With two players seeing a board of 6♣7♥J♣A♥ and around 375,000 in the middle, Sirzat Hissou checked from the big blind and Orpen Kisacikoglu bet 270,000 from under the gun. Hissou made the call.
Hissou checked again on the 2♥ river and Kisacikoglu moved all in for 575,000. Hissou, who had Kisacikoglu slightly covered, went deep into the tank.
After burning through four time extensions Hissou flicked in the call. Kisacikoglu could only show K♣Q♠ for a missed gutshot turned into a bluff. Hissou tabled a pair with Q♦Q♥ and dragged in a massive pot while Kisacikoglu made his exit.
Tom-Aksel Bedell raised from early position and called when Jacob Amsellem three-bet to 110,000 from the small blind.
Bedell called for 100,000 on the A♥3♠J♥ flop before the A♠ turn checked through to the 9♦ river. Amsellem fired out another 200,000 and Bedell went into the tank. He used up his last two time banks before flicking in a calling chip.
Amsellem had trip aces with A♣K♣ and Bedell lost half of his stack on the opening hand of play.
If there's one thing Martin Kabrhel knows, it's how to thrive under pressure at King's Resort in Rozvadov. This is the battleground where Kabrhel has built his legend, winning two World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and amassing five WSOP Circuit rings. But despite his dominance, victory under the WSOP umbrella has eluded him for five long years, his last triumph coming in 2019.
That drought could end today as Kabrhel leads the final 14 players in Event #8: €25,000 NLH GGMillion€ at the 2024 WSOP Europe.
It wasn't an easy path to the top. Kabrhel made a late appearance on Day 1, only to quickly find himself at the reentry desk after an early setback. But the resilient Czech wasn’t deterred. On his second bullet, he turned his 500,000 starting stack into a commanding 1,814,000 by the end of the day, mainly by outmanoeuvring Tom-Aksel Bedell in several key hands. Kabrhel wrestled the chip lead from Bedell as the field bagged their chips for Day 2.
Samuel Ju
But his path to the winner’s circle is far from guaranteed. The competition remains fierce, led by Samuel Ju (1,500,000), who ironically knocked Kabrhel out not long after the latter took his seat for the first time. Ju closed out Day 1 with the second-largest stack. Jacob Amsellem (1,220,000) follows closely, who surged late after making a rivering a better full house in a confrontation against online legend Viktor Blom.
Also in the chase are Simone Andrian (1,070,000) and Orpen Kisacikoglu (1,040,000), the only other players to breach the million-chip mark. Andrian secured his spot in the seven-figure club by winning a flip against Kisacikoglu, who had dominated much of the opening day.
Alongside the quintet are several of poker's biggest names. The aforementioned Blom (785,000) finds himself in the middle of the pack with American trio Shaun Deeb (500,000), Alex Foxen (405,000) and Kristen Foxen (305,000) propping up the rest of the Day 1 survivors.
Event #8: €25,000 NLH GGMillion€ Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Martin Kabrhel
Czechia
1,845,000
91
2
Samuel Ju
Germany
1,500,000
75
3
Jacob Amsellem
France
1,220,000
61
4
Simone Andrian
Italy
1,070,000
54
5
Orpen Kisacikoglu
Turkey
1,040,000
52
6
Sirzat Hissou
Germany
997,000
50
7
Tom-Aksel Bedell
Norway
845,000
42
8
Viktor Blom
Sweden
785,000
39
9
Salih Atac
Swizterland
775,000
39
10
Konstantyn Holskyi
Ukraine
695,000
35
11
Stephen Chidwick
United Kingdom
540,000
27
12
Shaun Deeb
United States
500,000
25
13
Alex Foxen
United States
405,000
20
14
Kristen Foxen
United States
305,000
15
Late registration remains open in the GGMillion€, and will close after Level 14, the second level of Day 2. The tournament was expected to reach that point last night, but a delayed start meant two levels were shaved off of Day 1.
Additionally, there is potentially some extra value available for the players, with the tournament currently sporting an overlay for more than €300,000. If you're in the vicinity and have €25,000 to spare, why not take a shot at WSOP glory?
Day 2 kicks off at 2 p.m. local time and resumes on Level 13, where the blinds are 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 big blind ante. Levels are 40-minutes in duration and breaks are scheduled after every three levels of play.
The event will crown its winner today, so as always, be sure to stick with PokerNews to keep up with all the action from the WSOPE.
