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 Day 2.
Let’s try to summarize the highlights of Day 1a of the Main Event.
Olivo, Zarić And More Through
All and all, 123 entries were made during Day 1a. Play ended efter Level 13 which meant roughly 7 hours of play, and after the last hand was dealt 55 players bagged their chips.
There were some names in the field which are familiar, for example Dragan Zarić. The Slovenian poker legend has deliviered good poker results from live events all around the globe 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 to 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 the most part of the day; Bojovic is one of the best MTT Slovenian players through 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 such as 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.
 Davide Ceglia | 492,000 |
 Dragan Zarič | 415,000 |
| Luigi Schiano | 314,000 |
| Erik Olivo | 287,000 |
| Alessandro Campedelli | 270,000 |
Day 1b to Set Records
While the Day 1a survivors can take tomorrow off and get some proper rest, it’s time for Day 1b to commence. The tournament kicks off at 19:00 and just like was the case today, 13 levels á 30 minutes will be played before the survivors gets to experience the best thing in poker – putting chips in a plastic bag.
We, the PokerPro live coverage team, are eager for tomorrow to unfold. We hope you’ll follow along with us tomorrow at the live blog which starts its coverage around 19:00 CET!
