2024 PokerStars EPT Paris

€5,300 EPT Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info

2024 PokerStars EPT Paris

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
j2
Prize
€1,287,800
Event Info
Buy-in
€5,300
Prize Pool
€8,385,600
Entries
1,747
Level Info
Level
36
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Players Info - Day 2
Entries
644
Players Left
222

€5,300 EPT Main Event

Day 2 Completed

Eliot Hudon Back on Top of Another Record-Smashing Field on Day 2 of the EPT Paris Main Event

Level 16 : Blinds 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante
Eliot Hudon
Eliot Hudon

There is something about record-setting fields that brings out the best in Eliot Hudon.

In December 2022, the then 25-year-old Canadian burst onto the poker scene when he won the WPT World Championship in Las Vegas for $4.1 million, the largest event ever on that tour. Fast forward 14 months later to the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris Main Event, the sixth-largest EPT field in history and the largest outside of Barcelona, and Hudon is again on top as 222 players advance to Day 3.

Hudon eliminated Ignacio Molina on the bubble with queens versus jacks to take the chip lead (and Molina’s rubber duck card protector) with 955,000 when play resumes tomorrow for Day 3 inside the Le Palais des Congres. Alexios Zervos is in second place with 788,000 after earning a massive double up when his pocket aces held up on the river against Bernhard Binder’s pair, straight, and flush draws. Eero Rantala hit a set of nines on the flop to earn a double knockout and would’ve been the end-of-day chip leader if not for taking a bad beat against Ruida Lin on one of the last hands of Day 2; he ended up still comfortably in the top five with 685,000.

Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Eliot HudonCanada955,000191
2Alexios ZervosGreece788,000158
3Matthias LippAustria714,000143
4David KaufmannGermany700,000140
5Eero RantalaFinland685,000137
6Farid JattinColombia660,000132
7Clement MichaudFrance606,000121
8Daniel CustodioPortugal587,000117
9Alessandro MinasiItaly574,000115
10Eric SfezFrance551,000110

Matthias Lipp (714,000) and David Kaufmann (700,000) round out the top five. Other big stacks include Farid Jattin (660,000), Sirzat Hissou (512,000), Barny Boatman (510,000), and Sergi Reixach (469,000). Further down are Leon Sturm (434,000), EPT champion Dimitar Danchev (415,000), Aleksejs Ponakovs (404,000), Alex Keating (391,000), Day 1 chip leader Gregory Fournier (386,000), Sam Greenwood (379,000), and Timothy Adams (279,000).

Past EPT champions Anton Wigg (343,000), Robin Ylitalo (329,000), Arsenii Karmatckii (305,000), Tom Middleton (151,000), Nicolas Dumont (87,000), and Aliaksei Boika (73,000) are also still in the mix. EPT Prague champion Padraig O’Neill survived with 290,000 as he seeks to become the first player ever to go back-to-back on the EPT, while EPT Barcelona champion and the newest Team PokerStars Pro Simon Wiciak bagged up 119,000. Last year’s EPT Paris runner-up Peter Jorgne ended up with 353,000, while Team PokerStars Pro Benjamin Spragg finished near the bottom with 138,000.

Padraig O'Neill
Padraig O'Neill

Day 2 began with 86 new entries joining 558 Day 1 survivors to create a total field of 1,747 and prize pool of €8,385,600. Notables to bust early included Parker Talbot, Hossein Ensan, EPT champions Kalidou Sow and Steve O’Dwyer, Sam Grafton, Maria Ho, Fintan Hand, Bryn Kenney, and defending champion Razvan Belea. Only the top 255 players would finish in the money, and Hudon took care of that by busting Molina in 256th. Juan Pardo (226th), and last year’s finalist Johan Schultz-Pedersen (253rd) were among those to sneak past the bubble and earn a min-cash.

Day 3 begins at noon local time tomorrow with 60 minutes remaining in Level 16 with blinds of 2,500-5,000 and a 5,000 big blind ante. Now that the bubble has burst, players can finally sense that the final table and first prize of €1,287,800 are slowly drawing nearer to being a reality.

PokerNews will be back following all the action on Day 3 as the field continues to whittle down here in the City of Lights.

Tags: Aleksejs PonakovsAlessandro MinasiAlex KeatingAlexios ZervosAliaksei BoikaAnton WiggArsenii KarmatckiiBarny BoatmanBenjamin SpraggBernhard BinderBryn KenneyClement MichaudDaniel CustodioDavid KaufmannDimitar DanchevEero RantalaEliot HudonEric SfezFarid JattinFintan HandGregory FournierHossein EnsanIgnacio MolinaJohan Schultz-PedersenJuan PardoKalidou SowLeon SturmMaria HoMatthias LippNicolas DumontPadraig O’NeillParker TalbotPeter JorgneRazvan BeleaRobin YlitaloRuida LinSam GraftonSam GreenwoodSergi ReixachSimon WiciakSirzat HissouSteve O’DwyerTimothy AdamsTom Middleton

End-of-Day Chip Counts (full)

Level 16 : Blinds 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Eliot Hudon ca
Eliot Hudon
955,000
25,000
25,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Alexios Zervos gr
Alexios Zervos
788,000
-78,000
-78,000
Profile photo of Matthias Lipp at
Matthias Lipp
714,000
288,000
288,000
Profile photo of David Kaufmann de
David Kaufmann
700,000
100,000
100,000
Day 5 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Eero Rantala fi
Eero Rantala
685,000
-85,000
-85,000
Day 1A Chip Leader
Profile photo of Farid Jattin co
Farid Jattin
660,000
125,000
125,000
Profile photo of Clement Michaud fr
Clement Michaud
606,000
9,000
9,000
Profile photo of Daniel Custodio pt
Daniel Custodio
587,000
33,000
33,000
Profile photo of Alessandro Minasi it
Alessandro Minasi
574,000
9,000
9,000
Profile photo of Eric Sfez fr
Eric Sfez
551,000
393,000
393,000
Profile photo of Jose Plaza es
Jose Plaza
533,000
18,000
18,000
Profile photo of Sirzat Hissou de
Sirzat Hissou
512,000
210,000
210,000
Profile photo of Eric Afriat ca
Eric Afriat
510,000
123,000
123,000
Profile photo of Barny Boatman gb
Barny Boatman
510,000
75,000
75,000
Profile photo of Ami Barer ca
Ami Barer
497,000
-25,000
-25,000
Profile photo of Gianluca Speranza it
Gianluca Speranza
495,000
-5,000
-5,000
Profile photo of Sergi Reixach es
Sergi Reixach
469,000
-16,000
-16,000
Profile photo of Francisco Perez es
Francisco Perez
459,000
431,500
431,500
Profile photo of Slimane Mameche fr
Slimane Mameche
454,000
257,000
257,000
Profile photo of Anatoly Korochenskiy ru
Anatoly Korochenskiy
441,000
-9,000
-9,000
Profile photo of Jerry Odeen se
Jerry Odeen
435,000
4,000
4,000
Profile photo of Leon Sturm de
Leon Sturm
434,000
14,000
14,000
Profile photo of Ruida Lin cn
Ruida Lin
419,000
9,000
9,000
Profile photo of Pieter Aerts be
Pieter Aerts
417,000
15,000
15,000
Profile photo of Dimitar Danchev bg
Dimitar Danchev
415,000
-5,000
-5,000
EPT Main Event Champion
EPT 1X Winner

Read full

Lin Catches a Miracle to Dent Rantala

Level 16 : Blinds 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante
Ruida Lin
Ruida Lin

Ruida Lin moved all in for 202,000 in the big blind and Eero Rantala called in the cutoff.

Ruida Lin: JJ
Eero Rantala: AK

Lin was racing for his tournament life but fell behind as the 8A10 flop gave Rantala top pair. The K turn improved Rantala to two pair and left him poised to collect the pot and end the night with more than 1,000,000, but the Q spiked on the river to give Lin a straight.

"Yes. Let me take a picture, please," Lin yelled out as he snapped a photo of the board.

"Thank you, chip leader," he said to Rantala as he collected the miracle double up.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Eero Rantala fi
Eero Rantala
770,000
-130,000
-130,000
Day 1A Chip Leader
Profile photo of Ruida Lin cn
Ruida Lin
410,000
225,000
225,000

Tags: Eero RantalaRuida Lin

Wigg Gets It Done on River

Level 16 : Blinds 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante
Anton Wigg
Anton Wigg

Anton Wigg opened to 10,000 under the gun and Felipe Boianovsky defended his big blind.

On the 747 flop Boianovsky check-called a bet of 6,000 from Wigg.

The turn brought the 2 and Boianovsky check-called for a second time versus a bet of 13,000 from Wigg.

On the 8 river Boianovsky checked for a third time, and Wigg continued to fire, moving all in and putting Boianvosky to the test for the rest of his stack.

Boianovsky thought it over but folded in relatively short order.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Anton Wigg se
Anton Wigg
380,000
40,000
40,000
EPT Main Event Champion
EPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Felipe Boianovsky br
Felipe Boianovsky
32,000
-44,000
-44,000

Tags: Anton WiggFelipe Boianovsky

No Day 3 for Savinelli

Level 16 : Blinds 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante

Amiri Ehsan raised to 10,000 as first to act and Carlo Savinelli shoved in 39,000 chips in the next seat over.

Amiri asked for a count and made the call shortly thereafter.

Carlo Savinelli: KJ
Ehsan Amiri: A2

Amiri was the only one to pair up on the 371029 board, sending Savinelli home in the dying minutes of Day 2.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Ehsan Amiri au
Ehsan Amiri
334,000
Profile photo of Carlo Savinelli it
Carlo Savinelli
Busted

Tags: Carlo SavinelliEhsan Amiri

Anand Forces Nixon River Fold

Level 16 : Blinds 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante

Jason Anand opened to 11,000 in early position and Jamie Nixon produced a three-bet to 29,000 in the cutoff. Anand called.

Anand check-called a bet of 15,000 from Nixon on the 474 flop.

The J turn was checked through by both players.

On the 10 river, bringing one-card flush possibilities, Anand led out with a bet of 25,000, and that was enough to force a fold from Nixon.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Jason Anand nz
Jason Anand
210,000
-84,000
-84,000
Profile photo of Jamie Nixon gb
Jamie Nixon
142,000
22,000
22,000

Tags: Jamie NixonJason Anand