2010 EPT Berlin Main Event Day 1a | 2010 PokerStars.net EPT Berlin

03-02-2010 09:05 UTC+2

Welcome to EPT Berlin

donpeters

Welcome back to Europe for the next installment along the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour. This time we're in Berlin, Germany, some 425 km northeast of Dortmund where this stop has been held during previous seasons. The Grand Hyatt Hotel will be the host venue for this stop, which record numbers are expected for.

Scheduled to be on hand for Day 1a are Team PokerStars Pros Sebastian Ruthenberg, Benjamin Kang, Johannes Steindl, Arnaud Mattern, Katja Thater, Tom McEvoy, Victoria Coren, William Thorson and Jude Ainsworth. PokerStars sponsored players Thomas Bichon and Julien Brecard are also slated to play Tuesday.

Last year, Sandra Naujoks bested a field of 667 runners to take the €917,000 first-place prize at EPT Dortmund. Three German players made it to the televised final table and ended up placing first, second and third to represent the home country.

With the minimum age being 18, it is expected that plenty of younger online players will be the the mix. PokerStars has guaranteed €1 million for first place, which is sure to help draw in a massive field.

The six-day quest to crown a champion begins on Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. CET. Be sure to keep your browser locked on PokerNews for all the live coverage from EPT Berlin! We'll see you shortly.

Level: 1

Blinds: 50/100

Ante: 0

03-02-2010 13:44 UTC+2

Ich Bin Ein Ber-Winner

[user46392]

There's going to be one big, big winner here in Berlin by the end of the week, but the press room Internet connection is not it. Please sit tight while we attempt to resolve the technical difficulties; updates will resume shortly.

03-02-2010 13:47 UTC+2

...And We're Back!

[user46392]

Just like that, the internet magically reappeared.

So, who's here so far?

With so much at stake and so little space in the tournament area, even the big name pros arrived more or less on time.

Spotted at the tables so far we have luminaries Juha Helppi, Barny Boatman, George Danzer, Ricardo Sousa, Michael Greco, Pierre Neuville, Alexia Portal, Antony Lellouche, Ludovic Lacay and Jeff Sarwer, among others. Former EPT winners gracing the felt include Sebastian Ruthenberg, Joao Barbosa, Maxim Lykov and Vicky Coren.

Now that the internet is back, this is going to be a fantastic tournament...

03-02-2010 14:00 UTC+2

Kabrhel Not Wasting Any Time

[user140525]

Martin Kabrhel meant business when he sat down today. Less than 10 minutes into the first level, he was heads up on a {K-Clubs}

board. Kabrhel's opponent bet out 2,200, about half the size of the pot. And Martin moved all in for another 24,000. The other player called the huge overbet, tabling {J-Clubs}

for a flopped set. Kabrhel showed {A-Hearts}

, scooping the pot with the rivered nuts. He's one of the chip leaders at the moment with 60,000.

Tags: martin kabrhel

03-02-2010 14:03 UTC+2

Nitsche Halved

donpeters

Dominik Nitsche fired a bet of about 6,800 on a board of {K-Clubs}

into one opponent. His opponent tanked and then made the call.

Nitsche announced, "Ace-king," and tabled {A-?}

. But his opponent held two aces and won the hand, leaving Nitsche with only 16,000 chips.

Tags: Dominik Nitsche

03-02-2010 14:10 UTC+2

Sarwer Increases Early

donpeters

Jeff Sarwer just picked up a nice pot on a board of {6-Hearts}

against an opponent holding the {J-Hearts}

. Sarwer made the call on the river with pocket fours and added a few thousand chips to his stack. He's up to 36,000 here in the early goings.

Tags: Jeff Sarwer

03-02-2010 14:15 UTC+2

Having Fun

[user46392]

It's still very early here - barely lunchtime in real terms, barely past breakfast in poker player terms - but there is at least one gentleman in the room who is drinking wine already. We see you, Mr. Table 23 Seat 3! And we approve unreservedly.

Level: 2

Blinds: 75/150

Ante: 0

03-02-2010 14:24 UTC+2

Further Spotted at the Tables

[user46392]

Traditionally most of the familiar faces opt to play Day 1b instead, so for a Day 1a this field is looking pretty good already. Further to the pros already noted, we have the following folks in the house today:

Leo Margets
Alex Fitzgerald
Anthony Roux
[Removed:197]
Ljubomir Josipovic
Thomas Bichon
Marc Naalden
Jan Skampa
Andrew Teng
Casey Kastle
Ilya Gorodetskiy
Dragan Galic
Tony Cascarino

Inevitably there are some very interesting tables among this marvelous field. Top of the list so far are Table Antony Lellouche/Andrew Teng, Table Yuri Kerzhapkin/Albert Iversen/Pierre Neuville and, most impressive of all, the Team PokerStars Pro-tastic Table Arnaud Mattern/Vicky Coren/Vlad "Vlad From Ukraine" Zguba. Good luck, everyone else at those tables!