Michel Molenaar moved all in from late position with a relatively short stack and was looked up by Hassan Nashar on the button, who had him well covered as players flipped their cards.
Michel Molenaar: Q?10?
Hassan Nashar: 5?5?
The board ran out 9?5?2?6?K? and Nashar made a set of fives on the flop. Molenaar picked up a little hope on the turn in the form of a flush draw, but the river came a blank and Nashar held to win the pot, sending Molenaar to the exit.
Also among those to bust during the first 15 minutes of play were Konstantin Voronin, Aliaksei Boika, and Fabrice Maltez.
Jeremie Zouari moved all in from under the gun with a short stack of 19,000 and was called by Aleksejs Ponakovs, who had him slightly covered as players flipped their cards.
Jeremie Zouari: A?2?
Aleksejs Ponakovs: A?Q?
The board ran out 4?A?8?6?2? and both players paired their ace on the flop before Zouari found two pair on the river to double up his stack.
The PokerStars European Poker Tour Cyprus at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa continues today with the conclusion of the final high-stakes event on the roster; the $10,200 No Limit Hold'em.
A total of 64 entrants tried their luck on the felt last night, but after ten swift levels in this fast-paced structure, just 34 progressed to Day 2. With registration still open until the start of play today, more sharks are expected to surface in a last attempt to claim a trophy this series.
As the dust settled, Farid Jattin claimed the overall chip lead after accumulating a stack of 477,000. Jattin is tailed by none other than Adrian Mateos whose stack of 425,000 has once again earned him a top stop amongst the best and brightest in the game.
Top Ten Chip Counts:
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Farid Jattin
Colombia
477,000
95
2
Adrian Mateos
Spain
425,000
85
3
Nikita Kuznetsov
Russia
406,000
81
4
Mikalai Vaskaboinikau
Belarus
364,000
73
5
Fahredin Mustafov
Bulgaria
360,000
72
6
Marius Kudzmanas
Lithuania
286,000
57
7
Simone Andrian
Italy
286,000
57
8
Gregoire Auzoux
France
254,000
51
9
Aren Bezhanyan
Armenia
254,000
51
10
Peng Chen
China
250,000
50
Mikalai Vaskaboinikau is still in the mix for Day 2, with a top-ten stack of 364,000. Vaskaboinikau is already having an unbelievable run here in Northern Cyprus, having taken down the $50,000 Super High Roller for $601,397 and will be sure to have his eyes firmly set on his second EPT title of the week.
Mikalai Vaskaboinikau
Play will recommence today, October 20th, at noon local time. The restart will be on Level 11 with blinds at 2,000/5,000 with a 5,000 big blind ante. The remaining players will battle it out until just one remains with scheduled breaks, including a dinner break, left to the discretion of the floor as the day progresses.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back to bring you coverage of the $10,200 No Limit Hold'em until a winner is crowned, so stay tuned.
