Just two days after crowning the new champion of the Italian Poker Sport Main Event 53rd Edition (HERE is the full report), we find ourselves in Velden am Wƶrthersee, Carinthia, southern Austria, ready to bring you the Sharkbay Main Event with a ā¬200,000 guaranteed prize pool.
The location is truly stunningāa small tourist town overlooking Lake Wƶrther, filled with bistros, restaurants, and venues perfect for enjoying a lovely evening outside the poker set. In short, itās another unmissable EuroRounders event that we canāt wait to cover. Stay tuned!
Report Day1 A - CLICK HERE
Report Day1 B - CLICK HERE
Report Day1 C - CLICK HERE
Report Day1 D - CLICK HERE
Report Day1 E - CLICK HERE
Report Day 2 - CLICK HERE
Report Final Day - CLICK HERE
21 Oct - 19:00 - Juan Veralasco wins, Hajos runner-up!
We have reached the final heads-up between Norbert Hajos and Juan Veralasco, which ended with the Spaniard claiming the EuroRounders trophy. The two players agreed to split the remaining prize pool because they had nearly even stacks.
The final showdown came after Verelasco won a decisive pot, and both players went all-in on the turn, both chasing flush drawsāVeralasco with hearts and Hajos with diamonds. In the final hand, Verelasco held Aā ļøĀ 5ā¦ļøĀ against Hajosā Kā£ļøĀ 2ā¦ļøĀ on the board Ā 4ā„ļø 6ā¦ļø 9ā ļø 6ā„ļø 9ā¦ļø. Juan Veralasco was crowned the Shark Bay Main Event champion, with a ā¬200,000 guarantee. Here's the final report.
21 Oct - 18:15 - Mitja Rudolf ended in third place!
Left with around ten big blinds after a few orbits in three-handed play, but in the end, Mitja Rudolf leaves the table. He open-shoves from the button with Q-10, and Hajos cold-calls from the small blind with K-Q.
The flop comes 9-8-6, but a King on the turn flips the situation, and a blank on the river seals the Slovenianās elimination in third place for ā¬14,100. We are now in the heads-up phase.
21 Oct - 17:30 - Mark Gabish is the 4th-place finisher!
On the very first hand, after the resumption of play, German player Goodgame is eliminated by Juan Veralasco. With only 850,000 chips left, Goodgame goes all-in with K-7 against Verelascoās K-Queen. A 7 on the flop gives the Spaniard a winning hand, knocking out the German, who takes home ā¬12,400 for his efforts.
Straight after, a huge double-up occurred for Norbert Hajos against Mitja Rudolf. Rudolf open-shoved from the small blind with 8.7 million, and Hajos, holding 7.7 million, instantly called. The board came 10-9-9-4-4, leaving Mitja with just 1.5 million as the blinds reached 400,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante. Meanwhile, Norbert Hajos soared to over 9 million, securing second place.
21 Oct - 16:15 - Lukas Streit is out in 5th place!
Not long after, Austrian Lukas Streit is eliminated by Juan Veralasco, who had dropped to 6 million chips after losing a hand against Mitja Rudolf. On Verelascoās open, Streit decides to go all-in with pocket 6s for 1.6 million. With blinds at 80,000/160,000 and a 160,000 ante, Verelasco calls with pocket 9s. The board runs clean, and Streit is eliminated, leaving the table with four players just minutes before the second 15-minute break of the day.
Earlier, Norbert Hajos managed a crucial double-up, hitting a full house after going all-in on the flop against Juan Veralasco. Verelasco, holding 4-5 of diamonds, had already made a flush on a Jack-high board, while Hajos showed top set with Jacks. A blank turn didnāt change the situation, but a 6 on the river paired the board, giving the Austrian the pot and a full house. Verelasco, though still chip leader with over 9 million, took a hit from this hand.
Hereās the situation at the moment:
Juan Veralasco 8.5M
Mark Gabish 850K
Mitja Rudolf 6.8M
Norbert Hajos 5.8M
21 Oct - 16:15 - Baskim Kriezu is the 6th-place finisher!
Another elimination occurs at the final table of the Shark Bay Main Event, and this time, itās Kosovar Baskim Kriezu. Before the decisive hand, Kriezu calls an all-in from the big blind with Q-Jo on a button shove by Norbert Pajos, holding K-2 of clubs.
The board doesnāt help himāno Queen or Jack appearsāleaving him short with about seven big blinds. On the very next hand, Juanito, in a blind war, goes all-in with Ace-6 offsuit, and Kriezu calls with Jack-9 of diamonds. The board comes 6-10-10-K-4, and Kriezu has to settle for the sixth-place prize of ā¬8,400. The final table is now down to five players, with Mitja in the lead, the Spaniard Juan, and the remaining two short stacks.
21 Oct - 15:45 - Thomas Winkler out in 7th place
Another elimination occurs at the Shark Bay Main Event final table. Thomas Winkler is the player to leave the group, who finishes in seventh place for ā¬6,800. His downfall begins a few hands earlier when he finds himself all-in against Lucas Streit with K-K versus A-Q.
The board A-K-5-J-2 gives his opponent a set, making Winkler lose a pot of about 1,600,000ā¬. Not long after, he is again with K-K against Baskim Kriezu, who goes all-in from the big blind with Ace-9 offsuit, and Winkler calls. Unfortunately, the board is not in his favour again, showing 2-Q-A-7-9, leaving Winkler with just five big blinds.
The decisive showdown sees Mitja Rudolf go all-in for 1.7 million, with blinds at 70K/140K and an ante of 140K, holding 10-10. Winkler calls with 2-2, but the board Jack-7-9-J-3-J seals his elimination. The final table is now down to six players.
Soon after, Mitja opens to 300,000, Juan three-bets to 1,300,000, and Mitja goes all-in for a total of 2.8 million, getting a call from the Spaniard holding 7-7. Mitja reveals A-A, and an Ace on the flop practically seals the fate of the Spaniard, who is drawing dead by the turn. Mitja climbs to 5.6 million, becoming the chip leader at the table alongside Kosovar Baskim Kriezu.
21 Oct - 14:45 - Giometti and De Pasqualinis out, 7 left!
After just half an hour of play, the first two eliminations have already occurred at the final table of the Shark Bay Main Event. The first to say goodbye is the only Italian who reached the final table, Giovanni Giometti (pic above), with 445,000 chips.
At blinds of 60,000/120,000 with a 120,000 ante, he found himself all-in against chip leader Juan Verelasco, holding K-10 suited against the Spaniardās A-8. The board came 5ā ļø6ā¦ļø4ā„ļø7ā„ļø10ā„ļø, giving Juan a straight, and Giometti was eliminated in ninth place, taking home ā¬4,560.
The second player to be eliminated is Lucas de Pasqualin (pic below), the chip leader from Day 1C. He started the final table with 3,050,000 chips, making him the third-largest stack at the beginning of the day.
The Austrian ran into a cooler against Baskim Kezu from Kosovo, who hit a full house with K-Q against Lucasās pocket aces. The board came 7ā„ļøKā ļøQā£ļøKā„ļø5ā¦ļø. For De Pasqualin, itās a ā¬5,560 payout. Now, seven players remain in the tournament.
21 Oct - 14:00 - Sharkbay Main Event Final Table is set!
After "Stromi"'s elimination, the nine finalists finally take place at the final table stage. Here's a brief recap of the stacks in play:
šŖšøJuan Veralasco 5.540.00
šøš®Ā Rudolf Mijta 4.090.000
š¦š¹Ā Lucas De Pasqualin 3.050.000
š¦š¹Ā Norbert Hajos 2.185.000
š©šŖĀ Mark Gabish 1.920.000
š¦š¹Ā Thomas Winkler 1.620.000
š¦š¹Ā Lukas Streit 1.470.000
š½š°Ā Baskim Kriezu 1.450.000
š®š¹Ā Giovanni Giometti 445.000
21 Oct - 13:30 - Stromi bubbles Sharkbay Final Table, 9 left!
The 10 Left phase of the Shark Bay Main Event Final Day, with a ā¬200,000 guarantee, lasted about 20 minutes. The action concluded after a few showdowns involving the shorter stacks at the table. Stromi, left with just two big blinds, went all-in against Thomas Winkler. It was pocket deuces versus Ace-10. An ace on the board handed the victory to Winkler.
Now, there is a 15-minute break to prepare everything in the dedicated final table area, which will be played with nine players. Soon, we will provide the complete chip count, the list of the nine finalists, and, of course, the first photos of the day.
21 Oct - 02:15 - The game stops at 10 left. Juanito is ahead of the count!
"Stromi" doubles through Mitijia by check-raising with A-10 on an 8 High Board after defending his BB with around 9x. Mitija's c-bet with A-8 (Top Pair Top Kicker) turned out in an unexpected end and he's now in second place after Juanito, who's ahead of the count at 11 left.
A few hands later, "goodgame" doubles through Franz Dobler KreibichĀ 9-9 > J-J hitting a straight runner-runner after a preflop all-in for a 3 million pot. Franz gets out 20 minutes later, losing a flip with 7-7 < K-Q: A Queen on the board sends him home.
As the time ran out, the action stopped at ten players left, and tomorrow, from 13:00 on, there will be the final table bubble. You can find our daily report HERE.
21 Oct - 02:15 - Last break: Mitija Rudolf jumps ahead, Chaowei out in 13th place
The floor manager has authorized a 10-minute break at the players' request. We are currently in the middle of level 25, with 12 players still in the tournament.
Just before the break, there was a huge pot for Mitija Rudolf, who won with K-K against Wu Chaoweiās J-J, propelling him to the top of the chip count with over 4 million chips. Hereās a breakdown of the hand: The player under the gun mistakenly places the blind amount on the table, thinking they were in the big blind. Mitija raises to 200,000, and the player to his immediate left goes all-in for about 50 big blinds.
The action returns to Mitija, who snap-calls with K-K. The board runs clean, and the Slovenian player becomes the new chip leader with 12 players remaining. Chaowei, on the other hand, is left with only 15,000 chipsābarely a quarter of the anteāand busts a few hands later.
21 Oct - 01:30 - Franz Dobler Kreibich busts Quilichini and is ahead at 14 left!
We are nearing the end of the 24th level of play here at the Main Poker Room of Casino Velden, where Day 2 of the Shark Bay Main Event occurs. Franz Dobler Kreibich has just eliminated Luca Quilichini, securing a massive pot that has propelled him to the top of the provisional chip count with 2,500,000 chips.
The hand saw Luca Quilichini (pic above) betting three streets with A-8s on J-8-5-x-x after a preflop raise and the BB defence from Franz Dobler Kreibich with A-J.
The current blinds are 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante, and the average stack is around 1,500,000 chips. The minimum payout is ā¬3,160. Fourteen players remain, all vying for a spot at the final table. After a quick round through the tables, we identified the top five stacks in play.
In second and third place are Norbert Hajos with 2.1M, who led Day 1B, and the second chip leader from Day 1B. In fifth place is Mitija Rudolf, who has climbed to 2,000,000 chips after closing Day 1E Turbo as the chip leader, having registered at the last possible minute. Further down the list is Thomas Winkler with 1.9 million, just outside the top five, followed by Goodluck with 1,700,000.
Franz Dobler Kreibich ā 2,500,000
JuanitoĀ ā 2,100,000
Norbert HajosĀ ā 2,100,000
MitijaĀ ā 2,000,000
Thomas WinklerĀ ā 1,900,000
Good luckĀ ā 1,700,000
The action will continue until the end of the 26th level or as soon as the field will go down to 9 players left.
21 Oct - 00:00 - Bubble bursts, Juanito in the lead!
We just witnessed a truly, truly long bubble phase at the Main Poker Room of Casino Velden. Day 2 of the Shark Bay Main Event has reached the money, sending 42 players into the payout zone with a minimum cash prize of ā¬1,400. It took 18 hands, or instead 18 showdowns, to finally burst the bubble.
Right after Pascal Dƶrflingerās elimination by Wu Chaowei in a 30% hand - A-J versus A-Q where the Big Stack hit two pairs with A-J to secure the knockout -, there were several eliminations, and we took a quick walk around the tables to assess the situation at the top of the chip counts.
The average stack is around 800,000 chips, with blinds at 20,000/40,000 and a 40,000 ante. The players have just gone on a 15-minute break, so play will resume shortly with 28 players left.Ā Ā
1. JuanitoĀ ā 1,750,000
2. GoodluckĀ ā 1,600,000
3. Franz Dobler KreibichĀ ā 1,500,000
4. Norbert HajosĀ ā 1,500,000
5. Giovanni GiomettiĀ ā 1,350,000
6. Thomas WinklerĀ ā 1,300,000
7. Mijita RudolfĀ ā 1,100,000
8. Lucas De PasqualinisĀ ā 1,000,000
20 Oct - 22:00 - First break at 68 left, De Pasqualin in the lead!
Another break at Day 2 of the Shark Bay Main Event, just before the ā¬1,400 bubble bursts, which will reward 42 players. Currently, 47 players remain in the competition.
Play will resume at the 10,000/20,000 level with a 20,000 ante after the chip race in about 15 minutes. The average stack is now 450,000 chips, and Lucas De Pasqualin is firmly in the lead with 1,200,000 chips, followed by Goodluck with 1,000,000. Below are the top 5 on chip counts at the moment:
1. Lucas De Pasqualinis - 1.2M
2. Good luck - 1M
3. Vlad D - 860K
4. Kevin Schnitzler - 800K
5. Franz Dobler Kreibich - 700K
20 Oct - 19:30 - First break at 68 left, De Pasqualin in the lead!
It was the first-day break for the 69 players remaining on Day 2 of the Shark Bay Main Event, out of 441 entries. Currently, Lucas De PasqualinĀ leads with approximately 900,000 chips, while the average stack is around 320,000. Here are the current top chip counts:
1. Lucas De PasqualinĀ ā 900,000
2. Markus PinterĀ ā 690,000
3. Franz Dobler KreibichĀ ā 700,000
4. Kevin SchnitzlerĀ ā 625,000
5. Sergey SotnikovĀ ā 600,000
6. JuanitoĀ ā 600,000
7. Luca QuilichiniĀ ā 540,000
8. Good luckĀ ā 520,000
As mentioned, the payout rewards 41 players with a minimum cash prize of ā¬1,400 and a first-place prize of ā¬40,000.
20 Oct - 17:30 - Day2 begins!
Here's the chip count (Top 25) at the start of Day2:
1. š©šŖ Kevin SchnitzlerĀ ā 724.000
2. šŖšø Juan VelascoĀ ā 630.000
3. š¦š¹ Lucas De PasqualinĀ ā 586.000
4. š¦š¹ Franz Dobler-KreibichĀ ā 576.000
5. š¦š¹ Gabriele JahnĀ ā 510.000
6. š¦š¹ Andreas GabrielĀ ā 500.000
7. š½š° Bashkim KryeziuĀ ā 487.000
8. š¦š¹ Norbert HajosĀ ā 473.000
9. š·šŗ Sergey SotnikovĀ ā 434.000
10. š¦š¹ Jan RuppnigĀ ā 433.000
11. š¦š¹ Kurt WidmannĀ ā 413.000
12. š¦š¹ Prot JerryĀ ā 380.000
13. šøš® Rudolf MitijaĀ ā 367.000
14. šš· Darko MecinovicĀ ā 350.000
15. š¦š¹ Martin LippitzĀ ā 328.000
16. š¦š¹ Nicola NaclerioĀ ā 318.000
17. š¦š¹ Lukas StreitĀ ā 315.000
18. š®š¹ Vlad DragoiĀ ā 299.000
19. š®š¹ Francesco SpinellaĀ ā 295.000
20. š¦š¹ RichĀ ā 286.000
21. š¦š¹ StromiĀ ā 278.000
22. š®š¹ Davide CojanizĀ ā 281.000
23. š¦š¹ Karl-Heinz ReinsbergerĀ ā 275.000
24. š®š¹ Luca QuiliciniĀ ā 269.000
25. š¬š§ Thomas SwainĀ ā 260.000
Payout Structure
20 Oct - 16:30 - End of late registration and last break!
We are at the last break of the day, with 46 players remaining out of 88 entries. After the break, the twelfth level will begin, with blinds at 2,000/4,000 and a 4,000 ante and the average stack sitting at 95,000 chips.
At the top of the chip count, Vlad D (his nickname,pic above) leads with approximately 300,000 chips, followed by Thomas Swain with 250,000 and Josef Orlitsch with 200,000. Miro KarlaŔ and Žan Kocman round out the provisional top 5. Two more levels of play will be completed before we can provide the full list of all players qualified for Day 2 of the Shark Bay Main Event.
Provisional Chip Count:
1. Vlad D ā 300,000
2. Thomas Swain ā 250,000
3. Josef Orlitsch ā 200,000
4. Miro KarlaÅ” ā 170,000
5. Žan Kocman ā 150,000
20 Oct - 15:15 - It's all set for Day1 E Turbo!
We are currently in the 9th level of play in the Main Booker Room at the Casino Velden, where Day 1 of the SharkBay Main Event, with a ā¬330 buy-in, is taking place. The blinds are 1K/2.5K with a 2.5K ante, and the average stack is 80,000 chips. So far, there have been 78 entries, with 49 players still active at the tables.
In addition to the current one, there are two more levels to register late. A total of 13 levels will be played, after which we will be able to provide the complete list of all players qualified for Day 2, coming from the five flights held so far.
Josef Orlitsch (pic above) leads with 160,000 chips and won a silver medal at the 1994 Paralympic Games. In second place is Thomas Swain with 150,000 chips, followed by Wissam Ouertani with 145,000. This situation is, of course, partial, and weāve only mentioned the top three stacks in play at the moment.
20 Oct - 12:00 - It's all set for Day1 E Turbo!
The poker room at Casino Velden is ready to host Day 1E of the SharkBay Main Event with a guaranteed prize pool of one million euros, which is about to begin.
So far, 74 players have already qualified for Day 2, starting at 5:30 PM. We are waiting to see how many more players will join those guaranteed to move on to the tournamentās second stage.
20 Oct - 04:30 - Lucas De Pasqualin is Day1 D chip leader!
With a 585.000 stack in chips, Austria's Lucas De Pasqualin took the lead on Day1 D and ended up ahead of the count! Here is the day's full report.
20 Oct - 02:30 - Late registration closed!
We are in the middle of the eleventh level of play, in the main hall of the Casino Velden, where Day 1 D of the Sharkbay Main Event is taking place. Blinds are 1,500/3,000 with a 3,000 ante.
27 players are remaining from the 87 registered participants, and this is the official number as late registration has just concluded. Play will continue for two more levels after the current one.
Currently, the average stack is 160,000 chips, and at the next break, which will be in about half an hour, we will be able to provide a partial count of the remaining players.
20 Oct - 00:30 - Third break on Day1 D!
Itās the third break of the day at Shark Bay Day 1D, andĀ 37 playersĀ remain out of 83 entries, as play continues at level 800-1600-1600.
At the moment, I have a stack of 110,000 chips, and with the next update, weāll be able to provide a recap of the largest stacks in play. In the meantime, letās enjoy a few snapshots from the Casino Velden poker room.
19 Oct - 23:30 - "Juanin" is Day1 C chip leader!
āJuanināĀ ended up ahead of the count after a true rollercoaster and is Day1 C chip leader with over 600K! All details, pictures, the chip leader's interview, and more will be shown in our daily report at THIS LINK! (will be available soon)
19 Oct - 21:30 - 36 left on Day1 C with 106 entries!
The eleventh level of play, the last one available for late registration here on Day 1C of the Shark Bay Main Event, is about to conclude, with 36 players still on the field. The blinds are 1,500/3,000 with a 3,000 ante, and the average stack has reached 147,000 chips. We quickly looked around the tables and identified the players performing best at this tournament stage.
Leading the pack is last nightās PLO winner, Stormi (pic above), with over 400,000 chips, followed by Widmann Kurt, with 350,000, who remains comfortably in the top position. Joining the Top 5 is Antonio Delucci, winner of the last IPO Novagorizzo, with approximately 220,000 chips, while Thomas Molnes holds steady with 240,000 chips. Schooner Gerhard is a new entry into the Top 5, sitting on 300,000 chips.
Top 5 Chip Counts:
1. Stormi ā over 400,000
2. Widmann Kurt ā 350,000
3. Schooner Gerhard ā 300,000
4. Thomas Molnes ā 240,000
5. Antonio Delucci; Jan Ruppnig ā 220,000
19 Oct - 20:30 - First break on Day1 D, Day1 C resumes!
As we write, Day 1C of the Shark Bay Main Event has resumed, with blinds at 600/2,000/2,000Ā and 48 players still in contention. Meanwhile,Ā Day 1DĀ has kicked off across the room, featuring 43 entriesĀ and 38 playersĀ at the tables.
The first break of the day has just ended for the second flight as well, meaning all players are back in action. Day 1C will continue for three more levels, while the second flight of the day, Day 1D, will go on late into the night.
19 Oct - 19:00 - Davide Cojaniz in the lead at the dinner break!
The 52 players still in contention on Day 1C of the Shark Bay Main Event have just gone on a one-hour dinner break. After the break, they will resume play at Level 1,000-2,000 with a 2,000 ante.
Just before the level ended, we witnessed Davide Cojaniz's brilliant hero call for a pot of over 200,000 chips, which allowed him to close the level as the chip leader with 310,000 chips.
We asked Davide to recount the spot: āI opened from Late Position with pocket 8s, and only the Big Blind defended. On a 9-4-5 rainbow flop, he decided to donk-bet. The turn was another 9, pairing the board, and he bet 25,000 into a 20,000 pot, so about 120% of the pot.
I thought about it for a bit, but since that 9 reduced the combinations of 9s he could have, I decided to just call, as I had done on the flop. The river was an irrelevant card, and he immediately shoved all-in, over-betting the pot.
I took some time to think about it, but in the end, I couldnāt develop a stronger hand than mine that would make this type of play, so I decided to call. And indeed, my opponent revealed Ace-5 offsuit.ā
Taking a quick glance at the top 5 chip counts, along with Davide Cojaniz at the top, we still see Widmann Kurt holding firm in second place with 220,000 chips, the previous chip leader from the last update.
Hereās the Top 5 at the end of Level 9:
1. Davide CojanizĀ ā 310K
2. Widmann KurtĀ ā 300K
3. Blueblack69Ā ā 280K
4. Thomas MolnesĀ ā 250K
5. Roland MeiĆlĀ ā 220K
19 Oct - 17:15 - Widmann Kurt ahead at the second break!
The sixth level of play is about to conclude here at the main poker room of Casino Velden, with 65 players out of 102 entries still competing on Day 1C of the Shark Bay Main Event. The current blinds are 500/1K with a 1K ante. After this level, there will be a 15-minute break, and play will resume at 1,600/1,200 with a 1,200 ante. Itās important to note that are still five levels left for late registration.
Taking a quick look at the largest stacks in play, Widmann Kurt leads the field with 220,000 chips (nearly four times the tournament average), followed by Roland Josef Meissl with approximately 200,000 and āRichā with 150,000.
Hereās the list of the top three in descending order by stack:
1. Widmann Kurt - 220,000
2. Roland Josef Meissl - 200,000
3. Rich - 150,000
19 Oct - 15:00 - 91 entries after the first break!
We have reached the fourth level of play here at the Main Poker Room of the Casino Velden, where players have returned from the first break of the day. Registrations have reached 91, with 76 playersĀ still in the field. They are currently playing at 300/600Ā with a 600 ante.
Many Italian players are at the tables, including Giorgio Silvestrin, Davide Cojaniz, Andrea Saftich (pic above), and many others. Since itās still early to provide an update on the chip counts, letās enjoy the first pictures of the day!