Sirzat Hissou Soars to the Top on Day 1b of WSOP Europe Main Event
Day 1b of the 2024 World Series of Poker Europe €10,350 Main Event has wrapped up after seven levels of play. A total of 121 entry slips were sold for this second flight but the field was reduced all the way down to 81 competitors by the end of the day.
Germany’s Sirzat Hissou leads the pack with an impressive stack of 657,200. Just a day ago, he endured a heartbreaking heads-up loss to Martin Kabrhel in the €50,000 Diamond High Roller. However, that didn't deter him as he arrived early and ready to battle on the baize today, with his sight clearly set on taking home a coveted gold bracelet here at the King's Resort in Rozvadov. Holding the overall chip lead going into Day 2 after both flights, Hissou is in the prime position to make a deep run and possibly claim the title.
Hissou joined the field during Level 2 but quickly busted after running his pocket kings into Paulius Mikaliunas bullets, forcing him to immediately reenter. Much like his runner-up performance yesterday, his second bullet proved to be the magic touch as he steadily climbed the chip counts, winning pot after pot and becoming the overwhelming chip leader at the end of the night.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sirzat Hissou | Germany | 657,200 | 411 |
| 2 | Kestutis Jungevicius | Lithuania | 370,700 | 232 |
| 3 | Claudio Di Giacomo | Italy | 344,000 | 215 |
| 4 | Viktor Blom | Sweden | 334,300 | 209 |
| 5 | Markus Lehner | Germany | 326,300 | 204 |
| 6 | Brandon Sheils | United Kingdom | 302,000 | 189 |
| 7 | Alexander Bachman | Germany | 300,000 | 188 |
| 8 | Paulius Mikaliunas | Lithuania | 280,000 | 175 |
| 9 | Kai Herold | Germany | 273,000 | 171 |
| 10 | Mallory Frere | Belgium | 269,000 | 168 |
Lithuania's Kestutis Jungevicius sits in second with 370,700, thanks largely to a hand where he busted Niklas Astedt with a flush against the online poker phenom's rivered straight. Claudio Di Giacomo rounds out the podium positions in third with 344,000, while Sweden's Viktor Blom follows closely behind in fourth with 334,300.
Blom was seated from Level 1 but got off to a rough start, losing the majority of his chips when he got it in drawing dead against Mike Marquet's middle set. It looked likely that Blom was destined for a venture to the rebuy desk, but a double-up with pocket sevens brought him back to a playable stack. On one of the last hands of the day, Blom got paid off in full with a set of sixes by Yohay Bullkich's kings, propelling him into one of the largest stacks in the room.
Many notable players showed up for the final flight and were able to find a bag at the end of the night. Brandon Sheils (302,000), Arturo Paduano (232,100), four-time bracelet winner Kristen Foxen (228,300), Salih Atac (214,200), Boris Angelov (183,500), Nick Palma (181,800), Dario Sammartino (162,500), Stoyan Madanzhiev (145,600), Emil Bise (144,400), Ivan Banic (101,000), and Vlad Darie (66,000) all bring through a playable stack for Day 2.
While the end of the night saw many familiar faces bagging up, that was not the case for many others. Tom-Aksel Bedell, Paulius Vaitiekunas, Roberto Romanello, Kabrhel, Enrico Camosci, as well as Astedt are those who were not fortunate enough to make it through.
Astedt's first bullet didn't last long; a failed hero call with second pair against Panagiotis Oikonomou's set of nines left him short-stacked. Eventually, he busted holding top pair against Christophe Panetti's top pair with a better kicker. Undeterred, the tournament wizard rebought and built up a stack, but a brutal river card against Jungevicius ended Astedt's experience of Day 1b.
The 121 players who entered today's final flight, along with the 507 from Day 1a, bring the combined total entries to 628. Of that a total of 412 surviving players have got a stack to bring into Day 2 at noon on Sunday, October 6. Late registration remains open through the end of Level 12 on Day 2, with players allowed one reentry. The action on Day 2 picks up on Level 8 with blinds of 800-1,600 and a 1,600 big blind ante.
Keep it locked here for all of the live updates as the PokerNews live reporting team will be on the tournament floor to track the progress en route to crowning the 2024 WSOP Europe champion here in Rozvadov.