The first two starting flights of the PokerStars Open (PSO) Campione €1,100 Main Event provided a busy day at Casino di Campione. The start of Day 1a was delayed by 30 minutes as dozens of people were still in line at registration, eager to jump in from the very start. Due to the huge interest, an extra level was added to the starting days as well, resulting in a later-night finish at 3 a.m. local time.
At the end of the day, Day 1a reached a tally of 644 entries, covering well over half of the €1,000,000 guarantee on its own. Evening flight Day 1b added another 163 entries, bringing the total to 807 with two more flights remaining.
Topping 184 surviving players of Day 1a when play concluded after 11 levels of play was Darius Neagoe. Neagoe started to appear among the leaders halfway through the day but really found his stride in the late hours and ended up with a stack of 417,000 on the hunt for his first PokerStars trophy. Neagoe's stack equals nearly 14 starting stacks and a massive 348 big blinds at the start of Day 2.
Following Neagoe in close proximity is Terrance Reid. Reid told PokerNews that he made a last-minute decision to book a transatlantic flight and play PSO Campione. His impulse rewarded him with a stack of 413,500 as he is looking for his first cash on European soil. Meanwhile, Polish player Sebastian Kotowicz sits in third with 398,600, while regular Pascal Pflock also found his way in the top ten with a stack of 218,100.
End of Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darius Neagoe | Romania | 417,000 | 348 |
| 2 | Terrance Reid | United States | 413,500 | 345 |
| 3 | Sebastian Kotowicz | Poland | 398,600 | 332 |
| 4 | Ioannis Salonikis | Greece | 295,900 | 247 |
| 5 | Ettore Cuzzone | Italy | 251,600 | 210 |
| 6 | Alice Sicconi | Italy | 249,200 | 208 |
| 7 | Benyamin Canatan | Denmark | 230,600 | 192 |
| 8 | Pascal Pflock | Germany | 218,100 | 182 |
| 9 | Luigi Guida | Italy | 217,700 | 181 |
| 10 | Marcin Kacprzak | Poland | 213,900 | 178 |
Other notables to make it through on Day 1a include Gabi Livshitz (170,000), Alexandre Reard (168,000), Alessandro Pichierri (130,800), Fabio Peluso (126,200), Arsenii Karmatckii (109,500), and Ivan Banic (67,200).
PokerStars Ambassador Barny Boatman was one of the players who sat down at the start of the day, but he was eliminated halfway through and opted to enter Day 1b instead. He ended among the 66 players left at the end of that day, with David Nir obtaining a huge chip lead with 347,400, bagging nearly twice as much as anyone else.
End of Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Nir | Israel | 347,400 | 290 |
| 2 | Antonio Bernaudo | Italy | 176,100 | 147 |
| 3 | Paola Cibelli | Italy | 154,300 | 129 |
| 4 | Alex Ferragina | Italy | 148,200 | 124 |
| 5 | Francesco Delfoco | Italy | 144,000 | 120 |
| 6 | Xia Lin | China | 139,800 | 117 |
| 7 | Balazs Ujvari | Hungary | 133,400 | 111 |
| 8 | Igor Ripamoti | Italy | 129,800 | 108 |
| 9 | George Iota | Italy | 128,400 | 107 |
| 10 | Thomas Hofmann | Switzerland | 121,700 | 101 |
Other players making it through the evening flight include Slovenian superstar Blaz Zerjav (46,400) and Boatman's fellow Red Spade Julien Brecard (25,500).
The likes of Vivian Saliba, Vanessa Kade, and Team GRND streamer Felix Schneiders did not make it through to Day 2, but they can try again tomorrow, as the last two starting flights are scheduled to take place.
Day 1c will commence at 1 p.m. with 60-minute levels, while Day 1d kicks off at 8 p.m. and has levels of 20 minutes. Both days will play 11 levels, at the end of which the survivors will bag up for Day 2, which will take place Friday, March 14. Both days have the option for unlimited reentries, while the late registration will close after the first level of Day 2.
Check back in with PokerNews tomorrow for the final two starting flights as the turnout for PSO Campione continues to surpass all expectations.
