Jans Arends has done his chances of becoming the 2022 PartyPoker MILLIONS Online Main Event champion no harm at all by bagging up a massive stack on Day 1D of the $3,200 buy-in $2 million guaranteed tournament. Arends turned his 1 million starting stack into a cool 18,950,287 chips, meaning only Gabriele Re (27,674,473) has more chips that the Austria-based Dutchman with only two flights remaining.
Day 1D drew in 217 entrants, and concluded when only 33 players remained in the field. Arends found himself at the top of the flight's chip counts when the curtain came down, in addition to also progressing from Day 1D of the MILLIONS Online Mini Main Event.
Endrit Geci finished this flight with 14,427,793 chips, enough for second place on the night and seventh-place overall. Geci won this very tournament in 2021. $5,300 was the buy-in that day, and a field of almost 1,100 entrants meant Geci walked away with $774,838 after a heads-up deal with Brazilian Francisco Pinho Correia.
Other elite stars who finished Day 1D with a top ten stack include Ognyan Dimov (11,828,490), Joao Vieira (10,365,370), David Yan (8,995,546), and Gediminas Uselis (8,907,318).
Outside the top ten on the night yet still through to the business end of the MILLIONS Online Main Event are the likes of Brunno Botteon (7,466,950), Renan Bruschi (4,162,788), Mike Watson (4,034,281), Vlad Darie (2,065,304), Pascal Lefrancois (2,017,447), Eelis Parssinen (1,854,158), and Adrian Mateos (1,344,678).
MILLIONS Online Main Event Day 1D Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jans Arends | Austria | 18,950,287 |
| 2 | Endrit Geci | United Kingdom | 14,427,793 |
| 3 | Daniel Montagnolli | Austria | 12,648,594 |
| 4 | Ognyan Dimov | Bulgaria | 11,828,490 |
| 5 | Lars Kamphues | Austria | 10,413,117 |
| 6 | Joao Vieira | United Kingdom | 10,365,370 |
| 7 | Mateus Moraes | Brazil | 9,951,632 |
| 8 | Paulo Brombin | Brazil | 9,458,960 |
| 9 | David Yan | New Zealand | 8,995,546 |
| 10 | Gediminas Uselis | Mexico | 8,907,318 |
Day 1E of the $3,200 buy-in $2 million guaranteed MILLIONS Online Main Event kicks off at 4:05 p.m. BST on September 26, with a turbo-structured Day 1 kicking off at 6:05 p.m. BST. Day 2 commences at 9:05 p.m. BST; it ends after the completion of Level 13.
Hellmuth Captures Mini Main Event Day 1D Chip Lead
Martin Hellmuth has a poker-famous surname and could become the $320 buy-in $500,000 guaranteed MILLIONS Online Mini Main Event champion after a fantastic Day 1D performance. The British grinder's name is at the top of 99 surviving players from a field of 658. Hellmuth amassed a 23,400,322 stack on Day 1D, placing him second overall behind Austria's Paul Hoefer (27,477,141).
Daniel Smiljkovic (21,905,166) is the only other player to turn their 1 million starting stack into more than 20 million chips.
The lure of the MILLIONS Online Mini Main Event proved strong, resulting in some stellar names among the 99 players who progressed to Day 2. Rayan Chamas (15,232,942) and Claas Segebrecht (14,339,426) both bagged top ten stacks.
Further down the chip counts, you find such luminaries as Diego Ventura (12,261,891), Gianluca Speranza (10,791,205), Tamer Kamel (10,276,017), Hristivoje Pavlovic (5,851,124), Fabian Gumz (3,825,665), and Jessica Teusl (3,800,702).
MILLIONS Online Mini Main Event Day 1D Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Hellmuth | United Kingdom | 23,400,322 |
| 2 | Daniel Smiljkovic | Austria | 21,905,166 |
| 3 | Thomas Dickenson | United Kingdom | 17,717,013 |
| 4 | Renan Demetrio | Brazil | 17,075,579 |
| 5 | Max Rokto | Finland | 16,286,931 |
| 6 | Luigi Dalterio | Malta | 15,974,299 |
| 7 | Rayan Chamas | Canada | 15,232,942 |
| 8 | Valentino Konakchiev | Bulgaria | 14,905,339 |
| 9 | Georgi Sandev | Bulgaria | 14,392,067 |
| 10 | Claas Segebrecht | Austria | 14,339,426 |
There are three MILLIONS Online Mini Main Event flights remaining, each taking place on September 16. Day 1E shuffles up and deals at 4:05 p.m. BST, a turbo Day 1 starts at 6:05 p.m., with a hyper-turbo structured flight kicking off at 7:05 p.m. BST. Day 2 runs from 9:05 p.m. BST until the end of the 15th 25-minute level.
