If you're just joining us, that's okay! We can catch you up with the story right now. Just after play began today, Gloria ran down the Day 1a Update for you. Check it out:
Just before the break, Olivier Busquet found himself looking down at board and facing a 15,000 bet from the gentleman on the button. Eventually, with much huffing and puffing, he called - and was rewarded with an insta-muck from the button who had apparently been at it. Busquet turned over for two pair, and moved on up to 74,000.
We have the details on the demise of Mr. Julian Thew, courtesy of tablemate JP Kelly.
Down to less than 10,000, Thew called preflop with suited and then check-raised all in on the flop. His opponent called with a jack, and Thewy hit the rail.
It's happy times for Marcel Luske. After a series of preflop raises and re-raises, he got his remaining 23,675 into the middle with . That's a pretty good hand, better than the that Richard Grace showed down, though Luske was the one at risk.
A jack-high board full of blanks was safe for the Singing Dutchman, securing his double up. He's right at 50,000 now, while Grace has slipped back to about 15,000.
Daniel Drescher looks set for another deep EPT run - he's up to 76,000 after knocking out a short stack.
Drescher raised to 800 and the soon-to-be-bustee made it 5,000 from the button with just 2,000 behind. The big blind flat-called the 5,000, but then passed when Drescher made it 16,500 to go.
On their backs, and Mr. Button was drawing thin.
Drescher:
Button:
Board: an uneventful
The two shook hands, and Drescher looks to be the table big stack now.
Team PokerStars Pro Ruben Visser was just eliminated after coming out on the wrong end of a short-stacked race. Here's how they called the action in the Dutch blog:
"Ruben Visser uitgeschakeld
"Ruben Visser was already pretty fast become very short. His left was the culprit when Visser in a ge-4-bet pot with top pair, both as a heat flush draw on the turn. On the river he was all-but put in and made the call but his neighbor had a geturnde flush.
"After that hand he had only about 4000 points since he just pushes the button to the center. Again it is his left that makes the call, this time with pocket fives.
"No help for Fisherman's bait-wife. After the run deep in the EPT of Vilamoura no successful follow-up here in Prague."
Got it? Okay, the short version of the story is that Visser was down to just 4,000 measly chips after losing a big pot. He moved in shortly thereafter with ace-queen (bait-wife?) on the button, and he was called down by a player with pocket fives. No help on board for Visser spelled an early end to his day.
"Yay, I've got my chips back!" said Richard Grace, quite literally skipping with joy across the room.
Down to around 17,000 last we saw him, Grace raised to 800 under the gun and got himself a flat call behind. He check-called 1,200 on the flop, and check-called another 2,900 on the turn. Come the river he check-called all in for his last 11,500, and promptly tabled pocket sevens for quads. His opponent showed him aces.
Grace is up above his starting stack, on 35,000 or so.