The Main Event of the WSOP Europe will enter Day 3 with 135 players remaining. Vishal Maini is the chip leader, bagging 651,500 — almost 200,000 more than the next closest player.
Jake Salter (345,000), Mike Leah (324,000) and Rainer Kempe (330,500) are all over 300,000 and within striking distance of the top ten stacks. Two time WSOP gold bracelet winner Kristen Bicknell is just below 300,000 with 296,000.
Maria Ho enters the day with 51,000 and is among the shorter stacks to start the day. She worked her shorter stack toward the end of the day last night and managed to bluff former Main Event Champion Ryan Riess with king high. Riess was eliminated later in the evening and Ho managed to survive despite the aggression from Ioannis Konstantinidas (170,000) who three and four bet Ho with some regularity in the final level.
The players return Tuesday at noon local time and will play six 90-minute levels before bagging.
Follow all the action on PokerNews.com through the conclusion of the Main Event.
A player opened for 6,500 in middle position and Sam Grafton shoved from the button for 49,500. The small blind called and Marius Gierse reshoved in the big. It was 144,000 and the opener mucked, with the small blind tanking after.
"Not looking good," Grafton said with a smile. "Little more action than I wanted."
Eventually, it was heads up between Grafton and Gierse and time to show down.
"Kings one time?" Grafton asked, showing .
He was pleased to see . The board, though, did not help him: . He wished everyone good luck.
We didn't see when the money went in, but Dominik Nitsche was all in with against the of Kristen Bicknell with already on the board and the dealer finishing out the community with and then to give Bicknell quads.
Nitsche, who won the €111K High Roller for One Drop here in Rozvadov, said he was going to get ready for the €25K.
Julian Thomas min-raised to 8,000 from early position and Alexander Lakhov called from two seats over. Once the action was on Aaron Duczak, he moved all in for 99,500 out of the big blind and Thomas was sent into the think tank. Eventually Thomas folded and Lakhov called after very brief consideration.
Aaron Duczak:
Alexander Lakhov:
On the flop of , Duczak grabbed his iPad already and stood up from his chair while Lakhov said "please don't!" A blank on the turn changed nothing, but Lakhov indeed improved to a flush with the river to eliminate Duczak before the money.
Laszlo Bujtas, under the gun, and Niall Farrell, in the cutoff, built a pot of about 170,000 or so preflop. Bujtas bet 48,000 on a flop and Farrell called. Both checked the and Bujtas checked the . Farrell thought about a minute and said he was all in. Bujtas instantly slid in a call but his was no match for . Bujtas sent Farrell 142,500.
Marti Roca De Torres just busted Alexandre Viard and Ole Schemion in quick succession and now has almost 900,000.
The first hand he got all in with Viard and both players were holding ace-queen suited.
Viard:
Roca De Torres:
The board gave both players quite a sweat. The flop came and the turn was the , giving both players a flush draw. The river was the and Roca De Torres made a flush to eliminate Viard.
Then he had and raised in the cutoff to 11,500. Ole Schemion defended in the big blind with .
The flop came , giving both players a straight. Both players made the nuts, but Roca De Torres had the nuts. Schemion check-raised to 55,000 on the flop. Then the turn was the and Schemion bet 90,000. Roca De Torres called again.
The river was the and Schemion went all in for his remaining 262,000. Roca De Torres snap-called and just like that Schemion was heading to the rail and Roca De Torres stacked nearly 900,000 chips.
After the hand for hand was announced Andrei Boghean and Marius Gierse took a few more minutes to finish their hand.
The board read and Boghean led for 212,000 into the pot of 160,000. Gierse went through several chip shuffling motions. He counted out his stack a few times and then called.
Boghean showed for a flush and Gierse mucked. Gierse is now sitting with about 70,000 with two eliminations left until the money.
Javier Zarco was all in for 66,000 in the cutoff and received a call from Stephen Ayres, in the small blind.
Zarco:
Ayres:
The flop was not a particularly good one for Zarco although he did pick up some backdoor outs. Those hopes ended when the turned, leaving him dead to the river.
Ante Varnica bet 38,000 on a flop and got called by Chi Zhang in the cutoff. Jack Salter woke up with a check-raise to 130,000. Varnica folded but Zhang stuck around. The turn was a . Salter moved all in for 540,000, more than the size of the pot. Zhang got the count but ultimately folded.
In a hand that occurred on the stream, Michal Mrakes raised to 18,000 in middle position and got a call from small blind Maria Ho and her . Mrakes had and flopped a wheel as hit. He bet 14,000 and Ho check-called. On the turn, Ho bet out 36,000. Mrakes made it 108,000 and Ho called. The river was the and both players checked, with Mrakes taking about a minute before deciding to see a showdown.
.
. The board, though, did not help him: 
. He wished everyone good luck.
against the 
of Kristen Bicknell with 
already on the board and the dealer finishing out the community with 
and then 
to give Bicknell quads. 
, Duczak grabbed his iPad already and stood up from his chair while Lakhov said "please don't!" A blank 
river to eliminate Duczak before the money.
flop and Farrell called. Both checked the 
and Bujtas checked the 
. Farrell thought about a minute and said he was all in. Bujtas instantly slid in a call but his 
. Bujtas sent Farrell 142,500.
and Roca De Torres made a flush to eliminate Viard.
, giving both players a straight. Both players made the nuts, but Roca De Torres had the nuts. Schemion check-raised to 55,000 on the flop. Then the turn was the 
and Schemion bet 90,000. Roca De Torres called again.
for a flush and Gierse mucked. Gierse is now sitting with about 70,000 with two eliminations left until the money.
. Salter moved all in for 540,000, more than the size of the pot. Zhang got the count but ultimately folded.
and flopped a wheel as 
and both players checked, with Mrakes taking about a minute before deciding to see a showdown.
