The 2023 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event is in full gear at King's Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, where Romania's Dumitru Pora and Georgia's Levan Rcheulishvili emerged as the leaders of the tourney's two opening-day flights. Pora topped Friday's Day 1a opener by amassing 729,700 in chips, which was good for the overall lead as well, while Rcheulishvili's 586,800 count rode high in Saturday's Day 1B flight.
Pora has never won a bracelet in his WSOP career, which currently consists of 15 cashes worth a total of about $210,000. His best career WSOP cash came in a WSOP Online event in 2021, Event #25 of the WSOP's Online International series, LUCKY SEVENS No-Limit Hold'em, where he finished as the runner-up for $140,394.
Pora's best live cash to date came just a few weeks ago, in a mystery-bounty event at EPT Cyprus. Pora finished fourth in that tourney, for a $102,600 score. His current stack has him well-positioned to make a deep run here, as he topped the 359 survivors of Day 1A's total 557-entry flight.
With 359 players already returning from the Day 1A flight, the Day 1B turnout was significantly smaller. Only 120 new entries were logged on the day, as many players not alredy returning to a Day 1 stack opted for an off day before re-entering or late-entering on Day 2.
Seventy-seven of the day's 120 total entrants remained in action as Saturday's seven two-hour levels came to a close, and Georgia's Rcheulishvili still managed to amass a 586,800 stack, good for second overall among all Day 1 players. Rcheulishvili has cashed three times already at the 2023 WSOP Europe. Prior to that, his only WSOP score was an International Circuit ring-event victory, also at King's Casino, last January. American pro David Miscikowski was the only other Day 1B player to make the combined Day 1 top ten, as his 448,900 stack was good for fifth overall, as eight of the top ten stacks entering today's Day 2 emerged from the Day 1A flight.
Prize-pool guarantee already met
The solid turnouts for both opening-day flights meant the main event's €5,000,000 prize-pool guarantee was topped with ease. The combined 677 entries from the Day 1A and 1B flights meant that €6,431,500 had already been generated into the prize pool.
However, registration continues for the tourney well into Sunday, and unlike the WSOP's freezeout-style Main Event each summer in Las Vegas, the WSOP Europe main allows re-registration. Whether a player enters for the first time on Sunday as a late registrant or re-enters after busting, that player will have nearly nine hours after the first cards are dealt to join the action. Registration will finally close after Day 2's first four two-hour levels are complete and the day's dinner break has concluded.
The top ten chip counts of players who bagged chips on either Day 1A or Day 1B are as follows, led by Romania's Pora:
Player (Country) - Chip Count
- Dumitru Pora (Romania) - 729,700
- Levan Rcheulishvili (Georgia) - 586,800
- Axel Hallay (France) - 577,000
- Keneshka Kabir (Germany) - 509,000
- David Miscikowski (United States) - 448,900
- Eusebiu Jalba (Romania) - 430,000
- Francisco Benitez (Uruguay) - 429,900
- Leon Sturm (Germany) - 429,700
- Fabian Gumz (Germany) - 402,600
- Martin Ilavsky (Slovakia) - 383,300
