Sunday, October 22, 2017 7:53 PM Local Time
Level 20 started
Level: 20
Blinds: 5000/10000
Ante: 1000
Sunday, October 22, 2017 7:53 PM Local Time
Vornicu Soars Over One Million Chips
Serge Danis opened to 26,000 from early position and Jonas Holm three-bet to 75,000 from the cutoff. The action folded back to Denis who four-bet shoved all-in and Holm called off his 172,000 chips. Danis was out front with against Holm's . The board ran out and Holm was off to collect his money.
In the next hand, the action folded to James Hoeppner who moved his short stack into the middle. Valentin Vornicu called from the big blind and turned over . Hoeppner had a pocket pair with but when the flop fell , Vornicu took the lead. The turn was the and the river landed the . Vornicu won another flip on Day 2 and is the first player to reach the seven-figure mark.
| Valentin Vornicu | 1,150,000 | 520,000  |
| Serge Danis | 510,000 | 210,000 |
| James Hoeppner | 0 | -70,000  |
| Jonas Holm | 0 | -350,000 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 7:44 PM Local Time
Lykov Runs Out of Steam
The roller coaster ride of Maxim Lykov throughout the Day 1s and also today has eventually come to an end. Lykov was all in and at risk for some 165,000 from the button and Pawel Czichowski looked him up from the hijack to create the following showdown.
Maxim Lykov:
Pawel Czichowski:
Czichowski wasn't the player at risk but stood up either way, a trick that had previously worked well for Lykov. This time it was the Russian that ended up second best after a board of to eliminate Lykov.
| Pawel Czichowski | 410,000 | 182,000 |
| Maxim Lykov | 0 | -240,000 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 7:40 PM Local Time
Holm Busts Courouge
The next two casualties include Francois Corouge and Sondre Einarsen, who ran out of chips in quick succession.
As far as Courouge was concerned, he three-bet shoved for 60,000 out of the big blind with and Jonas Holm was the only caller from under the gun.
Francois Corouge:
Jonas Holm:
The board of brought no help for the Frenchman and he was eliminated.
| Jonas Holm | 350,000 | 150,000 |
| Sondre Einarsen | 0 | -190,000 |
| Francois Corouge | 0 | -69,500 |
| Dario Marinelli | 0 | -250,000 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 7:37 PM Local Time
Sameeian Gets a Big Stack
After knocking out another player not long before, Ali Sameeian also sent Giovanni Petroni to the rail.
Sameeian was on the button and called a raise to 18,000 before Petroni shoved for 117,000 in total. The initial raiser folded and Sameeian called with the . Petroni had pocket nines and the bopard came .
Soon after, Aleksandr Pantiukhin busted on a different table and the frantic speed of eliminations continued.
| Ali Sameeian | 680,000 | 585,000 |
| Giovanni Petroni | 0 | -360,000 |
| Aleksandr Pantiukhin | 0 | -180,000 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 7:33 PM Local Time
Gulas Sends Two More Home
There was an all-in for 68,000 from early position by Usman Siddique and Zhivko Sotirov was next to act and pushed all-in for a little less. Josef Gulas was on the button and announce all-in as well, having both players covered. Gulas turned over , Sotirov tabled , and Siddique held .
The flop came and Sotirov was still ahead with nobody holding a heart in their hand. The turn brought the and the river was the giving Gulas trip queens to eliminate two players.
| Josef Gulas | 320,000 | 231,500 |
| Zhivko Sotirov | 0 | -63,000 |
| Usman Siddique | 0 | -251,000 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 7:26 PM Local Time
Mustafov No More
Fahredin Mustafov got his stack in with only to find Alexandre Viard from one seat over to look him up with . There was no upset on the board and Mustafov was gone.
Pierre Neuville was more fortunate after getting it in for 114,000 with the . Sergio Fernandez had him dominated with only to see the board run out . "Nice hand Pierre," Fernandez said before the table broke right after.
| Alexandre Viard | 350,000 | 135,000 |
| Sergio Fernandez | 290,000 | -160,000 |
| Pierre Neuville | 240,000 | 95,000 |
| Fahredin Mustafov | 0 | 0 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 7:20 PM Local Time
Zisimopoulos Tears Table Apart
Georgios Zisimopoulos had knocked out Helma Weber and Aneris Adomkevicius, and he followed that up by sending Andriy Gerts and Thanh Hoang to the rail.
Gerts three-bet shoved some 100,000 out of the big blind with the and Zisimopoulos called with . The board came and Gerts was drawing dead on the turn already.
| Georgios Zisimopoulos | 880,000 | 412,000 |
| Aneris Adomkevicius | 0 | -210,000 |
| Andriy Gerts | 0 | -106,500 |
| Thanh Hoang | 0 | -179,000 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 7:13 PM Local Time
Updated Counts
| Valentin Vornicu | 630,000 | 50,000 |
| Georgios Zisimopoulos | 468,000 | 123,000 |
| Viliyan Petleshkov | 410,000 | 115,000 |
| Scott Stewart | 365,000 | 25,000 |
| Robert Schulz | 305,000 | 15,000 |
| Ryan Hughes | 280,000 | -95,000 |
| Walter Treccarichi | 277,000 | -13,000 |
| Fahredin Mustafov | 76,000 | -174,000 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 7:10 PM Local Time
"ChiKKita BanAAna" Says Goodbye
Yehuda Cohen, also known to many as "ChiKKita BanAAna", lost a big pot to Valentin Vornicu and was left with under 10 big blinds. He moved all-in from the cutoff and was called by Dario Marinelli on the button.
Marinelli tabled and Cohen was slightly ahead with . "No king, no queen," Cohen prayed to the dealer. The flop fell and Cohen's prayers were not answered as Marinelli paired his king. The on the turn gave Cohen a flush draw but the on the river ended his tournament hopes.
| Dario Marinelli | 250,000 | 133,000 |
| Yehuda Cohen | 0 | -170,000 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 7:05 PM Local Time
Down to 45 Players
Four players busted in quick succession soon after play had resumed and among them were Helma Weber, Sander van Wesemael, Erich Kollmann and Matous Houzvicek.
It was the start-of-the-day chip leader van Wesemael who shoved for around 100,000 from under the gun and his nemesis of the day, Sergio Fernandez in the big blind peeked at his cards. "The first one is good," to which van Wesemael jokingly hid his face with the hoodie. Fernandez checked the second card and rolled them over instantly for the call.
Sander van Wesemael:
Sergio Fernandez:
The board came and the Dutchman left with a "good game guys, good luck, have fun."
Erich Kollmann fell a mere minute later when he got it in with against the of Valentin Vornicu. The American with Romanian roots got there on a board of and Kollmann was gone next.
Last but not least, Matous Houzvicek open-shoved for 140,000 from the button and Scott Stewart called from the big blind.
Matous Houzvicek:
Scott Stewart:
The board ran out and the kicker played to eliminate Houzvicek.
| Valentin Vornicu | 580,000 | 170,000 |
| Sergio Fernandez | 450,000 | 120,000 |
| Scott Stewart | 340,000 | 125,000 |
| Avi Hamo | 0 | -41,000 |
| Helma Weber | 0 | -130,000 |
| Sander van Wesemael | 0 | -110,000 |
| Erich Kollmann | 0 | -198,000 |
| Matous Houzvicek | 0 | -160,000 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 6:58 PM Local Time
Vornicu Busts Miegel
Robert Schulz doubled before the break to help himself to an above-average stack and the roller coaster ride of Valentin Vornicu spelled the end for Jakob Miegel. The German open-shoved with pocket threes and Vornicu took the flip with to get there.
Right after, Vornicu put the new chips to use and raised, which Jonas Holm in the big blind called. On the flop, Holm check-raised from 22,000 to 55,000 and Vornicu folded.
| Valentin Vornicu | 410,000 | 255,000 |
| Robert Schulz | 290,000 | 170,000 |
| Jonas Holm | 200,000 | 127,500 |
| Jakob Miegel | 0 | -150,000 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 6:39 PM Local Time
Allen Kessler No More; Break Time
Helma Weber opened to 16,000 and Tobias Bornefalk flatted from late position. Allen Kessler jammed all-in for his last 72,000 and Weber let her hand go. Bornefalk made the call and tabled . Kessler turned over and was at risk for his tournament life.
Kessler was unable to connect with the board and Bornefalk's pair of sixes held up. In what was the last hand before the break, Kessler was eliminated in his attempt to capture a gold bracelet. However, as small consolation, Kessler has overtaken Phil Ivey in the number of WSOP cashes (57 versus 56), while the number of bracelets and prize money are a different challenge.
The remaining 51 players are now heading into another 15-minute break.
| Tobias Bornefalk | 260,000 | 53,000 |
| Allen Kessler | 0 | -95,500 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 6:30 PM Local Time
Kürschner's Aces Get cracked
After a raise to 15,000 by Matthias Kürschner, Georgios Zisimopoulos moved all in for 157,000 out of the small blind and Kürschner snap-called with a near identical stack to end up as player at risk.
Matthias Kürschner:
Georgios Zisimopoulos:
The board ran out and Kürschner took out his smart phone, took a picture of the bad beat story and headed to the rail.
| Georgios Zisimopoulos | 345,000 | 105,000 |
| Matthias Kürschner | 0 | -120,000 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 6:30 PM Local Time
Einarsen Doubles Through Lykov
Ismael Bojang raised to 13,000 and was called by Maxim Lykov in the cutoff, and Aneris Adomkevicius on the button. Sondre Einarsen in the small blind shoved for 204,000 and Bojang folded, Lykov took some time and reshoved to isolate successfully.
Sondre Einarsen:
Maxim Lykov:
"Spades," Lykov demanded and got his wish partly granted on the flop. However the turn and river were both blanks to see Einarsen double.
The next hand it was up to Adomkevicius and Einarsen to create action. The former checked the turn and Einarsen bet 30,000 on the button. Adomkevicius check-raised all in and forced a fold.
| Ismael Bojang | 560,000 | -16,000 |
| Maxim Lykov | 240,000 | -114,000 |
| Aneris Adomkevicius | 210,000 | 57,000 |
| Sondre Einarsen | 190,000 | 55,000 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 6:25 PM Local Time
Schulz and Mustafov Meet Again
Robert Schulz and Fahredin Mustafov already met several times in the past few days at the tables of the King's Casino. First Mustafov finished 1st in the €5,300 WSOP Circuit High Roller while knocking out Schulz in third place before the German, now living in Vienna, won the €888 Crazy Eights with Mustafov also reaching the final table.
Just now Schulz shoved for 55,000 from the cutoff and Mustafov called from the small blind.
Robert Schulz:
Fahredin Mustafov:
The board came and Schulz doubled.
| Fahredin Mustafov | 250,000 | -60,000 |
| Robert Schulz | 120,000 | 31,000 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 6:24 PM Local Time
Hamamoto Loses a Flip to Crha
Rene Crha opened to 12,000 from middle position and Maciej Kondraszuk called from the button. Sergio Hamamoto was in the big blind and moved all-in for 86,000. Crha announced all-in over the top and Kondraszuk folded.
It was a race situation with Hamamoto holding against the of Crha. The flop looked good for Hamamoto but the on the turn changed everything. Crha took the lead with one card to come. The river brought the and Hamamoto was sent to the rail.
| Rene Crha | 242,000 | 24,000 |
| Sergio Hamamoto | 0 | 0 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 6:15 PM Local Time
Stancic Busts to Shcherbak
Jakob Miegel raised from early position and picked up two callers in Oleksandr Shcherbak from the cutoff and Sasa Stancic in the big blind. On the flop, the action checked to Shcherback and his bet was met by a check-raise all in of Stancic to force out Miegel while Shcherbak called.
Sasa Stancic:
Oleksandr Shcherbak:
While Stancic had plenty of outs, the turn and river were both blanks and Stancic headed to the rail in 55th place.
| Oleksandr Shcherbak | 340,000 | 20,000 |
| Jakob Miegel | 150,000 | 40,000 |
| Sasa Stancic | 0 | -180,000 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 6:08 PM Local Time
Lykov Gets "Maxim"um Value
The action was folded to Ismael Bojang on the button who raised it up to 13,000. Maxim Lykov was in the small blind and ripped all-in for 163,000. Jeff Cormier woke up in the big blind with a premium hand and made the call. Bojang got out of the way and the two hands were face up.
Lykov:
Cormier:
The flop came and Lykov made a set of sixes. He wasn't in the clear though as Cormier picked up a flush draw. The turn was the and the river brought the . Cormier made a pair of aces but it wasn't enough to overcome Lykov's set. Lykov scored a massive double up and left Cormier with just 4,000 chips, of which he would bust soon after.
| Maxim Lykov | 354,000 | 167,000 |
| Jeff Cormier | 0 | -253,000 |
Sunday, October 22, 2017 6:03 PM Local Time
Einarsen Doubles Through Botbol
Hannes Neurauter raised to 13,000 from early position and was called by Sergio Fernandez on the button and Pierre Neuville out of the big blind. On the flop, only Neurauter and Fernandez invested 9,000 each and the German checked the turn. Fernandez shoved for effectively 125,000 as that's what Neurauter had left and forced a fold.
One table over, Yaniv Botbol raised to 12,000 from under the gun and Sondre Einarsen shipped all in from the small blind. Botbol gave it some thought and called.
Sondre Einarsen:
Yaniv Botbol:
The board of provided no help and the stacks of Botbol and Einarsen were almost evened out.
| Ryan Hughes | 375,000 | 195,000 |
| Sergio Fernandez | 330,000 | -70,000 |
| Yaniv Botbol | 145,000 | 73,000 |
| Sondre Einarsen | 135,000 | 135,000 |
| Hannes Neurauter | 125,000 | 19,000 |