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After a massive Day 1a with 803 entrants, Day 1b of the €5,300 WSOPE Main Event didn't disappoint either with 653 entries recorded among the ten 60-minute levels played this Saturday. Overall, this brings the total to 1,456 so far before this Sunday's Day 1c and the end of late registration on Day 2.
Out all these players, Roberto Romanello knows better than most what it feels like to win on the main stage at the Hilton Prague, having taken down EPT Prague back in 2010. Time flies, but Romanello remains and he even bagged the biggest stack among the 269 remaining players with 451,000 chips.
“I didn’t play big all-ins, but I’ve been aggressive at the feature table, so players saw my hands and it paid off later,” he said to explain how he built his stack. “A lot of memories of the room came to mind today. I love Prague, I feel good, but I’m not getting too excited. There’s still a long way to go.”
With Romanello, Biao Ding (431,500) is the only player above the 400,000-chip mark while Gabriele Guerrini is third in chips with (362,500).
WSOPE Main Event Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roberto Romanello | United Kingdom | 451,000 | 226 |
| 2 | Biao Ding | China | 431,500 | 216 |
| 3 | Gabriele Guerrini | Italy | 362,500 | 181 |
| 4 | Bartosz Wesolek | Poland | 352,000 | 176 |
| 5 | Quirin Heinz | Germany | 351,000 | 176 |
| 6 | Asko Muratovic | Austria | 327,000 | 164 |
| 7 | Martin Hellmuth | United Kingdom | 322,000 | 161 |
| 8 | Martin Kabrhel | Czechia | 322,000 | 161 |
| 9 | Hugo Delmaire-Sizes | France | 314,500 | 157 |
| 10 | Rokas Asipauskas | Lithuania | 308,500 | 154 |
Martin Kabrhel was heard all around the room all day and managed to bag a big stack of 322,000; this feat was also achieved by players like Tom Middleton (304,500), Felipe Ketzer (262,500), and Jonathan Little (258,000).
Coming to Prague, Shiina Okamoto had high expectations for the €1,000 WSOPE Ladies Event, which started at the same time as Day 1b. Out of 197 entries, 30 players made the money and qualified for Day 2, but the back-to-back WSOP Ladies Event champion was eliminated well before the bubble.
She immediately jumped into the Main Event and successfully bagged 250,000 after spending the end of the day at one of the outer feature tables. The 2024 EPT Prague champion, Pedro Marques, sits just behind with 240,000.
Today was also a day for multiple bracelet winners, with Josh Arieh (200,000), David “ODB” Baker (191,000), Georgios Sotiropoulos (190,500), Blaz Zerjav (187,000) who six-bet jammed earlier in the day, Tobias Peters (176,500), Jesse Lonis (171,500) and Benny Glaser (163,000), all qualifying for Monday’s Day 2 through Day 1b.
Only Shaun Deeb might have mixed feelings after today. On one hand, he bagged 105,000 in the Main Event, but on the other, he finished runner-up for the second time this week after Gilles Silbernagel denied him a ninth WSOP win in the €565 Colossus. The Frenchman hit quads in the final hand to win his first WSOP bracelet and the top prize of €165,000.
Behind players like Ole Schemion (187,500) and PokerNews' Brad Whitehouse
(183,500), the defending champion Daniel Pidun (138,500) also made it to Day 2, along with the 2018 WSOPE champion Jack Sinclair (59,000) and the 2021 runner-up Johan Guilbert (130,000) who seemed to enjoy his time at the table.
Lower down in the counts, Enrico Camosci finished with 93,000, while the 2019 WSOP Main Event champion Hossein Ensan ended the day with only half of his starting stack (34,000).
The third and final starting flight, Day 1c, begins this Sunday, April 5, at noon local time. Just like in 1a and 1b, players will start with 60,000 chips and try to grow their stacks through ten 60-minute levels.
Blinds begin at 100/200 with a 200 big blind ante, and two re-entries per flight are allowed. But even with this rule, eliminations won’t be final, as late registration remains open for the first two levels of Day 2.
Main Event Remaining Schedule
| Day | Date | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1c | April 5 | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| 2 | April 6 | 12 p.m. | 90 minutes |
| 3 | April 7 | 12 p.m. | 90 minutes |
| 4 | April 8 | 12 p.m. | 90 minutes |
| 5 | April 9 | 12 p.m. | 90 minutes |
| 6 | April 10 | 12 p.m. | 90 minutes |
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for all the action until a new WSOP Europe champion is crowned!
