BC Masters #45

The 45th Banco Casino Masters is down to its last chance to qualify, and the €250,000 guarantee is still not secured. More than €30,000 is needed to reach the target, meaning the final starting flight carries significant weight for the series.

That final flight begins at 10:00 AM at Banco Bratislava. Players entering it will be fighting for the remaining seats in Day 2, with the guarantee still officially unmet until the last entries are counted.

PLO Masters Title Goes to Finland

The PLO Masters, the Omaha variant on the schedule, played out its final day with a €15,000 guarantee. Open registration through the first three levels of the final day helped push the field past that number, and the entry counter closed at 65 entries.

The overall champion was Finnish player Eetu Juhani Kajanto, who turned a €250 investment into a €4,590 score. The result sends the PLO Masters trophy to Finland.

Saturday Flights Draw Strong Turnout

Saturday was among the busiest days of the series. Play for advancement began at noon, with one of three flights starting at 12:00 PM. Across the three Saturday flights, 429 entries were recorded, and 43 players locked up their places for Day 2.

The top three players from each flight shared a total of €2,600 through the Chipleader Bonuses. Even with that volume, the overall guarantee remains short by more than €30,000.

Main Event Chip Counts

The published chip counts from the recent starting flights show the current leaders heading into Day 2.

Flight 1G (190 entries)

• Denis Ciobanas (Moldova) – 987,000
• Dmytro Shubin (Ukraine) – 807,000
• Oleksandr Braynin (Ukraine) – 746,000
• Raul Mihai Ganea (Romania) – 604,000
• Michael Markus Kopietz (Germany) – 566,000
• Koen Isebaert (Belgium) – 536,000
• Wolfgang Fogar (Austria) – 456,000
• Harald Redl (Austria) – 447,000
• Dusan Gajdos (Slovakia) – 442,000
• Radoslaw Jan Wielewicki (Poland) – 353,000
• Dmytro Lastivka (Ukraine) – 352,000
• Philippe Nicolas Olko (Poland) – 291,000
• Markus Ganglbauer (Austria) – 266,000
• Andrew Jonathan Ward (England) – 142,000
• Daniel Vertes (Hungary) – 135,000
• Bel Mondo (Austria) – 134,000
• Andrea Ligas (Italy) – 132,000
• Jozsef Keskeny (Romania) – 119,000
• Nikos Nikolaou (Greece) – 112,000

Flight 1H (173 entries)

• Cheng Wei Yin (Belgium) – 1,442,000
• Antonino Karman (Hungary) – 933,000
• Peter Bodis (Hungary) – 767,000
• Grzegorz Ru Nicki To Asz (Poland) – 642,000
• Marvin Worner (Germany) – 490,000
• Claudio Serra (Italy) – 384,000
• Andrzej Piotr Porczak (Poland) – 325,000
• Tugay Kiziltan (Austria) – 295,000
• Wasana Bunyarak (Italy) – 274,000
• David Dolak (Czech Republic) – 264,000
• Milosz Sebastian Siedlecki (Poland) – 256,000
• Lorenzo Riva (Italy) – 192,000
• Aharon Arbeli (Israel) – 183,000
• Boyan Boyanov Toshev (Bulgaria) – 162,000
• Mihai Cadar (Romania) – 159,000
• Zisis Ionannis (Greece) – 153,000

Flight 1I Turbo (66 entries)

• Romain Christophe Gerard Bonicel (France) – 817,000
• Mats (Sweden) – 589,000
• Alexandru Bogdan Nitu (Romania) – 469,000
• Roman Sun (Slovakia) – 349,000
• Matus Gabzdil (Slovakia) – 261,000
• Luis Alejandro Mata (Venezuela) – 117,000
• Amir Karousi (Austria) – 39,000

What Happens Next

Day 2 unfolds at Banco Bratislava, narrowing the field down to those who will advance to the finale. Before that, the last flight of the Masters Main Event starts at 10:00 AM, determining the final group of players for the deciding day.

The schedule also includes the popular Mystery Bounty, and in the PLAYZONE Banco more tickets will be up for grabs. Players can also qualify for the event online.

For those chasing the remaining prize pool, the final flight is the last direct route into Day 2. The guarantee situation means every entry matters, and the series will only know its final overlay position once the last card is dealt in the starting phase.