2014 PokerStars King's Cup Rozvadov Day 1b/1c: Fabian and Targa Finish On Top
On Friday, the 2014 PokerStars King's Cup continued from Rozvadov with the second and third starting flights, Day 1b and Day 1c. The latter was played with a slightly different turbo format that saw the levels cut from 40 minutes to 15 and play kick off at midnight.
Fabian Tops Day 1b
A large turnout of 337 players entered on Day 1b in the form of 315 unique entries and 22 reentries. With the field almost three times the size of Day 1a, the casualties flooded in throughout the day. Stack sizes swung up and down like a yo-yo expert displaying their expertise, and it wasn't until the very end of play that a clear chip leader was found.
That person was Thomas Fabian.
The German knocked out two players with pocket tens against pocket sixes and ace-nine in one of the last hands of the day for what was a 150,000-chip pot. Fabian flopped top set and turned a full house to eliminate Marcel Tol and Czech player Petr Hejdanek, and with that he finished on 185,400, enough to lead, but remained 5,000 short of Roman Mikus who led on Day 1a.
Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Fabian | 185,400 |
| 2 | Andreas Weiske | 171,600 |
| 3 | Erjat Balinca | 162,600 |
| 4 | Milan Stanislav | 148,800 |
| 5 | Georgios Manousos | 132,500 |
| 6 | Vincent van Hulsen | 123,500 |
| 7 | David Dolak | 118,100 |
| 8 | Nikolay Karman | 111,900 |
| 9 | Huseyn Erbay | 109,600 |
| 10 | Marc Palatzky | 106,700 |
Other big stacks to make it through were Andreas Weiske (171,600), Erjat Balinca (162,600), Milan Stanislav (148,800), and Georgios Manousos (132,500). Manousos had been chip leader for much of the day, but it was only at the end when several players overlapped him.
Team PokerStars Pro was once again represented by Christophe De Meulder. On Day 1a, the Belgian pro was unable to win a single pot, but today it appeared that one big hand made his day when he held aces against both kings and sixes to give him an above-average stack. De Meulder finished the day with a very respectable 65,800. He was not the only famous player on Day 1b, though; former European Poker Tour Deauville winner Sotirios Koutoupas also made an appearance, and he was alongside a band of Greek players. Koutoupas' day was cut short when he shoved blind only to find out he had the 3♣2♦. Needless to say, it did not work out for him.
Targa Charges To Lead Day 1c
After busting from Day 1b, Koutoupas then joined a field of 87 for Day 1c — the midnight turbo event. Unfortunately, the Greek player couldn't make it through there, either. This event began around half an hour after Day 1b finished and included numerous players who had busted throughout the second starting day. With levels lasting only 15 minutes, it was a quick flight, even shorter than a Lord of the Rings film (original, not director's cut).
When it was all over, 41 players got through Day 2 led by Petr Targa, who finished with 125,700.
Day 1c Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Petr Targa | 125,700 |
| 2 | Evangelos Tsairis | 115,000 |
| 3 | Bulent Demirtas | 68,100 |
| 4 | Stephan Kim | 66,500 |
| 5 | Andreas Losche | 60,700 |
| 6 | Ricardo Cardol | 57,800 |
| 7 | Marco Niederdeppe | 57,100 |
| 8 | David Reinfandt | 53,500 |
| 9 | Manuel Konter | 52,100 |
| 10 | Ercan Atmaca | 51,400 |
On Saturday, a total of 198 players will be coming back for eight-handed play with 79 spots planned to be paid. Day 2 will restart at 2 p.m. CET where 12 levels are on the schedule or play will end when the final table of eight is reached.
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