Xhavit Berisha Holds Massive Lead, Shawn Stroke Near the Top Heading to Day 2 of Event #5: €550 No-Limit Hold'em Colossus
Event #5: €550 No-Limit Hold’em Colossus at the 2023 World Series of Poker Europe certainly lived up to its billing.
Over the course of seven starting flights, a total of 3,436 players packed into King’s Resort in Rozvadov to chase the prestigious WSOP gold bracelet. Just 418 remain when Day 2 begins at 2 p.m. local time.
Xhavit Berisha set an early benchmark that no one came close to matching. Berisha built up a massive stack of 1,375,000 on Day 1a and enters Day 2 more than 500,000 clear of the rest of the field. Rohat Arikan (864,000), Alexandr Dusco (790,000), 2020 WSOP Main Event finalist Shawn Stroke (709,000), and Fernando Gomez (681,000) round out the top five.
Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xhavit Berisha | Kosovo | 1,375,000 | 172 |
| 2 | Rohat Arikan | Germany | 864,000 | 108 |
| 3 | Alexandr Dusco | Moldova | 790,000 | 99 |
| 4 | Shawn Stroke | United States | 709,000 | 89 |
| 5 | Fernando Gomez | Spain | 681,000 | 85 |
| 6 | Ilija Savevski | Macedonia | 645,000 | 81 |
| 7 | Guy Goossens | Belgium | 643,000 | 80 |
| 8 | Viacheslav Svyshchov | Ukraine | 589,000 | 74 |
| 9 | Siarhei Kaliankovich | Belarus | 576,000 | 72 |
| 10 | Candido Cappiello | Italy | 545,000 | 68 |
Other top stacks include three-time bracelet winner Anson Tsang (470,000), Event #1 runner-up Andras Balogh (413,000), Barny Boatman (348,000), Jason Wheeler (318,000), and 2021 Main Event finalist Jareth East (317,000). Towards the bottom of the leaderboard and with work to do to build up a stack are Martin Kabrhel (207,000), WSOP all-time cashes king Roland Israelashvili (160,000), Sebastian Langrock (144,000), 2023 bracelet winner Renji Mao (144,000), and Manig Loeser (107,000).
The action resumes on Level 19 with blinds of 4,000-8,000 and a 8,000 big blind ante. Day 2 consists of 14 levels of 40 minutes in duration. With an average stack worth just 25 big blinds at the start of the day, bustouts should come at a quick frenzy as players try to position themselves for a deep run toward the final table. Players are already in the money and guaranteed €1,065 out of a prize pool of €1,632,100. The eventual champion walks away with €200,000, with the top 14 finishers also earning a ticket into the WSOPE Main Event.
Day 2 will come to a close upon the completion of Level 33 or when 16 players remain, whichever comes first.
PokerNews is on hand following all the action and providing live updates as the field quickly whittles down chasing the gold bracelet