Ruzicka Takes Overall Lead on Day 1b; Kassouf and Alexandridis Bag Big Stacks
The third edition of the 2022 World Series of Poker International Circuit €1,700 Main Event at the King's Resort in Rozvadov has edged within eyesight of surpassing the €1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool after yet another busy day in Europe's biggest poker arena. Another 333 entries were recorded, consisting of 249 unique players and 84 re-entries, and that brought the overall field to 640 entries.
That's just eight entries shy of the attendance during the last WSOP International Circuit King's €1,700 Main Event back in April 2022 and there is very little doubt that the number will be surpassed without a hitch. Whether or not the 808 entries of the January edition can be reached remains to be seen, as the late registration and re-entry period remains open for another two 60-minute levels on Day 2.
Only 137 players survived the nine 60-minute levels at the King's Resort and the overall leaderboard received a fresh facelift. Former WSOP Main Event finalist Vojtech Ruzicka jumped into the overall lead with 451,300 in chips followed by Levente Pal (428,600). There is a large gap to third-placed Dawid Smolka (330,300), who also toppled the Day 1a chip leader Narcis Nedelcu as well.
Top 10 Chip Counts After Day 1b
| Position | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds Day 22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vojtech Ruzicka | Czech Republic | 451,300 | 226 |
| 2 | Levente Pal | Romania | 428,600 | 214 |
| 3 | Dawid Smolka | Poland | 330,300 | 165 |
| 4 | Pierre Trauer | Germany | 320,000 | 160 |
| 5 | Nicola Angelini | Italy | 293,900 | 147 |
| 6 | William Kassouf | United Kingdom | 278,400 | 139 |
| 7 | Symeon Alexandridis | Greece | 276,300 | 138 |
| 8 | Berkan Munar | Germany | 274,800 | 137 |
| 9 | Fabio Pilato | Switzerland | 271,500 | 136 |
| 10 | Clayde Terlaan | Netherlands | 271,000 | 136 |
Another familiar face in the overnight top ten is the UK's William Kassouf, who claimed 278,400 to his name. During the late stages of the evening, he first doubled through Do Tran and then knocked out Natale Allegra when his nine-eight suited flopped the nuts against pocket kings. Kassouf advanced in sixth place on the Day 1b leaderboard just ahead of 2021 EPT Prague Main Event finalist Symeon Alexandridis (276,300), Nicola Angelini (293,900) and Clayde Terlaan (271,000) are also well-known names on the European live poker circuit as well.
The WSOP bracelet winners Vangelis Kaimakamis (178,400), Matous Skorepa (136,000) and Ori Hasson (91,100) all advanced and kept their hopes of potentially adding another WSOP title to their resume alive. They were joined in the list of survivors by Raul van Boxtel, WSOP Circuit ring event winner Dorian Melchers, Tonino Schmitz, Jan Bednar, Tobias Peters, Raoul Refos, and Aliaksandr Shylko to name all but a few familiar faces.
Not as fortunate were Pierre Neuville, Georges Sultanem, Michael Magalashvili, Thomas Hofmann, Timo Kamphues, Roberto Manfredi, Claudio Di Giacomo, Abdelhakim Zoufri, Claudio Di Giacomo, Artan Dedusha, and former WSOP Circuit King's Main Event champion Andrea Ricci.
They all can take advantage of the extended late registration period on Day 2, which kicks off at 2pm local time on Sunday, October 9, 2022. For the first two hours and following 15-minute break, the blinds will continue at 1,000-2,000 and a big blind ante of 2,000. Two re-entries are allowed for all those seeking to take another shot at the promising seven-figure prize pool.
On top of the cash prizes, the top 12 finishers will also take home an entry into the 2022 WSOP Europe €10,350 Main Event in November 2022. More than 200 players already unlocked their seats during major live poker festivals at King's Resort and that number will be nearly doubled with upcoming events and live satellite qualifiers.
Stay tuned for more poker action from the Czech Republic as the PokerNews live reporting team will be there until a winner is crowned on the live-streamed final table on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.