PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Grand Final Day 4 | 2008 PokerStars.com EPT Grand Final - Monte Carlo

PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Grand Final

Day 4 Completed

04-17-2008 02:55 UTC+2

End of Day 4 Chip Counts

[user38449]

Glen Chorny - 3,370,000
Isaac 'westmenloAA' Baron - 2,365,000
Michael Martin - 1,579,000
Maxime Villemure - 1,220,000
Denes Kalo - 957,000
Antonio Esfandiari - 735,000
Luca Pagano - 705,000
Valeriy Ilikyan - 650,000
Stig Top Rasmussen - 590,000
Henrik Gwinner - 466,000

04-17-2008 01:28 UTC+2

Day 4 is a Wrap

[user25067]

Ten players remain in the hunt for the $3.2 million first-place prize at the PokerStars.com EPT Grand Final. Glen Chorny finished the day as the chip leader with 3,400,000, with online wunderkind Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron in second position with about 2,400,000.

Though Joe Hachem will have to wait for next season to go for the "Triple Crown" again (WSOP bracelet, WPT win, EPT win), Antonio Esfandiari remains in contention to join Team PokerStars pro Gavin Griffin in this highly exclusive club.

End of day chip counts will be posted as soon as they become available.

Join us again tomorrow at 1 p.m. local time (GMT+1) for continuing coverage of the EPT Grand Final. Until then, good night from Monte Carlo!

04-17-2008 01:16 UTC+2

Play Stops for the Evening

[user25067]

With ten players remaining, the tournament directors have elected to stop play at the conclusion of this level. Instead of returning at 3 p.m. local time tomorrow to play out the final table of eight, we'll be back at 1 p.m. to play from ten down to eight.

04-17-2008 01:07 UTC+2

Joe Hachem Eliminated in 11th Place ($159,943)

[user67765]

We caught the action on the flop of {4-Clubs}

with Joe Hachem in the pot with Isaac Baron.

Hachem was on the short stack and Baron had plenty of chips with which to bully Hachem and put him to a decision for his tournament life. Hachem made a relatively quick call in the circumstances and the cards were flipped.

Hachem: {10-Diamonds}

Baron:

Hachem was in trouble, as Baron had him dominated and needing a six or a miraculous runner-runner to stay alive.

The turn brought the {5-Spades}

, giving Hachem extra outs with his straight draw, but the {A-Clubs}

on the river ended the dream of an EPT title for the 2005 WSOP Champion, as he exited the tournament within sight of a final table appearance in 11th place for a prize of $159,943.

Tags: Isaac Baron Joe Hachem

04-17-2008 00:59 UTC+2

Robin Keston Eliminated in 12th Place ($159,943)

[user67765]

Isaac Baron opened the action with a raise to 55,000 and the action folded to Robin Keston in the big blind who reraised to 350,000, which represented the majority of his stack. Baron decided to put him all in and Keston obliged with a call as the cards were tabled.

Baron: {J-Spades}

Keston:

The board ran out {K-Hearts}

and Baron makes trips on the river to send Robin Keston home in 12th place for a prize of $159,943.

Tags: Robin Keston

04-17-2008 00:56 UTC+2

Rasmussen Falling Fast

[user38449]

Stig Top Rasmussen recently held a spot within the top five overall chip counts but has been relegated to bottom-feeder status after being on the losing end of a few big pots.

Most recently, he sent over 130,000 worth of chips to Denes Kalo in what was a battle of the blinds. Action folded around to Stig in the small blind, who opened with a 60,000 pre-flop bet. Kalo called and they saw a flop of {A-Hearts}

. Stig then led out again, this time for 75,000, and his bet was met by a raise from Kalo, who made it 200,000 more, forcing Rasmussen out of the pot.

Stig dropped to 570,000 in chips after the hand, while Kalo improved to just under one million.

04-17-2008 00:52 UTC+2

"Boat or Bluff?"

[user67765]

Antonio Esfandiari raised the action up from under the gun and chip leader Glen Chorny made the call in position.

The flop came {10-Spades}

and Esfandiari checked the action over to Chorny, who placed a bet of 75,000 into the middle. Esfandiari made a quick call.

The turn landed a repeat {J-Diamonds}

and Esfandiari checked again over to Chorny, who fired a second barrel worth 170,000. Esfandiari deliberated and made another call.

The river brought the {5-Spades}

. Esfandiari checked for the third time and Chorny quickly bet another 450,000 in chips into the huge pot. Esfandiari went into the tank, "You've either got a boat or a bluff," he exclaimed. After several minutes of thought, Chorny called for a clock. As the seconds ticked down, Esfandiari managed to find a call. Chorny proudly flipped over {Q-Clubs}

which was good to collect a pot worth nearly 1.6 million!

After the hand Chorny moved to 3.4 million in chips and Esfandiari was left with 750,000.

04-17-2008 00:34 UTC+2

Michael Martin Doubles Through Stig Top Rasmussen

[user25067]

Henrik Gwinner opened the pot for a 55,000 raise, Michael Martin flat-called from middle position, and Stig Top Rasmussen, in the small blind, went into his typical five-minute thinking ritual (standing up, sitting down again, asking for a count) before putting in a reraise to 180,000. Gwinner folded and Martin flat-called again.

The flop was {J-Clubs}

. Rasmussen immediately moved all in and Martin snap-called, tabling {A-Hearts}

to Rasmussen's {7-Diamonds}

. The turn was the {J-Spades}

, the river was the {K-Diamonds}

and Martin doubled his stack to 1,610,000. Rasmussen was left with 700,000.

Tags: Michael Martin Stig Top Rasmussen

04-17-2008 00:25 UTC+2

Glen Chorny Extends Lead

[user67765]

Maxime Villemure made the opening raise from under the gun and found two callers in Glen Chorny and Antonio Esfandiari.

The three players saw a flop of {J-Spades}

and Esfandiari led out from the big blind for 110,000 and Villemure flat-called. The action then moved to Chorny, who decided to put in a big raise, adding another 500,000 in chips into the pot.

Esfandiari folded and Villemure thought for a long time, but decided it was best to stay out of the way of the chip leader as Chorny scooped a huge pot to extend his chip lead. He now has over 2.7million in chips!

Tags: Glen Chorny