Reigning Champion Eliminated Early on Day 1a

The action was blind-on-blind between reigning EPT Grand Final champion Antonio Buonanno and Australian Steven Zhou. The board read and Buonanno, who was in the small blind, bet out 600 and watched as Zhou raised to 1,700. Buonanno called and the turn was the . It was checked to Zhou, who bet 2,725 and was duly called. The river brought the and once again Buonanno checked. Zhou put all of his blue and pink chips out, a bet of over 43,000, putting Buonanno at risk if he chose to call.

The action in this hand had been at a snail's pace, and the patience of the other players was put to the test until someone called the clock. Eventually Buonanno called. Zhou turned over the for a rivered full house, and Buonanno meekly turned over before making his way to the exit.