The second and final starting flight of the 2024 World Series of Poker Europe will begin at midday today. Event #13: €10,350 Main Event NLH European Championship‘s Day 1b is, unlike most other tournaments, expected to be much smaller than its first starting day. This is because King’s Resort, where the event is held, traditionally includes Day 1a tickets in their prize pools throughout the year to give many low-stakes players a shot at Main Event glory.
However, it historically makes up for what it lacks in size with star power, with many high-stakes regulars making their first appearance or reentering after an unfortunate first attempt on Day 1a. Darko Svesko, on the other hand, will not be one of the players buying in today, as the Serbian obtained the chip lead in the first starting flight. He increased his 100,000 starting stack to 535,900 at the end of the day, resulting in him having 335 big blinds at the start of Day 2.
Other big stacks from Day 1a include hometown hero Patrik Jaros (497,200), and overseas crushers Alex Foxen (389,900) and David Dongwoo Ko (371,100).
Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darko Svesko | Serbia | 535,900 | 335 |
| 2 | Bartolomeo Tato | Italy | 504,100 | 315 |
| 3 | Patrik Jaros | Czech Republic | 497,200 | 311 |
| 4 | Boris Kuzmanovic | Croatia | 469,800 | 294 |
| 5 | Birger Ohl | Germany | 468,800 | 293 |
| 6 | Cecile Ticherfatine | France | 450,000 | 281 |
| 7 | Lars Brodin | Sweden | 393,900 | 246 |
| 8 | Yaroslav Ohulchanskyi | Ukraine | 392,700 | 245 |
| 9 | Alex Foxen | United States | 389,900 | 244 |
| 10 | David Dongwoo Ko | Canada | 371,100 | 232 |
However, players who register today need not despair. Last year, Levan Rcheulishvili accumulated 586,800 chips on Day 1b, so the overall chip lead is still within reach. All who enter today start their quest of doing so with the starting stack of 100,000. The first level is 100/300 with a big blind ante of 300 and all levels will have a duration of 90 minutes, resulting in deep-stacked play throughout the day.
There will be a break after every level, with a dinner break after Level 4. The day will conclude after Level 7, which has blinds of 600/1,200, after which the survivors will bag and tag for Day 2, which starts at noon tomorrow. One reentry is available for the players today, with an additional two entries allowed up until the end of Level 12, midway through Day 2.
WSOP Europe Main Event Day 1 Structure
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | Big Blind Ante |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 300 | 300 |
| 2 | 200 | 400 | 400 |
| 3 | 300 | 500 | 500 |
| 4 | 300 | 600 | 600 |
| 5 | 400 | 800 | 800 |
| 6 | 500 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| 7 | 600 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
Stay tuned for all the exciting Main Event action as PokerNews will be on the floor live reporting from the very first cards dealt up until the last table bags up.