Hundreds of players, dealers and staff have celebrated the start of the first Unibet Open in Bucharest by taking part in the latest craze to sweep the internet. The epic Unibet Open Mannequin Challenge was shot at the start of Day 1b today. Among those who can be spotted in the film are tournament directors Nick O’Hara and Luca Vivaldi, PokerNews reporter Frank Op de Woerd and two-time Unibet Open champion Mateusz Moolhuizen.
The Mannequin Challenge got underway in American high schools last month and now people all over the world are having a go – from BMX riders and passengers on the London Underground to celebrities such as the Obamas, Hillary Clinton, Prince Harry, Cristiano Ronaldo and Andy Murray.
The Unibet Open is making its debut in Bucharest with a five-day festival (ending December 4). There were 236 entries for the Day of the €1,100 Main Event yesterday – putting the event well on track to meet the guarantee of €500,000 and set a record for the tour. Swedish player Markus Heikkila was chip leader with 63 players through to Day 2. He has 322,000. Other events on the schedule include a two-day €300 freezeout, plus a €2k High Roller, €150 PLO Turbo and €200 NL Turbo. The official Players Party is tomorrow night.
There have already been three Unibet Open champion this year with the heftiest payday going to Dave Shallow who beat a 418-strong field in London for £62,000. Martin Soukup won in Malta for €65,000 with Finland’s Joni Liimatta (right) winning the most recent event, in Copenhagen, for DKr525,000.
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