Darius Neagoe Leads 772 Players to Day 2 of PokerStars Open Campione
The debut of the PokerStars Open could not have been more of a success. The PokerStars Open Campione €1,100 Main Event had set an ambitious guaranteed prize pool of €1,000,000, but that was smashed into smithereens when 2,139 entries were made during the four starting flights, making it the largest-ever standalone PokerStars Event at this buy-in. Late registration will remain open for the first level of Day 2, kicking off at 1 p.m. local time, giving the €2,092,800 plenty of room to grow further.
In total, 772 players made it through to Day 2. Darius Neagoe crushed Day 1a and ended with a stack of 417,000. His 348 big blinds are good for the overall chip lead, being followed closely by American Terrance Reid with 413,500. Day 1a produced the entire podium, as Sebastian Kotowicz sits in third with 398,600. Day 1c leader Tommaso Marangi is in fourth with 360,000 chips, while David Nir, who amassed the most chips on Day 1b, occupies fifth place with 347,400.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darius Neagoe | Romania | 417,000 | 348 |
| 2 | Terrance Reid | United States | 413,500 | 345 |
| 3 | Sebastian Kotowicz | Poland | 398,600 | 332 |
| 4 | Tommaso Marangi | Italy | 360,000 | 300 |
| 5 | David Nir | Israel | 347,400 | 290 |
| 6 | Ioannis Salonikis | Greece | 295,900 | 247 |
| 7 | Samuel Mayet | France | 271,700 | 226 |
| 8 | Michael Simeon | Switzerland | 271,000 | 226 |
| 9 | Artem Komarov | Ukraine | 256,100 | 213 |
| 10 | Davide Cojaniz | Italy | 255,600 | 213 |
Meanwhile, Gabi Livshitz (170,000), Alexandre Reard (168,000), Antonio Buonanno (166,300), Giuliano Bendinelli (132,800), Alessandro Pichierri (130,800), and Fabio Peluso (126,200) will all sit down with more than 100 big blinds as well.
Guillermo Sanz was the best-performing PokerStars Ambassador, having 98,700 chips in his bag. Fellow Red Spades Benjamin Bruneteaux (90,000), Barny Boatman (66,000), and Kerry-Jane Craigie (27,000) reserved a seat on Day 2 as well after battling through a starting day.
Their colleagues who have not survived a starting flight will have until the start of the second level of Day 2 to jump in, receiving the starting stack of 30,000 if they choose to do so. The blinds will restart in Level 12: 600/1,200 with a 1,200 big blind ante, after which a 25-minute break will be held to complete late registration, with unlimited reentries also being available until that time. Afterward, a break will be had after every two of the 75-minute levels, with a 60-minute dinner break scheduled after Level 16, around 8 p.m. local time.
How large can the PokerStars Open Campione Main Event grow? Stay tuned to find out, as PokerNews will provide updates straight from the tournament floor throughout the entire day.