The dust has just settled after Day 1a in the Perla Poker Festival Main Event, and what a day it was. With a later start, 19:00 CET, players came into Perla Casino in Nova Gorica filled with energy, ready to take it to the tables and do their best to advance to Sunday’s Day 2 along with the survivors from the other three opening flights.
Players who got into the mix took advantage of the early bird discount with just a €300 buy-in level.
Olivo, Zarić And More Through
A total of 123 entries were made during Day 1a to add €34,400 to the prize pool. The action ended after Level 13, which meant roughly seven hours of play. After the last hand was dealt, 55 players bagged their chips.
Some familiar names in the field were present, for example, Dragan Zarić. The Slovenian poker legend has delivered good poker results from live events worldwide since 2015, and now he’s chasing the Perla Poker Festival title. He’s given himself good prerequisites; with his 415,000 stack, he’s second in chips after Day 1a, only trailing Italian Davide Ceglia.
Naturally, Zarić has company from many compatriots on Day 2. Davor Bojovic and Erik Olivo both made it through Day 1a, and it felt somewhat special seeing them sitting next to each other on Table 18 for most of the day. Bojovic is one of the best MTT Slovenian players of all time, and Olivo could be referred to as a rising star in Slovenian poker.
Other names that made it through to Day 2 were poker mental coach Thais Dresch, president of the Slovenian Poker Association Zoran Špindler, and Sejdefa Hodžič, who ended 2024 by winning a big event in Zagreb.
| Place | Player | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Davide Ceglia | 492,000 | 246 |
| 2 |  Dragan Zarić | 415,000 | 208 |
| 3 | Luigi Schiano | 314,000 | 157 |
| 4 | Erik Olivo | 287,000 | 144 |
| 5 | Alessandro Campedelli | 270,000 | 135 |
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PokerPro Advances to Day 2
PokerPro’s Jason Glatzer and Žiga Babič both got into the mix and were hovering around 10 big blinds when the final break of the day took place. Glatzer managed to run his stack up to around 130,000 before settling to end the day at 98,000 for 49 big blinds, while Babič managed to hang on as well, but he will be left to spin up a short stack with 24,000 for 12 big blinds with blinds rolling back three levels to start Day 2 with blinds starting at 1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 big blind ante.
KKPoker Led the Way to Perla
We’re expecting big fields during the Perla Poker Festival, and many of the players secured their spots through qualifiers on KKPoker. KKPoker’s growth is no surprise; the site offers a variety of games, and since the launch of its PC software, even more players have discovered the unique KKPoker charm.
Through KKPoker, players can qualify for live poker events all across the globe, which makes it a good choice for players who want to secure their next live poker adventure for a cheaper buck. What’s better, new players can benefit from the KKPoker deposit bonus; your first deposit will be 100 % matched up to $1,000, which makes this quite the deal for the aspiring poker player.
Don’t forget to join our PokerPro club over at KKPoker, for which we have big plans in the future!
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Day 1b Begins Friday at 7 PM
While the Day 1a survivors can take tomorrow off and get some proper rest, it’s time for Day 1b to commence. The second opening flight boasts a €360 buy-in, similar to Day 1c on Saturday. Players entering on Day 1d and on Day 2 will be required to pay the full price of €500, so there is still fantastic value to those entering on Friday’s Day 1b.
The tournament kicks off at 19:00, and just like today, 13 levels with 30-minute blind levels will be played before the survivors get to experience the best thing in poker—putting chips in a plastic bag.
In addition, the Perla Poker Festival will boast a well-structured €300 Omaha ETOP at 17:00, with 35-minute blind levels and nine levels of late registration.
The PokerPro will be back on the floor to cover the action of Day 1b of the Main Event. Follow Perla Poker Festival live blog here to witness the action unfold.
