2013 PokerStars.com EPT London

£10,300 High Roller
Day: 1
Event Info

2013 PokerStars.com EPT London

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a9
Prize
£357,700
Event Info
Buy-in
£10,000
Prize Pool
£1,538,600
Entries
159
Level Info
Level
25
Blinds
25,000 / 50,000
Ante
5,000

Carla Sabini Leads After Day 1

Level 10 : 800/1,600, 200 ante
Carla Sabini - Chip leader
Carla Sabini - Chip leader

On Thursday, the £10,000+300 High Roller kicked off at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London. The five-figure buy-in, one re-entry event attracted 148 entries – 36 more than the EPT9 London High Roller in March – and registration is still open until the start of play tomorrow.

Leading the 74 survivors is Carla Sabini. The Canadian bagged 269,700 chips, and is looking to add to her $255,690 in career live tournament earnings. Right behind her was Peru’s Antonio Lafosse (257,800). Lafosse climbed up the counts when he cracked German Fabian Quoss’ kings. All of the money went in preflop between the two players, and Lafosse’s pocket queens were trailing, but the Peruvian made a four flush on the river.

Also among the leaders are Shawn Buchanan (211,500), Frederik Jensen (196,100), Talal Shakerchi (187,400), and Jason Mercier (164,400).

Mercier garnered a large stack during the last level of play. Irishman Steve O’Dwyer joined his table, sitting in a seat that had been occupied by four others during the day, and became the fifth to exit. According to the Team Pro, he put in a cold four-bet and O’Dwyer moved all in for around 97,000. Mercier tank-called with {6-}{6-}, which held up against the Irishman’s {a-}{q-}.

Team Pro’s joining Mercier on Day 2 will be Luca Pagano, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Eugene Katchalov, Vicky Coren, Ville Wahlbeck, and Jonathan Duhamel.

Jensen padded his stack in the final level as well, refusing to fold kings to David “Bakes” Baker on an ace-high board. Baker tried to bluff on the turn with five-high, but gave up on the river and Jensen checked behind.

Martin Finger, winner of the £50,000 Super High Roller, also had a nice day, bagging 151,800 chips. Finger won a key pot in Level 6 against Team Pro Angel Guillen, where Guillen flopped top set of queens. Finger held a flush and straight draws, and made the straight on the river. Guillen bet for value, Finger just called, and the German shipped the pot.

While some prospered, others fell – some twice. Richard Yong, Andrew Chen, Sam Greenwood, and Daniel Negreanu all misfired two bullets. On Negreanu’s first bullet he was slow-rolled by Salman Behbehani, who was also eliminated by Shawn Buchanan at the end of the night, and on his second bullet Kid Poker was busted by Max Greenwood. He tried to tell our PokerNews bloggers a tall tale, but Dan Smith and others were around the help uncover the truth.

Also exiting during Day 1 were Ashton Griffin, Marc-Andre Ladouceur, Max Altergott, Mike McDonald, Todd Terry, Paul Newey, and Eric Sfez.

Play will resume on Friday at noon local time. Be sure to check back with PokerNews for live updates.

Tags: Carla Sabini

Re-Buy!

Level 9 : 600/1,200, 200 ante
Richard Yong
Richard Yong

After a confusing series of events, Richard Yong and Joe Kuether were all in and at risk against Talal Shakerchi.

Yong: {2-Hearts}{2-Clubs}
Kuether: {a-Hearts}{k-Diamonds}
Shakerchi: {4-Clubs}{3-Clubs}

The flop fell {k-Spades}{10-Hearts}{a-Diamonds}, giving Kuether two pair and Shakerchi a backdoor straight draw. Shakerchi was drawing dead when the {8-Clubs} turned, and Yong was eliminated when the {q-Spades} completed the board.

"Re-buy!" Mark Teltscher joked.

Yong corrected him, saying that it would be "illegal" for him to fire a third bullet.

Kuether happily scooped the pot, more than doubling to 76,000 chips. Shakerchi is still healthy with 115,000.

Player Chips Progress
Talal Shakerchi gb
Talal Shakerchi
115,000 -35,000
Joe Kuether us
Joe Kuether
76,000 27,000
Richard Yong my
Richard Yong
Busted

Tags: Joe KuetherRichard YongTalal Shakerchi

Quoss' Kings Cracked

Level 7 : 400/800, 100 ante
Fabian Quoss (Super High Roller)
Fabian Quoss (Super High Roller)

After a series of preflop raises, Fabian Quoss was all in and at risk preflop holding {k-Clubs}{k-Diamonds}. His opponent, Antonio Lafosse, held {q-Hearts}{q-Spades}.

The {7-Diamonds}{j-Spades}{9-Spades} flop gave Lafosse two backdoor draws, and the {3-Spades} on the turn kept the spade draw alive. The river was a king, giving Quoss a set, but unfortunately it was the {k-Spades}, eliminating the German.

Player Chips Progress
Fabian Quoss de
Fabian Quoss
Busted

Tags: Fabian Quoss

Get a Free $20 Thanks from PokerNews and Skrill

Level 7 : 400/800, 100 ante
Skrill team hard at work
Skrill team hard at work

PokerNews and Skrill have joined forces to offer our customers a free $20. All you have to do is use your Skrill account for the first time to fund an online poker site. It's that simple.

Skrill, formerly known as Moneybookers, is the premier online payment solution for millions of customers worldwide. It's also a strategic partner of PokerNews and our first choice when it comes to moving money instantly, safely and conveniently around poker sites.

So how does it work? Once you upload funds to your Skrill account, you can distribute them to anyone with a valid email address. In addition, Skrill is accepted as payment across most major online poker sites, meaning you can quickly and easily deposit and withdraw your funds without having to have gambling transactions littering your bank statements! What’s more, Skrill offers its customers a Prepaid MasterCard that can be used in 100,000’s of locations around the globe.

So how do you get a free $20? Just follow these simple steps:

  • Register for a free Skrill account.
  • Upload funds to your new Skrill account or directly go to a poker room and choose Skrill to make your deposit.
  • Make a deposit of at least $20 onto an online poker room.
  • Skrill will add $20 to your Skrill account within one business day, which you can use to redeposit to a room right away.

As mentioned, scores of online poker rooms such as Full Tilt Poker, PKR, Titan Poker, bet365 and Betfair accept Skrill, so you can make your first deposit onto a major player in the online poker room.

Start using Skrill today!

Tags: Skrill

Bucky Gets Tricky

Level 7 : 400/800, 100 ante
Shawn Buchanan (Main Event)
Shawn Buchanan (Main Event)

Eric Sfez opened to 2,100 in middle position, Shawn Buchanan called in the cutoff, and Igor Kurganov three-bet to 6,900 on the button. Both blinds released, Sfez four-bet to 22,100, and Buchanan moved all in. Kurganov quickly folded, and Sfez pushed in enough chips to call.

Sfez: {k-Hearts}{q-Hearts}
Buchanan: {q-Spades}{q-Clubs}

Bucky's dominant hand held up as the board rolled out {4-Spades}{9-Clubs}{3-Diamonds}{10-Spades}{a-Clubs}, and Sfez was eliminated.

Player Chips Progress
Shawn Buchanan ca
Shawn Buchanan
135,000 88,000
Igor Kurganov ru
Igor Kurganov
28,000 -22,000
Eric Sfez fr
Eric Sfez
Busted

Tags: Igor KurganovShawn BuchananEric Sfez

Just Two Skrillees Remain in the Last Longer Competition

Level 6 : 300/600, 75 ante
Skrill
Skrill

Of the 45 players that originally signed up for the Skrill Last Longer competition in the Main Event, just two remain. Who will be the Last Man Standing? Will it be Ryan Yu (Canada) or Leo McClean (UK)? Only time will tell.

For those unfamiliar with the promotion. The Skrill Last Longer competition will be held at each stop on this season’s EPT, of which they’re an official sponsor. The promotion is simple – players sign up for the promotion either online (preregistration is available) or at the Skrill booth (which will be present at each stop); don a Skrill patch; and then aim to be the last man or woman standing. The last player remaining will then receive the £5,250 buy-in back in their Skrill account.

While Skrill is upping the ante for Season 10 with a bigger branding initiative, this isn’t their first appearance on the EPT; as a matter of fact, they were a sponsor of Season 8 and have held previous “Last Longer” promotions.

The company’s website provides a bit more information on Skrill, which rebranded from Moneybookers back in 2010:

“Skrill has been moving money digitally since 2001. We offer online payment solutions for businesses and consumers, allowing them to pay and get paid globally. Over 36 million account holders already trust Skrill. Our customers can send and receive money worldwide in 200 countries and 40 currencies, securely and at low cost, without revealing their personal financial details. Your business will benefit from our worldwide payment network with over 100 payment options. Whether through a simple one-step integration or a fully-tailored payment solution. Whoever you are, however you like to pay or get paid, trust Skrill to make your online payments simpler, faster and safer.”

Headquartered in London, Skrill is looking to make their presence known in the poker world with a commitment to customer satisfaction through innovation and service. Not only that, they’re looking to be more than just a company by becoming a trusted and respected member of the poker community.

Tags: Skrill

Canadian on Canadian Crime

Level 6 : 300/600, 75 ante
Jonathan Duhamel doubles
Jonathan Duhamel doubles

Timothy Adams bumped it up to 1,775 out of the small blind, and his neighbor, fellow Canuck Jonathan Duhamel, three-bet to 3,800. Adams called.

The flop came {3-Hearts}{5-Spades}{10-Clubs}, and Adams checked. The 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event champion reached for chips, and tossed out a continuation bet of 5,000. Adams stared at a single spot on the felt for a considerable amount of time, then check-raised to 10,400.

The Team Pro refused to back down, however, and fired out a re-raise to 17,100. Adams moved all in for effectively 44,125, Duhamel quickly called, and the cards were on their backs.

Adams: {k-Diamonds}{10-Spades}
Duhamel: {a-Hearts}{10-Hearts}

Adams' hand was crushed, and Duhamel held as the turn and river came {6-Spades}, {8-Spades} respectively, doubling him to 97,000 chips.

Player Chips Progress
Jonathan Duhamel ca
Jonathan Duhamel
97,000 40,000
Timothy Adams ca
Timothy Adams
48,000 -38,000

Tags: Jonathan DuhamelTimothy Adams

Luca Pagano, High Roller

Level 5 : 200/400, 50 ante
Luca Pagano
Luca Pagano

The Italian Team PokerStars Pro, Luca Pagano, is usually either too busy or too bank-roll conscious to play the EPT High Roller events, so much so that PokerStars Blog thought he was joking when he said he was signing up today. Not so. He's going to be making boats with three-high instead.

Give 'Em the Finger

Level 3 : 150/300, 25 ante
Martin Finger receives his Super High Roller Shamballa bracelet from EPT President Edgar Stuchly
Martin Finger receives his Super High Roller Shamballa bracelet from EPT President Edgar Stuchly

Martin Finger, winner of the £50,000 Super High Roller raised in middle position, and Randal Flowers three-bet to 1,800 from two spots to his left. The action folded back to Finger, who four-bet to 5,900, and Flowers made the call.

The dealer fanned {8-Diamonds}{q-Clubs}{4-Spades}, Finger led out for 4,800, and Flowers tank-called.

The turn was the {j-Hearts}, bringing a possible straight, and Finger checked. Flowers fired out 8,000, and Finger announced that he was all in.

Before the German could even assemble the 37,000-chip all-in wager, Flower's hand hit the muck.

Player Chips Progress
Martin Finger de
Martin Finger
EPT 1X Winner
68,000 18,000
Randal Flowers us
Randal Flowers
41,000 -7,000

Tags: Martin FingerRandal Flowers

Sternheimer Jams the River

Level 3 : 150/300, 25 ante
Talal Shakerchi - Defending champ
Talal Shakerchi - Defending champ

Four players saw a flop of {9-Spades}{q-Hearts}{5-Diamonds}, including Viacheslav Goryachev, Philip Sternheimer, Mark Teltscher, and the defending champion, Talal Shakerchi. All four players checked.

The turn was the {j-Hearts}, Shakerchi led out for 6,500, and only Sternheimer called.

The {3-Hearts} completed the board, Shakerchi fired out another 10,400, and Sternheimer moved all in for effectively 35,000 or so. Shakerchi frustratedly dropped the chips he was shuffling, and flicked his cards into the muck.

Player Chips Progress
Philip Sternheimer gb
Philip Sternheimer
80,000 30,000
Talal Shakerchi gb
Talal Shakerchi
35,200 -14,800

Tags: Talal ShakerchiPhilip Sternheimer