From the under-the-gun position, Stephen Chidwick raised to 11,000. Bryn Kenney called from the small blind, and then Viacheslav Goryachev reraised to 35,000 out of the big blind. Chidwick and Kenney both called, and the dealer fanned the flop. On the flop, action checked to Chidwick. He bet 40,000, and both of his opponents folded.
Day 1 of the 2015 European Poker Tour €50,000 Super High Roller was all about the numbers. An astounding 93 entries were generated from 81 unique players and 12 reentries. That proved to be a new record by a large margin, topping last year's 77 total entries that came from 58 unique players and 19 reentries. At the end of play, 66 remained.
What's even more remarkable is that the registration and reentry period will remain open until 12:15 p.m. on Sunday, so there is still plenty of time for new players to dive in or eliminated players to reenter.
Topping the pack at the end of the night was Stephen Chidwick, as the British star ended the day with 1.052 million in chips.
One hand that gave Chidwick a nice boost came back in Level 6 with the blinds at 1,500/3,000 with a 400 ante. He was involved in a pot against Chang He on the board of , and He fired a bet. Chidwick raised to put him all in, and He called off with the for top pair. Unfortunately for him, his hand was behind against Chidwick's . The river was the , and He hit the rail.
Other big stacks to wrap up Day 1 were Christoph Vogelsang (1.002 million), Mike McDonald (855,000), Jean-Noel Thorel (775,000), and Steve O'Dwyer (686,500). They'll be looking to continue their upward trends on Day 2, but there is still a very long way to go in this event. With the first-place prize likely well over €1 million, all of these big stacks will be looking to keep their focus as play continues on Sunday starting at 12:30 p.m. local time.
With that, we'll leave you with a lovely video from our own Sarah Herring as she gets out the sights around beautiful Barcelona.
flop. On the flop, action checked to Chidwick. He bet 40,000, and both of his opponents folded.
, and He fired a bet. Chidwick raised to put him all in, and He called off with the 
for top pair. Unfortunately for him, his hand was behind against Chidwick's 
. The river was the 
, and He hit the rail.