€1,100 FPS Paris Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2023 PokerStars EPT Paris
€1,100 FPS Paris Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
2023 PokerStars EPT Paris
Buy-in
€1,100
Prize Pool
€1,988,160
Entries
2,071
Level
37
Blinds
300,000 / 600,000
Ante
600,000
Entries
796
Players Left
179
Labryga Bags Day 1a Chip Lead in €1,100 FPS Main Event
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
It has been another action-packed day at the inaugural PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris, as the €1,100 FPS Main Event kicked off with its first of three starting flights.
Day 1a of the tournament attracted 796 entries and contributed €764,160 to the prize pool. The overall prize pool currently stands at €1,572,480 thanks to the entries in Day 1b and those who have already registered for Day 1c.
Day 1a wrapped up after 14 levels of play and saw 179 players bag and tag a stack for Day 2. Topping the chip leaderboard from the first heat of the FPS Main Event was Jean Labryga, who ended the night with 526,000.
Steeve Sultan (428,000) and Vardan Zakaryan (402,000) round out the top three chip counts but are still way behind Labryga's monster stack.
Other notable players to make it through to Day 2 include Kenny Hallaert (128,000), Kyriakos Papadopoulos (240,000), and Michael Rocco (362,000).
However, there were some other famous faces such as William Kassouf, Samuel Ju, and Tobias Peters who weren't so lucky and fell at the first hurdle. PokerStars Ambassador Ramon Colillas was also among the Day 1a casualties.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean Labryga | France | 526,000 | 132 |
| 2 | Steeve Sultan | France | 428,000 | 107 |
| 3 | Vardan Zakaryan | Armenia | 402,000 | 101 |
| 4 | Michael Rocco | United States | 362,000 | 91 |
| 5 | Alan Ouegoasd | France | 346,000 | 87 |
| 6 | Damien Luis | France | 343,000 | 86 |
| 7 | Willem de Jong | Netherlands | 304,000 | 76 |
| 8 | Djamel Boutaleb | France | 290,000 | 73 |
| 9 | Dorian Decauche | France | 281,000 | 70 |
| 10 | Dawid Smolka | Poland | 281,000 | 70 |
Notable Hands on Day 1a
There were some big hands and massive coolers throughout the session. David Vedral slow-played his aces and flopped a set against Quentin Roussey who had flopped top two pair.
Petar Kalev and David Hareuveni also tangled in one of the biggest pots of the early stages. Kalev, who finished eighth in the 2023 PSPC, had some kicker issues which saw a 90-big blind pot head to his opponent.
Herve Mary then went from a below-average stack to one of the chip leaders. He was the winner of a three-way all-in, where he ended up with quad queens to crack an opponent's pocket aces.
French poker superstar Antoine Saout tried pulling off an ambitious bluff jam with ace-high but was picked off by Sweden's Alexander Ivarsson.
Chip leader Labryga nearly lost a chunk of his stack towards the end of the night. He was in a three-way all-in which ended up in a three-way chop to the dismay of Dragos Trofimov who was a huge favorite to triple up heading into the river.
The PokerNews live reporting of the FPS Main Event continues on Friday, February 17 at 12 p.m. for Day 1c, the tournament's final starting flight. After Day 1c is completed, the fields will merge for Day 2 which takes place the following day.
End of Day 1a Chip Counts (full)
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
526,000 | 21,000 |
|
428,000 | 267,000 |
|
402,000 | 402,000 |
|
362,000 | 214,000 |
|
346,000 | 346,000 |
|
343,000 | 78,000 |
|
304,000 | 44,000 |
|
290,000 | 290,000 |
|
281,000 | 131,000 |
|
281,000 | 36,000 |
|
274,000 | 104,000 |
|
271,080 | 1,080 |
|
263,000 | 140,000 |
|
262,000 | 72,000 |
|
260,000 | 212,000 |
|
257,000 | 32,000 |
|
252,000 | 252,000 |
|
249,000 | 249,000 |
|
249,000 | 69,000 |
|
240,000 | 125,000 |
|
239,000 | 239,000 |
|
|
237,000 | 91,000 |
|
235,000 | 235,000 |
|
222,000 | 222,000 |
|
222,000 | 51,000 |
Day 1a Closes
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
After 14 levels of play, Day 1a of the FPS Main Event has closed.
The first starting flight has seen 796 entries, and 179 of those have survived the first stage. They're now bagging and tagging their stacks and will return on Saturday for Day 2.
Chip Counts and recap to follow shortly.
Three-Way All-in Leads to Three-Way Chop
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Joao Tomas opened to 6,000 from the hijack and Jean Labryga called from the cutoff. Dragos Trofimov jammed for 63,500 from the big blind which then prompted Tomas to move all in for 83,500. Labryga agonized over the decision before calling.
Dragos Trofimov: 
Joao Tomas: 
Jean Labryga: 
Tomas remained best following the 
flop but Trofimov then had both of his opponents drawing to a chop after he made a wheel on the 
turn.
The 
river caused some commotion as all three players ended up with six-high straight. It was a cruel river for Trofimov as he was denied a massive triple up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
505,000 | 5,000 |
|
|
85,000 | -51,500 |
|
65,000 | -2,000 |
Are PokerStars Live Events in the United States on the Horizon?
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
PokerStars is back in the United States – in New Jersey, as well as in the largest online poker network in the US after Michigan and Pennsylvania player pools were merged at the start of this year.
But now, PokerStars Live events on US soil look to be back on the cards according to a PokerNews interview with Managing Director of North America for PokerStars Severin Rasset.
Click here for the full interview to find out what Rasset had to say!
Final Four Hands
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
The floor has instructed dealers to deal four more hands before players bag for the evening in Day 1a.
Labryga Sun Run Continues
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Andrew Hulme opened to 6,500 from the button and was called by Jean Labryga from the big blind.
Labryga called bets of 6,000 and 18,500 on the flop and turn for the final board to read 
.
On the river, Labryga led out for 30,000 and Hulme called. The Frenchman, who has appeared to have not lost a hand all day, tabled his 
for the nut straight. Hulme tapped the table before mucking his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
500,000 | 95,000 |
|
90,000 | 30,000 |
Sanchez Turns Trips to Crack Aces of Zhechev
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Mauricio Sanchez opened to 6,000 from the small blind and Ivan Zhechev three-bet to 17,000 in the big blind. Sanchez called.
Sanchez checked on the flop of 
and Zhechev continued for 13,500. Sanchez called. Sanchez checked again on the 
turn and Zhechev announced "all in" before being met with a snap from his opponent, who had him covered.
Ivan Zhechev: 
Mauricio Sanchez: 
Zhechev had aces but his opponent had turned trips and, to make matters worse, held an ace to have Zhechev drawing to just one out. It didn't come as the river brought the 
and Zhechev hit the rail after suffering the brutal beat.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
180,000 | |
|
Busted |
David Kaye "Blown Away" by Impact of PokerStars US Player Pool Merging
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
American David Kaye spoke with PokerNews about his journey from a small-town Michigan poker player to becoming a poker player and PokerStars ambassador.
He also gave insight into the current poker scene in Michigan, and the potential of online poker in the state.
“We know the end goal isn't just two states,” he said. “Two states is great, but this is just the groundwork to get where we really want to be when we have all the states under one umbrella — or as many states as possible.”
Find out what Kaye had to say about the bright future of PokerStars US here!