In the first hand of action on the featured table, Kirill Boydachenko opened with a raise to 16,500 before Alex Fitzgerald re-raised to 43,000. The table passed back around, and Boydachenko came along with the call.
Heads up, the flop brought , and Boydachenko checked. Fitzgerald instantly announced that he was all in for 141,000, and his opponent would let his hand go.
As play wound down yesterday evening, the television crew was hard at work building the eye-catching set up on the big stage along the side of the room. That set is being put to use today as eight players are seated up there under the bright lights. Because the table is surrounded by cameras, we'll not have much access to cover the action up there.
Good news though, poker fans. The featured table is being streamed on EPT Live today, so head over there to peek on the action.
We're back at the Kyiv Sport Palace in scenic Ukraine for the continuation of the PokerStars.net EPT season opener.
Over the course of four days of action -- including two Day 1 flights -- the field of 296 runners has been slimmed down to the final 32. Of those, 24 are destined for the walk of shame today as this Day 4 run will see us play all the way down to the final table of eight.
Max Lykov is once again atop the leader board to start the day, the second consecutive day that starts with him in front. His 31 fellow competitors will be gunning hard for him today, and we expect to see a lot of action at the outset from the short stacks as they look for an early double up to bolster their shot at the final table.
Play is set to resume at noon, just about 15 minutes from now. We'll be back shortly with the shuffle up and deal.