2014 partypoker WPT National Prague Main Event Day 2: Naydenov Leads Final 19
The action was fast and furious at the start of Day 2 of the 2014 partypoker World Poker Tour National €2,000 Main Event at the Corinthia Hotel in Prague, and 125 players returned to the tables of King's Casino. With late registration and single reentry option still available until the end of Level 9, many pros took advantage of the opportunity and jumped in. It would be an additional 21 entries that bumped the overall attendance to 251, and a prize pool of €438,250 was set. The top 27 spots were guaranteed at least €3,600, with the winner set to take home €105,000 on Sunday when the event concludes.
Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simeon Naydenov | 821,000 |
| 2 | Chris Hunichen | 794,000 |
| 3 | Zo Karim | 615,000 |
| 4 | Artur Voskanyan | 564,000 |
| 5 | Alexander Lakhov | 554,000 |
| 6 | Jonathan Klüpfel | 521,000 |
| 7 | Alex Goulder | 484,000 |
| 8 | Sebastian Langrock | 441,000 |
| 9 | Sergej Barbarez | 427,000 |
| 10 | Oliver Heidel | 412,000 |
Fahredin Mustafov and Anton Wigg started as big stacks, but they would have to leave the tournament area within the first four levels. Other familiar faces such as Steve O'Dwyer, Michael Telker, Dylan Linde, Kevin MacPhee, Sinem Melin, Alessio Isaia, Marvin Rettenmaier, Micah Raskin, Robin Ylitalo, Bobby Oboodi, and Sorel Mizzi all followed before the dinner break. That's when the action slowed down with only seven eliminations in two levels before picking up speed again as play approached the bubble.
Day 1b chip leader Nikolay Tsanev lost the remainder of his stack with the A♠Q♠ to the K♦Q♦ of David Vamplew when the Brit made the nut flush on the turn. Vladimir Malak cracked the kings of Goswin Siemsen and Krzysztof Czerwinski. Jason Wheeler lost a chip-lead pot with pocket kings against the pocket aces of Zo Karim close to the money, and then Seth Berger ended up as "bubble boy." He three-bet shoved with the A♣Q♦, and Steve Watts called with the A♣9♣. The board ran out 6♣5♣10♥7♠9♦, and Berger was gone.
Ben Dobson, Ankush Mandavia, and Tom Hall settled for the minimum cash, whereas [Removed:17] turned a late entry into €4,100. It could have been far more though if he had not attempted to bluff start-of-day chip leader Alexander Lakhov off pocket kings close to the bubble.
Vamplew later lost a flip with the 7♣7♦ against the A♥8♠ of Chris Hunichen, and Watts ran the A♣Q♠ into the K♣K♦ of Jonathan Klüpfel. Pawel Kapczynski then had a kicker problem with the A♦8♦ against the A♣K♣ of Oliver Heidel, and Stephen Chidwick busted in 20th place after failing to improve his short stack with the Q♥7♥ versus the A♠7♠ of Alex Goulder.
Whereas many players had a roller coaster of a day, Simeon Naydenov dominated his opponents from the start and was always near the top of the leader board. The World Series of Poker bracelet winner from Bulgaria bagged up 821,000, and Hunichen followed in second place with 794,000. Karim completed the podium with 615,000, but plenty of other well-known names are still in.
Tournament director Artur Voskanyan may not be a household name just yet, but the Russian accumulated an impressive 564,000. Other notables included Day 2 chip leader Lakhov (554,000), Sebastian Langrock (441,000), former footballer Sergej Barbarez (427,000), Andy Seth (332,000), and Jean-Philippe Piquette (99,000).
The third and final day of the Main Event will commence at 14:00 CET with blinds at 4,000/8,000/1,000 in Level 19. The final 19 players have €4,600 guaranteed, and the full payout structure can be found here.
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