$5,300 EPT Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2024 PokerStars EPT Cyprus
$5,300 EPT Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
2024 PokerStars EPT Cyprus
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$6,227,400
Entries
1,284
Level
36
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
474
Players Left
144
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Day 1a of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Cyprus $5,300 Main Event, running at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel and Spa, attracted 474 entries, a handful more than last year's event. Of those, 106 players made it through. The prize pool so far is $2,682,050, with the busiest flight, Day 1b, yet to come.
Nobody has ever won an EPT Main Event twice in a row. It's a feat that seems near-impossible and the only three double champions in history have had significant gaps between their victories. But this year it could just happen.
Of course, there's a long way to go, but reigning EPT Barcelona Main Event champion is back at the tables here in Cyprus and is sitting pretty on a top three stack at the end of Day 1a. Stephen Song took the chip lead early on when he hit trip queens to eliminate Ryan Mandara, then kept building his stack to over 200,000 and beyond, ending the day in third place with 261,500.
As the flight drew to a close, two players had edged in front of him. Ren Lin, who is as well known for his catchphrases and friendly demenour as he is for the nearly $12 million in live tournament winnings that he has already accrued, started winning pots early and then dodged a ton of outs to stack Mikhail Iakovlev during Level 8. Lin bagged in second second place for 264,000.
In the end though, it was Kirill Shcherbakov, a Russian player who has close to $750,000 in winnings, who topped the flight, bagging up 261,500 chips. Most of his winnings came from a second place finish at a poker series held at the Merit earlier this year. He's on a hot run, but Shcherbakov also showed plenty of skill when he dominated the table as the flight came to a close.
It's a tight race between the current leaders, with just a few thousand chips separating the top five.
Top Ten Day 1a Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirill Shcherbakov | Russia | 284,000 |
| 2 | Ren Lin | USA | 264,500 |
| 3 | Stephen Song | USA | 261,500 |
| 4 | Yevhen Pavlenko | Ukraine | 253,000 |
| 5 | Ahmed Abdellatif | Australia | 249,000 |
| 6 | Sergei Varnaev | Russia | 248,500 |
| 7 | Ivan Zabiiakin | Russia | 233,000 |
| 8 | Fahredin Mustafov | Bulgaria | 222,000 |
| 9 | Rongshan Li | China | 215,000 |
| 10 | Artsiom Lasouski | Belarus | 210,000 |
Niklas Astedt, the world's number one ranked online player, finished just outside the top ten, bagging in 12th place with 186,000 chips.
Plenty of other notables also made it through, including PokerStars ambassadors Felix Schneiders (172,000), Sam Grafton (106,000), Barny Boatman (48,000), Kenny Hallaert (26,000) and Elias Gutierrez (23,000).
Others weren't so fortunate. Rania Nasreddine was among those to bust the flight. Incredibly, she has final tabled both the EPT Monte Carlo and EPT Barcelona so far this year. Nasreddine only fired one bullet during Day 1a in Cyprus, so expect to see her back in Day 1b looking to make it three final tables in a row.
Day 1b commences on Tuesday, October 15th at noon local time and is the final starting flight - the last opportunity for hopefuls to find a bag before Day 2 kicks off on Wednesday, October 16th at noon. Late registration remains open until the start of Day 2 and players can take a maximum of two entries across both flights.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live coverage of the Main Event, with updates coming straight from the tournament floor as reporters follow the tournament all the way down to a winner.
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
284,000
34,000
|
34,000 |
|
||
|
264,500
82,500
|
82,500 |
|
261,500
11,500
|
11,500 |
|
||
|
253,000
80,500
|
80,500 |
|
249,000
9,000
|
9,000 |
|
248,500
58,500
|
58,500 |
|
233,000
38,000
|
38,000 |
|
222,000
142,000
|
142,000 |
|
||
|
215,000 | |
|
210,000
-40,000
|
-40,000 |
|
205,000
-31,000
|
-31,000 |
|
186,000
68,000
|
68,000 |
|
183,000
-37,000
|
-37,000 |
|
181,000
23,000
|
23,000 |
|
||
|
181,000
96,000
|
96,000 |
|
175,500
-5,000
|
-5,000 |
|
172,500
12,500
|
12,500 |
|
172,500
47,500
|
47,500 |
|
172,000
-9,800
|
-9,800 |
|
171,000
78,500
|
78,500 |
|
167,500
17,500
|
17,500 |
|
157,000
27,000
|
27,000 |
|
155,000
125,000
|
125,000 |
|
153,000
153,000
|
153,000 |
|
151,000
31,000
|
31,000 |
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Day 1a of the $5,300 EPT Cyprus Main Event has now concluded. Stay tuned for updated chip counts and a recap of the day.
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
On a flop of 2♦7♠2♠, both Madhi Lotfalizaadehmehrabadi and Morten Klein checked to Tom Fuchs, who fired a small bet of 2,200. Lotfalizaadehmehrabadi then raised to 6,000, and Klein shoved for 20,400. Fuchs called, and Lotfalizaadehmehrabadi called.
A K♣ dropped on the turn and Lotfalizaadehmehrabadi checked, then Fuchs bet 6,500. Lotfalizaadehmehrabadi called.
When the 3♦ landed on the river, Lotfalizaadehmehrabadi checked again and Fuchs shoved. Lotfalizaadehmehrabadi had around 26,500 remaining in his stack and after a short time, put them all into the pot.
Klein flipped Q♦7♣ for a pair of sevens, Lotfalizaadehmehrabadi held Q♥Q♣, but Fuchs had them both beat with a full house holding 7♥7♦, and scooped the pot, which eliminated two players.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
150,000
66,500
|
66,500 |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Nikolay Yosifov raised from under the gun and picked up two calls before Klemens Roiter moved all in from the big blind for 15,000. Only Yosifov made the call.
The flop came 6♦8♦7♦ and Roiter continued for 6,500, which Yosifov called. The turn was the 3♠ and Roiter sized up to 13,500. Yosifov called again.
The river was the A♠ and Roiter switched to a check. Yosifov seemed glad as he quickly checked behind to showdown. He had Q♠Q♦ for pocket queens and had been ahead until the river, but Roiter turned over A♦J♠ for a pair of aces to win the pot as Day 1a drew to a close.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
125,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
78,000
3,000
|
3,000 |
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Toni Kaukua opened to 2,500 from the cutoff, and was faced with a three-bet to 8,700 from Dinesh Alt in the big blind, with Kaukua making the call.
On the A♣J♦2♠ flop, Alt continued with a bet of 4,700, leading to a swift fold from Kaukua.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
115,000
85,000
|
85,000 |
|
72,000
-93,800
|
-93,800 |
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Felix Schneiders started the hand with a raise to 2,400 from under the gun, and Taago Tamm called from the cutoff.
On the 5♠4♣K♥ flop, Schneiders opted to check, allowing Tamm to bet 2,500, which Schneiders called.
The Q♥ turn brought another check from Schneiders, but Tamm responded with a much larger bet of 14,500. Schneiders took his time, contemplating his next move, before deciding to shove all in, only to be snap-called by Tamm. Tamm revealed 5♦5♣ for a set of fives, but Schneiders had Q♠Q♦ for a set of queens, comfortably ahead.
Tamm needed just one miracle card to stay alive, but the 2♣ river didn't deliver. Schneiders doubled up, boosting his stack while Tamm was left shaking his head in disbelief at how things unfolded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
181,800
88,300
|
88,300 |
|
108,000
-25,000
|
-25,000 |
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
The clock has been paused and the tournament director has announced three more hands will be played in Day 1a.
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Around 24,000 was in the middle on a completed board of 7♣J♣6♣K♣2♦ in a hand between Vladislav Dubanov in early position and Yiannis Liperis in the big blind.
Liperis checked and Dubanov jammed with the covering stack, with Liperis having about 35,000 behind.
Liperis went into the tank, and eventually the clock was called. After about ten seconds had elapsed, Liperis made the call.
Dubanov smiled sheepishly and tried to send his hand into the muck, but as it was an all in and call, both players' cards had to be tabled.
Dubanov showed Q♠8♠ for queen-high, while Liperis had J♦9♦ for second pair jacks, which was good enough on a four-club board.
Iaron Lightbourne remarked, "You're a sick player bro," as Liperis raked in the pot.
Liperis smiled saying, "I thought he might have some bluffs, I just wasn't sure where from."
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
95,000
44,000
|
44,000 |
|
87,000
65,000
|
65,000 |