€2,200 Eureka High Roller
Day 2 Started
2024 PokerStars EPT Prague
€2,200 Eureka High Roller
Day: 2
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The €2,200 Eureka High Roller at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague consistently draws massive fields, and the 2024 installment upheld that tradition. Across the two starting flights, Day 1a and Day 1b, a total of 1,652 entries were recorded at the Hilton Prague, which is a new record for the venue. Both flights played down to the money, leaving 262 players to share the €3,171,840 prize pool.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yehor Shumeiko | Ukraine | 757,000 | 95 |
| 2 | Claudio Di Giacomo | Italy | 717,000 | 90 |
| 3 | Michal Schuh | Czech Republic | 697,000 | 87 |
| 4 | Felix Rabas | Austria | 619,000 | 77 |
| 5 | Christopher Brammer | United Kingdom | 608,000 | 76 |
| 6 | Tomas Geleziunas | Lithuania | 561,000 | 70 |
| 7 | Bogdan Munteanu | Romania | 553,000 | 69 |
| 8 | Arian Hassankashani | United Kingdom | 550,000 | 69 |
| 9 | Jason Wheeler | United States | 533,000 | 67 |
| 10 | Omar Del Pino | Spain | 519,000 | 65 |
Among the players that managed to get to day 2 is Parker Talbot (405,000) who managed to get twice the average stack. Talbot, known as "tonkaaaa" in the online poker community, is going to meet other notables in Day 2, such as Simon Brandstrom (310,000), Davidi Kita (234,000), Robin Ylitalo (199,000), Juha Helppi (174,000) and Gilles Simon (124,000).
Play will restart at 12:30 p.m. local time and continue until a winner is crowned, setting up a demanding day for the remaining players. Blinds will resume from Level 18: 4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 big blind ante. Each level will last 40 minutes, though the tournament clock may be reduced when the field is down to the final five players.
Follow PokerNews throughout Day 2 for complete coverage, from the initial bust-outs to the crowning of the High Roller champion.
Level: 18
Blinds: 4,000/8,000
Ante: 8,000
Level 18
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Michail Manolakis moved all in for 46,000 from late position, and Davidi Kitai reshoved from the small blind. The big blind got out of the way, leaving the two to battle.
Michail Manolakis: A♥J♥ 
Davidi Kitai: K♥J♠
Manolakis had Kitai dominated and remained in control as the dealer spread the flop 4♥10♣2♠. The Q♠ on the turn gave Kitai an open-ended straight draw, but the river 5♥ bricked out, securing the double up for Manolakis.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
200,000
-34,000
|
-34,000 |
|
||
|
110,000
64,000
|
64,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Kamil Dobosz opened the action with a raise to 16,000, earning a call from Asher Oz in the small blind.
The 2♦10♠9♥ flop saw both players take a cautious approach and check.
On the 2♠ turn, Dobosz fired a bet of 17,000, and Oz check-called to keep the pot growing.
The A♦ river prompted another check from Oz, giving Dobosz the green light to bet 45,000. Oz quickly called, sending the hand to showdown. Dobosz revealed A♥9♣ for two pair, aces and nines, which was enough to scoop the pot. Oz briefly flashed an Ax before his cards hit the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
260,000
81,000
|
81,000 |
|
180,000
-134,000
|
-134,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Daan Mulders opened the action from under the gun with a raise to 16,000. Alm Wilson moved all in for approximately 100,000 from late position, and the action folded to Antonio Asaro in the big blind.
Asaro took his time, eventually explaining he was waiting for a pay jump but planned to call. After a minute, he put in his chips, and Mulders got out of the way.
Antonio Asaro: Q♥Q♠
Alm Wilson: A♥K♦
The classic coin flip was underway, and Asaro held firm as the dealer spread 4♣10♠5♦8♥3♦. With no improvement for Wilson, Asaro scooped the pot with his pair of queens.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
180,000
93,000
|
93,000 |
|
130,000
-30,000
|
-30,000 |
|
30,000
-101,000
|
-101,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
The cards were already face-up, with Rostyslav Sabishchenko all in from late position and Fabian Scherle having made the call.
Rostyslav Sabishchenko: A♣3♣
Fabian Scherle: A♥K♦
Sabishchenko needed to improve to avoid elimination, but the 9♠6♣J♦ flop offered no help. The turn brought a glimmer of hope with the 3♥, giving him a pair, but the K♠ on the river dashed his comeback dreams. Scherle's pair of kings sealed the hand, and Sabishchenko was sent to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
190,000
115,000
|
115,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 18
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Starting with just 5,000 chips, Adi Rajkovic faced a steep uphill battle and managed to outlast a few players for a pay jump before his tournament life ended in back-to-back all-in situations.
In his first all-in, Rajkovic was forced to commit his stack from the big blind. Marton Czuczor opened the action with a raise to 16,000 from middle position, receiving a call from the small blind. With Rajkovic automatically all-in, the three players went to the flop, which showed 6♣5♦A♠.
Both active players checked down the board, 2♥ on the turn and 3♦ on the river, leading to a showdown. Rajkovic flipped over A♣7♦ for top pair, which held as the best hand to secure a critical triple-up and keep his tournament hopes alive.
However, Rajkovic’s table broke immediately after another hand, sending him to a new table where he was once again in the big blind and automatically all-in with his remaining 15,000 chips.
This time, Vladimir Lipnitskii opened the action with a raise to 16,000 from early position, and Alexandros Michas called from the small blind.
On the 6♥3♦7♠ flop, Michas checked, and Lipnitskii fired a continuation bet of 18,000, which Michas called. Both players then checked the 3♥ turn.
The river brought the Q♣, and after another check from Michas, Lipnitskii made a bet of 37,000, forcing Michas to fold. With Rajkovic all-in, the cards were revealed.
Lipnitskii tabled A♠9♠ for ace-high, while Rajkovic, seeing his cards for the first time, revealed 9♥4♦. The board didn’t bring any help for Rajkovic, ending his tournament run. Despite the tough spots, Rajkovic fought valiantly and exited gracefully, ready to take on the next challenge.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
380,000
-36,000
|
-36,000 |
|
150,000
28,000
|
28,000 |
|
110,000
-30,000
|
-30,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 19
Blinds: 5,000/10,000
Ante: 10,000