€5,300 EPT Main Event
Day 3 Completed
€5,300 EPT Main Event
Day 3 Completed
Of the 222 players who sat down for Day 3 of the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Paris Main Event, just 57 remain with Panagiotis Mavritsakis emerging as the chip leader after bagging 2,930,000 in chips here at Le Palais des Congrès. Hot on his heels is Canadian pro Eric Afrait (2,300,000) and rounding out the top three is none other than Tom Middleton, who won the EPT Main Event in Barcelona back in 2013 for a cool €942,000. Middleton will be looking to be the fourth person in history to win two EPT Main Event titles.
Mavritsakis only shows live tournament cashes dating back to last year per The Hendon Mob, but already has over €200,000 in career earnings. His biggest score came last April after finishing in third place in the Irish Open Main Event for €161,500. A win for Mavritsakis would be his first EPT title.
Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Panagiotis Mavritsakis | Greece | 2,930,000 | 147 |
2 | Eric Afriat | Canada | 2,300,000 | 115 |
3 | Tom Middleton | United Kingdom | 2,190,000 | 110 |
4 | Lorenzo Arduini | Italy | 2,050,000 | 103 |
5 | Mathias Siljander | Finland | 1,750,000 | 88 |
6 | David Kaufmann | Germany | 1,645,000 | 82 |
7 | Sindre Hansen | Norway | 1,590,000 | 80 |
8 | Hans Erlandsson | Sweden | 1,550,000 | 78 |
9 | Peter Jorgne | Sweden | 1,475,000 | 74 |
10 | Florian Duta | Romania | 1,305,000 | 65 |
With all players already having made the money, it didn't take long for chips to start flying in Paris. By the first break of the day, a third of the field had already hit the rail. Day 1a chip leader Eero Rantala had an unfortunate start that saw him fall to under 20 big blinds within the first level of play. Rantala was unable to recover and was eliminated shortly thereafter.
Pokerstars Ambassador Benjamin Spragg also landed on the bad side of variance early after flopping two pair against Olivier Rebello's set to bust on the feature table.
The Day 3 field contained no shortage of EPT Main Event champions aiming for a second title, including Pokerstars Ambassador Simon Wiciak, Aliaksei Boika, Arsenii Karmatckii, Middleton, Robin Ylitalo, Anton Wigg, Dimitar Danchev, and the most recent champion Padraig O'Neill, who won in Prague last December. Of those, just Middleton, Wigg (1,250,000), and Danchev (285,000) earned a Day 4 berth to continue their pursuit of a second EPT Main Event title.
Last year's EPT Paris runner-up Peter Jorgne continued his deep run to end with a top ten stack, along with Barny Boatman (635,000), Day 2 chip leader Eliot Hudon (635,000), and Byron Kaverman (290,000) - who lost a big pot on the final hand of the night despite having over one million in chips earlier in the day.
Some notables who fell short of Day 4 include Jerry Odeen (186th - €9,900), Sam Greenwood (111th - €15,000), Benny Glaser (69th - €19,850), and Alex Keating (65th - €19,850), who found himself short and shoved queen-nine preflop only to run into Diego Montone's pocket tens.
Tensions flared at the end of the night after Afrait cracked Eric Sfez's aces to bust him. Afrait commented, "Yes, I smashed him," after winning the pot, which upset Sfez. Following a short discussion with the tournament director, it was ruled that Afriat would receive a one-round penalty at the start of Day 4.
Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
---|---|---|---|
1 | € 1,287,800 | 12-13 | € 76,300 |
2 | € 804,750 | 14-15 | € 63,550 |
3 | € 574,850 | 16-17 | € 53,000 |
4 | € 442,150 | 18-20 | € 46,050 |
5 | € 340,100 | 21-23 | € 40,000 |
6 | € 261,650 | 24-27 | € 34,800 |
7 | € 201,250 | 28-31 | € 30,250 |
8 | € 154,800 | 32-39 | € 26,350 |
9 | € 119,100 | 40-55 | € 22,900 |
10-11 | € 91,550 | 56-57 | € 19,850 |
All remaining players will return tomorrow, February 23 at noon local time for Day 4. Play will resume on Level 22, which features 10,000/20,000 blinds with a 20,000 big blind ante, and will continue for five additional 90-minute levels.
Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we continue to bring you all the action leading to the next EPT Paris Main Event champion! Feature table action can also be viewed on the PokerStars Twitch and YouTube channels.
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EPT event seat draws can also be found online here.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Panagiotis Mavritsakis |
2,930,000
550,000
|
550,000 |
|
||
Eric Afriat | 2,300,000 | |
Tom Middleton |
2,190,000
190,000
|
190,000 |
|
||
Lorenzo Arduini |
2,050,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
Mathias Siljander |
1,750,000
-150,000
|
-150,000 |
David Kaufmann |
1,645,000
670,000
|
670,000 |
|
||
Sindre Hansen |
1,590,000
-10,000
|
-10,000 |
Hans Erlandsson |
1,550,000
700,000
|
700,000 |
Peter Jorgne |
1,475,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
Florian Duta |
1,305,000
505,000
|
505,000 |
Ami Barer |
1,300,000
-50,000
|
-50,000 |
Anton Wigg |
1,250,000
253,000
|
253,000 |
|
||
Diego Montone |
1,215,000
-85,000
|
-85,000 |
Matthias Lipp |
1,150,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
Zhongxian Li |
1,080,000
280,000
|
280,000 |
Jorge Ufano |
1,065,000
-235,000
|
-235,000 |
Clement Michaud |
1,065,000
585,000
|
585,000 |
Terry Vlastos |
1,025,000
125,000
|
125,000 |
Lewis Spencer |
1,015,000
-125,000
|
-125,000 |
Krasimir Neychev |
1,015,000
595,000
|
595,000 |
Kostadin Kostadinov |
1,015,000
-385,000
|
-385,000 |
Leo Worthington-Leese |
1,010,000
570,000
|
570,000 |
Omar Lakhdari |
1,000,000
120,000
|
120,000 |
Francesco Delfoco |
1,000,000
370,000
|
370,000 |
Aleksejs Ponakovs |
975,000
485,000
|
485,000 |
The remaining 57 players are now bagging and tagging for the evening.
Stay tuned for a recap of Day 3.
On a flop of 9♥7♥7♦, Eric Sfez on the button and Eric Afriat in the hijack raised each other and ended up moving all in, with Sfez being the player at risk for 900,000 chips.
Eric Sfez: A♠A♦
Eric Afriat: 7♠6♠
Afriat flopped trips, and it held on the turn 5♥ and the river Q♠.
When he saw the river land on the felt, Afriat stood up, saying "Yes, I smashed him." Sfez, who heard this sentence, didn't like it at all and became furious. He eventually left the tournament area as he was eliminated.
After he bagged his chips, Afriat had a talk with the tournament director and received a one-round penalty for the beginning of Day 4.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Eric Afriat |
2,300,000
950,000
|
950,000 |
Eric Sfez | Busted |
On the last hand at this table of Day 3, Byron Kaverman and Mathias Siljander built a pot of around 300,000 as they headed to the turn on a board of Q♣2♥9♥4♦.
Siljander then bet 140,000 on the button and Kaverman called in the cutoff. The river was the 3♠ and Kaverman checked.
Siljander then moved all in and Kaverman, who had 300,000 remaining, used up his entire 30-second clock before tossing his cards into the muck while the bags were being placed on the table.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Mathias Siljander |
1,900,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
Byron Kaverman |
300,000
-430,000
|
-430,000 |
A massive pot of around 500,000 was already in the middle as Fabian Niederreiter and Tom Middleton went to the river on a board of Q♣9♦10♥Q♠5♦.
Niederreiter then bet 320,000 from the big blind, leaving himself one 5,000 chip behind. Middleton, on the button, moved all in and Niederreiter snap-folded.
"You fold?" Middleton asked in amazement.
"Show the bluff," a tablemate said to Middleton, who revealed the J♣ as he dragged in the pile of chips that pushed his stack above 2,000,000.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Tom Middleton |
2,000,000
270,000
|
270,000 |
|
||
Fabian Niederreiter |
5,000
-555,000
|
-555,000 |
Table chip leader Lewis Spencer opened the button to 30,000 with 3♠3♦ and Peter Jorgne defended Q♥5♥ in the big blind. What followed were two barrels worth 20,000 on the Q♠J♦7♠ flop and 100,000 on the 6♣ turn, both of which Jorgne called.
They checked the 7♣ river and Jorgne won the pot with the superior two pair.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Peter Jorgne |
1,375,000
230,000
|
230,000 |
Lewis Spencer |
1,140,000
-90,000
|
-90,000 |
Francesco Delfoco raised to 35,000 from the cutoff, Linus Hjulstroem three-bet to 110,000 from the big blind and Delfoco called
Hjulstroem continued for 85,000 on the 6♦Q♠7♣ flop, Delfoco took his time before moving all in for 395,000 and Hjulstroem snap-called.
Francesco Delfoco: A♣Q♥
Linus Hjulstroem: K♠K♥
Delfoco was at risk and behind, until the 7♦ and A♦ runout spiked him two pair to stay alive late on Day 3.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Francesco Delfoco |
630,000
385,000
|
385,000 |
Linus Hjulstroem |
510,000
-790,000
|
-790,000 |