[user52009]
Mats Iremark
The two Swedish poker pros, Mats Iremark and Hans Eskilsson, just got tangled up in a big pot. Iremark, with , raised preflop and Eskilsson called holding . The flop came , Eskilsson bet and Iremark called. The turn came the , and Eskilsson check-called Iremark’s 3,500 bet. The river was the and Eskilsson bet 4,000, leaving 4,000 behind. Iremark only called, worried about the flush, but his straight held up against Eskilsson’s two pair. The pot was 24,000, Iremark is up to 30,000, and Eskilsson is really short with only 4,000 left in front of him.
[user52009]
After almost seven hours of play on Day 1a, Italian poker pro Cristiano Blanco has been eliminated. On a board showing , Blanco went all in with , but was called by Mats Iremark’s , giving him an open-ended straight draw. The pot was 16,000, the river was the and Iremark made his straight.
“I was kind of lucky to hit it, but I had pot odds for the call,” said Iremark, who is now up to 37,000.
[user52009]
With two more levels to go on Day 1a, there are now three players who have passed 50,000 in chips in the PokerStars EPT German Open. Stephan Wrenger is up to 54,000, Mats Iremark has 55,000, and 19-year-old Andreas Sarling from Åland has re-taken the lead with 56,000. After this level, the players will have the last 15-minute break and then they will play level 8 before the night is over. At approximately 1:45 AM we will know who is still in the running to become the next EPT Dortmund champion.
[user52009]
Juha Helppi
Finnish poker pro Juha Helppi was down to a mere 4,000 when he managed to double up. On a flop, he went all in holding , which was better than his opponent's . Helppi is still short, but one of the strongest players left on Day 1a. The blinds have now gone up to 200/400 with an ante of 50 and we are now on level 7.
[user52009]
PokerStars pro Sebastian Ruthenberg was still on his starting stack when all his money went in on the flop of . He had the nut-flush draw holding , but was behind to his opponent's set, . When the came on the turn, Ruthenberg was drawing dead and already standing up. The on the river, giving his opponent four of a kind, only added insult to injury.
[user52009]
198 players started the day, and with one hour to go there are now 93 players left on Day 1a of the PokerStars EPT German Open. The average stack is 21,290 and the blinds are up to 200/400 with a 50 ante.
[user52009]
Maz Nawab
Late in level 7, Maz Nawab from the UK made a raise with , and fellow countryman Steve Jelinek called holding . The flop came and Jelinek checked. Nawab bet 3,500, Jelinek raised to 8,500, and Nawab went all in for 22,000. After a moment of thought, Jelinek called with the flush draw. No hearts came on the turn or river, and Nawab is now up among the chip leaders after raking the 55,000 pot. Jelinek dropped down to 18,000 and is still in decent shape.
[user52009]
With a half-hour to go, it turns out that one of the chip leaders, Kai Herold, is not here. Fellow German Stephan Wrenger swapped days and he is probably happy about that now. He has 54,000 and we will see what Kai Herold will do tomorrow.
[user52009]
With a very short stack, T6 poker pro Mats Rahmn from Sweden went all in numerous times and managed to come back from 4,000 to 10,000 during level 7.
"I'm not sure if I will survive the last level, but if I do this will be my first time making it to Day 2," says Rahmn with a smile.
The Swede is well-known in Europe and is one of three Swedish WSOP bracelet winners. He won his bracelet in 2006.
[user52009]
After eight levels of play, Day 1a ended at 2:00 AM at Casino Hohensyburg in Dortmund. 74 players survived the day and they will all be back on Thursday for Day 2. Cyrille Chabot from France is the chip leader with 101,000. All the updates and chip counts will be posted on Wednesday around lunch. Good night from Dortmund. We will be back tomorrow with Day 1b, starting at 3:00 PM, local time.
![[user52009]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, raised preflop and Eskilsson called holding 
. The flop came 
, Eskilsson bet and Iremark called. The turn came the 
, and Eskilsson check-called Iremark’s 3,500 bet. The river was the 
and Eskilsson bet 4,000, leaving 4,000 behind. Iremark only called, worried about the flush, but his straight held up against Eskilsson’s two pair. The pot was 24,000, Iremark is up to 30,000, and Eskilsson is really short with only 4,000 left in front of him.
, Blanco went all in with 
, but was called by Mats Iremark’s 
, giving him an open-ended straight draw. The pot was 16,000, the river was the 
and Iremark made his straight.
flop, he went all in holding 
, which was better than his opponent's 
. Helppi is still short, but one of the strongest players left on Day 1a. The blinds have now gone up to 200/400 with an ante of 50 and we are now on level 7.
. He had the nut-flush draw holding 
. When the 
came on the turn, Ruthenberg was drawing dead and already standing up. The 
, and fellow countryman Steve Jelinek called holding 
and Jelinek checked. Nawab bet 3,500, Jelinek raised to 8,500, and Nawab went all in for 22,000. After a moment of thought, Jelinek called with the flush draw. No hearts came on the turn or river, and Nawab is now up among the chip leaders after raking the 55,000 pot. Jelinek dropped down to 18,000 and is still in decent shape.
