LIVE FROM GOLDEN SANDS

Having started today as the chip leader, all the pressure was on Unibet Ambassador Dan Murariu as he began the day with almost double the amount of chips of anyone else on the final table. For most of the early stages, he played fairly tight, content to let the others knock each other out  whilst quietly consolidating his own stack.

With the players gradually whittled down to just three, it was a crucial flip in the Romanian’s favour that made a big difference. When his T-6 overcame Lasse Nielsen’s 4-4, it meant that Murariu would challenge Bjaerke Hansen on almost an even footing.

The chip lead changed several times but Murariu’s pocket Sevens holding against Hansen’s A-6 proved decisive as he picked up the biggest pot of the entire tournament. Soon after it was all over and after two previous final tables, Murariu finally becomes the first Romanian to win a Unibet Open!

Congratulations to him and all our winners, hope to see you in Prague!

Bjaerke Hansen moved all-in from the button for around 800,000.

“Call,” said Dan Murariu.

It was as simple as that.

Hansen:
Murariu:

Almost a perfect spot for Murariu who had his opponent almost totally crushed looking to become the first ever Romanian Unibet Open winner.

The flop was greeted by “Oooh’s” from crowd but he still needed one of two remaining eights in the deck to survive. The turn changed nothing and on the river, the small Romanian crowd when crazy as the dealer put down the to seal the deal.

Bjaerke Hansen finishes as the Golden Sands runner-up and almost €100,000 richer!

Huge hand gives Dan Murariu the chip lead back – nearly 3 million to one (million).  After dancing the preflop raise tango for about 10 minutes (Hansen moving in once before – no call) the same situation occurred again, but this time Murario stood his button-raising ground.  He held to Hansen’s and with the board emerging a big stack was handed back to the patient Romanian.

Dan Murariu must be rueing his luck, he just bet 240,000 on the river of the :2d board but saw Bjarke Hansen check-raise to 620,000. The Romanian folded after fives minutes of thinking but Hansen showed him for nothing more than a pure bluff.

After literally 25 minutes of raise-on-button-to-nick-the-big-blind, a couple of much larger pots threatened to end this tournament…

FIrst off and Bjaerke Hansen made it 120k to go on the button, after which Dan Murariu raised to 270k.  Hansen, after only a short pause, moved all-in and Murariu didn’t want to play for his whole stack, and folded.  Incidentally, the first time this betting pattern occurred, an hour or so ago, Hansen showed his offsuit J-9…

Anyhow the next time Hansen had the button, the exact same situation occurred – 120–>270–>all in.  This time Murariu called!  He had against Hansen’s , and it was a flushless split.  Still, fairly exciting.  1.8 million ish to Murariu; 2.1 or so for Hansen.

Hansen has put the squeeze back on Dan Murariu in the last twenty minutes or so. First he pushed all-in when short on a board after Murariu had led out on the flop for 125,000.

Soon after the two played one of the biggest pots of the day so far. Hansen had opened preflop to 120,000 and Murariu made the call to see an flop.

Murariu checked then called when Hansen fired out 120,000 at the pot and they reached a turn. Now the Romanian attempted to seize the initiative by firing out 260,000 but Hansen made the call and suddenly the pot was getting big.

Now the river came and was the and after a long dwell, Murariu checked. Hansen wasted little time and fired out 500,000, Murariu thought for about two or three minutes but folded.

Hansen is up to 2.4 million and Murariu drops to 1.5 million.

The couple of hands following on from this nuts v. second nuts confrontation saw Hansen on the aggressive path, threebetting Murariu to win one pot pre, and then calling when Murariu made the same move (to 205k).  The out of position Murariu checked the and then passed when Hansen bet 250k.

Still, although it’s closer than it has been in a while, Murariu still has the chip advantage.  From what it looks like on the stream (the press area is on a different floor from the tournament) it’s about 1.5 mil for Hansen and 2.5 for Murariu…

A handy river for Dan Murariu just now, which won him what I think is the biggest pot of the heads up.  Bjaerke Hansen had raised to 95k preflop, called by big blind Murariu.  On the flop Murariu check-called a bet of 100k, before both players checked the turn.  It was the river which saw the big bet – 460k, no less, was fired by Murariu.  Quickly Hansen called but was shown the for the turned flush – he showed the and how their turn check had allowed the perfect card to exact a bet from Hansen to pop out on the river.

With that – Murariu takes the lead, over 2.1 million.

It’s all very close at the moment.

First Bjarke Hansen, check-called a bet of 105,000 on a board, both then checked the turn and Hansen fired out 220,000 on the river. Dan Murariu called on the end with which was enough.

Next Murariu check-called a bet of 120,000 on an flop but folded to a 140,000 bet on the turn.

Hansen wins a checked down board of with .

Finally Murariu picks up a 170,000 pot with a lead on the turn of a board, the 105,000 bet being enough.

No real headway has been made in breaking either stack, with both players raising most of their buttons and mainly taking pots preflop (both had a go at reraising to 120k during the first 20 mins, which won them one larger pot each).  A few boards cautiously emerged, the first being (raised preflop by Murariu, called by Hansen in the bb).  This pot went to Murariu with a bet on the turn.  Another two small pots were taken by Hansen, one with a minbet on the flop and one which waited until the Jack-high raggy turn.

If these can be described as fireworks, they’re the kind that sit on the ground and throw the occasional spark upwards in your garden, rather than pyrotechnic explosions.

An insight courtesy of Dan Glimne, who was interviewing chip leader Bjaerke Hansen in the dinner break.  Like Ylva Thorsrud, he was wondering what’s with the big hoody, and the black shades?  Well it turns out it’s not an image or a comfort thing – the Dane simply said “I am bad at lying face to face.”  We admire his honesty.