Rares Popa opened to 13,000 in the hijack before Alexandru Anghel announced a three-bet to 37,000 in the small blind. Ionut Zanfirache then four-bet to 86,000 in the big blind and Popa got out of the way.
Anghel took a moment before five-betting to 150,000, snap-calling when Zanfirache moved all in.
Alexandru Anghel: K?K?
Ionut Zanfirache: A?A?
The largest pot of the tournament was playing out, as Anghel's stack of 424,000 was in the middle and covered by Zanfirache.
The 9?J?2?Q?8? runout changed nothing, as Anghel's kings could not topple Zanfirache's aces confirming his exit.
Rafael Forhuber moved all in from early position for his last 82,000 and found a call from Dumitru Barta in the cutoff. Thomas Gartiser then shoved his stack of around 170,000 and Barta called again.
Rafael Forhuber: 7?7?
Thomas Gartiser: 8?8?
Dumitru Barta: A?A?
Barta was in a dominant position before the K?9?8? flop gave Gartiser a set. The 5? turn and Q? river left Gartiser in front, cracking Barta's aces while sending Forhuber to the rail.
Veaceslav Hariton opened to 6,000 from under the gun before Pedro Gonzalez slid out a three-bet to 17,000 in middle position. Action folded back around to Hariton, who made the call.
The dealer fanned out a flop of 10?7?A?, where Heriton checked. Gonzalez bet 6,000 and was quickly check-raised to 15,000.
Gonzalez responded by moving all in, and was called instantly. Heriton put his hands on his head as saw his desperate position.
Veaceslav Hariton: 7?7?
Pedro Gonzalez: A?A?
Both players flopped a set, leaving Gonzalez looking to fade one out. Fortunately for Hariton, the 7? showed up on the turn and he began blowing kisses into the air.
Gonzalez could not find the last ace on the 3? river, as Hariton improbably doubled up.
Action was three ways to the K?Q?7? flop with around 65,000 already in the middle. Cristian Tabac and Mihai Isar checked in the blinds before Dragos Anton slid out a bet of 25,000.
Tabac folded while Isar called to see the 2? turn. Isar led out for 20,000 and snap-called when Anton moved all in.
Mihai Isar: K?K?
Dragos Anton: 7?7?
Both players had flopped a set, with Isar's kings well in front. The Q? river changed nothing, as Isar scored a big double through Anton.
The opening flights of the €560 Main Event are finished and it’s finally time for the field to combine into a single room at 888poker LIVE Bucharest. A total of 138 players survived the four starting flights, and they’ll be joined by Day 2 entrants as the temperature rises at 888poker Room Bucharest.
Action resumes at 3 p.m. local time, where the remaining players will battle through the bubble and into the money over another 11 levels of play today. Full prize pool and payout information will be announced shortly after play begins.
Sitting atop the leaderboard is Ran Shahar, who remains the only player above 200 big blinds after collecting 427,500 chips on Day 1a. Romania’s Stefan Toderita next after bagging 185 big blinds on Day 1b.
Friday’s exciting day of two starting flights saw Dan Galinschi take top spot on Day 1c with 310,000, while Mihail Cuza finished with 245,000 to lead Day 1d.
Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Ran Shahar
Israel
427,500
214
2
Stefan Toderita
Romania
369,000
185
3
Cristian Tabac
Romania
366,000
183
4
Jack Sharpe
United Kingdom
336,000
168
5
Dumitru Barta
Romania
335,000
168
6
Gheorghe Alexutan
Romania
326,500
163
7
Dan Galinschi
Romania
310,000
155
8
Rares Popa
Romania
303,500
152
9
Tiberiu Dinu
Romania
282,500
141
10
Andreas Popa
Romania
281,000
141
Vivian Saliba
After bagging on Day 1b, Vivian Saliba brings 144,500 chips into play to lead a trio of 888poker Ambassadors back into action. Ian Simpson (124,000) and Lucia Navarro (105,500) will return to the felt, looking to gain some ground and position themselves for a deep run into the money.
888poker Stream Team member Nick Eastwood carries 205,000 into Day 2, while fellow streamer Andrei Cosmin is expected to rejoin the field ahead of the 3 p.m. start time.
Day 2 is scheduled to see players navigate twelve more 50-minute levels, beginning with blinds of 1,000/2,000 and a 2,000 big blind ante. The field will get 15-minute breaks after every three levels, and late registration will close at the start of play.
You can watch the action on the 888poker Twitch and YouTube channels, beginning at 3:30 p.m. local time, and be sure to follow along as the PokerNews team continues to cover everything from the Main Event in Bucharest.
