2024 PokerStars EPT Cyprus

$5,300 EPT Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info

2024 PokerStars EPT Cyprus

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
q7
Prize
$1,030,000
Event Info
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$6,227,400
Entries
1,284
Level Info
Level
36
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Players Info - Day 2
Entries
459
Players Left
144

Fournier Falls on the Bubble as Mustafov Takes Command in EPT Cyprus Main Event

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Fahredin Mustafov
Fahredin Mustafov

As the sun sets on another day of action at the 2024 European Poker Tour Cyprus, Day 2 of the $5,300 EPT Main Event played out inside the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa.

When all was said and done, the final 144 players bagged up their chips after an eventful day on the felt with Bulgaria's Fahredin Mustafov sitting on top of the counts after he amassed a stack of 920,000. Just one big blind behind him is Russia's Ivan Zabiiakin with 915,000 chips, and they are well clear of Germany's Oliver Weis in third, who bagged up a stack of 715,000.

Top Ten Chip Counts

PlacePlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Fahredin MustafovBulgaria920,000184
2Ivan ZabiiakinRussia915,000183
3Oliver WeisGermany715,000143
4Damir ZhugralinKazakhstan705,000141
5Shankui LiChina693,000139
6Chakib MhiriTunisia648,000130
7Georgios TsouloftasCyprus620,000124
8Radoslav StoyanovBulgaria575,000115
9Boris KuzmanovicCroatia573,000115
10Mohamad El RaisSwitzerland563,000113

Day 2 Action

Play got underway at noon and there was still time to join the action, with registration remaining open until the start of Day 2. A total of 55 players bought in before the midday deadline, which meant a total of 1,284 entries were recorded in this year's Main Event.

A prize pool of $6,227,400 was generated and the eventual champion will walk away with a seven-figure payday of $1,030,000. A min-cash was worth $8,400 and the top 191 places were due to be paid out.

There were 449 hopefuls that started the day with some familiar names at the top of the counts such as EPT Barcelona Main Event champion Stephen Song, Ren Lin, 2016 EPT Malta Main Event winner Aliaksei Boika, and none other than Niklas Astedt, who needs no introduction.

Barny Boatman
Barny Boatman

Barny Boatman was one of the first to hit the rail and he was quickly followed by Dimitar Danchev, Marle Spragg, Ognyan Dimov, Kenny Hallaert, Sam Grafton, Fintan Hand, and Steve O'Dwyer.

The aforementioned Boika finished just shy of the money, as did Stoyan Madanzhiev, Elias Gutierrez, Nick Palma, and Simon Wiciak. With three eliminations to go until the bubble burst, the field were sent on a 65-minute dinner break before they came back refueled and ready to play out the last level — which was an eventful one.

Samuel Fournier
Samuel Fournier

Ran Ilani and Nils Pudel were quickly eliminated as play resumed in the final level of the day, while Antoine Hasbani clung to his tournament life by surviving an all in on the bubble. The real drama unfolded when Samuel Fournier found himself in a pivotal coin flip—his pocket queens up against Mihai Niste's ace-king.

The flop seemed safe for Fournier, keeping him ahead, but the turn brought a flush draw for Niste, which made it a bit sweaty for the Frenchman. As the river card hit the felt, Niste completed his flush, which meant Fournier was sent home as the unfortunate bubble boy. With Fournier's painful exit, the remaining 191 players locked up a piece of the prize pool.

Mustafov then began his ascent up the leaderboard, scooping a massive pot worth nearly 800,000 with a full house against Ali Al-Kubasi. With two EPT titles already under his belt—both claimed in Prague over the past decade—Mustafov now has his sights set on completing the hat-trick here in Cyprus.

Previous Main Event winners Hossein Ensan and Song were among the casualties at the end of Day 2, as were Brandon Sheils, Alexander Tkatschew, and Lin, the latter who four-bet shoved pocket deuces in the final moments of the day and ran into the pocket kings of Damir Zhugralin.

Lucien Cohen made quads to round out a successful day, which left the 2011 EPT Deauville Main Event champion with a healthy stack of 394,000 to work with once Day 3 kicks off. A few other notables to make it through include Georgios Tsouloftas (620,000), Ivan Banic (494,000), Sebastian Malec (376,000), Artur Martirosian (373,000), Anton Wigg (350,000), Nicolas Chouity (309,000), Benjamin Spragg (161,000), and Adrian Mateos (78,000).

Lucien Cohen
Lucien Cohen

Remaining Payouts

PlacePrize
1$1,030,000
2$642,300
3$459,000
4$353,100
5$271,400
6$208,720
7$160,500
8$123,400
9$94,940
10-11$73,100
12-13$60,900
14-15$50,760
16-17$42,280
18-20$36,740
21-23$31,940
24-27$27,780
28-31$24,160
32-39$20,980
40-55$18,240
56-71$15,880
72-95$13,820
96-119$12,020
120-143$10,460
144$9,100

Day 3 starts at 12 p.m. on Thursday, October 17, with blinds at Level 16, 2,500/5,000 with a 5,000 big blind ante. The average stack sits at 267,500, which is around 53 big blinds.

Be sure to tune into PokerNews tomorrow for updates on Day 3 in the Main Event to see who can make it to Day 4.

Tags: Adrian MateosAlexander TkatschewAli Al-KubasiAliaksei BoikaAntoine HasbaniAnton WiggArtur MartirosianBenjamin SpraggBoris KuzmanovicDimitar DanchevElias GutierrezFahredin MustafovGeorgios TsouloftasLucien CohenMarle SpraggMihai NisteMohamad El RaisNick PalmaNiklas AstedtOgnyan DimovRen LinSamuel FournierStephen Song

"Ratman" Echoes Through Tournament Room as Caballo Pena Exits Late

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Lucien Cohen
Lucien Cohen

Francisco Caballo Pena got his stack of 75,000 in from the cutoff against Lucien Cohen in the big blind.

Francisco Caballo Pena: 10?10? All in
Lucien Cohen: A?K?

"I am the Ratman," Cohen screamed as loud as he could when the A?K?A? flop gave him a full house. The 4? turn locked up the pot for the Frenchman, and the A? river gave him quads as the cherry on top.

Caballo Pena was a good sport and the two players shook hands before Caballo Pena exited the tournament area as one of the final departures of Day 2.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Lucien Cohen fr
Lucien Cohen
380,000
205,000
205,000
EPT Main Event Champion
EPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Francisco Caballo Pena es
Francisco Caballo Pena
Busted

Tags: Francisco Caballo PenaLucien Cohen

Full House for Zabiiakin

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Ivan Zabiiakin
Ivan Zabiiakin

Around 100,000 was in the middle already, in a hand between Ivan Zabiiakin in middle position and Zhen Chen in the big blind, with the completed board reading J?K?4?J?Q?.

Chen checked, and Zabiiakin fired out a bet of 85,000. After quite some time in the tank, Chen made the call, but was shown the bad news when Zabiiakin tabled Q?J? for the rivered full house, forcing Chen to muck.

Zabiiakin moved over the 900,000 mark.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Ivan Zabiiakin ru
Ivan Zabiiakin
940,000
330,000
330,000
Profile photo of Zhen Chen cn
Zhen Chen
58,000
-181,000
-181,000

Tags: Ivan ZabiiakinZhen Chen

Tsouloftas Busts Cebrat

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Georgios Tsouloftas
Georgios Tsouloftas

Przemyslaw Cebrat was all in for around 125,000 and at risk versus Georgios Tsouloftas.

Przemyslaw Cebrat: Q?Q? All in
Georgios Tsouloftas: A?K?

It was the classic race, and the K?J?3? flop soon put Tsouloftas in front with a pair of kings, a lead he did not relinquish on the 7? turn and 4? river.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Georgios Tsouloftas cy
Georgios Tsouloftas
700,000
186,000
186,000
Day 4 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Przemyslaw Cebrat pl
Przemyslaw Cebrat
Busted

Tags: Georgios TsouloftasPrzemyslaw Cebrat

Spatuzzi Binks River

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

Around 100,000 was in the middle on a completed board of A?7?6?K?10?, in a hand between Jesse Spatuzzi on the button, and Ryhor Karapanau in the big blind.

Karapanau checked, and Spatuzzi moved all in for 172,000, covering Karapanau, who had around 150,000 left behind.

After a significant period of time thinking, Karapanau made the call. He tabled A?Q? for a pair of aces, but Spatuzzi had 9?8? for the rivered ten-high straight, sending Karapanau to the payout desk.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Jesse Spatuzzi gb
Jesse Spatuzzi
445,000
129,000
129,000
Profile photo of Ryhor Karapanau by
Ryhor Karapanau
Busted

Tags: Jesse SpatuzziRyhor Karapanau

Al-Kubasi Hero Calls Wrong; Massive Pot to Mustafov

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Fahredin Mustafov
Fahredin Mustafov

The action was caught on a completed board of 6?J?A?4?J?. A gigantic pot of 275,000 had already been gathered when Ali Al-Kubasi bet 120,000 from under the gun.

His opponent was Fahredin Mustafov, who raised all in, covering Al-Kubasi's total stack of 255,000. Al-Kubasi spent some minutes in the tank before the clock was called.

During the final five seconds of his countdown, he slammed in a call. Mustafov showed A?J? for a full house.

Al-Kubasi's A?6? for two pair, aces and jacks, was shown by the dealer as he took his exit and picked up his min-cash.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Fahredin Mustafov bg
Fahredin Mustafov
902,000
316,000
316,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Ali Al-Kubasi iq
Ali Al-Kubasi
Busted

Tags: Ali Al-KubasiFahredin Mustafov

Samuel Fournier Bubbles EPT Cyprus Main Event

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Samuel Fournier
Samuel Fournier

Samuel Fournier raised to 50,000 in the hijack, leaving himself 10,000 behind. Mihai Niste then jammed all in with a covering stack in the seat next to him, after which the action folded back to Fournier.

After a couple of minutes and a clarification of the rules, Fournier called and both hands were revealed.

Samuel Fournier: Q?Q? All in
Mihai Niste: A?K?

It was a classic race. Fournier stayed ahead with his queens on the 8?9?8? flop but the 3? turn brought a flush draw for Niste's ace-king.

The river was ordered to be dealt, prompting the 5? to appear on the felt. Niste had made his flush to eliminate Fournier as the official bubble boy of the Main Event.

The remaining 191 players were all in the money and the room exploded in celebratory applause before play continued.

Samuel Fournier - Bubble
Samuel Fournier - Bubble
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Mihai Niste ro
Mihai Niste
245,000
79,000
79,000
Profile photo of Samuel Fournier fr
Samuel Fournier
Busted

Tags: Mihai NisteSamuel Fournier

Pudel's Exit Sets Up Stone Bubble

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Nils Pudel
Nils Pudel

Nils Pudel, who started with around 74,000, committed most of his stack preflop, leaving 14,000 behind. Tayfun Rodoplu called in the big blind.

On the 6?4?3? flop, Rodolpu put Pudel all in, with the latter calling for their tournament life.

Nils Pudel: A?Q?All in
Tayfun Rodoplu: 7?7?

The K? turn removed some of Pudel's outs as Rodoplu picked up a flush draw. The 7?, however, improved the bigger stack to a set and confirmed Pudel as the 193rd place finisher.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Tayfun Rodoplu tr
Tayfun Rodoplu
365,000
59,000
59,000
Profile photo of Nils Pudel de
Nils Pudel
Busted

Tags: Nils PudelTayfun Rodoplu

Hasbani Doubles on the Bubble

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Antoine Hasbani
Antoine Hasbani

Paolo Gualano opened the button to 8,000 and Antoine Hasbani shoved for 55,000 from the big blind. Gualano called.

Antoine Hasbani: A?3? All in
Paolo Gualano: Q?6?

Once the TV crew and media arrived, the dealer was permitted to run the board. Hasbani paired his three on the 3?J?5? flop and maintained his lead as neither the 9? turn nor 5? river improved Gualano.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Paolo Gualano it
Paolo Gualano
350,000
-65,000
-65,000
Profile photo of Antoine Hasbani lb
Antoine Hasbani
120,000
60,000
60,000

Tags: Antoine HasbaniPaolo Gualano

Vuilleumier Spikes River to Bust Ilani

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Ran Ilani
Ran Ilani

Bernhard Binder raised to 8,000 from middle position before Ran Ilani made it 55,000 from the button. Ilani left one T-1,000 chip behind and Alexandre Vuilleumier called the raise from the big blind. Binder folded.

Vuilleumier bet 1,000 on the 9?8?4? flop and Ilani put in his last chip.

Ran Ilani: A?K?All in
Alexandre Vuilleumier: A?Q?

Ilani had Vuillemier dominated and remained in front following the 7? turn but Vuillemier found his three-outer on the Q? river to set up the soft bubble.

Ran Ilani
Ran Ilani
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Alexandre Vuilleumier ch
Alexandre Vuilleumier
250,000
65,000
65,000
Profile photo of Ran Ilani il
Ran Ilani
Busted

Tags: Alexandre VuilleumierRan Ilani