11.35pm: Day 2 is done
And that's the end of Day 2 of the Eureka3 Croatia main event. We're down to the final dozen and a full wrap on how we went from 103 players to just 12 is on the way. Play resumes at noon local time when we'll play down to a winner.
11.30pm: Triantafyllos Chadiroglou eliminated in 13th place (€3,500)
Just before the end of the night we lost Triantafyllos Chadiroglou - the Full Tilt Qualifier last longer winner - in a three way all-in. He was at risk with sevens, the middle stack belonged to Zoltan Gonczo, he had aces and Alberto Fiorilla covered both and had pocket kings. No one hit the board, Chadiroglou was eliminated whilst Gonczo won a massive 800,000 chip pot.
11.20pm: Vladimir Luledžija eliminated in 14th place (€3,500)
On the first of the last three hands we lost Vladimir Luledžija in 14th place. Pre-flop Alberto Fiorilla raised to 16,000 and Luledžija smooth called. On the [2s][4s][9s] flop Florilla c-bet 18,000, Luledžija made a massive check-raise all-in of around 280,000 and after getting a rough count Florilla made the call.
Florilla: [Jc][Jh]
Luledžija: [As][Js]
The turn and river came [9d][6c] though and Luledžija missed his pair and nut flush draw.
11.15pm: Last three hands
The clock has been paused and the players will be dealt three more hands before they finish for the night.
11pm: Konstantin Zlygostev eliminated in 15th place (€2,700)
No details I'm afraid as I didn't catch his exit hand, but there are now 14 players left in the main event.
10.40pm: Petar Zografov eliminated in 16th place (€2,700)
There will be no repeat winner of the Eureka Poker Tour here in Croatia as the only former champion, Petar Zografov, has just been knocked out in 16th place.
To be honest I'm amazed he's gone this deep as every time I've seen him today his stack has been roughly a quarter of the average stack, he's definitely grinded his way to this high a finish. I wonder what the Bulgarian for 'Have you heard of Mickey Wernick or Tony Cousineau is'.
Anyway, on his exit hand he min-raised to 12,000 with [Ah][Kd] from a stack of 120,000. It folded to Alberto Fiorilla in the big blind, he had pocket sevens and set Zografov all-in and the Bulgarian duly called. A [Th][8d][Qc][Qd][6c] board kept Florilla in front and sent Zografov to the rail.
10.30pm: Last level of the night
Level 18 will be the ninth and final level of the day regardless of how many players are left at the end of it. It's therefore unllkely that a final table will be reached, with perhaps 12 or so players coming back tomorrow to play down to a winner.
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 4,000-8,000 ante 1,000
10.20pm: Final two table re-draw and chip counts
Table 1:
Jurij Kolesnikov Lithuania 345,000
Marek Uharček Slovakia 250,000
Robert Dobai Hungary 285,000
Daniel Ebersold Germany 372,000
Konstantin Zlygostev Russia PokerStars Player 120,000
Paul Knebel Germany 196,000
Georges Yazbeck Lebanon 230,000
Boris Kuzmanovic Croatia PokerStars Qualifier 262,000
Table 2:
Petar Zografov Bulgaria PokerStars Qualifier 58,000
Vladimir Luledžija Bosnia and Herzegovina 205,000
Marko Mikovic Serbia PokerStars Player 185,000
Theodoros Aidonopoulos Greece 1,075,000
Alberto Fiorilla Italy 480,000
Bozsó Achilles Hungary PokerStars Player 630,000
Zoltan Jozsef Gonczo Hungary 340,000
Triantafyllos Chadiroglou Greece Full Tilt Qualifier 200,000
10pm: Chip leaders and chip bleeders
It's still Theodoros Aidonopoulos who leads the way, the Greek has padded his stack and has 960,000 now. His nearest challenger is Bozso Achilles, the Hungarian has 620,000. Players heading the chasing pack include Alberto Fiorilla (430,000) and Danile Ebersold (385,000).
Meanwhile we're down to 16 players as: Csaba Miklos (21st), Nikola Kolega (20th), Pavao Vujnovac (19th), Oliver Mihaly Osi (18th) and Marko Nikolic (17th) have been eliminated. They all cashed for €2,240
There will now be a short break whilst there's a re-draw for the final two tables.
9.40pm: Team PokerStars Pro Dag Palovic eliminated in 22nd place (€2,240)
On his way to visit the payouts desk Team PokerStars Pro Dag Palovic was kind enough to tell me about the hand which booted him out of this tournament. "Ace-Queen into Ace-King for 20 big blinds," was his succinct summing up of his exit hand.
As usual the Slovakian was in a jovial mood despite having just seen his tournament come to an end.
9.32pm: Sick hold
Just before the blinds went up Marek Uharček got a much needed double up at the expense of Paul Knebel. The former shoved for 50,500 with [Kc][Ts] and Knebel called with the superior [Ah][Qh].
Even though the [Th][Js][3h] flop gave Uharček the lead he can't have liked the sheer volume of outs that Knebel had to knock him out. But, the [8c] turn and [4c] river were blanks and his hand held up.
9.30pm: Slow going
Action has noticeably slowed in the 40 minutes that have elapsed since the players have returned from the dinner break. I'm not sure if they're in a carb induced coma or if it's just a lull that every tournament goes through at some point.
Either way only two players have been eliminated since the return, Charlo Azzopardi went out in 24th and Goran Mandic was eliminated in 23rd.
Twenty-two players still in the tournament then, meaning that the average stack is 269,500, which is a shade under 45 big blinds.
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 3,000-6,000 ante 1,000
9.15pm: Chips!
Here are the chip counts of the 24 remaining players, it's Theodoros Aidonopoulos who leads with 750,000 and Team PokerStars Pro Dag Palovic is still on the mix. He's got 215,000 which is right around average stack.
Theodoros Aidonopoulos Greece 750000
Boris Kuzmanovic Croatia PokerStars Qualifier 425000
Bozsó Achilles Hungary PokerStars Player 422000
Alberto Fiorilla Italy 422000
Georges Yazbeck Lebanon 400000
Jurij Kolesnikov Lithuania 380000
Zoltan Jozsef Gonczo Hungary 373000
Paul Knebel Germany 282000
Daniel Ebersold Germany 216500
Dag Palovic Slovakie Team PokerStars Pro 215000
Marko Mikovic Serbia PokerStars Player 207000
Triantafyllos Chadiroglou Greece Full Tilt Qualifier 205000
Pavao Vujnovac Croatia 183000
Konstantin Zlygostev Russia PokerStars Player 174000
Robert Dobai Hungary 155000
Vladimir Luledzija Bosnia and Herzegovina 150000
Goran Mandic Croatia PokerStars Qualifier 127500
Petar Zografov Bulgaria PokerStars Qualifier 101000
Oliver Mihaly Osi Hungary 85000
Marek Uharcek Slovakia 68000
Csaba Miklos Hungary 45000
Charlo Azzopardi Malta PokerStars Qualifier 44000
Nikola Kolega Croatia 30000
8.55pm: Cards back in the air
There's 36 minutes left in level 16 and the players are now back in their seats. Full chip counts were done during the break, they'll be flowed in the blog imminently.
7.51pm: Dinner break
The players are now on a one hour dinner break.
7.50pm: Latest exits
25th. Gheorghe Stefan Aurelian Romania PokerStars Qualifier, €1,950
26th. Barsi Robert, Serbia, PokerStars Qualifier, €1,950
27th. Marin Fridrih, Slovakia, €1,950
28th. Asif Warris, UK, PokerStars Qualifier, €1,950
29th. Drosakis Alexandros, Greece, PokerStars Player, €1,950
30th. Boris Scepanović, Montenegro, PokerStars Qualifier, €1,950
31st. Ivailo Kolarov, Bulgaria, Full Tilt Qualifier, €1,950
32nd. Aleksandar Živković Serbia, €1,950
With that the main event is down to 24 players and they'll now be a re-draw for the final three tables.
7.40pm: Table mates but for how much longer
At the moment Team PokerStars Pro Dag Palovic and Eureka2 Bulgaria champion Petar Zografov are on the same table although that may not be the case for much longer.
Two differing reasons threaten that set-up. First there are 26 players left and when that number drops to 24 there will be a complete re-draw of those left in. Secondly Zografov is short on chips, he's been short on chips all day. In fact I'm not sure how he's still in. He's got just 58,000 at the moment that's a quarter of the average stack.
An average stack (stacked in fives of course) is what Palovic has, he's currently got 226,000. "I think stacking them this way is better than stacking them in a tower or castle," he told a table mate before adding. "I've done it this way since I started playing poker.
7.25pm: Greek ships the last longer contest
Just before the break Ivailo Kolarov was eliminated and this wasn't just another elimination a mere footnote in the tournament. No, his elimination meant that Triantafyllos Chadiroglou is the last Full Tilt Qualifier still in the tournament and as such he's won a €2,200 package to the next Eureka main event which is in Bulgaria in July.
He's also locket up €1,950 in this tournament and is still in with a shot of winning a lot more. You can see the full payout structure here.
7.10pm: Back from the break
The players are now back in their seats and level 16 is underway. The players were scheduled to take a dinner break at the end of level 15, but because the buffet that is laid on for them wasn't ready yet they had to delay it. So they'll now play half of this level before going on break.
I'll be getting comprehensive chip counts of who's left in during that break, but I took a look at the stacks on the break and can tell you that the current chip leader with 450,000 is Bozso Achilles. He's followed closely by Alberto Fiorilla who's got 400,000. Whilst Georges Yazbeck (300,000) and Boris Kuzmanovic (328,000) are both up near the top.
6.50pm: Break
That's the end of level 15, the players are now on a 15 minute break.
6.40pm: Exits
As expected the flow of players out of the tournament has been a steady stream since the bubble burst, just 32 players remain now and they're all guaranteed more than a min-cash. Next man out (with the elimination of Zeljka Kvastek it's boys only) will pick up €1,950
33rd. Kasparas Klezys, Lithuania, €1,770
34th. Peter Čižmarik, Slovakia, €1,770
35th. Dimitar Blazhev, Bulgaria, €1,770
36th. Mantas Bagocius, Lithuania, PokerStars Qualifier, €1,770
37th. Zeljka Kvastek, Croatia, PokerStars Qualifier, €1,770
38th. Theodoros Aidonopoulos, Greece, €1,770
39th. Kolja Luecking, Germany, PokerStars Qualifier, €1,770
40th. Vlad Stefan Lache, Romania, PokerStars Qualifier, €1,770
6.15pm: Full Tilt qualifier last longer still going
This is the first Eureka Poker Tour event that Full Tilt as well as PokerStars have offered online satellites for. As a result Full Tilt have been running a promotion where their last standing qualifier wins a €2,200 package to the next Eureka main event which is in Bulgaria in July.
Well there's still two qualifiers still in, at the moment Triantafyllos Chadiroglou looks the favourite as he has 200,000 to Ivailo Kolarov's 46,000.
6pm: Not so super - Mario Karmen bubbles Eureka3 Croatia
The remaining 40 players are now in the money as the bubble has burst here in Dubrovnik. It took nearly an hour to do so but the unlucky player to be the last to leave with nothing is Mario Karman.
He moved all-in with pocket nines and got calls from both Daniel Ebersold and Asif Warris. The two of them checked down a [Kd][Ks][5s][4c][Qc] board, Ebersold opened pocket tens to claim the pot, whilst Warris mucked [Ac][Jc].
However that wasn't the end of the story as on another table Ivailo Kolarov was also all-in and should he get eliminated Karmen and Kolarov would split 40th place prize money (€1,770). The Bulgarian had [As][Tc] and was in good shape against Georges Yazbeck's [Ah][8c]. The [3s][6c][9s][7s][Ks] board only strengthened Kolarov's position and he doubled up to just over 50,000.
Let the post-bubble carnage commence.
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 2,000-4,000 ante 500
5.50pm: Double double on the bubble
Peter Čižmarik had previously survived one all-in and call on the bubble and he's just doubled up although he's still perilously short.
After Daniel Ebersold raised to 6,000 with pocket fives, Čižmarik shoved all-in for 11,200 and after Ebersold called he duly got there on the [Jh][8h][3s][4s][2h] board.
The very next hand at the same table Marin Fridrih was at risk for 22,000 with pocket jacks, Asif Warris the would be executioner with [Ah][Jd]. The [Jh][8h][3s] flop all but killed the hand dead and the board ran out [4s][2h] and he survived.
Bubble play continues.
5.30pm: Still on the bubble
It's still hand for hand here on the bubble, so far there have been two all-in and calls. Both times the at risk player had a dominating ace, but both times the pot was chopped, meaning it's as you were.
The players who went out just before the bubble include: Saber Makram, Helmut Wigger, Ilias Zografos, Borys Drabkin and Valentai Attila.
5pm: 41 - bubble time
We're now on the bubble here in Croatia. Among the players to be eliminated was Team PokerStars Pro Matti De Meudler and sorry Adam Owen fans, he's out for real this time.
Play is now hand for hand until we lose one more player. You can see up to date chip counts from the last break here.
4.40pm: Chip leaders as bubble approaches
With just 47 players still in the mix the PokerStars Blog will now be switching to more traditional hand for hand coverage. A reminder of the payout structure is here, 40 players get paid.
During the break tournament staff did chip counts of everyone left in, this is the top five as level 14 gets underway.
Georges Yazbeck Lebanon 276000
Asif Warris UK PokerStars Qualifier 267400
Zoltan Jozsef Gonczo Hungary 258000
Marko Mikovic Serbia PokerStars Player 245000
Pavao Vujnovac Croatia 223000
It's Lebanon's Georges Yazbeck who leads, he was fast out the traps on Day 1A and has continued his ascent today.
PokerStars Blog reporting team in Croatia: Nick Wright. Photos by Ivan Dabac.