As the 2024 World Series of Poker Europe approaches its climax at King's Resort, the €10,350 Main Event NLH European Championship has completed two of its six scheduled days, leaving just 185 players from the initial field of 768.
Day 1b chip leader Sirzat Hissou again found himself atop the leaderboard at the end of Day 2, boasting 1,353,000 chips, nearly double his starting stack for the day. Following closely, Patrik Jaros bagged an impressive 1,320,000, securing second place, while Vlada Stojanovic rounds out the podium in third with 1,211,000 chips.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sirzat Hissou | Germany | 1,353,000 | 169 |
| 2 | Patrik Jaros | Czech Republic | 1,320,000 | 165 |
| 3 | Vlada Stojanovic | Serbia | 1,211,000 | 151 |
| 4 | Stanislav Zegal | Germany | 1,167,000 | 146 |
| 5 | Frederik Thiemer | Germany | 1,133,000 | 142 |
| 6 | Boris Angelov | Bulgaria | 1,082,000 | 135 |
| 7 | Matei Lupascu | Romania | 1,069,000 | 134 |
| 8 | David Hochheim | Germany | 1,018,000 | 127 |
| 9 | Andrea Ricci | Italy | 938,000 | 117 |
| 10 | Simone Andrian | Italy | 924,000 | 116 |
Day 1a chip leader Darko Svesko might have ended the day with mixed emotions after starting strong with a commanding stack of 535,900, around 335 big blinds, only to see his dream unravel. Svesko looked to be continuing the trend of gaining chips early on and steadily grew his lead, but everything changed in Level 11 when he fell into a cleverly set trap by Niklas Astedt. That misstep marked the beginning of a steep decline.
The real nail in the coffin for Svesko came in the ill-fated Level 13. Daniel Rezaei first doubled up through Svesko, and then, in a brutal aces-vs-kings showdown, knocked the Serbian player out of the tournament entirely. With registration already closed, Svesko had no chance at redemption, leaving him to make a disappointed exit after what had started as a promising day
Boris Angelov soared up the leaderboard, finishing the day with one of the top stacks after bagging up 1,082,000 chips. His rise began during Level 9 when he scored a well-timed double-up, with his pocket aces standing tall against Kestutis Jungevicius’s queens.
The real fireworks for Angelov came later in a massive pot worth 850,000 chips against David Dongwoo Ko. Holding pocket kings, Angelov shoved on the river for more than the size of the pot, putting Ko to the test. Suspicion lingered in the air as Ko eventually made the call with pocket threes, to the surprise of many at the table.
The defending WSOP Europe Main Event champion Max Neugebauer won't be repeating his previous success as he was eliminated, along with Martin Kabrhel, Wing Po Liu, Boris Kuzmanovic, Jessica Teusl, Jonathan Pastore, and Ankit Ahuja.
Some of the other notables to make it through include Roman Hrabec (916,000), Anson Tsang (641,000), Krasimir Yankov (573,000), Alex Foxen (539,000), Viktor Blom (529,000), Astedt (517,000), and Stoyan Madanzhiev (425,000) just to name a few.
Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €1,300,000 | 12-15 | €59,400 |
| 2 | €854,000 | 16-23 | €48,700 |
| 3 | €590,000 | 24-31 | €40,700 |
| 4 | €415,000 | 32-39 | €34,700 |
| 5 | €297,000 | 40-47 | €30,300 |
| 6 | €217,000 | 48-55 | €27,100 |
| 7 | €161,000 | 56-63 | €24,700 |
| 8 | €122,000 | 64-71 | €23,100 |
| 9 | €93,900 | 72-79 | €22,000 |
| 10-11 | €74,000 | 80-116 | €20,900 |
The €7,219,200 prize pool smashed through the five-million euro guarantee and means the eventual champion will take home a cool €1,300,000. For the 116 players that make the money, a min-cash is worth €20,900.
Day 3 kicks off at 12 p.m. on Monday, October 7, with the intention of playing seven 90-minute levels. Blinds will start at Level 15 — 4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 big blind ante. The average stack is almost 413,000 — around 52 big blinds.
Be sure to tune into PokerNews throughout Day 3 to see who can bring themselves one step closer to the Main Event bracelet.
