Day 1B of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Baden Main Event watched 150 more players (well, actually 126, since 24 of them re-entered after busting out Tuesday) pull their chairs up to the poker tables at Casino Baden. 77 of them will have chairs to which to return for Thursdays Day 2 as the trek continues towards a WPT title. Day 1A’s chip leader, Kimmo Kurko, is still in first place with 149,700 chips.
After Kurko, there is a logjam for the top spots. The two chip leaders from Day 1B, Senadin Cosic and Daniele Scatragli, are next with 135,800 and 135,700 chips, respectively. Right behind them are Andrey Shatilov (134,700), Paolo Compagno (133,800), Mitchell Johnson (132,200), and Stjepan Jokic (130,300). Day 2 should be extremely competitive.
The 254 entries for Days 1A and 1B combined resulted in a total prize pool of $1,031,041. The cash payouts will go down to 27th place with the winner receiving $271,258.
One of the most sensational hands of the day came near the end of the night. Bodo Sbrzesny raised to 1,000 pre-flop and was called in three spots. All the players checked to him on the A♥-K♥-3♣ flop, so he decided to bet 2,200 chips. Christian Golob made the call, so the two went heads-up to the J♥ on the turn. Sbrzesny bet 3,600, to which Golob responded with a raise to 12,000. Sbrzesny took it on up to 26,000, prompting Golob to put the entirety of his remaining stack at risk. Sbrzesny made the call.
Golob certainly had an excellent hand: his 3♦-3♠ gave him a flopped bottom set. Sbrzesny, though, must have had a heck of a time hiding his joy when watching Golob move all-in, as he flipped over Q♥-T♥ for the amazing turned royal flush. Of course, to make it even more painful, the river was the A♦, which improved Golob to a full house. Normally, that would be more than enough to win a hand, but not against the best possible holding in poker. Golob was eliminated from the contest and Sbrzesny grew his stack to 114,000 chips.
The survivors from both Days 1A and 1B will come together Thursday for a single Day 2 field as they all continue to venture towards the money.
World Poker Tour Baden Main Event – Day 1B Chip Leaders
1. Senadin Cosic – 135,800
2. Daniele Scatragli – 135,700
3. Paolo Compagno – 133,800
4. Mitchell Johnson – 132,200
5. Bodo Sbrzesny – 124,800
6. Vladimir Bozinovic – 120,900
7. Alois Weiss – 120,800
8. Ozkan Atalay – 109,100
9. Samuel Guilabert – 102,400
10. Fedor Holz – 102,000
World Poker Tour Baden Main Event – Overall Chip Leaders
1. Kimmo Kurko – 149,700
2. Senadin Cosic – 135,800
3. Daniele Scatragli – 135,700
4. Andrey Shatilov – 134,700
5. Paolo Compagno – 133,800
6. Mitchell Johnson – 132,200
7. Stjepan Jokic – 130,300
8. Robert Hoogendoorn – 128,000
9. Bodo Sbrzesny – 124,800
10. Vladimir Bozinovic – 120,900
