Hunt for EPT Paris Main Event Trophy Commences as Day 1a Gets Underway
The tournament everyone at the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Paris has been looking forward to has arrived. Today at noon local time, Day 1a of the €5,300 EPT Main Event will get underway in the spacious convention halls of Le Palais des Congrès.
The inaugural EPT Paris in 2023 attracted a field of 1,606 entries to the French capital for the Main Event, the second-largest field of the season. Back then, it was Razvan Belea who turned a €530 satellite on PokerStars into the monstrous seven-figure score of €1,170,000 when he beat Peter Jorgne heads up for the trophy.
Other players on the first-ever EPT Paris final table included French regular Fabrice Bigot and Brian Delaney, who managed the capture the hearts of the viewers at home with some world-class plays.
2023 EPT Paris Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Razvan Belea | Romania | €1,170,000 |
| 2 | Peter Jorgne | Sweden | €780,100 |
| 3 | Fabrice Bigot | France | €535,850 |
| 4 | Brian Delaney | United Kingdom | €412,200 |
| 5 | Henri Kasper | Estonia | €317,050 |
| 6 | Konstantin Held | Germany | €244,000 |
| 7 | Denzel Spekman | Netherlands | €187,650 |
| 8 | Johan Schultz-Pedersen | Denmark | €144,300 |
| 9 | Mehdi Chaoui | Morocco | €111,000 |
Belea has already been spotted in Paris this year and is expected to defend his title, while Jorgne will also be looking to go one further as he is already registered for Day 1a, along with many other notable players. They include runner-up of the most recent EPT Main Event in Prague Jon Kyte, 2019 EPT Barcelona winner Simon Brandstrom, and French high roller Axel Hallay.
They will all start with 30,000 chips in the first level of 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante. Day 1a will then play a total of ten 60-minute levels, with 20-minute breaks after every two levels and a 75-minute dinner break after Level 6.
€5,300 EPT Main Event Day 1 Structure
| Level | Duration | Small Blind | Big Blind | Ante |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60 min | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 2 | 60 min | 100 | 200 | 200 |
| 20-minute Break | ||||
| 3 | 60 min | 100 | 300 | 300 |
| 4 | 60 min | 200 | 400 | 400 |
| 20-minute Break | ||||
| 5 | 60 min | 200 | 500 | 500 |
| 6 | 60 min | 300 | 600 | 600 |
| 75-minute Dinner Break | ||||
| 7 | 60 min | 400 | 800 | 800 |
| 8 | 60 min | 500 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| 20-minute Break | ||||
| 9 | 60 min | 600 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
| 10 | 60 min | 600 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
The survivors will then bag their chips up for Day 2 on February 21, which is also when the live stream will kick off. Those who do not make it that far have one reentry option available to them, which they can use on either Day 1a, Day 1b, or the start of Day 2, which is when registration closes.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the action from Day 1a of the Main Event, and be sure to check out all of the other exciting events happening in the French capital as well.