8 Max Survivor 2K Bounty to ITM ($1,000)

The initial flight for the $200,000 guaranteed 8 Max Survivor games drew in a total of 136 entries, and played down to ITM at 17 players. India's Ankit Wadhawan capped the day with the lead, having ran hot in the last hour of play.

Wadhawan set the bar high for the two final flights with a staggering 970,000 chip count onto the next round. The Indian pro firstly caught a double up off compatriot Vishal Ojha, and bagged another one just minutes later off Raffaele Sorrentino. Wadhawan's momentum didn't stop there as he picked up the biggest boost of the day after delivering Karan Sitlani's bubble elimination with pocket kings. In addition to his advantage, Wadhawan has already secured three $2K bounty tokens, earning him a 6x return on his entry fee right on Day 1.

Joining Wadhawan in the top ranks, yet at quite a distance are Hyunkyou Park with 495,000, and Robert Kiss with 479,000. All Day 1A survivors are already guaranteed a portion of the prize pool, and are set to return to the felt on Thursday, February 13 for the final battle.

Players who missed to make the cut have until tomorrow, February 12, to jump in, with two heats - Day 1B (30 minute levels) and Day 1C (25 minute levels), available on schedule.

8 Max Survivor 2K Bounty

Date/s: February 11-13, 2025

Buy-in: $1,000

Guarantee: $200,000

Day 1A: 136 entries, 17 qualified

Day 1B: Wednesday, February 12

Day 1C: Wednesday, February 12

Day 2 /Final: Thursday, February 13

Karan Sitlani opened utg+1 and stuffed his entire 369,000 (46 BB) against Ankit Wadhawan's button raise. Wadhawan gladly obliged with pocket kings, leaving his opponent in rough shape.

No help for Sitlani arrived on board 9♦ 7♠ 2♠ 4♥ 6♥ , extending Wadhawan's lead further right in time as the day's close.

Takashi Hirukawa opened utg+1 and went on to fourbet jam against Johan Lees's raise behind. Lees called off for his 105,000 and was at risk right on bubble time.

Tabling the same hand, board 5♥ 8♦ 6♣ 7♥ 4♠ offered a split pot for both, keeping the Day 1A count still at 18 players.

The tournament clock has been paused with 18 players remaining seated across the Day 1A games. One more elimination is due before the flight wraps up, 17 survivors of which are guaranteed a payday.

Three more players have since fallen out of the Day 1A running, with Hyunkyou Park, Ankit Wadhawan, and Fabian Rolli picking up $2K bounty prizes.

Pham Bao open shoved utg+1 and saw Luc Ramos call off for his last 33,000 (6 BB) on the small blind.

Ramos behind, failed to catch up on board J♦ 4♠ 3♥ 7♥ 3♦ , sending him out a few spots short of making Day 2.

Ankit Wadhawan fired a 36,000 three bet against an utg open and saw Raffaele Sorrentino click back to 75,000 on the button. Wadhawan responded with an all-in for 238,000 (40 BB), snap called by Sorrentino with the ladies.

A crucial flip, Wadhawan paired up his overcards on board J♣ 3♦ 8♣ K♣ 8♥ , shipping the 80 big blind pot his way as well as the overall lead across Day 1A.

Harsh Bubna open shoved his last 90,000 (15 BB) on the cutoff, and was looked up by Vishal Ojha on the small blind.

In for a race, Ojha managed to recover some chips after board K♥ Q♥ 7♦ 8♦ 4♣ landed him two pair to take it down.

On the next deal, Vishal Ojha opened utg and was once again met with an all-in, this time from Raffaele Sorrentino for 153,000 (25 BB). Ojha put in the call, in search of a bounty token.

Board 9♦ T♥ Q♥ A♥ Q♣ however, ran a boat for Sorrentino, costing Ojha yet another chunk off his stack.

Ankit Wadhawan risked his last 113,000 (19 BB) preflop and was looked up by initial raiser Vishal Ojha.

Wadhawan in great form, easily bagged the double up as board K♣ Q♦ 8♥ 2♥ Q♠ kept him ahead from start to finish.

Tuan Hung Nguyen opened utg and gladly called of Kabir Tandon's jam for 180,000 (30 BB).

Tandon in trouble, found some hope on the turn 5♦ 8♦ 9♥ 6♦ with a fourth diamond potentially giving him the win. River 2♠ however, sealed his fate, leaving him out empty-handed.

Robert Kiss opened utg+1 and was met with a 48,000 three bet from Adrien Berger on the small blind. Kiss responded with an all-in, pushing Berger out of the pot successfully.

Hyunkyou Park opened utg and went on to four bet jam against Kaifan Wang's raise right behind. Wang happily obliged, putting his 168,000 (33 BB) stack in the middle.

Wang in no sweat, locked in the win as board 8♥ 8♦ 4♦ 2♥ 2♦ kept his premium pair ahead all the way.

Vishal Ojha opened utg, followed by a raise to 27,500 from Harsh Bubna. Karan Sitlani squeezed all-in on the big blind for 176,500 (35 BB), and saw Ojha push likewise. Bubna got out of the way, leaving the two to run the cards.

Sitlani ahead, secured the hefty boost as his pocket pair held on board Q♣ Q♥ 6♦ 7♠ K♦ .

Ziad Zebib pushed his last 37,500 (7 BB) on the hijack and saw Josip Simunic right behind, shove likewise for a bigger 75,000 (15 BB). Adrien Berger on the button put in the final call, making it a three way showdown.

Board 8♥ 5♣ Q♣ 8♠ 3♦ landed trip eights for Simunic, earning him a hefty boost and Zebib's bounty token to boot.

Xin Yuan opened on the hijack and called Cecil Moagi's all-in for 80,500 (16 BB).

Yuan a huge favorite, banked the first $2K bounty token of the day as board 8♦ 2♦ Q♠ 3♥ T♠ left Moagi in shambles.

Johan Lees opened on the hijack and called Nikolai Guliaev's short stack all-in for 30,500 (6 BB).

Gunning for overcards, Guliaev found none on board 5♥ 5♦ 7♣ J♣ 4♥ , leaving the rest of the 27 players onto the knockout phase.

Action is currently on bubble time with one more elimination to go before the knockout phase begins. $2K bounty tokens will be distributed once the field is down to 27 runners.

Tom Maguire opened utg and called off Vincent Albert's all-in for 84,500 (17 BB).

Albert dominated, bound for the exit after failing to catch up on board A♦ 7♣ 2♥ Q♣ T♠ .

Victor Fryda opened 10,000 on the cutoff and saw Harsh Bubna come along on the button.

On board J♦ Q♦ A♣ T♦ , Fryda double barreled - 10,000 and 30,000, and left Bubna nowhere to go but out by the turn.

Luc Ramos pushed his last 46,000 (9 BB) on the small blind and was called by Ihor Yerofieiev right behind.

Flipping for his tournament life, Ramos managed to carry on as his pocket pair kept ahead all the way through board J♥ T♣ 9♣ 7♦ 5♣ .

Action folded to Maulik Shukla on the small blind, pushing him to shove his last 76,000 (15 BB) in. Hongru Zhang right behind, rose to the challenge, putting his opponent at risk.

Shukla dominated, found some hope with straight outs on flop K♦ T♠ 7♥ , but bricked runout 2♦ J♠ entirely, eliminating him from the qualifier.

Adrien Berger opened utg+1 and called a 26,000 three bet from Max Deveson behind.

On flop 9♣ 4♠ 3♦ , Berger check called another 21,000, and arrived at showdown shortly after no more bets went in on either turn 2♦ or river 2♥ .

Berger showed A♣ Q♣ and won the pot with ace-high.

Four more eliminations are due before 8 Max Survivor action enters its knockout phase. Bounty tokens will be given out once the field is down to 20% at 27 players.

Somashekar Nahadeva open jammed his last 27,000 (7 BB) on the cutoff and was looked up by Johan Lees right behind.

Nahadeva in rough shape, bound for the exit just as board J♥ T♦ J♦ 2♥ 6♦ felted no sevens.

Xin Yuan opened 8,000 on the cutoff, called behind by Kaifan Wang.

Yuan continued for 9,000 on flop J♣ 6♣ 3♦ , yet check folded on turn 3♥ after Wang went for 17,000.

With a pot of 57,000 already seen in the middle across board K♣ 9♦ K♠ 3♥ , Thi Hue Dang made an attempt for it with a bet of 20,000. Tom Maguire on the big blind, check jammed for 22,000 more, leaving Dang priced in to call.

Maguire K♥ 7♣

Dang Q♦ T♦

River A♥ bricked for Dang, earning Maguire a full payday while Dang dropped down to ten big blinds.

Hongru Zhang opened on the cutoff and called a 23,000 three bet from Huntae Choi right behind.

Action on board 2♣ 2♦ 9♥ J♦ Q♣ was checked all the way down to the river, where Choi gunned for a final 42,000. Zhang looked him up and mucked as Choi revealed two pair K♠ Q♦ .

Josip Simunic fired a 20,000 three bet against an open and saw chip leader Vishal Ojha complete.

On flop A♥ 2♥ 5♥ , Ojha check called a small 7,000 cbet, and went ahead to lead all-in on turn K♦ . Simunic surrendered and shot down to 9 BBs.

Xin Yuan opened on the hijack and called a 15,000 three bet from Kaifan Wang on the button.

Action on board T♥ 9♥ 2♠ K♣ 7♠ was checked down to the river, where Wang overbet all-in. Yuan didn't hesitate to get out of the way, shipping Wang the pot unchallenged.

Max Deveson launched a 16,000 three bet on the button against an open and saw David Kozma on the small blind, push for 111,000 total. Initial raiser got out of the way and Kozma made the call for a showdown.

Dominated, Kozma exited the arena shortly after failing to improve on board 8♦ 2♦ 5♣ J♣ 8♣ .

Facing a late position open and a call, Xin Yuan squeezed to 22,500 on the small blind, and saw Daniel Bushell complete on the button.

No slowplay was left on the table as Yuan went ahead and led all-in on flop T♥ 8♦ 9♠ . Bushell snap called for his remaining 31,000 with two pair T♣ 9♣ , crushing Yuan's top pair K♣ T♠ all the way through turn 2♣ and river 6♦ .

A button vs blind battle saw Suguru Sawada risk his last 26,500 (9 BB), only to run smack into Tom Verbruggen's big blind special.

No help for Sawada arrived on board 9♥ J♥ 5♦ 8♣ 6♠ , busting him out of today's running.

Andres Vasquez opened utg+1 and went on to four bet jam his entire 62,300 (25 BB) against Fabian Rolli's button raise. Rolli called off, risking half his stack.

Running a flip, Rolli spiked a pair on board 7♥ 9♥ 2♠ Q♦ J♠ , earning him the boost while Vasquez headed for the rails.

Nikolai Guliaev opened 5,000 utg and Thang Hung Nguyen completed on the big blind.

On flop A♦ K♣ K♦ , Guliaev continued for 7,500, check called by his opponent. Both checked turn 5♦ through to river 3♥ , where Nguyen led a final bet of 13,000. Guliaev paid the price and mucked as Nguyen showed trip kings K♥ T♣ .

Jun Li defended his big blind against Huntae Choi's 5,000 hijack open, and faced a 3,000 cbet on flop 7♣ 7♠ Q♠ . Li responded with a check raise to 10,000, and followed with another 15,000 on turn Q♣ .

Choi called down both streets, and went on to bet all-in on river K♥ , checked to him. Li surrendered, opting to save his twelve big blinds behind.

Kaifan Wang open shoved 29,000 (12 BB) utg+1, called by Jean Dufour behind. Daniel Bushell on the big blind, likewise risked his lesser 16,700 (6 BB) for a three way showdown.

Bushell in luck, found his one outer right on board 5♦ A♥ T♠ 3♥ K♥ , earning him a full triple up while Wang claimed the side pot to continue on.

Robert Kiss opened 5,000 on the hijack and saw Patrik Selin come along on the small blind.

On flop Q♦ T♦ 8♣ , Kiss continued for 12,000 and snap called 64,000 more following an all-in from Selin.

Selin K♦ J♦

Kiss Q♣ T♠

Gunning for straight outs, none came on either turn 4♣ or river 6♥ , eliminating Selin from the D1A games.

A three way all-in situation ensued with Robert Kiss in great shape to deliver a double bust with pocket kings, covering both Nikesh Chawla (54,500) and Maulik Shukla (26,300).

Board A♥ 6♣ J♠ 4♠ 7♠ however, came ace-high, securing Shukla the main pot for a triple up while Kiss took the side pot to cut his losses.

Andres Vasquez fired a 11,000 three bet against an early open and saw Pham Bao behind pad it further to 22,000. Initial raiser opted out and Vasquez shelled out the other 11,000.

Action on board 6♣ 5♣ 4♦ 2♠ 2♦ was checked all the way down to the river, where Vasquez led a bet of 16,000. Pham uninterested, snap folded, giving Vasquez the win with no showdown.

Apoorva Goel completed his big blind vs Johan Lees' utg 4,500 open, and went on to check jam 19,200 in on flop 7♦ 3♠ Q♦ . Lees called off with a flush draw, putting Goel at risk.

Goel Q♣ 9♠

Lees K♦ T♦

Gunning for a third diamond, Lees found one on runout 4♦ Q♠ , leaving Goel instantly drawing dead by the turn.

Kabir Tandon opened utg and called off Shanhui Li's 40,000 all-in (20 BB).

In for a flip, Li bowed out shortly after Tandon immediately spiked two pair on board A♠ J♥ 3♦ 5♥ K♥ .

Pham Bao opened utg and called a 15,000 three bet from Nikolai Guliaev on the cutoff.

On board Q♦ J♥ 2♣ 9♣ , Pham took initiative and went ahead to lead both streets - 7,000 and 25,000. Guliaev called the first bet but gave it up after Pham showed no signs of slowing down.

Tom Verbruggen opened 4,000 midposition and was joined by both Josip Simunic and Huntae Choi on the blinds.

On flop J♦ T♥ T♠ , Verbruggen continued for 3,000, called firstly by Josip Simunic. Choi on the other hand, went for a 16,000 check raise, and saw only Simunic complete.

Both checked turn 2♠ through to river 8♠ , where Simunic led 8,000. Choi made it 23,500, giving Simunic a chance to escape.

Three players have since cracked the 200K mark with Harsh Bubna leading the charge mid way through Level 11.

The initial flight of the $200,000 guaranteed 8 Max Survivor games is officially closed for registration, with a total of 136 entries locked in following nine levels of play. Nearly half the field has been dusted, leaving only 73 players holding on to their seats.

Action will continue down to ITM at 17 players (12.5% of the field), with the knockout format coming into play once 20% remain at 27 runners.

8 Max Survivor 2K Bounty

Date/s: February 11-13, 2025

Buy-in: $1,000

Guarantee: $200,000

Day 1A: 136 entries, 17 ITM

Day 1B: Wednesday, February 12

Day 1C: Wednesday, February 12

Day 2 /Final: Thursday, February 13

With a pot of 18,000 already in the middle across board 5♠ 8♣ A♠ 4♦ , Nikolai Guliaev continued with an overbet of 25,000, and snap called for his remaining 46,000 after Peter Manic check jammed from the big blind.

Manic A♦ 4♠

Guliaev 4♥ 4♣

Crushed against a set, Manic lost two thirds of his stack as river 7♦ failed to save him from his demise.

Trung Ha Nguyen fired a three bet against an early open, and saw Karan Sitlani on the button bump it up further to 10,000. Initial raiser got out of the way, leaving Nguyen to raise all-in for 36,800. Sitlani completed, putting his Viet opponent at risk.

A pocket pair showdown, Sitlani's better holdings kept ahead all the way through board Q♠ 3♠ 4♣ A♣ 3♣ , ending Nguyen's run completely.

A blind vs blind battle between Ali Hassan and Vishal Ojha built a sizeable pot of 76,400 in the middle preflop.

Hassan continued for 9,000 on flop T♦ A♦ 9♣ , called by his opponent onto turn T♣ . Both checked it through to river K♣ , where Hassan led all-in. Ojha opted out and decided to save his 50 big blinds behind.

Hassan showed 4♦ as he raked in the pot.

Peter Manic defended his cutoff open and called a 7,500 three bet from Nikolai Guliaev on the small blind.

Guliaev continued for 5,000 on flop Q♣ 2♣ 5♦ and put in 7,000 more following a raise from Manic. Both checked down turn T♣ and river 4♣ , revealing Guliaev's ace-high A♥ K♦ , no good against Manic's pair of fives 5♥ 3♥ .

With a pot of 18,200 centered around board 3♦ 3♠ 9♠ Q♦ , Takashi Hirukawa fired a hefty bet of 13,000, and snap called 15,000 more after Peter Kiem check jammed from the big blind.

Kiem Q♠ J♠

Hirukawa K♥ K♠

Kiem at risk, found none of his outs appear on river 6♥ , knocking him out of the Day 1A running entirely.

Frank Lillis opened utg, followed by a raise to 5,500 from Michael Falcon. Vincent Albert on the small blind, cold four bet to 22,000 and was met with two all-ins - Lillis (31,900) and Falcon (37,500). Albert put in the final call, making it a three way showdown.

Francisco Sanchez opened 3,000 on the button and was met with a three bet to 8,000 from Tuan Hung Nguyen on the big blind. Sanchez padded it further to 18,000, and Nguyen completed.

On flop 6♦ 8♦ 8♣ , Sanchez fired a small bet of 9,000, enough to get Nguyen off the action straight away.

A board of 5♦ 6♣ A♥ K♦ K♣ was spread out on the felt with a pot of 40,000 piled high right beside. Adam Monaghan checked to Tom Verbruggen, who pushed all-in for his remaining 27,000.

Monaghan called off with A♣ 8♣ , and booked the loss as Verbruggen showed a better kicker A♦ Q♥ .

Action folded to Tom Maguire on the small blind, pushing him to raise 3,500. Lewis Cowell right behind made the call, and called another 2,700 on flop K♣ 2♠ 6♥ . Both checked turn 3♠ through to river 6♣ , where Maguire check folded against Cowell's final bet of 14,000.

Cecil Moagi opened utg and called a 6,000 three bet from Tom Verbruggen on the cutoff.

On board 6♠ 2♦ 8♥ 4♠ , Verbruggen bet both streets - 7,000 and 11,500, and finally convinced Moagi to give it up by the turn.

Lewis Cowell completed his big blind vs Francisco Sanchez' 2,100 utg open, and check called another 3,000 on flop 9♥ Q♥ T♦ . On turn 6♠ , Cowell faced another 8,000 bet, and decided to go all-in for 21,700 total. Sanchez laid it down, earning Cowell an additional 13 big blinds onto his stack.

Xin Yuan opened utg and called a 7,100 three bet from Karan Sitlani. On flop J♣ K♣ 6♣ , Yuan quickly check folded after Sitlani fired a bet of 3,500.

With 7,500 already in the pot across board 7♥ A♠ K♠ 5♦ , Peter Manic made a go for it with a bet of 6,000. Andres Vasquez on the big blind, check raised all-in and shipped the win as Manic slipped his hand back in the deck.

A blind vs blind battle saw Aurimas Stanevicius gladly risk his entire 36,000 against Jon Kyte right behind.

Unfortunately for Stanevicius, the board A♠ 4♥ 6♦ 7♣ 5♣ landed ace-high, sending his pocket kings flying towards the muck.

Facing an open and a call, Shanhui Li sent out a three bet to 7,000 on the small blind and saw initial raiser Vishal Ojha complete.

Li continued for 6,000 on flop K♣ 3♣ J♦ and went on to barrel all-in for 26,300 on turn 2♥ . Ojha missed to make the call, earning Li the boost.

A five way raised pot saw action on flop J♦ 2♦ 3♥ check to Ali Hassan, prompting him to fire a bet of 4,500. Sumit Sapra check called, and arrived at showdown for cheap after no more bets went in on either turn K♦ or river 2♥ .

Hassan showed two pair K♠ J♥ for the pot.

Nguyen Thi Bao An opened utg and went on to four bet jam 15,800 (20 BB) against Cecil Moagi's raise on the small blind. Moagi snap called with pocket kings and left Nguyen crushed all the way through board 5♣ 4♦ A♠ 9♣ 9♦ .

Luc Ramos defended his big blind against Harsh Bubna's 1,800 button open, and went on to check raise 6,100 on flop J♥ 4♦ 3♦ . Bubna came back with an all-in for 5,000 more and Ramos quickly surrendered.

Cao Ngoc Anh opened 2,000 utg+1 and was called by Deepankur Gupta on the button.

On board K♠ K♣ T♣ Q♠ , Cao double barreled - 2,000 and 6,000, with Gupta calling behind both streets. Cao slowed down on river 7♣ and folded after Gupta gunned 15,000.

Fresh off his win at yesterday's Championship Warm Up, Martin Sedlak is seen back on the grind at today's Day 1A 8 Max Survivor games, attempting to secure a spot into the Day 2 rounds.

Sedlak defended his big blind against Raffaele Sorrentino's 2,000 cutoff open, and check called another 3,500 on flop 7♠ 4♦ 2♦ . On turn 5♣ , Sedlak went ahead and led 2,800, enough to get Sorrentino out of the way.

David Chiv opened on the hijack and called off Adrien Berger's jam for his last 13,600 (17 BB).

Up for a flip, Chiv quickly landed the advantage on board A♥ 2♥ Q♣ 8♠ T♠ , eliminating Berger from the Day 1A running.

Khorshad Sagor opened utg and was met with a 4,200 three bet from Harsh Bubna right behind. Sagor made it 11,700 to go and Bubna completed.

Action on flop Q♠ 9♠ 9♣ was checked round to turn 6♠ , where Bubna bet 4,000. Sagor check called, and arrived at showdown shortly after Bubna checked back river 2♣ .

Sagor showed A♣ K♠ , no good against Bubna's two pair A♥ 6♥ .

Khayal Abbasov opened 1,300 utg, called by a player behind along with Nikolai Guliaev on the small blind.

Abbasov continued for 1,800 on flop 8♥ 4♠ 9♦ , weeding out none of his opponents off the pot. All three checked turn Q♠ and river 5♣ to showdown, where Abbasov revealed pair of eights K♦ 8♦ for the win.

Preflop action built a pot of 6,000 in the middle with a flop of J♦ 5♠ 6♥ spread out on the felt. Khorshad Sagor led for 1,600, raised by Luc Ramos to 3,200. Sagor bumped it up further to 12,600, and tank called for the rest after Ramos raised all-in for 43,200 total.

Ramos 6♦ 5♦

Sagor 8♦ 8♥

Sagor drawing slim, found no help on runout A♥ 3♥ , allowing Ramos to seize the 154 big blind pot.

With a pot of 10,500 centered around board 3♦ T♥ 6♠ K♦ 6♦ , Johan Lees made a final attempt for it with a bet of 7,500. Hyunkyou Park two seats after put in a raise to 16,000, pushing Lees out of the pot entirely.

Following an open and a call, Michael Falcon bumped up the stakes to 3,300 and saw both players continue to flop 9♦ T♠ Q♥ . Action checked round to turn 3♥ , where Falcon bet 3,600 checked once more to him. Initial raiser Jean Defour made it 8,900 to go, leaving Falcon in quick surrender.

Another all-in preflop situation ensued with Maulik Shukla at risk for his entire 31,200 against Daniel Bushell's pocket pair.

Lucky for Shukla, board 2♣ 8♠ 8♦ A♠ J♦ this time, ran in favor of the overcards, earning him a full double up early in the games.

Brandon Mifsud lodged a 3,000 three bet against a late position open and saw Oleg Titov jam for 7,100 total right behind. Initial raiser opted out, and Mifsud put in the call for a showdown.

Flipping for his tournament life, Titov held on to his seat after board 4♦ J♣ 2♠ 6♥ 7♣ felted none of Mifsud's overcards.

Remy Murcia defended his big blind against Aurimas Stanevicius' 1,200 hijack open, and went on to check raise 2,600 on flop K♥ 5♥ 5♣ . Stanevicius called behind, peeling turn 4♠ . Murcia checked to his opponent, and called a 3,000 bet onto river Q♣ . Both slowed down and checked it through, revealing Murcia's two pair 6♣ 4♣ good for the pot.