Zhong Chen Leads After COLOSSUS Day 1a
A total of 143 entries have been counted on Day 1a of the 2019 WSOPE COLOSSUS, and just 15 players will be advancing after an opening flight full of action. The top 22 were in the money and the remaining players are led by Dutch player Zhong Chen (587,000), the only player over the half-million mark.
Chen is a regular player at King's resort and has already cashed this festival in Event #9: €1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha/No-Limit Hold'em Mix for a 19th place finish.
Zhong is followed in the counts by Yusuf Azaroglu (352,000) and Alessandro Laubinger (351,000) who completes the podium. Eyal Bensimhon, long time chipleader of the tournament today, lost a huge pot on the last hand and will come back on day 2 with 265,000.
Here is a full list of those advancing:
| Name | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| Zhong Chen | Netherlands | 587,000 |
| Yusuf Azaroglu | Germany | 352,000 |
| Alessandro Laubinger | Germany | 351,000 |
| Aleksandr Merzhvinskii | Russia | 317,000 |
| Alessio Casiraghi | Italy | 265,000 |
| Eyal Bensimhon | Israel | 265,000 |
| Roland Israelashvili | United States | 252,000 |
| Thomas Schulze | Germany | 235,000 |
| Mark Ioli | United States | 219,000 |
| Oldrich Chyle | Czech Republic | 155,000 |
| Robert Wirth | Germany | 153,000 |
| Jakub Rampas | Czech Republic | 135,000 |
| Ernestas Lisauskas | Lithuania | 107,000 |
| Maximilian Ecki | Germany | 101,000 |
| Christian Kindl | Germany | 81,000 |
There was a glut of WSOP talent at the tables early on Day 1A of the COLOSSUS, with multiple bracelet winners Daniel Negreanu, Chris Ferguson, Robert Campbell, Shaun Deeb at the tables. The 2018 WSOPE bracelet winner Anson Tsang and the 2015 WSOP Main Event finalist Pierre Neuville also made an appearance. However, none of them made it into Day 2.
With just 22 players making the cash it didn't take long for the field to whittle itself down, and here are the players who made the money on Day 1a after Diana Volcovishi got eliminated at the bubble:
| Position | Name | Country | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Ongbin Guo | Chine | €865 |
| 17 | Michael Strauss | Germany | €865 |
| 18 | Rinat Tulepbergenov | Kazastan | €788 |
| 19 | Ion Naicu | Romania | €788 |
| 20 | Franz Haid | Germany | €788 |
| 21 | Viktor Blom | Sweden | €788 |
| 22 | Remus Ciubotaru | Germany | €788 |
Stay tuned to PokerNews.com to catch all the action from the remaining eight starting flights of THE COLOSSUS live from King's Resort.
offsuit and was facing 
. It checked to Mahmoodi who bet 5,500 and Bensimhon called before Negreanu pushed all-in for 35,000. Mahmoodi tanked before calling and Bensimhon tossed a pile of 5,000 chips in front of him, signifying a raise tà 106,500. Mahmoodi ended up folding, showing 
.
hit the turn. "You really are very lucky!" replied Negreanu laughing. 
completed the board and the players shook their hands before Negreanu left the tournament area, busted one more time by Bensimhon after his elimination from the main event.
and Kortas checked to Gentile who shoved for 19,600. Kortas ended up calling and the three players flipped over their cards:
but a 
, giving Gentile what he needed to take down the pot while Tsang made his way to the exit.
in a three-way pot when a first player bet and Antonio Turrisi shoved next to him. Eyal Bensimhon tanked for a minute and tossed a pile of 5,000 chips in front of him, putting the first player at risk, who made the call. The latter called and they revealed their cards:
turn didn't change anything but a 
hit the river, giving the flush to Bensimhon who elimianted two players in the same hand.
