£3,000 Platinum Pass Mystery Bounty
Day 1 Completed
2022 PokerStars EPT London
£3,000 Platinum Pass Mystery Bounty
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1
2022 PokerStars EPT London
Buy-in
£3,000
Prize Pool
£791,076
Entries
461
Level
36
Blinds
150,000 / 300,000
Ante
300,000
Entries
378
Players Left
126
Kenny Hallaert Among the Leaders After Day 1 of £3,000 Platinum Pass Mystery Bounty
Level 12
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
It was an action-packed opening day in the £3,000 Platinum Pass Mystery Bounty at the PokerStars European Poker Tour London that saw a total of 378 entries recorded over 12 levels of play. When the dust settled, there were just 126 players that bagged up chips to advance to Day 2 tomorrow, starting at 1 p.m. local time.
One of the largest stacks moving on to Day 2 was poker pro and tournament director Kenny Hallaert who finished the day with an impressive 320,000 chips. Hallaert was a late entry, taking his seat just after the dinner break, but wasted no time raking in pot after pot. An early double-up, followed by a knockout of Endrit Geci, saw Hallaert's stack rise to the six-figure mark. Just before the night closed, he won another massive pot which will give him plenty of chances at bounties tomorrow.
The largest stack of Day 1 belongs to Raphael Khalili who finished the day with 336,500 chips. He will be joined at the top of the leaderboard by Yasuhiro Waki (308,500), John Dwyer (278,500), and Haomin Xie (244,000). There were plenty of household names that made it through as well including Chris Moorman (175,500), Rayan Chamas (169,500), Steve O'Dwyer (141,500), and Mustapha Kanit (110,000) as notables with stacks over 100,000.
Top 10 Chip Counts from Day 1
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Raphael Khalili | United Kingdom | 336,500 |
| 2nd | Kenny Hallaert | Belgium | 320,000 |
| 3rd | Yasuhiro Waki | Japan | 308,500 |
| 4th | John Dwyer | United Kingdom | 278,500 |
| 5th | Haomin Xie | China | 244,000 |
| 6th | Robert Macsim | Romania | 237,000 |
| 7th | Jonathan Proudfoot | Ireland | 221,500 |
| 8th | Paul Tedeschi | France | 208,000 |
| 9th | Antonio Juste Menchaca | Spain | 207,500 |
| 10th | Jason McConnon | United Kingdom | 204,500 |
The action was fast and furious all throughout the day with many players being forced to the registration desk on multiple occasions. An unlimited reentry option meant players tried to spin up a stack in order to position themselves well for the bounty portion of the tournament that starts on Day 2.
Late registration will remain open until 12:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday with the action firing up at 1 p.m. BST. That will allow the tournament staff the required time to construct the bounty pool that is guaranteed to have at least a £30,000 Platinum Pass among the prizes. A starting stack will give players 30,000 in chips with the blinds resuming on Level 13 at 1,000/1,500 and a 1,500 big blind ante.
Another 12 levels are on the schedule for Day 2 with the tournament crowning a winner on Day 3. There is already nearly £500,000 in the tournament prize pool that will be up for grabs when 15% of the field remains.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the tournament floor tomorrow to bring you all of the live updates along with the big bounty winners as the tournament unfolds.
End of Day Chip Counts (full)
Level 12
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
336,500 | 251,500 |
|
320,000 | 165,000 |
|
308,500 | -1,500 |
|
278,500 | 218,500 |
|
244,000 | 89,000 |
|
237,000 | 182,000 |
|
221,500 | 221,500 |
|
208,000 | -9,000 |
|
|
207,500 | 207,500 |
|
204,500 | 204,500 |
|
196,500 | 196,500 |
|
187,500 | 12,500 |
|
178,000 | 3,200 |
|
178,000 | 116,000 |
|
175,500 | 44,000 |
|
175,000 | 91,500 |
|
169,500 | 39,500 |
|
169,500 | 86,500 |
|
169,000 | 169,000 |
|
164,000 | 29,000 |
|
162,000 | -9,500 |
|
153,500 | 68,500 |
|
149,500 | 7,500 |
|
|
149,000 | 149,000 |
|
146,000 | 146,000 |
Day 1 Closes
Level 12
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Day 1 of the EPT Platinum Pass Mystery Bounty has come to a close with 127 of the 378 entries making it through to Day 2.
Late registration is open until 12:30 p.m. BST on Tuesday, October 25. Day 2 will then begin at 1 p.m.
Recap and end of day chip counts to follow shortly.
Merrilees Calls Clock on Tedeschi in
Level 12
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Action was caught on the turn with the board showing the 
.
Daniel Merrilees checked in the big blind before Paul Tedeschi bet 12,500. Merrilees then jammed for 74,400. After a few moments, Merrilees called the clock, much to the objection of Tedeschi who felt not enough time had passed.
The clock began and Tedeschi called, by splashing his bigger stack into the pot.
Daniel Merrilees: 
Paul Tedeschi: 
Merrilees was ahead with a superior ace but couldn't believe his luck when the 
hit the river, to give his opponent two pair. A dejected Merrilees then exited the tournament area.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
217,000 | 90,000 |
|
Busted |
Last Three Hands of the Night
Level 12
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Each table will play three more hands before the bagging process begins.
Nitsche Runs Out of Chips
Level 12
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Mike Watson raised it up from middle position and Dominik Nitsche defended from the big blind. The flop came 
and Nitsche checked to Watson who threw in a min-bet of 1,200. Nitsche check-raised all in for around 12,000 and Watson snapped him off.
Dominik Nitsche: 
Mike Watson: 
The 
paired the board on the turn which limited Nitche's outs down to two. The 
on the river was not one of them as he was eliminated at the hands of Watson.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
60,500 | 5,000 |
|
Busted |
Stewart Folds Out Peffly
Level 12
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Joshua Stewart opened to 2,500 from the cutoff and was called by Alex Peffly and Nikhil Persaud from the blinds.
Peffly led out for 4,000 on the 
flop and was only called by Stewart. The 
turn checked through to the 
river.
Peflly checked once more and let it go after his opponent bet 11,500.
"I think that could've been a lot bigger," said Stewart. "I flopped it," he added.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
135,000 | |
|
110,000 | 72,000 |
Stokkan Scores a Double Up
Level 12
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Igor D'Ursel raised to 2,400 from under the gun and Preben Stokkan called from the small blind. The flop came and Stokkan checked to D'Ursel who bet 1,800. Stokkan check-raised to 4,500 and D'Ursel called.
The turn brought the and Stokkan ripped all in for 14,800. D'Ursel quickly called and the cards were on their backs. Stokkan tabled 
for two pair and D'Ursel needed some help with .
The river was the and Stokkan improved to a full house to secure his double up near the end of Day 1.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
45,500 | -38,500 |
|
33,800 |
Last Level of the Night Begins
Level 12
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Day 1 of the EPT Platinum Pass Mystery is now on its final level. Just 130 of the 372 entrants remain and they will need to survive the next 40-minutes to make it through to Day 2.
Day 2 begins at 1 p.m. BST on Tuesday, October 25 and late registration for the event is open until 12:30 p.m.