with 395,000, after seeing his stack cut in half over the previous hands.
End of Day 1b Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miguel Coussement | Belgium | 395,000 | 40 |
| 2 | Dmitry Dzhumachuk | Portugal | 378,000 | 38 |
| 3 | Jyri Merivirta | Finland | 354,000 | 35 |
| 4 | Artsiom Batsian | Belarus | 310,000 | 31 |
| 5 | Jeremie Gorge | France | 163,000 | 16 |
Coussement is closely followed by Dmitry Dzhumachuk (378,000), Jyri Merivirta (354,000) and Artsiom Batsian (310,000), even if Batsian had to reenter then doubled up with aces on the bubble.
Jeremie Gorge is the fifth player to reach the money tonight with 163,000. He seemed relieved at the end of the day, as he had one of the shortest stacks. Things, however, went much better for him before the dinner break, when he hit the nuts several times from the big blind.
The five remaining players join the eight who qualified through Day 1a. A total of 85 entries have been recorded so far, bringing the prize pool to just over €110,000. However, these numbers will continue to grow this Friday with the tournament's final two flights.
Day 1c kicks off at 12:30 p.m. local time with 40-minute levels, while Day 1d Turbo starts at 8 p.m. with 20-minute levels. On both flights, players will start with 50,000 chips and aim to reach the final 15% of the field to qualify for Day 2. Unlimited reentries are allowed during the first 12 levels.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back at Casino Middelkerke tomorrow to follow all the action from the final two flights!