EPT Prague Main Event Day 1b | 2009 PokerStars.com EPT Prague

EPT Prague Main Event

Day 1b Completed

12-02-2009 22:00 UTC+2

Book It: Day 1b is History

[user66118]

ElkY is challenging for the overnight chip lead

After a remarkably slow eighth and final level, Day 1b of the PokerStars.com EPT Prague is done. Another 367 runners showed up today, an increase of well over 50% from yesterday's turnout. All told, 586 runners have filled out the field here, and we've got just over half of them left to return for Day 2.

It was a good day to be a poker fan with a whole hoard of pros in the room. Team PokerStars was very strongly represented as you might expect when their name is emblazoned on every chip in the room. The list of those who played is a veritable who's-who in the international poker world: Dario Minieri, Luca Pagano, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Noah Boeken, Alexander Kravchenko, and Johnny Lodden were among more than a dozen Team Pros who came out for this second flight.

Also joining us was tennis legend Boris Becker, though his day only lasted about half as long as he would have liked. The 2008 WSOP final table was represented here as well, but not by Peter Eastgate. Darus Suharto, a "friend of PokerStars" made the trip over to play. Huck Seed, Sorel Mizzi, Vitaly Lunkin, and Praz Bansi are just a few of the other names you'd have recognized today, but the list of notables is far too long to mention in one go.

With the action progressing at a good clip, many of the big names have already fallen by the wayside. Like Ilari Sahamies, for example. The nosebleed online grinder who lives as "Ziigmund" arrived about five hours late for play. He sucked out to triple up on the very first hand of his tournament, but he would lose all 60,000 of his chips within the next couple orbits. Back to Rail Heaven for Ziiggy.

Also failing to escape Day 1b were EPT regulars Carter Phillips, Dragan Galic, Asa Smith, and Benny Spindler, as well as defending champion Salvatore Bonavena.

On the flip side of things, there's a hell of a battle going on for the overnight chip lead. We were booted from inside the ropes with about 15 minutes on the clock, so the horse race will be too close to call for now. Five men are all in strong contention for the pole position with more than 150,000: Marius Heiene, Rifat Palevic, Fionn MacNamara, Eilev Andreas, and PokerStars' own ElkY. We'll have to wait for the full chip counts before we can be certain who's on top of the heap, but it figures to be one of those five.

So that's all for Day 1b then. The survivors from these two Day 1's will join together for tomorrow's Day 2. Play kicks off at precisely noon-or-so C.E.T. on Thursday, and we expect to see you right back here as we press on towards the money.

Until then, goodnight from Prague.

12-02-2009 21:44 UTC+2

A Knockout Here, A Double Up There

[user66118]

We just caught snippets of both hands, so we'll condense them into one happy little post.

First of all, Jason Lavalle picked up an eleventh-hour double up to about 50,000 when his pocket tens held up on a board running 6-5-2-7-3. Ship the double.

Just a few seconds later, "ElkY" Grospellier knocked off a short stack who pushed with {K-?}

. ElkY had the big stack and the {4-Spades}

. He would find one spade on the flop, and one more apiece on the turn and river. Five spades make a flush, and ElkY moves up very close to the chip lead. Ship the knockout.

12-02-2009 21:41 UTC+2

Kabrhel Loses the Rest

[user66118]

The preflop action wasn't clear, but it looks as if Martin Kabrehel open-raised under the gun and found two callers. In any event, we pick it up as the dealer ran out a flop of {4-Spades}

. Kabrhel checked, and the man in the middle put out a bet of 4,500. The third player ducked out, but Kabrhel sat considering for a long while. Finally, he grabbed what chips he had left and made an all-in check-raise to 19,000 straight. His opponent hemmed and hawed and eventually called to put Kabrhel in danger of elimiantion.

Grave danger, in fact. The caller tabled {A-Diamonds}

, and Kabrhel could only show {K-Spades}

for middle pair. The {Q-Clubs}

on the turn gave him three more outs to the straight, but a blank {9-Hearts}

filled out the board. That's the end of Kabrhel's day, beating the crowd by just a few minutes.

Tags: Martin Kabrhel

12-02-2009 21:35 UTC+2

Three More Hands

[user46392]

Not one, not two, but three more hands until the chips get bagged and tagged. Dinner, here we come!

12-02-2009 21:25 UTC+2

Abra Kabrhel-da! And Your Chips Have Disappeared!

[user46392]

Disaster for Martin Kabrhel as he somehow lost most of his stack on a queen-high bluff. Andreas Eiler found his fourth pair was good for a double up, and is over 155,000.

Kabrhel, down to shrapnel, got it in moments later - but his pocket jacks held up against Martin Valle's pocket eights and he stays in, for the time being anyway.

Tags: Martin Kabrhel

12-02-2009 21:08 UTC+2

Idle Chattha

[user46392]

Chaz Chattha in the small blind and Leo Margets in the big saw a {7-Clubs}

flop; Chattha promptly moved in. Margets called, and it couldn't have been much worse for Chattha.

Chattha: {7-Hearts}

Margets:

Turn:

River:

Tags: Chaz Chattha

12-02-2009 21:03 UTC+2

They Went Peacefully

[user66118]

A moment of silence for those recently eliminated:

Johnny Lodden
Huckleberry Seed
Brian Jensen
Chaz Chattha
Mick McCool, Pascal Perrault, Oleksandr Vaserfirer, and Dragan Galic are also missing and presumed busto

Level: 8

Blinds: 400/800

Ante: 75

12-02-2009 21:00 UTC+2

Jerney Goes Nowhere

[user46392]

Last lady standing at EPT San Remo, Kati Jerney, is busto. We're not sure what happened, but she was spotted heading for the door, grinning to herself, and ElkY was stacking some chips up as the dealer shuffled for the next hand.

By the by, ElkY looks to be our current chip leader, on 150,000.

Tags: ElkY Kati Jerney