You won't yet recognise the name Luciana Manolea, but there is a significant chance you'll hear lots of about her within the coming few months. Everything about this 26 year old from Romania screams "break-out star", and in response to her record this week in Prague, she is building the bankroll to be a definite threat in 2015 and beyond.
Manolea is a former IT student, who in the future closed one window in her browser and unfolded PokerStars instead, learning the sport (as achieve this many) within the online environment. Under the screen-name "luckyno75", she has since amassed lifetime career tournament earnings of greater than $2.6 million and is the highest ranked online player within the country.
In recent months, Manolea has gradually been transitioning to live poker and - come on, you've heard this story before - it has been going spectacularly well. She qualified for the EPT100 Takedown Challenge in Barcelona, by which she partnered Christophe de Meulder in a chain of physical activities and a poker tournament. But she also won a €150 side event, made another final table and cashed the principle Event.
That brings us to Prague this week, where she arrived late on Wednesday night and immediately registered for the €1,000 hyper turbo, which kicks off in the dead of night. A FEW hours later, she found herself heads up and arranging a straight chop of the prize money, with only the trophy to play for. Not long after that, she had it.
"I really desired to win the trophy," she says today, taking a break from the principle Event. "We kept playing. And that i won the trophy." So simple as that.
That success represented the largest live tournament cash of her fledgling career: €30,245. However, the very next night (i.e., as Day 1A of the primary Event was starting), Manolea was again heads up for an aspect event, the €1,000 deep-stack, big ante event. "Well, I ENDED second in that," she shrugs. "Much as I NEEDED to get yet another trophy."
Despite falling on the final hurdle, the second one place finish gave her a bigger score than the former night. The runner up won €33,290 and completed a €60,000+ 24-hour spell. "It was amazing, especially since there have been such a lot of tough players on the final table," she says.
Manolea's biggest online tournament victory smashes even her combined haul from Prague. In May of this year, she won a WCOOP progressive event on PokerStars, for $105,733, and he or she is a two-time winner of the Women's Sunday.
But having already qualified for the PCA in the course of the first online satellite she played, Manolea is confident of bringing live winnings no less than up the usual of her online successes. "IT IS SO much harder to be head to head and everything is much more intense," she says. "IF YOU FIND YOURSELF bluffing, it is so a lot more thrilling. But you might have a lot more satisfaction whilst you actually win by bluffing.
She continues: "WILL PROBABLY BE my first time within the Bahamas, so I'm fascinated by that it'll. be my first $10,000 buy-in, my biggest live buy in."
Manolea now has the bit between the teeth, and intends to continue what seems set to be a glittering career in live poker. "IT IS A lot of fun," she says. "I enjoy playing live an increasing number of. I always planned to. I NEED to play regularly these EPTs, and that i plan to try this next year.
"I have had a fair end of year, and that i truly believe that 2015 goes to be even better for me. I'M more motivated than ever and that i hope good stuff are going to come."
Follow the entire action from the principle Event at the Main Event page. There's hand-by-hand updates and chip counts within the panel on the top of the page and have pieces below. And when you've read all that, enjoy a while to yourself.
Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com]
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