Pora Bags Day 1a Lead of €10,350 Main Event NLH European Championship
The 2023 World Series of Poker Europe at King's Resort in Rozvadov saw its flagship event get off to a roaring start with 557 entrants participating in Day 1a of Event #13: €10,350 Main Event NLH European Championship. After seven levels of play, it was Dumitru Pora who lead the 360 remaining players after bagging an impressive 729,700.
The Romanian poker pro has had plenty of deep runs, including a runner-up finish in a GGPoker online bracelet event back in 2021. Pora, who bagged well over 100,000 more than his next closest opponent, is well and away best positioned to make a run at his first gold bracelet.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dumitru Pora | Romania | 729,700 | 456 |
| 2 | Axel Hallay | France | 577,000 | 361 |
| 3 | Keneshka Kabir | Germany | 509,000 | 318 |
| 4 | Eusebiu Jalba | Romania | 430,000 | 269 |
| 5 | Francisco Benitez | Italy | 429,900 | 269 |
| 6 | Leon Sturm | Germany | 429,700 | 269 |
| 7 | Fabian Gumz | Germany | 402,600 | 252 |
| 8 | Martin Ilavsky | Slovakia | 383,300 | 240 |
| 9 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | 378,900 | 237 |
| 10 | Danilo Velasevic | Serbia | 363,000 | 227 |
Day 1a Action
Day 1a started off strong with 192 players taking their seats before the clock had begun. Plenty of notables filled the field in the early going, including Daniel Rezaei (303,800), Dario Sammartino (246,600), Ole Schemion (232,700), Viktor Blom (228,200), and Barny Boatman (56,900), to name a few.
Mahsum Aslan (176,200) was among the chip leaders early after flopping a set against top pair and doubling up. Also benefitting from a set early on was 2022 WSOP Ladies Event Champion, Jessica Teusl, who ended the day with 255,900.
Arturo Paduano had a stellar showing and secured 302,000 for Day 2 by the end of play. Paduano remained active and aggressive throughout the day, including a hand where Paduano claimed to bluff James Chen out of a large pot.
It wasn't smooth sailing for everyone, of course. Zlatin Penev's Day 1a run came to an unceremonious end after he turned top set but ran into Vladimir Olesnan's Broadway straight.
Defending champion Omar Eljach got off to a hot start, but lost the majority of his chips after running queens into Schemion's aces. Eljach was unable to build any momentum following the collision and busted out late in the day.
Other less fortunate players who were eliminated include Roland Israelashvili, Jerry Odeen, Jonathan Pastore, Nacho Barbero, and Ben Heath. All players who were knocked out can still reenter a single time should they choose.
Day 1b is scheduled to begin on November 11 at 12 p.m. local time. Fewer players are expected to enter compared to Day 1a, but a new record of at least 764 entries is within striking distance. The guaranteed prize pool of €5,000,000 has already risen to €5,291,500 and will continue to grow through the late-registration period, which doesn't end until the start of Level 13 on Day 2.
Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we continue to bring you all the Main Event action leading to the next World Series of Poker Europe champion right here at King's Resort in Rozvadov.