Nebojsa Musulin Comes Through to Finish Up Top; Defending Champion Bags Big

By Lisa Yiasemides

The second of three starting flights is in the books after eight hours of exciting poker here at Casino Spielbank Berlin. In total there were 370 entries (including re-entries), giving the cardroom a bustling feel from the start as the popularity of the event amongst players was apparent.

There were 118 players who survived and right until the very end, several of those were in contention for the chip lead. Once the chips had been counted though, Nebojsa “The Guess” Musulin was confirmed as the chip leader and he will bring through 221,500 to Day 2.

Coming in close second was Stefan Schulze with 214,000, whilst Predrag Vulovic (207,500), Eirimas Livonas (206,000) and Emre Nebipasagil (200,000) completed the top five.

Musulin was faring well midway through Level 12 but in the closing stages of the night, he put his stack to good use – applying pressure and scooping many small and medium-sized pots. That late-game aggression was effective, and his reward was a place at the top of the counts.

There were some big names who also made it through. Eyal Bensimhon (163,000), WPTDS Amsterdam Champion Felix Schulze (pictured) brings through 158,500, David Hu (152,000), Defending Champion Thomas Hofmann (146,000) will all return chipped up.

Gaelle Baumann (84,000), Johannes Toebbe (60,000), Georgios Vrakas (35,000) and Champions Club member Van Nguyen (21,000) will also return, albeit with less than the 94,000 average.

Unfortunately for some, the day didn’t go as well. WPTDS Champions Marc Goeschel and Sandro Pitzanti busted before time was called on the night. Joining them at the rail was Michal Mrakes, Emil Bise, Marcin Chmielewski, Artur Wasek and Paul van Oort, though some of those were spotted in the Day 1c Fast Chance and may still secure a seat for Day 2.

Speaking of which, all survivors will be back for more tomorrow at 2 pm local time, when Day 2 gets underway. Blinds will increase to 60 minutes and there will be a break at the end of every second level. There are 10 levels on the clock, which with the breaks included will mean an approximately 2 am finish.

Prize pool and payout information are yet to be confirmed as Day 1c is still in the late registration period, but those details will be provided as soon as they are available.

For now, it’s goodnight. Don’t forget to tune into WPT.com tomorrow where all the highs and lows of the Main Event will be reported on through the live updates page.