Event #10: €10,350 MAIN EVENT

Day 2 of the 2018 World Series of Poker Europe €10,350 Main Event is in the books. The action kicked off at noon local time in Europe's biggest poker arena at the King's Casino in Rozvadov with 221 players out of 341 entries remaining and the registration and single re-entry period remained open for the first four of six 90-minute levels. Once the registration closed at the end of level 11, the screens showed 534 entries to ensure that the guaranteed prize pool of €5,000,000 was surpassed.

Only the top 81 spots will take home a portion of the €5,073,000 prize pool and the money bubble is expected to burst late on Day 3, so half of the remaining field will walk away empty-handed with the minimum payout set at €15,074. A massive payday of €1,122,239 and the coveted gold bracelet await the champion.

Leading the field after Day 2 is Dario Sammartino, who soared to the top of the leaderboard in the final stages of the day and bagged up an impressive 1,480,000. The Italian started the day with just 94,000 and things really kicked off after he had chipped up and was moved to the table of Vladimir Geshkenbein. In a key hand, Sammartino doubled through Geshkenbein in a three-bet pot.

"I opened the button with ten-six of hearts and he three-bet me out of the big blind, I called," Sammartino recounted. "The flop was ten-six-two. He bet, I raised, he re-raised and I called. We got it in after an eight on the turn and I held up against kings. Lucky day and not a tough table."

In the final stages, Sammartino sent several players to the rail including Jason Wheeler and Hans Thumann to bag and tag almost five times the average chip count.

"Of course it is really good, but the tournament is very long. You need to stay focused and we have another three, four days to play. It is a good start, but nothing really special yet. Special is when you win, not now," Sammartino said after bagging for the day.

Winning a bracelet and seven-figure payday in one of the most prestigious events of the year would see Sammartino edge closer to Mustapha Kanit at the top of the Italian all-time money list. Kanit himself made it through to Day 3 with an above-average stack of 626,000. Sammartino already had a close call this past summer in Las Vegas when he finished third in Event #23: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship and added a tenth and 15th-place finish in Sin City, but the elusive bracelet has escaped him thus far.

"It is important for me," admitted Sammartino. "Two, three years ago it was the dream [to win a bracelet], you know. Now it is important, but not like when I was 24 years old."

The only two other chip millionaires are Marco Slacanac (1,128,500) and UK's Jack Salter. In the penultimate level of the registration period, Salter was involved in a five-bet pot and won a flip with ace-king against the pocket jacks of Hani Bahna. From there on, the Brit kept building his stack further and claimed 1,051,000 for Day 3.

Further big stacks and notables include Rainer Kempe (818,000), Michael Sklenicka (722,000), Laszlo Bujtas (713,500), 2013 WSOP Main Event fourth place finisher Sylvain Loosli (638,000), Timothy Adams (629,500), David Urban (546,000), Alex Foxen (516,000), 2018 EPT Barcelona champion Piotr Nurzynski (496,000) and Ben Heath (475,000).

Several WSOP bracelet winners also made it through including Triple Crown champion Niall Farrell (625,000), Norbert Szecsi (560,500), Will Givens (539,000), 2013 WSOP Main Event champion Ryan Riess (382,000), Chris Ferguson (326,000), David Peters (295,500), Johannes Becker (287,500), Kristen Bicknell (248,500) and Day 1b chip leader Adrian Mateos (245,000) to name just a few.

Among the big names to fall on Day 2 were Romain Lewis, Jason Wheeler, Anthony Zinno, Gal Yifrach, Tom Middleton, Dominik Nitsche, Jan-Peter Jachtmann, Michael Addamo, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Davidi Kitai, as well as local bracelet winners Artur Rudziankov and Martin Kabrhel.

Action of the Day

All those poker enthusiasts from near and far that had not entered yet or had already busted once had a chance to take another shot at the €10,350 Main Event and almost 200 new entries emerged on Day 2. Among the early casualties were Ludovic Geilich, Kabrhel and Gianluca Speranza.

Geilich bricked off with a flopped flush draw against the pocket aces of Gudmundur Sigurjonsson and had to re-enter in order to bag up 198,500. Speranza, who had finished runner-up to 888poker qualifier Marti Roca de Torres one year ago here in Rozvadov, busted on his first bullet with ace-king against the ace-queen of Anatoly Filatov. Speranza also successfully re-entered and finished Day 2 with 184,500, while Sigurjonsson and Filatov were both eliminated later on.

The first player to move up to one million in chips was Robert Skopalik, a recreational player from the Czech Republic. Skopalik was on the fortunate end of an aces versus kings setup against Wai Leong Chan early on and also claimed most of the chips of Martin Finger. Towards the end of the day, Skopalik took several blows and finished Day 2 with a still healthy 602,000.

Farrell and Salter were among those to build their stack along with Sammartino, who went through his table like a wrecking ball in the final level of the night. The biggest pot of the tournament so far played out in the final level of the night when Oleg Netaliev tried to push Laszlo Bujtas off in a three-way three-bet pot. However, Bujtas didn't go anywhere with turned trips and the top full house on the river, and claimed the remainder of Netaliev's chips soon after with nines versus eights after hitting yet another full house.

The excellent WSOP year of Romain Lewis with four top-three finishes in Las Vegas and Rozvadov came to a premature end in the final hand of the night. In a three-way all in with Lukacs and Jakob Miegel. Lewis had the best of it preflop with pocket kings versus pocket queens and ace-king respectively, but Lukacs spiked one of the two remaining queens on the flop to score the double elimination.

After six levels of 90 minutes each, only 165 players out of the 534-entry strong field bagged up chips and will return to the tables at noon local time on Tuesday, October 30. The action will recommence with blinds of 2,500/5,000 and a big blind ante of 5,000. Make sure to return then, as the PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor to provide all the action.

2018 WSOPE Main Event Day 3 Seat Draw

While most other tables were already bagging, Alex Foxen and Jack Salter played blind on blind in the final hand of the night. The two were joking around before the flop, where everything was still innocuous after Foxen limped in and Salter checked.

Game-faces were put on soon after the     flop was spread. Foxen bet 4,000, Salter raised to 15,000, and Foxen called. Both players then checked the   on the turn.

The river was the   and Foxen checked. Salter bet 24,000, Foxen check-raised to 93,500, Salter kept his gaze on Foxen for two more seconds before releasing with a chuckle.

Despite losing the ultimate hand, Salter finished the day above a milly and bagged one of the biggest stacks in the room.

Jack Salter	1,051,000	311,000
Alex Foxen	516,000	96,000

Just before the final hands of the night were announced, Karel Kovarik was all in with the    on a flop of     for what appeared to be 80,000. Norbert Szecsi quickly called with    and faded the backdoor clubs on a   turn and   river run out.

Once the last hands were confirmed, Jason Wheeler got his stack in on the very same table with pocket nines and Dario Sammartino snap-called in the small blind with the   . The board came       and Wheeler departed just shy of bagging and tagging.

Dario Sammartino	1,300,000	250,000
Norbert Szecsi	620,000	10,000
Karel Kovarik	0	-109,900
Jason Wheeler	0	-195,000

Kristen Bicknell raised to 9,000 first to act and was called by Michel Dattani from one seat over. Robert Skopalik three-bet to 40,000 and Stoyan Obreshkov in the big blind called, Bicknell folded and Dattani made it three-ways to the     flop. Obreshkov and Dattani checked, Skopalik bet 60,000 and that resulted in the fold of Obreshkov.

Dattani took short consideration before moving all in for 187,000 and Skopalik called.

Michel Dattani:   
Robert Skopalik:   

On the   turn, Skopalik picked up some outs with the gutshot, but the   river further improved Dattani to a full house.

Robert Skopalik	810,000	-270,000
Michel Dattani	500,000	403,500
Stoyan Obreshkov	265,000	-70,000
Kristen Bicknell	240,000	-170,000

Viktor Blom opened from early position and was called by Mikita Badziakouski in the small blind along with the big blind. The flop came     and the action checked to Blom who continued for 16,000. Badziakouski moved all in for 51,500 which got the big blind out of the way and Blom called.

Badziakouski turned over    for an open-ended straight draw while Blom had the best hand and blockers with   . The turn brought the   to give Badziakouski a flush draw as well. The   on the river completed the straight for Badziakouski as he scored a double up to stay alive.

Mikita Badziakouski	128,000	28,000
Viktor Blom	72,500	-21,500

On a flop of    , Sergio Aido checked from the big blind and Moreno Plozza bet from middle position. Aido called and the   landed on the turn.

Aido checked again and the action froze for nearly two minutes until Plozza realized the action was on him, and then he checked. The river was the   and Aido led out for 32,500. Plozza quickly called only to see Aido turn over   . Plozza showed the    but was no good against Aido's flush.

Sergio Aido	292,500	82,500
Moreno Plozza	170,000	60,000

Robert Kovacs raised to 11,000 from the hijack, Ioannis Chorianopoulous three-bet shoved 95,000 from the cutoff, Marius Gierse also shoved a bit over 200,000 from the big blind and Kovacs gave it up.

Ioannis Chorianopoulos:   
Marius Gierse:   

It was a safe board for Chorianopoulos on       who jumped to over 50bb.

Ioannis Chorianopoulos	221,000	90,300
Marius Gierse	120,000	-40,000
Robert Kovacs	95,000	14,900

On the tail end of a bigger pot between initial raiser Kristoffer Rasmussen in middle position and Renato Kaneoya, the latter checked the       river and Ramussen bet 100,000. Kaneoya called and was shown the    for a flopped flush, which ended up winning the pot.

Winfred Yu was spotted on his way out of the tournament area and he had sent over his stack to Jaroslav Peter. On a three-way flop of    , Ole Schemion checked in the big blind and Yu jammed for 64,500. Peter called on the button and Schemion let go from the big blind.

Yu tabled the    for the nutflushdraw, while Peter had paired up with   . The   turn and   river were both blanks and Yu was gone in the final level of the day.

Kristoffer Rasmussen	585,000	205,000
Jaroslav Peter	235,000	70,000
Renato Kaneoya	175,000	-285,000
Winfred Yu	0	-122,000