Event #5: €1,350 Mini Main Event
Day 2 Completed
Event #5: €1,350 Mini Main Event
Day 2 Completed
Vlastimil Pustina mentioned at one point today how poker can be a roller coaster, full of ups and downs and dramatic swings of fortune. By the end of Day 2 of Event #5: €1,350 Mini Main Event at the World Series of Poker Europe, he had risen to the crest of the hill, while Rene Majed tumbled all the way down.
Majed built up a massive chip lead during the day, becoming the first to cross the 10,000,000-chip barrier. But then came two big pots against Pustina. First, Pustina doubled up in a preflop race with jacks against ace-queen. He finally picked up aces in a more than 12,000,000-chip pot to leave Majed on fumes before busting shortly after. Majed ended up in 25th place; Pustina, meanwhile, took the chip lead over the remaining 23 players with 13,000,000.
The Czech pro already has more than $620,000 in live earnings. His biggest career score came from a 21st-place finish in the $25,000 6-Max High Roller at the 2024 WSOP. He’ll be looking for his first bracelet when play resumes at King’s Resort in Rozvadov, Saturday at 1 p.m. local time.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vlastimil Pustina | Czechia | 13,000,000 | 65 |
| 2 | Gal Naim | Israel | 11,575,000 | 58 |
| 3 | Salih Atac | Switzerland | 10,175,000 | 51 |
| 4 | Dan Sfarlea | Romania | 9,575,000 | 48 |
| 5 | Daniel Elhaiany | Israel | 9,175,000 | 46 |
| 6 | Alkiviadis Stamatis | Greece | 8,900,000 | 45 |
| 7 | Besnik Aruqi | Kosovo | 8,425,000 | 42 |
| 8 | Yuhan Wang | China | 7,250,000 | 36 |
| 9 | Francesco Zappala | Switzerland | 6,925,000 | 35 |
| 10 | Stanislav Koleno | Slovakia | 5,450,000 | 27 |
Pustina is followed on the leaderboard by Gal Naim, who doubled up near the end of the night when his king-jack had Hicham Aouraghe’s jack-ten outkicked on a jack-high flop. Naim is in second place with 11,575,000, while Salih Atac (10,175,000), Dan Sfarlea (9,575,000), and Daniel Elhaiany (9,175,000) round out the top five. Sfarlea had a dramatic late rise up the counts, doubling up in a three-way all-in after making a full house holding pocket nines, then winning a race with ace-queen against Dimitrios Michailidis’s nines. He then picked up aces on the last hand of the night to bust Luca Marchetti in 23rd place.
Other top stacks include Alkiviadis Stamatis (8,900,000) and Stanislav Koleno (5,450,000), while Jakub Sterba (2,450,000), Andrei Spataru (2,450,000), and Eusebiu Jalba (2,400,000) are also in the hunt for the bracelet.
Day 2 began with 277 players remaining out of 1,293 entries. Only the top 194 would finish in the money, and Chris Da-Silva, Samuel Ju, Manig Loeser, and Event #2 champion Stepan Budac were among those to have an early day. Kevin Fluegel was eliminated on the money bubble when his ace-king ran into Kai Vater’s pocket kings.
After the bursting of the money bubble, Uri Reichenstein (192nd) and Ran Ilani (173rd) were sent to the payout line early in the day. Start-of-day chip leader Jakub Sigmund fizzled out in 95th place, while Pascal Pflock (91st), Zdenek Zizka (65th), Patrik Jaros (36th), Pawel Wojciechowski (32nd), and Fabio Peluso (31st) were also eliminated.
The action on Day 3 picks up with 15 minutes remaining in Level 29 with blinds of 100,000/200,000 and a 200,000 big blind ante. Everyone left has guaranteed themselves €7,250 for making it this far, while the champion earns €216,500. The top 12 players also receive a €10,350 ticket into the Main Event.
The bracelet, ticket, and big money are all on the line tomorrow, and PokerNews will be back following all the action until a champion is crowned.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
13,000,000
800,000
|
800,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
11,575,000
3,575,000
|
3,575,000 |
|
|
10,175,000
4,800,000
|
4,800,000 |
|
|
9,575,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
|
|
9,175,000
1,875,000
|
1,875,000 |
|
|
8,900,000
2,700,000
|
2,700,000 |
|
|
8,425,000
1,200,000
|
1,200,000 |
|
|
7,250,000
900,000
|
900,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
6,925,000
575,000
|
575,000 |
|
|
5,450,000
550,000
|
550,000 |
|
|
4,875,000
175,000
|
175,000 |
|
|
3,375,000
2,390,000
|
2,390,000 |
|
|
3,350,000
1,150,000
|
1,150,000 |
|
|
3,350,000
975,000
|
975,000 |
|
|
3,075,000
125,000
|
125,000 |
|
|
3,050,000
850,000
|
850,000 |
|
|
2,875,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,600,000
1,075,000
|
1,075,000 |
|
|
2,500,000
600,000
|
600,000 |
|
|
2,450,000
1,900,000
|
1,900,000 |
|
|
2,450,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
2,425,000
400,000
|
400,000 |
|
|
2,400,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
The remaining 23 players have bagged up their chips and will return at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 27, for Day 3.
Stay tuned for chip counts and a full recap of the day's action.
Luca Marchetti moved all in for 3,000,000 in the cutoff and Dan Sfarlea reshoved on the button. Daniel Elhaiany gave the decision some thought in the big blind, but ended up folding K♠Q♠.
Luca Marchetti: A♣4♣
Dan Sfarlea: A♥A♠
Marchetti flung his arms in the air in frustration after Sfarlea turned over two aces. The board ran out J♥9♥9♦10♣7♥ and Marchetti was sent to the rail, bringing Day 2 to an end.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
9,500,000
3,800,000
|
3,800,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Rene Majed in middle position opened to 625,000. Calin Ciolte in the big blind three-bet to more than 2,200,000, and Majed called with the 100,000 he had left.
Rene Majed: 10♠9♣
Calin Ciolte: K♦6♦
Ciolte kept the lead all the way through a board of A♥6♥2♥5♥2♣ and sent Majed to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,375,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Alkiviadis Stamatis came in with a raise to 400,000 from early position and Luca Marchetti called on the button.
When the flop came down 9♣7♥5♥, Stamatis started out with a check, and Marchetti bet 600,000. Stamatis continued in the form of a call.
The 6♠ turn prompted Stamatis to lead out with a small bet of 250,000. Marchetti called.
Stamatis fired 700,000 on the 10♠ river, prompting Marchetti to toss his cards into the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,200,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
|
|
2,800,000
1,900,000
|
1,900,000 |
Rene Majed made it 400,000 to go in the cutoff, and Vlastimil Pustina three-bet to 1,400,000 in the big blind. Once it was back on Majed, he four-bet to 2,600,000, and Pustina just flat-called for a decent chunk of his stack.
The flop came J♥9♣8♠ and Pustina opted to check, prompting a bet of 2,000,000 by Majed. Pustina then jammed for 3,350,000, and Majed called with the covering stack, albeit by only a few big blinds.
Vlastimil Pustina: A♦A♠
Rene Majed: A♥10♠
Majed needed running tens, a seven, or a queen to avoid a major setback. Neither came on the 2♦ turn or K♠ river to put a huge dagger into his stack. Pustina reclaimed the chip lead just one elimination away from the end of play for Day 2.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
12,200,000
6,100,000
|
6,100,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
725,000
5,475,000
|
5,475,000 |
Alkiviadis Stamatis raised to 400,000 in the cutoff and Dan Sfarlea called in the big blind.
The flop came Q♠7♠6♣ and Stamatis bet 300,000. Sfarlea called and they both checked the A♥ turn.
The river was the 10♣ and Stamatis bet 650,000. Sfarlea took a few minutes as the two opponents exchanged some friendly banter. He ended up folding, and Stamatis showed K♦4♦ as he took the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,500,000
1,000,000
|
1,000,000 |
|
|
5,700,000
1,900,000
|
1,900,000 |
Lasse Frost raised to 1,725,000 from the cutoff with just 50,000 behind. Patrick White opted to call from the small blind, and they headed to the flop.
White checked the K♣3♦4♠ flop, and Frost bet his last 50,000. White quickly called.
Lasse Frost: K♠Q♦
Patrick White: A♠A♥
Frost had top pair against the aces of White. The remainder of the board ran out 7♥5♣ and White's bullets held up, sending Frost to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,500,000
1,200,000
|
1,200,000 |
|
|
Busted |