### Marian Virlanuta Dominates Day 2 of the $1,100 Eureka Main Event
Not often can a player maintain their position at the top of a tournament leaderboard throughout an entire poker day, but today, Romanian professional poker player **Marian Virlanuta** achieved just that. Starting as the chipleader of the **$1,100 Eureka Main Event**, he not only survived a grueling eight levels of play but also expanded his chip stack significantly, ending with an impressive 4,680,000 chips. This monumental achievement guarantees him 117 big blinds as he heads into Day 3.
### A Stellar Start in Cyprus
Virlanuta began Day 2 with a significant stack of 1,156,000 chips. From the get-go, he showcased his exceptional skills by avoiding bad beats and winning crucial flips, ultimately retaining the lead measured in chips throughout the day. As a Cyprus regular, Virlanuta has showcased his prowess at the **Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa** previously, finishing 34th in last year’s **$5,300 EPT Main Event** and securing $21,500, marking it as one of the largest scores of his career.
### The Competition Heats Up
Following Virlanuta, the second position in chips was claimed by **Georgios Tsouloftas**, a local player from Cyprus, who bagged a commendable 3,900,000 chips. The Russian team performed impressively as well, with **Igor Abelmasov** finishing third with 3,800,000 chips and **Andrey Pateychuk** closely behind in fourth with 3,700,000 chips. The top five was rounded out by Turkey’s **Muhtar Taysi**, having a stack of 3,170,000 chips – the only other player to cross the 3,000,000 mark.
### End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
Here’s a closer look at the top ten chip counts at the end of Day 2:
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|——|————————————|———————-|————|————|
| 1 | Marian Virlanuta | Romania | 4,680,000 | 117 |
| 2 | Georgios Tsouloftas | Cyprus | 3,900,000 | 98 |
| 3 | Igor Abelmasov | Russian Federation | 3,800,000 | 95 |
| 4 | Andrey Pateychuk | Russian Federation | 3,700,000 | 93 |
| 5 | Muhtar Taysi | Turkey | 3,170,000 | 79 |
| 6 | Alexey Badulin | Russian Federation | 2,960,000 | 74 |
| 7 | Guoliang Wei | China | 2,540,000 | 64 |
| 8 | Vladislav Dubanov | Russian Federation | 2,475,000 | 62 |
| 9 | Andre Marquardt | Germany | 2,400,000 | 60 |
| 10 | Sebastian Ting | Germany | 2,350,000 | 59 |
It was noteworthy that many skilled players made it through to Day 3, including international talents like **Martin Zamani** (2,090,000 chips) and **Michael Wang** (490,000 chips). Notable French player **Alexandre Reard** secured 1,400,000 chips, while last year’s Eureka Prague winner, **Pieter Theelen**, finished with 1,240,000 chips.
### Day 2 Action Recap
Day 2 kicked off with a total of 418 players returning from an initial field of 2,803. Each participant had already secured a minimum cash of $1,680, which some well-known players including **Aliaksei Boika**, **Bart Lybaert**, and **Sebastian Huber** failed to improve upon early in the day.
The day saw several notable eliminations, including PokerStars Red Spades members **Fintan Hand** and **Benjamin Spragg**, who faced their exits shortly after making a pay jump. Other players like **Georgina James** and **Barny Boatman** also faced elimination before the tournament began to intensify.
As the clock ticked down, high rollers such as **Diogo Coelho** and defending champion **Ankit Ahuja** wrap up their tournament run, finishing 362nd and 223rd respectively, but all eyes were firmly fixed on the remaining competitors as they prepared for the penultimate day.
### Onward to Day 3
As the dust settled on Day 2, only 56 players were left standing, all assured of at least $5,030 in prize money. The action will resume at noon local time on Sunday, October 13, where blinds will begin at 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 big blind ante, and all levels will last for 60 minutes. The strategy for Day 3 is clear: play down to the final table of nine players, with anticipation building towards the monumental first-place prize of **$386,210**.
### Remaining Payouts
Here’s a snapshot of the remaining payouts for the final stages of the event:
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|——-|———–|——-|———–|
| 1 | $386,210 | 12-13 | $22,950 |
| 2 | $241,290 | 14-15 | $19,120 |
| 3 | $172,060 | 16-17 | $15,900 |
| 4 | $132,120 | 18-20 | $13,260 |
| 5 | $101,390 | 21-23 | $11,050 |
| 6 | $78,770 | 24-27 | $9,190 |
| 7 | $60,850 | 28-31 | $7,670 |
| 8 | $46,600 | 32-39 | $6,660 |
| 9 | $35,840 | 40-55 | $5,780 |
| 10-11 | $27,560 | 56 | $5,030 |
Stay tuned to **PokerNews** as we bring updates on who will emerge victorious from this exciting event and stake their claim as one of the top players at EPT Cyprus.
