Kuznetsov Leads the Way After Day 1 in €10,200 Mystery Bounty Event; Football Star Neymar Advances
The 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris festival has officially commenced at the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile and High Roller regulars from all over the world took to the tables for Day 1 of Event #3 $10,200 Mystery Bounty.
A total of 71 entries were recorded to generate a cash prize pool of €326,600 but both figures are subject to change. The late registration for the first high-stakes contest of the series, which is operated by Club Barriere Paris in the heart of the French capital, is still open for another two levels on Day 2.
Upon completion of eight 30-minute levels, only 45 players advanced with chips to their name. Nikita Kuznetsov leaped into the top spot with a stack of 376,500, followed by Kayhan Mokri (346,500) and fellow countryman Viktor Ustimov (334,000).
Mokri in particular has enjoyed a very successful start into the current year after he cashed during three tournaments of the 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure on The Bahamas. This included a deep run in the $25,000 PCA High Roller and a runner-up finish to Andrew Chen in a $10,200 Mystery Bounty Event. Besides his cash prize of $90,400 in the latter tournament, Mokri also pulled two $100,000 bounty envelopes as well and will certainly hope to repeat that feat here in Paris.
Top 10 Chip Counts After Day 1
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds Day 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikita Kuznetsov | Russia | 376,500 | 126 |
| 2 | Kayhan Mokri | Norway | 346,500 | 116 |
| 3 | Viktor Ustimov | Russia | 334,000 | 111 |
| 4 | Julien Sitbon | France | 330,500 | 110 |
| 5 | Alexandros Theologis | Greece | 298,500 | 100 |
| 6 | Felipe Ketzer | Brazil | 291,000 | 97 |
| 7 | Tom Orpaz | Israel | 271,500 | 91 |
| 8 | Stefan Schillhabel | Germany | 265,000 | 88 |
| 9 | Andre Marques | Portugal | 252,000 | 84 |
| 10 | Casimir Seire | Finland | 243,500 | 81 |
The overnight top ten also features well-known poker pros such as Julien Sitbon, Alexandros Theologis, Stefan Schillhabel, and Casimir Seire. Brazil's Felipe Ketzer was the chip leader for a large portion of the day before he doubled Theologis in the final hands of the night to fall from grace.
Football Star Neymar Reaches Day 2
While many of the biggest names in the world of poker reeled in a small rail during the high-stakes contest, nobody gathered more attention than football star Neymar Jr. The Cultural Ambassador for PokerStars joined in the first half followed by his entourage and numerous other poker players from his home country of Brazil.
One day after the Champions League match of Paris Saint Germain against Bayern Munich, the charismatic striker took to a different pitch and showcased his talents with the cards. A topsy-turvy day up and down the flanks of the leaderboard ended with a small profit as Neymar claimed a stack of 103,500 for his Day 2 berth. In the second half of the contest, he doubled in a flip against Theologis before also notching up the elimination of Jakov Nesterov.
The only other PokerStars ambassador to enter the fray on Day 1 was fellow Brazilian Andre Akkari. Unlike Neymar, he was not able to advance but can still take advantage of the single re-entry option until the start of level 11. The very same opportunity also arises for all the Day 1 players who lost their entire stack just once.
Steve O'Dwyer and Orpen Kisacikoglu won't be back in the mix, however, as both exhausted two entries without success. Other High Roller regulars such as Tom Vogelsang, Pedro Garagnani, Chris Brewer, Stephen Chidwick, Conor Beresford, Rui Neves Ferreira, and Timothy Adams are set to return with stacks near the average.
All those wishing to join the action can do so until approximately 1:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, February 16. The tournament recommences one hour prior to that at 12:30 p.m. local time with level nine and returning blinds of 1,500-3,000 and a big blind ante of 3,000.
Stay tuned for the high-stakes poker action from Paris, as the tournament will play down to a winner and the PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor to provide as many key hands as possible.
flop kept Theologis firmly ahead and he soared to an even bigger lead with the 
turn, leaving Ketzer with just four outs to avoid a major setback. No ten appeared thereafter as the 
river locked up a big double for Theologis worth 150,500.
board brought no miracle escape and Seidel was knocked out on the first entry. "Where is my bounty?" Vogelsang grinned. However, he only receives the chips for the time being as bounties come into play at the start of level 13 on Day 2.
flop gave the football star to a set of nines while Theologis had a gutshot at his disposal, with Lin filming the showdown on his phone. Nothing changed with the 
turn and the 
for a bluff, which Mustafov had beat holding 
board and Kisacikoglu was eliminated to re-enter almost immediately.
river. Sitbon tabled the 
river sent Chidwick to the rail in the first level.
