Four-handed on a flop of 6♠K♥2♥, Vasileios Panagiotidis bet 13,000 from the cutoff before button Nathan Tetart raised to 34,000.
Simon Wiciak, covering his mouth with his hoodie, then used a time bank from the big blind before moving all in for 152,000. Kubanychbek Abakirov was under the gun and asked for a count before calling, while both Panagiotidis and Tetart got out of the way.
Simon Wiciak: A♥7♥
Kubanychbek Abakirov: K♠K♣
Abakirov turned over top set and Wiciak needed to complete his flush draw to stay alive. He stood up from his seat and began filming the action as the dealer turned over the 5♠, followed by the J♠ as the EPT Barcelona champion missed his draw, ending his run at back-to-back EPT titles.
Artur Vyborov opened the cutoff to 11,000 before getting a call on the button from Marc Foggin. The small blind folded and action was on Ivan Deyra in the big blind who used a full time bank before putting in a large three-bet to 49,000.
The original raiser, Vyborov, folded but Foggin continued in-position on their way to a 4♣5♦10♦ flop.
Deyra continued with a bet of 40,000 and Foggin called before the dealer put the 4♦ on the turn. Deyra then slowed down and checked before Foggin put out a bet of 45,000. Deyra called and the 6♣ landed on the river. Action checked through and Deyra tabled 9♦9♠. Foggin mucked and Deyra dragged the pot to start the day.
Jan Zeuschner moved all in for 77,000 from under the gun and Bogdan Berinde called in middle position.
Jan Zeuschner: J♠J♣
Bogdan Berinde: A♥Q♥
It was Zeuschner's turn to find himself flipping for his tournament life as the flop came 7♣8♠10♠, keeping his jacks in the lead.
The turn was the J♥ and Zeuschner made a set, but Berinde picked up a straight draw. Zeuschner faded the 4♦ river and he secured an early double up.
Nicolas Chouity's stack was reported wrong in the official chip counts released last night by the EPT. He began the day with around 200,000, not a chip-leading stack of 906,000.
Chady Ojeil moved all in from early position for 32,000 and Marius Irimia made the call in middle position with a covering stack.
Chady Ojeil: 4♠4♥
Marius Irimia: J♠J♥
Ojeil was in rough shape with the lower pocket pair and failed to improve on the 10♠10♣A♦Q♥8♥ runout, resulting in his early elimination while Irimia took down a decent pot.
On one of the first hands of the day, Alexander Tkatschew moved all in for his last 30,000 from middle position and Vasileios Panagiotidis called in the small blind.
Alexander Tkatschew: A♠K♦
Vasileios Panagiotidis: 9♦9♣
Tkatschew had found a good hand to get his chips in but needed to win the flip to prolong his tournament. The board ran out J♣8♣5♦3♦7♦ and Tkatschew couldn't overcome Panagiotidis' nines and was sent on an early walk to the exit.
Most serious players lay up at night thinking about their shot at a score that can not only set up their year but rather the remainder of their career. The opportunity at the experience, a seven-figure score, and the outright glory of the title of EPT champion are what dreams are made of.
Today, 155 players return to the PokerStars European Poker Tour Cyprus for the third day of the $5300 EPT Main Event at Merit Royal Diamond Hotel and Spa. Although the winner will not be crowned today, the third day of most EPTs is often when players "move up or move out." The top ten players all still sit with 100+ big blinds but by days-end the top of the leaderboard will likely distance itself from the bottom and players will need to be making their move for a title or a seat on the rail.
After the completion of Day 2, Gary Miller leads the way as the only player over 700,000 chips (718,000). It's still anyone's game, but among the remaining players, there are a few with championship experience. Some notable big stacks include Anton Wigg, the 2010 EPT Copenhagen champion, with 614,000, Parker Talbot, a Team PokerStars Pro with 532,000 chips, Fabrice Bigot with 463,000 chips, Kayhan Mokri with 403,000 chips, Teun Mulder with 376,000 chips, Juan Pardo, the $50,000 Super High Roller champion with 360,000 chips, and Steve O'Dwyer, the 2013 EPT Monte Carlo champion with 304,000 chips.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Gary Miller
United Kingdom
718,000
144
2
Francisco Benitez
Uruguay
690,000
138
3
Andreas Tomazou
Cyprus
648,000
130
4
Carl Shaw
United Kingdom
628,000
126
5
Anton Wigg
Sweden
614,000
123
6
Gerard Carbo
Spain
568,000
114
7
Angelos Michael
Cyprus
549,000
110
8
Viliyan Petleshkov
Bulgaria
534,000
107
9
Parker Talbot
Canada
532,000
106
10
Kenny Hallaert
Belgium
509,000
102
Milos Skrbic, the Day 2 chip leader, fell back to the pack and ended up with 174,000 chips before the day’s end, while multiple-time WSOP bracelet winner, Joao Vieira landed with 200,000 chips. EPT Barcelona champion Simon Wiciak with 191,000 chips, and Paul Newey with 91,000 chips are also returning today on short stacks.
The action on Day 3 kicks off at noon local time on Level 16 with blinds of 2,500-5,000 and a 5,000 big blind ante. The plan is to play an additional five levels as the field continues to whittle down towards the final table.
A total of 1,320 runners participated in the event, and the remaining portion of the massive prize pool worth$6,402,000 will be divided among the155 players that still hold chips. The winner will receive $1,042,000, along with the PokerStars trophy and the EPT champion title. Additionally, each of the remaining players has secured a minimum of $9,275.
This is the inaugural EPT festival on the island of Cyprus and it has already been a huge success. One player will be able to return to future events with the bragging rights of being the first-ever champion named at this already historic stop. Who will it be?
As always, stay tuned intoPokerNews so you don’t miss any of the action as the first EPT Cyprus main event champion is crowned.