2016 EPT Grand Final €25,750 High Roller Day 1: Niall Farrell Leads the Pack
The 2016 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final is getting closer and closer to it's ultimate denouement, and now it was time for the last big tournament to start. The €25,750 High Roller had a bigger first-place prize than the Main Event last year, and it looks like that's going to be repeated this year.
Last year, when Charlie Carrel took home the trophy and €1.114 million first-place prize, a total of 215 entries were made. After Day 1 today, the number is already at 220 (173 uniques and 47 reentries), and registration will remain open till the start of play on Day 2.
It started out relatively quiet with just six tables, but soon enough there was a buzz in the air and the sound of chips being riffled took over the beautiful tournament room. After the dinner break, it was getting pretty warm where the tournament was being held, and organizers decided to open the roof. That was the first the roof was opened while play was underway, and the "ooohs" and "aaahs" must have been hearable all the way over in the harbor, and even some applause errupted.
Players had the option to do a single reentry if busted, and more than one made use of that option. Mikita Badziakouski and Isaac Haxton were the first to do so, busting their first bullet well before the bulk had even started. Both did well on their second though, as we'll see Haxton (67,000) and Badziakouski (127,200) back on Day 2.
Carrel won't be, and he will not be going back to back after busting two bullets today. The same goes for the likes of Leon Tsoukernik, Sean Winter, Fabian Quoss, and Fedor Holz.
Things went better for Niall Farrell, who bagged the chip lead with 311,200 in chips. Other big stacks included Enrico Coppola (302,100), Saar Wilf (288,000), Dong Zhao (278,900), David Dayan (272,900), Dan Smith (272,500), and Ivan Luca (271,300). All told, there were 96 survivors following Day 1, but with registration and reentry open, the field will likely get a boost before the cards are in the air on Thursday.
Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niall Farrell | 311,200 |
| 2 | Enrico Coppola | 302,100 |
| 3 | Saar Wilf | 288,000 |
| 4 | Dong Zhao | 278,900 |
| 5 | David Dayan | 272,900 |
| 6 | Dan Smith | 272,500 |
| 7 | Ivan Luca | 271,300 |
| 8 | Ofer Zvi Stern | 268,800 |
| 9 | Andrey Pateychuk | 236,500 |
| 10 | Jean-Noel Thorel | 192,700 |
A lot of the usual suspects are also still in, with the likes of Ole Schemion (20,400), Erik Seidel (177,300), Daniel Negreanu (136,700), Jason Mercier (54,900), and Dzmitry Urbanovich (38,600) some of those left to battle on Day 2.
The shortest stack to return will be that of Faraz Jaka, as he bagged up only 18,700 in chips.
PokerNews.com will again be on site to give you coverage of Day 2 of the €25,750 High Roller. There are another 10 levels on the schedule, or down to a final table of eight players, whichever comes faster. The first level to be played is 1,000/2,000 with a 300 ante and play will be underway at 12:30 p.m. local time.
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