Day 1b is History
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It was a pretty extraordinary field to start with - there wasn't a single table this morning without at least a couple familiar faces lurking at the felt. Indeed, just the list of folks who busted today reads like a who's who of international poker - Erick Lindgren, Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda, Tony G, ElkY, Andy Black, Boris Becker and reigning champion Pieter de Korver were among the A-listers who took their shot at EPT glory but failed to make the grade.
On the other hand, just look at who's left! Joe Cada, Shaun Deeb, Isabelle Mercier, Marcel Luske and Joe Hachem will all be coming back to the Salle des Etoiles tomorrow to battle it out with the Day 1a-ers for Grand Final dominance.
Way out in front as we head to Day 2 is Brazilian Thiago Nishijima - the number on his bag as he headed back to his hotel was 264,200, meaning that he will be overall chip leader at kickoff tomorrow. Somewhere in the region of 400 players will be returning for Day 2 though, so whatever happens, there's going to be some serious action.
We'll be back at noon CET, but until then, this is PokerNews at the PokerStars.com EPT Grand Final, signing off for the night.