€5,300 Main Event Day 1a | 2014 PokerStars.net EPT Vienna

03-24-2014 03:10 UTC+2

Oleksii Khoroshenin Leads After EPT Vienna Day 1a

Happy_Freaked

Level 8 : 300/600, 75 ante

After the first of two PokerStars.net European Poker Tour Vienna Main Event starting days, it’s Oleksii Khoroshenin who finished in the lead after bagging up 171,900 in chips. A total of 341 players registered for the first flight, and 182 managed to survive the day. Sergii Baranov, former World Series of Poker Europe Main Event runner-up, finished in fourth with 155,000. Top German pro Dominik Nitsche bagged up 138,000 and he'll be among the bigger stacks going into Day 2.

The EPT landed in Vienna after a three-and-a-half-year hiatus, but it came back stronger than ever. Vienna, once host of the biggest EPT in Season 1 with 297 participants, will display all its beauty and riches as the EPT plays out in the stunning Hofburg Palace.

Defending champion Michael Eiler showed up to extend his reign in Vienna, but he barely kept his hopes alive with 7,200 in chips after being short for most of the day. Eiler was not the only former EPT winner that showed up for Day 1a, either, as Benny Spindler, Noah Boeken and Jannick Wrang were all eliminated. Steve O’Dwyer, last year’s EPT Grand Final winner, did make it through with 15,200, though.

One of the most famous Austrian players, who’s also know as the "Chess Master," is Ivo Donev and he was among the first players eliminated on Day 1a. While Donev has been on the tour for decades, things are just starting with 19-year-old Adrian Mateos who won the WSOP Europe Main Event last fall. Mateos had a horrible start and was knocked down to 10,000 in chips early on. He did however manage to mount a comeback and finished strong with 104,600. Team PokerStars Pro George Danzer was fortunate to survive the day, but he will be facing an uphill battle with 12,200.

Micheal Piper, EPT Sanremo fourth-place finisher in 2010, had an excellent start, but eventually things did not work out for him. Piper ran jacks into PokerStars Team Online's Marc-Andre Ladouceur’s aces, and the latter closed out the day with 91,000 in chips. Irish Open winner and EPT Snowfest runner-up Kevin Vandersmissen joined the fun today as well, and he ended up bagging 61,400 chips. His former Snowfest rival, 2011 winner Vladimir Geshkenbein, was seated just one table over and he closed out with 130,000 in chips.

Former EPT London winner Ruben Visser got in a fortunate situation when he won with set over set, but later on he was bluffed in a five-bet pot by Dzmitry Urbanovich and ended with 37,900 in chips. This result was still better than that of Marton Czuczor, who ran nines into tens to end his EPT Vienna Main Event. One of the players who was very concerned with his Main Event tournament life, Roland Maurus, decided to fold kings preflop, and later he found out this wasn't the right move.

Among the big stacks towards the end were many new names, including Jesper Hoog and Mohamed Kerkeni. On Monday, a ton of top pros, amateurs and qualifiers will show up for Day 1b, and we're sure that will bring an entirely new slate of names to our attention. Please make sure to tune back in at 12 p.m. CET, as PokerNews.com brings you all the live updates for 12 straight hours!

Tags: Benny Spindler Ivo Donev Jannick Wrang Marton Czuczor Michael Eiler Michael Piper Mohamed Kerkeni Noah Boeken Ruben Visser Steve O'Dwyer Vladimir Geshkenbein

03-23-2014 23:34 UTC+2

Visser Got Shown 10-8 in a Five Bet Pot

Webjoker

Level 7 : 250/500, 50 ante

Bulgarian player Bahar Musa opened the action with a raise to 1,100 from the under the gun plus one position. Right next to him Ruben Visser made it 3,000. Polish qualifier Dzmitry Urbanovich, who won one of the small side events in Deauville this year, cold four betted to 7,200 from the cutoff.

The button and both blinds quickly folded and Musa did the same after some thinking. Visser had other plans though, the EPT champ made it 15,600. Urbanovich made the call and the two were off to the flop.

Visser grapped a blue 5,000 chip and four red 1,000 chips and slid them over the line. Urbanovich thought for a little bit and then called.

The turn was the and Visser double checked his cards. He then tapped the table indicating he was checking. Urbanovich took 17,700 and placed it in the middle of the table. For a second it looked like Ruben Visser had some very creative plans on his mind, but in the end he folded.

Urbanovich grabbed his newly acquired chips and showed his hand: . "Good hand" Visser said with a sincere voice. "Kings?" Urbanovich asked. "King high" Visser replied.

Visser still has around 60,000. Meanwhile Urbanovich is up to 117,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dzmitry Urbanovich	117,000
Ruben Visser	60,000	8,000

Tags: Ruben Visser

03-23-2014 23:33 UTC+2

Benny Bounced on the River

Chad Holloway

Level 7 : 250/500, 50 ante

After Stanek Klaus opened for 1,000 from the cutoff, EPT Champ Benny Spindler three-bet all in for 8,525 from the button. Both blinds folded and Klaus made a hesitant call.

Klaus:
Spindler:

Klaus seemed to immediately regret his decision, while Spindler sat silently as the dealer burned and put out the flop. Both players pair their ace, but Spindler's kicker had him well out in front. The turn meant Klaus needed to catch a ten on the river to eliminate his opponent, and much to Spindler's dismay, that's what came when the peeled off.

Player	Chips	Progress
Stanek Klaus	52,000
Benny Spindler	Busted

Tags: Benny Spindler Stanek Klaus

03-23-2014 23:23 UTC+2

The EPT10 Vienna Skrill Last Longer Competition Begins

Chad Holloway

Level 7 : 250/500, 50 ante

One name that keeps popping up here at the EPT Vienna is Skrill – which isn’t a player, but rather an online payment solutions company that aims to evolve “the way people pay and get paid globally.” Skrill is branded throughout the venue and also have a booth where players can sign up for their popular "Last Longer Competition."

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 their buy-in back via 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.

For more information on Skrill, click here.

As for the EPT10 Main Event, Day 1a saw 64 players — or 18% of the field — sign up for the last longer competition.

Here's a look at the players who registered:


Timo Pfützenreuter	Dzmitry Urbanovich	Dimitri Holdeew	Jannick Wrang
Marc Siebtroth	Valentino Konakchiev	Dominik Nitsche	Mikael Larsson
Antoine Granath	Andre Metzner	Ozkan Soysal	Steven Watts
Pavel Chalupka	Yucel Eminoglu	Lucas Reeves	Alejandro Passy
Issac Krantz	Simon Deadman	Ryan Spittles	Sergey Pakhomov
Kevin Vandersmissen	Vladimir Geshkenbein	James Whittet	Pasquale Braco
[Removed:40]	Sakip Nicolaou	Jesper Hoog	Marius Pospech
Dany Parlares	Ben Jones	Andrew Hulme	Alexander Perevorukha
Patrick Fasching	Torsten Pischl	Josef Steinboeck	Abilio Ribeiro
Kritiyan Ivanov	Atanas Malinov	Roland Maurus	Danijec Jovanovic
Damien Kuepper	Michael Brady	Michael Piper	Yordan Dimitrov
Tapio Vihakas	Roman Cieslik	Justin Steinbremmer	Markus Duernegger
Robbie Bull	Erik von Buxhoeveden	Adrian Apmann	Konstantinos Stratopoulos
Ben Warrington	Justas Vaiciulionis	Dmitry Nemirovsky	Dmitry Gromov
Boyan Asenov	Simo Kiukas	Sadi Sanlav	Pablo Caballero
Philipp Steiner	Michael Bech	Simon Ravnsbaek	Gergely Kulcsar

03-23-2014 19:53 UTC+2

Schulze Outflips Hansen and Blom in First-Ever Live Flipout

Chad Holloway

Level 5 : 150/300, 25 ante

Felix "Flipout" Schulze with Full Tilt Poker Media Ambassador Rebecca McAdam. Photo courtesy of the PokerStars Blog.

This morning, Felix Schulze won a €5,300 EPT Vienna Main Event Seat after winning the first-ever live Flipout tournament, a new format created by Full Tilt Poker. Blom and Hansen were among the big name players to take part. Read more about it by clicking here.

Tags: PokerStars Blog

03-23-2014 18:12 UTC+2

An Orbit w/ Defending EPT Vienna Champ Michael Eiler

Chad Holloway

Level 4 : 100/200, 25 ante

Way back in Season 7, a 20-year-old German economics student and Sunday Million winner by the name of Michael “mae9690” Eiler won the EPT Vienna for €700,000. That was the last time the tour was in town, so that makes Eiler, who is in today's field, the defending EPT Vienna champ.

We decided to spend an entire orbit watching Eiler, who was sitting with right around 16,000 in chips.

Hand #1 (Early Position): An under-the-gun player opened for 500 and Eiler folded.

Hand #2 (Under the Gun): Eiler folded.

Hand #3 (Big Blind): The player in the cutoff opened for 550, the button called, and so did the small blind. Despite the kind odds, Eiler folded his hand.

Hand #4 (Small Blind): Action folded to the button, who raised, and Eiler folded.

Hand #5 (Button): Vitaly Lunkin opened for 500 from early position and Eiler decided to push back with a three-bet to 1,500 from the button. The blinds folded, Lunkin called, and the flop came down . Lunkin check-called a bet of 2,200 and then both players checked the turn.

When the completed the board on the river, Lunkin led out for 4,000 and Eiler thought a long time before making the call. Lunkin tabled the for two pair, and it was good as Eiler mucked his cards and dropped down to 8,300 in the process.

Hand #6 (Cutoff): Eiler opened the action with a raise to 600 only to have Romania's Dan Murariu three-bet to 1,400 from the button. After the blinds both folded, Eiler moved all in and Murariu folded his hand.

Hand #7 (Hijack): A player in middle position opened for 500 and Eiler folded.

Hand #8 (Middle Position): Action folded to Eiler and he did the same.

Eiler didn't mix it up much, and when he did he lost a good portion of his stack. He ended the orbit with about 9,400 in chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael Eiler	9,400	-5,450

Tags: Michael Eiler

03-23-2014 18:08 UTC+2

Set Over Set

Webjoker

Level 4 : 100/200, 25 ante

Robert Schulz opened under the gun and got a caller before action was on Ruben Visser. The Dutch PokerStars EPT London winner over called and got three more interested players. Six way to the flop: .

All the players checked to Visser who bet out 1,600. Mario Adinolfi right next to him made the call and someone in the blinds called as well before action was back on Schulz. The German player announced all in and action was on Ruben after someone else folded. The Dutch pro thought about it for a little bit before announcing all in as well. Adinolfi quickly folded and so did the player in the blinds.

"You have tens?" Schulz asked Visser. Visser had even better than that with and left Schulz with one out as he tabled . The stayed in the deck as the hit the turn and the river.

With the ace of spades on the river Adinolfi looked a bit in pain. That card had clearly helped him would he have stayed in the pot, but that wasn't the case. Ruben Visser is up to wel over 40,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ruben Visser	42,000	21,000
Robert Schulz	Busted

Tags: Ruben Visser

03-23-2014 17:51 UTC+2

A Look at the History of the EPT Vienna

Chad Holloway

Level 4 : 100/200, 25 ante

What stop on the first season of the EPT attracted the most players? You might be surprised to learn that it was the EPT Vienna with 297 players (the next closest was the EPT French Open with 243 players).

That first stop, which ran from March 10-11, 2005, resulted in an international final table that included two Americans, two Englishmen, a Swede, Finn, and an Austrian; however, it was Frenchman Pascal Perrault that defeated Andreas Harnemo in heads-up play to capture the €184,000 first-place prize. It was a successful penultimate stop for Season 1, but little did everyone know that the city wouldn’t play host to an EPT again for half a decade.

The EPT returned to Vienna for its seventh season from October 26-31, 2010. The return to the Austrian capital was well received by the players, 587 of who turned out to create a prize pool of €2,935,000. By then the EPT had grown in both size and prestige, so it was no surprise to see some famous faces in the field.

Among those to earn cashes were Nacho Barbero (76th - €8,000), Luke Schwartz (65th - €8,000), Jason Wheeler (54th - €9,500), Angel Guillen (52nd - €9,500), Surinder Sunar (18th - €16,000), and Kirill Zapletin (9th - €44,000).

That season’s final table featured three Germans, a Frenchman, Italian, and Greek, but two players overshadowed them all – the Czech Republic’s Martin Hruby and Canadian Daniel Negreanu. The latter actually flew out Amanda Leatherman and Joe Stapleton to sweat him at the final table, which marked “Stapes’” first EPT experience. Unfortunately they didn’t get to see their man win as Negreanu ultimately finished in fourth place for €175,000.

Hruby did a bit better, but had to settle for runner-up and €470,000 after he fell to one of the aforementioned Germans, 20-year-old economics student and Sunday Million winner Michael “mae9690” Eiler, in heads-up play. In the final hand of that tournament, Eiler, who had a significant chip lead, moved all in for the third hand in a row holding. Hruby called off with the , which was racing against the of Eiler. The flop delivered Eiler a flush, and the turn left Hruby drawing dead. The river made it official, and Eiler took home the €700,000 first-place prize.

The EPT hasn’t been back to Vienna since Season 7, but now it's back. We're currently at the stunning Hofburg Palace, which is playing host to a 40-event tournament schedule that will include more innovative and fun game variants than any other festival up to date.

“The EPT is all about fun, celebrating the excitement of the game and gathering players together for a good time, and we really wanted to make a splash on our return to Vienna," said Neil Johnson, Head of Live Poker Operations for the EPT. "The EPT is known for game innovation, variety and we pride ourselves on providing game types in tournament format that you simply don’t find at other live events.”

The EPT Vienna Festival is in partnership with the Concord Card Casino Group, which operates 13 poker rooms in Austria and has more than 20 years of experience.

03-23-2014 17:47 UTC+2

Ladouceur Puts His Opponent All In

Webjoker

Level 4 : 100/200, 25 ante

Pflanzl Hannes in middle position opened the pot with a raise to 500 and Marc-Andre Ladouceur in the cutoff came along for the ride. The small blind and Olof Haglund in the big blind tossed in a purple 500 chip as well and the dealer got underway dealing a flop.

Both blinds checked to Hannes who made a 1,100 continuation bet. Ladouceur called, the small blind folded and Haglund wanted to see at least one more card and called as well.

It would be just one card as the hit and Haglund check folded to Hannes' 2,100 bet. Ladouceur wasn't so easy to shake off though, the Canadian PokerStars Team Online Pro made the call.

The was everything but a blank. With three hearts, four to a straight, and a bunch of broadway cards out there Hannes checked. Ladouceur shoved a big pile of 5,000 chips forward, putting Hannes all in for his last 7,000 chips.

Hannes shook his head and folded, Ladouceur gathered the chips and stacked them up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Marc-Andre Ladouceur	46,000	12,500

Tags: Marc Ladouceur Olof Haglund

03-23-2014 16:58 UTC+2

Vandersmissen Calls with Queens

Webjoker

Level 3 : 100/200, 0 ante

Brazilian poker player Joao Baumgarten opened up the action with a raise to 400 from the hijack. The cutoff folded but Kevin Vandersmissen on the button made it 1,050 for the second time in a row. Both blinds folded and Baumgarten made the call.

on the flop and Baumgarten check called Vandersmissen's 1,200 continuation bet.

Baumgarten made a more agressive move on the turn. First he checked and let Vandersmissen bet 2,600. Baumgarten made it 6,800 to go and Vandersmissen made the call.

The fell on the river and Baumgarten bet out 8,300.

Now it was time for some thinking. Vandersmissen took his time while he counted out his chips. He took 8,300 apart and pondered some more.

Eventually he tossed those chips in and would soon be met by some good news. Baumgarten turned over for the missed flush draw. Vandersmissen tabled and took it down.

Player	Chips	Progress
Kevin Vandersmissen	47,000	17,000

Tags: Kevin Vandersmissen