A total of 155 players entered on Day 1a of the 2017 WSOPE COLOSSUS, and just 11 players will be advancing after a truncated opening flight. The top 24 were in the money and the remaining players are led by Stanislaw Miadzel (273,000), one of just two players over the 200,000 mark.
The other player is Fahredin Mustafov (206,000), who is no stranger to bagging big stacks going into Day 2. The Bulgarian was the overall chip leader heading into Day 2 of the €550 Pot-Limit Omaha, but will be looking for a better start to Day 2 of this tournament, having been one of the first to bust when the Omaha resumed.
The big names advancing from Day 1a are former November Niner Kenny Hallaert (190,000) and bracelet winner Mike Leah (166,500).
Here is a full list of those advancing:
Name
Country
Chip Count
Stanislaw Miadzel
Poland
273,000
Fahredin Mustafov
Bulgaria
206,000
Kenny Hallaert
Belgium
190,000
Ivaylo Sivinov
Bulgaria
177,000
Mike Leah
Canada
166,500
Zoltan Bartus
Hungary
148,000
Salvatore Camarda
Italy
106,000
Rene Crha
Czech Republic
85,500
Martin Urbanek
Czech Republic
85,000
Krasimir Yankov
Bulgaria
56,500
Oleh Haisiuk
Ukraine
55,000
There was a glut of WSOP talent at the tables early on Day 1A of the COLOSSUS, with former bracelet winners Kristen Bicknell, Martin Kabrhel and Barny Boatman at the tables. 2015 WSOPE Main Event winner Kevin MacPhee also made an appearance, as well as 2017 WSOPE bracelet winner Andreas Klatt.
However, none of the above-mentioned would make it far into the day.
With just 24 players making the cash it didn't take long for the field to whittle itself down, and here are the players who made the money on Day 1a:
Position
Name
Country
Payout
12
Sebastien Zeiter
Austria
EUR 1,227
13
Radu-Florentin Chirila
Romania
EUR 1,030
14
Michael Sklenicka
Czech Republic
EUR 1,030
15
Ngoc Minh Hoang
Czech Republic
EUR 1,030
16
Artan Dedusha
Romania
EUR 889
17
Tommy Ankala
Germany
EUR 889
18
Stefan Bachmann
Germany
EUR 889
19
Ismael Bojang
Austria
EUR 789
20
Khaled Ali
Czech Republic
EUR 789
21
Fabrice Halleux
Belgium
EUR 789
22
Waldemar Kopyl
Germany
EUR 789
23
Roland Israelashvili
United States
EUR 789
24
Sorin Pruteanu
Romania
EUR 789
Stay tuned to PokerNews.com to catch all the action from the remaining starting flights of THE COLOSSUS live from King's Casino Rozvadov.
The money went all-in pre-flop three-ways between Fabrice Halleux, Marek Holer and former November Niner Vojtech Ruzicka.
Fabrice Halleux:
Vojtech Ruzicka:
Marek Holer: ]
It looked like Ruzicka would snatch an unlikely boost to his stack after the flop came . The turn was the , but the river was the giving Halleux top pair and eliminating both Ruzicka and Holer.
Welcome to King's Casino for Event #5: THE COLOSSUS, which will get underway Friday 27th October at noon. Following three successful years at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, this is the first time THE COLOSSUS will make an appearance at the 2017 World Series of Poker Europe, and a bumper field is expected.
The tournament comes with a staggering $2,000,000 guaranteed prize pool, and with plenty of players already in action here in Rozvadov, records are expected to be shattered throughout this tournament.
There will be a total of ten starting flights, with flights starting at 12pm and 6pm from 27-31 October. Check out the full schedule below:
Day
Date
Information
October 27th
Day 1a at 12pm
18 Levels 30 min each, late reg 8 levels ~ 4.40pm
October 27th
Day 1b at 6pm
18 Levels 30 min each, late reg 8 levels ~ 10.40pm
October 28th
Day 1c at 12pm
18 Levels 30 min each, late reg 8 levels ~ 4.40pm
October 28th
Day 1d at 6pm
18 Levels 30 min each, late reg 8 levels ~ 10.40pm
October 29th
Day 1e at 12pm
18 Levels 30 min each, late reg 8 levels ~ 4.40pm
October 29th
Day 1f at 6pm
18 Levels 30 min each, late reg 8 levels ~ 10.40pm
October 30th
Day 1g at 12pm
18 Levels 30 min each, late reg 8 levels ~ 4.40pm
October 30th
Day 1h at 6pm
18 Levels 30 min each, late reg 8 levels ~ 10.40pm
October 31st
Day 1i at 12pm
18 Levels 30 min each, late reg 8 levels ~ 4.40pm
October 31st
Day 1j at 6pm
18 Levels 30 min each, late reg 8 levels ~ 10.40pm
November 1st
Day 2 at 1pm
Levels last 60 min each, play down to final table
November 2nd
Day 3 at TBA
Levels last 60 min each, play down to a winner
As mentioned above, this will be the fourth installment of THE COLOSSUS, and PokerNews will bring you live updates from start to finish, including all ten starting flights, to see who will become the latest winner of this massive event.
and Bojang was eliminated. Tablemate Mike Leah wished him luck on firing in Day 1B which is happening on the other side of the room.
and was up against the 
and Israelashvili was eliminated in 23rd place for €789
and Kopyl continued for 4,500. Hallaert called. The turn was the 
and Kopyl bet 10,500 and Hallaert called again.
river and Hallaert bet 26,000. Kopyl folded and Hallaert chipped up.
board Fahredin Mustafov checked blind to opponent Michael Sklenicka who bet 4,400. 
. "I check blind," said Mustafov on seeing the river. Sklenicka bet 12,000.
]
, but the river was the 
