Marian Virlanuta Leads as Day 3 Set to Play Down to Final Table
Following an eventful Day 2 in which the start of day chip leader Marian Virlanuta managed to grow his stack and retain his position, the $1,100 Eureka Main Event, running as part of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Cyprus, continues today at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa.
The tournament commences at noon local time and is set to play much deeper into the money, at least to the final table and perhaps down to six players depending on timings.
Six starting flights generated entry numbers of 2,803 and a prize pool of $2,662,850 to play for. A total of 418 players returned for Day 2 and by the end of the day the field was reduced to just 56 runners who are looking to go all the way.
After an excellent display of skill and a bit of run-good, Virlanuta of Romania leads the field with 4,680,000 chips.
Cyprus native Georgios Tsouloftas finished Day 2 second in chips with 3,900,000, while Igor Abelmasov and Andrey Pateychuk, both from Russia, sit in third and fourth with 3,800,000 and 3,700,000, respectively. Muhtar Taysi of Turkey rounds out the top five as the only other player to bag more than 3,000,000 chips.
Start of Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marian Virlanuta | Romania | 4,680,000 | 117 |
| 2 | Georgios Tsouloftas | Cyprus | 3,900,000 | 98 |
| 3 | Igor Abelmasov | Russian Federation | 3,800,000 | 95 |
| 4 | Andrey Pateychuk | Russian Federation | 3,700,000 | 93 |
| 5 | Muhtar Taysi | Turkey | 3,170,000 | 79 |
| 6 | Alexey Badulin | Russian Federation | 2,960,000 | 74 |
| 7 | Guoliang Wei | China | 2,540,000 | 64 |
| 8 | Vladislav Dubanov | Russian Federation | 2,475,000 | 62 |
| 9 | Andre Marquardt | Germany | 2,400,000 | 60 |
| 10 | Sebastian Ting | Germany | 2,350,000 | 59 |
Other notables who made it through to Day 3 include Martin Zamani (2,090,000), Michael Wang (490,000), Alexandre Reard (1,400,000), 2022 Eureka Prague winner Pieter Theelen (1,240,000), and PokerStars Ambassador Marle Spragg (695,000).
When action resumes, blinds will start at 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 big blind ante and will increase every 60-minutes. Remaining players have already secured a cash worth $5,030, with the eventual winner set to walk away with $386,210, an incredible prize considering the $1,100 buy-in.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $386,210 | 12-13 | $22,950 | |
| 2 | $241,290 | 14-15 | $19,120 | |
| 3 | $172,060 | 16-17 | $15,900 | |
| 4 | $132,120 | 18-20 | $13,260 | |
| 5 | $101,390 | 21-23 | $11,050 | |
| 6 | $78,770 | 24-27 | $9,190 | |
| 7 | $60,850 | 28-31 | $7,670 | |
| 8 | $46,600 | 32-39 | $6,660 | |
| 9 | $35,840 | 40-55 | $5,780 | |
| 10-11 | $27,560 | 56 | $5,030 |
Stay tuned to PokerNews as reporters bring you live updates of the Eureka Main Event straight from the tournament floor.