2017 PokerStars Festival Bucharest

A bumper field of 401 players showed up for Day 1b of the PokerStars Festival Bucharest, meaning that the guarantee is already eclipsed ahead of the Turbo 1c which starts later on this evening.

There will be a total of 166 players joining the 66 who advanced from Day 1a in Day 2 tomorrow, with several players boasting healthy stacks ahead of the fields combining.

The chip leader is Stefan Fabian with 279,400. Other big stacks include Nandor Solyom (257,700), Ben Barkay (226,800), Nicolae Toma (197,800) and Mustafov Fahredin (177,000).

"I'm feeling pretty good," said Fabian shortly after bagging up for the night, "I hope that I'm chip leader at the end of tomorrow as well!"

He won a huge pot during Level 6 to take him up over 100,000 for the first time. A player raised from early position and Fabian three-bet. His opponent four-bet to 6,500 and Fabian five-bet to 12,700. His opponent six-bet to 20,000 and Fabian called.

Both players checked an flop and Fabian called a bet of 7,000 in position on the turn. The river was the and Fabian's opponent check-folded to a jam from Fabian for 23,000.

"I just didn't expect it," said Fabian, referring to the monster six-bet pot which helped him on his way to the overnight chip lead, "I had just moved to the table, so I was new.

"I think Bucharest is good. It's not my first time playing here."

Just like yesterday, there were a few big names dotted around the field. The biggest name of all was Chris Moneymaker, 2003 Main Event Champion and Team PokerStars Pro.

Moneymaker had an eventful day, albeit a short one. He ran Kings into Aces early on, with both players making sets by the river. However, he managed to get away when his opponent just called on the river.

However, he was eliminated a short while later. In a limped pot, Moneymaker checked in the big blind and saw a flop dealt. He got his remaining chips into the middle holding but his opponent held and their set held to eliminate the American.

Also in the field was British pro and fan favourite Sam Grafton. He told the PokerStars Blog that he qualified for the event online, and attending the Festival was a “no-brainer!”

"I've played at the Marriott here before and it's a nice venue. The thing with PokerStars, and something that I appreciate after a lot of time in Vegas is that - apart from the ten-handed - you know it's going to be an incredibly well-run tournament.

“In Vegas, the standard can be a bit inconsistent, whereas with Stars you know you're going to get a great tournament. So yeah, I'm happy to be here, and although I'm ready to play online again!”

Grafton will be taking 134,200 in chips into Day 2. Also advancing to Day 2 is Eureka Bucharest defending champion Avishai Shitrit with 53,200.

By the time registration closed at the end of Level 6, there was a total of 401 players. That, coupled with the 177 from yesterday meant that a field of 578 (one player short of the 579 who attended Eureka Prague last year) had entered this year’s Main Event. However, with the final flight this evening getting underway shortly, that figure looks set to be eclipsed.

All players who make it to Day 2 will return to blinds of 800/1,600 with a 200 ante. The levels will also to increase to 60-minutes, and there will be eight levels played, with a 15-minute break after every two levels.

Join PokerNews tomorrow from 1 p.m. local time to stay up-to-date with all the action from the “Paris of the East” as we get closer to crowning the latest PokerStars Festival champion.

Tournament officials have announced that there will be four more hands before players bag up ahead of Day 2 tomorrow.

A reminder that any player wishing to play in the turbo Day 1c which was scheduled for 9 p.m. local time, this will now be at 10 p.m.

Alex Udrea raised to 2,700 from under the gun and an opponent three-bet to 8,600 from middle position. Udrea called.

Both players checked the flop and the turn was the . Udrea bet 9,100 and his opponent quickly called.

The river was the and both players checked.

Udrea showed for trip queens and his opponent folded.

From under the gun, a player raised to 2,600, Elvira Malay called one seat over, and the button and big blind also called. The flop was , which was met by a "ding ding ding!" from one of the players at the table.

The under the gun player bet 5,400, with Malay as the only caller. On the turn, the under the gun player bet 7,600, and Malay called again. The river was the and Malay was put all in for her last 9,500, which she snap-called.

Under the gun:
Elvira Malay:

Malay got fully paid on her flopped quads and doubled up as the day draws to a close.

With around 37,000 in the pot, Nicolae Toma and an opponent in the small blind saw the turn land on a . Toma's opponent open-shoved 51,200, which sent the Romanian deep in the tank. After nearly two minutes, he counted out the calling chips and put them in the middle with a strong thump.

Nicolae Toma:
Opponent:

Toma held the best hand with pocket tens but his opponent could still catch a ten, seven or five to survive. The river wasn't one of them and Toma took down the big pot.

Pocket aces have been dealt aplenty today, and Daniel Nietrzebka just became the latest to receive the pocket rockets. Nietrzebka was tangling with Arthur Zacharov and both players had already built a pot of over 50,000 when the dealer completed the board.

Zacharov checked and Nietrzebka checked behind with his aces. Zacharov couldn't muster up more than and the Pole scooped up the pot.