Who Will Become the Thirteenth PokerNews Cup Champion?
The final table of the PokerNews Cup Kulata �550 Main Event is ready to begin at 2 p.m. EEST at Finix Casino.
The field has trimmed down from 141 entrants to just eight getting ready to battle it out for the �25,080 top prize having already locked up �2,350 for their impressive runs thus far.
Greece's Panagiotis Panagiotidis, who finished Day 1c as the chip leader, will begin the day in the driver's seat with a monster stack of 1,586,000.
In addition to Panagiotidis, the other three opening flight chip leaders also managed to parlay their big stacks into a final table appearance with Day 1d chip leader Dimitrios Michailidis with a second-place stack of 1,247,000, the Day 1b chip leader Rosen Simeonov bagging a fourth-place stack of 952,000, and Day 1a chip leader Marian Ivanov entering the final day with a seventh-place stack of 331,000.
The brother of Michailidis, Spyridon Michailidis, began Day 2 on the same table as his brother and the same will take place tomorrow at the final table. Spyridon Michailidis has the most work cut out for him as he enters the day with the smallest stack of 277,000.
Other players advancing to the final table included Konstantin Aykov (third - 1,067,000), Achilleas Nomidis (fifth - 910,000), and Loukas Kioutsoukis (sixth - 679,000).
| Seat | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marian | Ivanov | Bulgaria | 331,000 |
| 2 | Rosen | Simeonov | Bulgaria | 952,000 |
| 3 | Loukas | Kioutsoukis | Greece | 679,000 |
| 4 | Konstantin | Aykov | Bulgaria | 1,067,000 |
| 5 | Spyridon | Michailidis | Greece | 277,000 |
| 6 | Panagiotis | Panagiotidis | Bulgaria | 1,586,000 |
| 7 | Dimitrios | Michailidis | Greece | 1,247,000 |
| 8 | Achilleas | Nomidis | Greece | 910,000 |
The final table will begin with the last six minutes of Level 21 with blinds at 8,000/16,000 and a big blind ante of 16,000 providing players an average stack of more than 55 big blinds before moving up to 10,000/20,000 and a big blind ante of 20,000.
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | Big Blind Ante |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 8,000 | 16,000 | 16,000 |
| 22 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| 23 | 10,000 | 25,000 | 25,000 |
| 24 | 15,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| 25 | 20,000 | 40,000 | 40,000 |
| 26 | 25,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 |
| 27 | 30,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 |
| 28 | 40,000 | 80,000 | 80,000 |
| 29 | 50,000 | 100,000 | 100,000 |
| 30 | 60,000 | 120,000 | 120,000 |
Sarah Herring gives some insight on the Final 8 players.
Stay tuned to PokerNews to find out who will become the thirteenth winner of the PokerNews Cup Main Event.
*Images courtesy of Katerina Lukina.