Andrey Kotelnikov Leads PokerStars Festival Sochi Main Event Day 1B
A total of 285 players came together for Day 1B of the PokerStars Festival Sochi Main Event. The number was ever so slightly more than yesterday's figure of 276. The special Turbo Day 1C flight got 138 entrants, meaning the Main Event field is at 699!
Leading the way is Andrey Kotelnikov who narrowly missed out on breaking the 300k mark bagging up.
Just like yesterday, several well-known Russian players joined the field such as Konstantin Puchkov. Puchkov was looking to add to his $2.7m in lifetime earnings, but unfortunately for him, he left the field early on in the day.
As the levels went on and the blinds increased, it looked increasingly unlikely that we would get to see Team PokerStars Pros Liv Boeree and Igor Kurganov in action. However, they appeared and quickly got to work.
Boeree was unlucky on the very first hand, getting Ace-Queen suited in against pocket Queens to lose a chunk, and her boyfriend was equally unlucky, losing six out of six hands to bust when his pocket Jacks were cracked. Boeree also busted in the last level of the day.
Another big name in the field was Vladimir Troyanovskiy. At the PokerStars Championship in Sochi earlier this year, Troyanovskiy finished second for just over $300k. Troyanovskiy was a contender for chip leader approaching the final level of the night but didn't manage to keep up his head of steam and bagged 179,700.
Today also saw the announcement of the return of the PokerStars Championship to Sochi in 2018. The 10-day festival will take place from March 20-29 2018 and will see a $3,300 Main Event with a $2.5m guarantee, as well as a High Roller, National Championship and Sochi Cup.
Tonight is also the night of the PokerStars Players Party, where players have a chance to relax and celebrate together. The 2017 Sochi Players Party is shaping up to be a special one. The party is being co-hosted by PokerStars and Playboy and will see an appearance from Alekseev, a Ukranian singer who made the semi-final of Ukraine’s "Voice Of The Country” and is a huge star in Russia. His song, “Drunken Sun” topped the charts and has over 30 million views on YouTube.
Follow PokerNews.com for a recap of Day 1C, the Players Party, and continuing coverage of the PokerStars Festival Sochi Main Event live from the Sochi Resort & Casino.
